This is the only pocket photographic guide to all the birds known to inhabit Western and Central Africa.

This new field guide uses all 147 color plates from Princeton's A Guide to the Birds of Western Africa, with concise, authoritative text on facing pages, to create a compact, lightweight field reference covering all 1,285 species found in the region--from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to Chad and the Central African Republic and south to Congo. It is the first field guide to cover this region exclusively and in such comprehensive depth, and will enable birders to identify any species found in any of the twenty-three countries and territories covered. Birds of Western Africa also has an updated color distribution map for each species, conveniently placed on interleaved pages within the color plates. The plates, all original and painted by the same leading illustrator, comprise over 3,000 figures--including a number of new images painted for this field guide--and depict almost all the species described. The entries opposite the plates focus on key identification marks for all main plumages. Both authors have gained extensive field experience over many years in western Africa. Their knowledge and expertise shines through in this unprecedented and outstanding field guide to one of the world's most exciting birding regions.

Simultaneously published: London: Bloomsbury Publishing, Plc.

The first—and only—authoritative guide to the snakes of Central and Western Africa. Nobody knows exactly how many snake species live in the biodiversity hotspots of Western and Central Africa. While field guides abound that make mammals, birds, and even insects identifiable for residents, travelers, and scientists, half a continent's herpetological richness has remained shrouded in mystery. In a region where nearly 30,000 people die from snake bites every year, even dire medical necessity has been an insufficient inducement for researchers to take on the daunting task of assembling an authoritative list of extant species, let alone a full descriptive record to aid in identification, the essential first step to administering an effective antivenin. The reptiles of Central Africa, particularly, are the most poorly studied in the world, despite their crucial role in the survival of threatened ecosystems. With Snakes of Central and Western Africa, Jean-Philippe Chippaux and Kate Jackson have created a game changer. The result of years of field research and systematic study in the world's leading museums, this book compiles for the first time a comprehensive guide to the region's snakes. Covering a vast swath of the continent, ranging from Mauritania in the northwest to Rwanda in the east and Angola in the south, Chippaux and Jackson provide detailed accounts for the more than 200 species of snakes that inhabit the region. The first part of the book is devoted to the taxonomic characters used for identifying snakes. The authors deal with the evolution and biogeography of African snakes as well as epidemiological and clinical aspects of snakebite. The remaining chapters are organized phylogenetically, following the latest consensus on evolutionary patterns of major snake lineages in sub-Saharan Africa. Species identification is facilitated by simple and accessible dichotomous keys and detailed descriptions of morphological characteristics, complemented by numerous drawings, photos, and distribution maps. Invaluable information on taxonomy and natural history is also included. The book concludes with a comprehensive index and a list of nearly 600 references. Snakes of Central and Western Africa illuminates a previously little-known part of the natural world, provides vital information that could save many lives, and will make an excellent addition to any herpetology library.

This new field guide uses all of the plates from Birds of Western Africa, with a concise, authoritative text on facing pages, to create a conveniently-sized, lightweight field reference covering all 1285 species found in the region. The book also has an updated colour distribution map for each species, conveniently placed on interleaved pages within the colour plates. A number of new images have been painted for this new field guide and several of the plates have been replaced. This is the first comprehensive field guide to cover the birds of this exciting region, and will enable birders to identify any species found in any of the countries covered.

A major revision of the first comprehensive field guide to cover the birds of this exciting region, this book will enable birders to identify any species found in any of the countries covered. Birds of Western Africa (Helm, 2001) was the first single-volume guide to cover all the species of this region, which comprises 23 countries from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to Chad and the Central African Republic, and south to Congo. This updated edition uses all of the illustrations from Birds of Western Africa, along with a number of new paintings. The book also has updated colour distribution maps for each species placed on the text pages for the first time. On facing pages, concise, authoritative text aids identification to create a conveniently-sized, lightweight field reference covering all 1300 species found in the region. This handy guide will enable birders to identify any species found in any of the countries covered.

Birds of Senegal and The Gambia – the definitive field guide to the birds of this magical corner of West Africa – just got even better. This enhanced fixed-format version of the book – featuring songs and calls – is set to change birding, forever. Optimised for iPad, it features the book in crisp, clear high-resolution. Superb, fully zoomable colour plates of the highest detail lie opposite comprehensive identification text and accurate range maps. In addition, this e-book features songs, calls and other sounds from 630 species, placed conveniently next to the accompanying species text. The 1,050 sounds included on this e-book represent more than 95% coverage of species in the region. This epic collection of images and sounds represents a step change in the way birders operate. No more carrying heavy books into the field. No more trying to remember sounds days or weeks after the event, while all other methods for taking sounds into the field are consigned to the dustbin. This field guide can even be downloaded to your iPhone or iPod Touch. This e-book provides a complete field-based ID solution – no birder will want to be without it.