Product Description

"Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands" is the first comprehensive guide to the bird life of a region that embraces Madagascar, the Seychelles group, and the Comoros and the Mascarenes (comprising Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues). Together, these magical islands and the warm waters of the surrounding ocean host a total of 359 regularly encountered species, many of them endemic to the area, and all of them fully described here in clear, concise text. The species entries, which are accompanied by up-to-date distribution maps, highlight identification features, preferred habitats, current status, and vocalization. Each species is beautifully illustrated to show plumage details. A special chapter discusses the practicalities of birding in the region's main locations. The plates, of which there are 71, have been superbly researched and executed by Norman Arlott, Hillary Burn, Peter Hayman and Ian Lewington - among the world's leading bird artists.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74052 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 184 pages

About the Author
Ian Sinclair is renowned for his extensive field experience and expertise in identifying birds. He has authored more than 15 highly successful bird books, among them Field Guide to Birds of Southern Africa (Struik, 1984) and Sasol Birds of Southern Africa (Struik, 3rd edition 2002), and is recognised as one of Africa's foremost bird authors and most experienced birders. Olivier Langrand was born and educated in France and South Africa. He spent 14 years conducting research in Madagascar, has travelled extensively, and is based in Gabon where he works for the WWF. Among his published works is the Guide to the Birds of Madagascar.

Customer Reviews

An ideal field guide for the birdwatcher new to this area
I bought this book prior to my visit to the Seychelles in October 1998, and found it an excellent field guide - even though the area covered is much larger than the Seychelles. The illustrations seem a little 'basic' at times, but were adequate for field IDs where there were no complications. The narrative, conveniently placed opposite the illustrations, is also adequate for confirming observations. For Madagascar, I would think this to be an excellent guide, although I cannot say this from experience.

Brilliant - a Model for Field Guides!
After I received my copy of this book, I was blown away by how good it is!
The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. The warblers in particular are so life-like they are looking straight into your eyes warily, seemingly ready to fly off the pages at any moment!
Editing is well done, with clear range maps and all the info you might need about the birds found on the pages right opposite the colour pages where each species is illustrated.
Before these species accounts, the book has an excellent chapter on birdwatching in the region, with detailed information on the key sites of every single country covered, even accompanied by good maps of every island worth visiting. Such a good combination of a field guide and a site guide is very rare indeed.
All in all: perfect!
Whether you are thinking of visiting several or only one of the the countries covered here, this is THE book to take.

Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands
Having lived in both Madagascar and Mauritius and also visited The Seychelles and La Reunion , I can thoroughly recommend this guide. The guide is particularly useful in Madagascar as it shows the area the birds are to be found.It was always with me on my birding expeditions.