New Titles

1) Gallardo, Robert. Guide to the Birds of Honduras. 2015. Self-published. Flexicover: 555 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The first dedicated field guide to Honduras, featuring 1,000 illustrations on 73 color plates. The book also illustrates the majority of the migratory species. Along with the standard species accounts the book has a lengthy chapter 'Where to Find Birds in Honduras'. There are numerous Tables toward the end of the book, one of which has an extensive list of botanical names for nectar sources that hummingbirds utilize and each species of hummingbird observed for each flower. A unique feature is a large pull-out map approx. 16 x 25 in. One side illustrates a basic layout of ecosystems. The other side is labeled 'Important Bird Sites in Honduras which features over 200 points of interest throughout the country. These GPS-coded marker numbers are embedded in the text throughout most of the book and are all laid out in a separate Table. This layout means that all the numbers can be easily cross-referenced.
     This book covers over 98% of the birds of the surrounding countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize and Nicaragua; all countries where no book exists. 

RECOMMENDATION: A must have for anyone with an interest in the birds of Honduras, BUT I do wonder how the binding and light weight paper will hold up to field use?

2) Walker, Barry. Field Guide to the Birds of Machu Picchu and the Cusco Region. 2015.
Buteo Books and Lynx Edicions. Paperback: 243 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A comprehensive field guide that illustrates all the bird species recorded in Machu Picchu, including Cusco and Abra Malaga. Also includes a bird finding guide to the region. Color plates, a color map of the Sanctuary and a comprehensive introduction that deals with the biogeography and conservation, and a checklist.
     The extraordinary ruins of Machu Picchu, at an elevation above 2400 m, were among the most amazing creations of the Inca Empire at its height: its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem to have been cut out of continuous rock escarpments. This remote site lies on the eastern slope of the Andes on the upper reaches of the Amazon basin in a region exhibiting a rich diversity of flora and fauna. With the publication of this Field Guide to the Birds of Machu Picchu and the Cusco Region, visitors from all over the world can now appreciate and identify the birds of the mountains, valleys, and forests of this World Heritage Site.
    The Field Guide to the Birds of Machu Picchu and the Cusco Region is the result of a unique, three-continent collaboration between Barry Walker in Peru, Buteo Books in Virginia (USA), and Lynx Edicions in Barcelona. The text from previous versions of Barry Walker’s field guide has been completely rewritten and updated. Covering the nearly 500 species known to occur in the region, the individual species accounts provide details on habitat, behavior, localizations, and occurrence. The 165 color plates on pages facing the text are drawn from illustrations painted for the monumental Handbook of the Birds of the World. Additional illustrations by Martin Elliot of birds in flight and subspecies present in the Cusco Region were prepared specifically for this book. This is a field guide with all the essentials to identify the bird in the field, yet compact and light enough to fit in a pocket or carry on the Inca Trail. A section of the book contains a detailed guide to the best birding sites in the region and an annotated checklist, both of which will be of great value to the visiting birdwatcher.
     A native of England, Barry Walker has lived in Cusco, Peru for the past 30 years and with his wife Roario is the owner of Manu Expeditions Birding and Wildlife Tours. His knowledge of Peruvian birds is virtually unmatched; he has seen more than 1700 species in Peru alone. An invaluable aid to field identification, Barry's text provides key details on habitat, behavior, and vocalizations. A section describing the principal birding sites will prove essential to the visiting birder.  
    Ultimately, A Field Guide to the Birds of Machu Picchu and the Cusco Region combines the talents of an experience field ornithologist with illustrations by a number of the best bird artists in the world. Visitors from all over the world who travel to see the extraordinary ruins of Machu Picchu will now have a field guide to the magnificent birds inhabiting the region. 
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for anyone with an interest in the birds of the region.