Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!mintaka!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!news.funet.fi!ra!misan From: misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Field guides for Mexico? Message-ID: Date: 12 Dec 90 10:53:49 GMT References: <1381@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au> Sender: misan@ra.abo.fi Organization: Abo Academy, Finland Lines: 46 In-reply-to: U2414008@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au's message of 11 Dec 90 22:23:14 GMT In article <1381@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au> U2414008@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au writes: > I am going to Mexico, Belize and Guatemala in January and I need some recommen- > dations for a good field guide. I have one (can't remember the author) but the > pictures don't look all that good and are grouped all together, separate from > the description pages. Can anyone suggest a good book for this area, preferably > one with the pictures and descriptions on adjacent pages? Also, if anyone has > suggestions for good bird-watching spots, or what I am likely to see in general > at that time of year, it would be much appreciated. In Mexico, I am going to > Oaxaca and then around the Yucatan peninsula; in Belize, to San Ignacio and > that area; and in Guatemala, to Tikal. > Thanks in advance for any advice. I suppose the one you have is by Peterson. As far as I know there aren't any really good ones. There is a newly revised book 'A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico' by Ernest P. Edwards. I think I have this book and I wasn't very impressed. It is however rather thin and light to carry and it should (according to ads) depict more than 870 Mexican species, 350 more than any other field guide. So I'd say it's probably a good complement to Peterson. There is also a new edition of Peterson (1989) in spanish with 39 plates. You will probably need a US-guide as well, maybe the NGS guide. There is a 1989 edition of the Peterson guide but I don't know whether any changes have been made to it. Ernest P. Edwards has also written a site-finding guide 'Finding Birds in Mexico' with 1985 supplement. A Checklist for the Birds of Belize is also available. ABA Sales has these items on their list, but I think it is too late to order them to Australia. You'll probably have to find a really good bookstore in California to find books on birds outside the US, but Mexico should be among the easiest countries. You could get some tripreports from Steve Whitehouse, 5 Stanway Close, Blackpole, Worcester WR4 9XL, UK. But there isn't time to send those to Australia, you'd have to give an adress in California. In case you really wish to try that his phonenumber is (0905) 54541. > PS Being in Australia, it is not easy to get field guides for other countries, I also always have these problems. It may take half a year to gather the material for a foreign trip. Annika Forsten, Finland misan@ra.abo.fi