Opening a new bird book is always an exciting prospect. There is always an anticipation of new id pointers to be gained, new illustrations to be appreciated and taxonomy updates to understand. It was with this anticipation that I opened my copy of Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka by Norman Arlott. I was already frustrated with this book as the delivery was 3 months late due to issues with the supplier. I had placed my order on 6th October 2014 and I received it on the 7th of January 2015. I genuinely hoped that the book would be worth the wait.
The author is a renowned bird artist and has illustrated field guides to birds of North America, West Indies and East Africa in addition to preparing illustrated checklists for Europe and Russia.
I got the hardcover version, which is nicely compact and has an image of the Malabar Barbet on the cover. The author states that his brief was to produce an illustrated checklist and not an ultimate field guide which was a bit disappointing as I expected a full field guide. He has also clarified that he has not illustrated juvenile plumages in order to ‘keep the book to manageable size’. I wish birding in real life would involve only adult individuals.
The description for each species includes short behavioral notes, description of juvenile plumage, call, habitat and distribution. No pointers for separation between similar species have been stated, which will prove troublesome for beginners. Species such as eagles, accipiters, waders, Phylloscopus and Acrocephalus warblers, pipits and larks require specific id pointers which are not apparent by looking at illustrations, especially to beginners.
The illustrations do not include flight profiles for species such as ducks, geese, cranes, waders, terns and gulls. This may be confusing for identifying overflying birds in wetlands. The lack of juvenile plumages means that members of the Accipiteridae family in particular will be a nightmare to identify. Phylloscopus plates have no illustrations for worn plumages in which they are seen especially in winters. The Blyth’s and Blue-eared Kingfisher plates look pretty much the same, just with a different coloured beak. The illustrations are not as good as the ones from Grimmett et al. However this is a personal opinion.
A big aggravation in Grimmett et al (1999) was that the distribution map for a particular species was not on the same page as the page. The author seems to have ignored that as all distribution maps are at the end of the book which is annoying for me. There are no maps for vagrant species as well as for pelagic which is irritating. Some maps are downright hilarious. There is no distribution of White-bellied Heron in Bhutan or Eastern Imperial Eagle in NW India. Many such mistakes abound. Map for the Red-backed Shrike is absent even though it is a passage migrant. The European Roller is shown from just two locations in India. There is no distribution shown in the map for the southern race of the Mountain Hawk Eagle (N.n.keelarti) even though the text mentions it. Such mistakes spoil the quality of the book.
New records of Godlewski’s Bunting, Derbyan Parakeet, Elliot’s Laughingthrush, Black-headed Greenfinch and Black-browed Tit have been illustrated although they have been mentioned as doubtful and have no maps. Yunnan Nuthatch and Mugimaki Flycatcher, however, haven’t been mentioned at all.
Pet peeves with both this book and Grimmett et al include no distribution of the Common Buzzard and Eurasian Sparrowhawk in Maharashtra. This needs to be rectified ASAP.
Overall I would not recommend this book for anyone seriously interested in birding. It has too many flaws as the author has skipped a lot of important stuff to keep the book compact. Kasmierczak (2000) and Grimmett el al (2011) are much better overall, even with their flaws.
This book is available at Flipkart http://www.flipkart.com/birds-india-collins-field-guide-english/p/itmdwyf8jtdnghht?pid=9780007429554&otracker=from-search&srno=t_11&query=birds&ref=67b27b2d-3c67-4681-ac75-134d256c6fdf
Amazon http://www.amazon.in/Birds-India-Collins-Field-Guide/dp/000742955X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420710743&sr=1-1
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