Subject: [Tweeters] Birds of West Indies (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic...)
Date: Sat Aug 17 09:50:31 PDT 2019
From: Paul Bannick - paul.bannick at gmail.com

Hi Tweeters,



"Birds of the West Indies" (Lynx and BirdLife International)

Finally there is high-quality, up-to-date, easily carried book to the birds
of the West Indies (Puerto Rico, Hispanola, Cuba, Jamacia….). This book is
co-authored by our own Mark Oberle plus Anthony Levesque, Guy Kirwan, and
Christopher Sharpe; knowledgeable experts who live or have lived and birded
extensively in these areas.



They did a fantastic job of creating a single book that can serve the needs
of birders planning a trip as well as one to bring along for the adventure.

The illustrations are very good and the organization is helpful and
straightforward.



Other strengths include:



o Subspecies are treated in detail in the text and plates for the first
time since Biaggi's Puerto Rico book half a century ago.



o Time ranges of occurrence of rarities are provided and can inform
expectations for listers.



o The range maps are on the same page as the illustrations.



o The island by island checklist in the appendix updates the list in
Raffaele's book 2 decades ago.



o A separate checklist you can order on line with a code from the book is
helpful for traveling birders but it does not independently state that
because it is for travelers it omits accidentals.



There might be some objections to some birds being split into subspecies
before they are universally accepted as such, but I enjoy seeing the
variations and always take subspecies suggestions with a large grain of
salt.



Some might be scared off by the price, which did take me by surprise, but
if you are going to travel that far and need one book that does not weigh
down your luggage, it is well worth it.



I highly recommend this book for those considering traveling anywhere in
the West Indies.



Paul
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