This major new field guide covers Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands, including the Seychelles, Coromos and Mascarenes (Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues). The Malagasy region contains one of the most extraordinary concentrations of biodiversity in the world. Its recognition as a zoogeographic region in its own right has recently been confirmed and, all taxa combined, the region was found to hold the second most distinct assemblage of vertebrates in the world after the Australian region, despite being the smallest of them all. This Helm Field Guide covers the whole of the Malagasy region, which comprises the unique island of Madagascar and the various islands and archipelagos of the Indian Ocean including the Seychelles, Comoros and Mascarenes (Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues). Every resident and migrant species is covered in full detail with a colour distibution map for each. Vagrants are also treated in detail, but without maps. All species are illustrated on a beautiful series of 124 colour plates, with artwork from John Gale and Brian Small. Conveniently, the plates have been arranged so that all the key species of the various archipelagos are placed together in sections. This is a major work of reference on the birds of the region and will remain the standard text for many years to come.

"Following the international success of their 1974 identification guide to the albatrosses and petrels of New Zealand, two leading authorities on marine birds, Peter C. Harper and F. C. Kinsky, have revised and expanded their previous text to present a new edition which describes all species of albatrosses and petrels likely to be seen in the southern oceans, from the Tropic of Capricorn south to the shores of Antarctica. Popular features of the previous guide have been combined with improvements to create a definitive easy to use booklet for scientists and laymen alike."--