Book Review Birds of East Africa;
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi
By Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe – (2002)
609 pages; matt art paper, with 287 colour plates of 3400 illustrations, 15 monochrome technical drawings and 4 main maps.
Soft Cover: 21.5cm x 14cm.
ISBN: 978-0-691-12665-4
Princeton University Press New Jersey
Eastern Africa like other areas of that huge continent is very rich in the biodiversity of its fauna and flora and the bird life is no exception. This book beautifully illustrates and brings to life the diversity of the 1388 species known to the five countries covered. Among the 3400 colour illustrations, variation of the adults and juveniles are excellently depicted.
The species are listed under a common group name such as ‘Sandpipers’, with a brief description and introduction for each group. Each species has its local common name, scientific name and a single height measurement given in both centimeters and inches followed by any other common names if known. A reasonably detailed physical description of adults and juveniles with good notes on habits and habitat are also provided followed by descriptions of voice calls.
This book is very useful and is an essential reference to the birds of the area and indeed to an overall study of the continents bird fauna. Further, as do other books, it helps to fill the literature gaps for those whom may have a special liking for and or studying a particular group of widely distributed birds such as shrikes, sun birds, turacos, white eyes, wood peckers, hornbills etc. It supplies information on some of the regions nature and bird organizations and conservation issues and finally has some large maps in the back indicating the prime 182 birding locations of the region.
This book is definitely worth buying, the detail of species distribution is however restricted to the five countries included as part of the study area. There is no reference of distribution other than a small white map of that area (greatly enlarged with more detail at the front and back of the book) opposite each species with the approximate area of distribution colour shaded red within each map. Although this book deals with a specific area, it is unhelpful that some further, even if not very brief notes on distributional range not be included. However, publishers of books are always worrying about space constraints and no doubt this has been one their measures to keep the book as economical as possible while still maintaining a very useable quality.
Rod Rice
Principal Reviewer
Nature & Travel Books