New African Titles

                                                                             
1) Ertel, Rainer Christian. Birds in Africa: An Introduction and Survey to the Birdlife of Africa. 2011. Fauna Verlag. Hardbound: 415 pages. Price: GBP 39.99 (about $62.96 U.S.).
SUMMARY: This is an English translation of the German book "Vogel in Afrika", which covers 1,300 species breeding or migrating in Africa. There is a colour photo and a distribution map included for most species, together with a short description of the bird's appearance, habitat, and song. This book was translated and revised by Nik Borrow. Species names are given in English, French, German. Scientific names are also given.
RECOMMENDATION: Might make a useful supplement to the standard field guides of Africa.

2) Oates, John F.. Primates of West Africa: A Field Guide and Natural History. 2011. Conservation International. Paperback: 556 pages. Price: GBP 34.99 (about $55.09 U.S.).

SUMMARY: West Africa, from the coast of Senegal to Lake Chad and Cameroon's Sanaga River, is home to 60 primate species and subspecies, 46 of which - more than three-quarters - occur nowhere else. They range from the nocturnal angwantibo, pottos, and galagos, to the mangabeys, baboons, and the drill, to an extraordinary diversity of guenons and colobus monkeys.
     In addition, no less the three of the great apes are restricted to this region, including two chimpanzees and the Cross River gorilla. The savannas and open woodlands in the north are home to baboons, vervets and patas monkey, but the main focus of this guide is the Guinean Forest, ranking high among the world's 35 Biodiversity Hotspots, the richest and most endangered of our planet's terrestrial systems. Forest loss, degradation and fragmentation, and widespread and intensive hunting for bushmeat mean that no less than 30 of the region's primates are now threatened.
     This comprehensive guide provides a brief introduction to the region, its topography, climate, vegetation, native peoples and history, and includes as well essays on the classification and evolutionary history of the region's primates, and a review of conservation activities and primate field research projects since the 1960's.
     The bulk of the book is dedicated to accounts for each primates species and subspecies, providing information not only on their identifying features and geographic distributions, but also on their natural history - their populations and habitats, locomotion, vocalizations, activity patterns, diets and feeding, ranging, and social behaviors.
     The guide is richly illustrated with full-color plates by Stephen D. Nash, distribution maps for every species and subspecies, and more than 140 color photographs of the primates and their habitats. An appendix describes key sites where these primates can be seen in the wild.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for those interested in the primates of Africa!