Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America: The Passerines [Paperback]

Basics: softcover, 1,981 species described, 1,500+ species illustrated in 121 excellent color plates, detailed and customized range maps for 1,800+ species, paragraph of text focuses on description, identification, voice, and distribution

It was hard to put this book down after receiving it in the mail. It's an impressive merger of the authors' two prior books into a single volume of plates and identification material. The size and weight of this book is well above the limits for a "field guide" and the layout of the material does not lend itself to quick field use. However, that will not prevent me from taking it with me on my next trip - especially if multiple regions are involved.

The 121 plates - taken from the prior books along with another 500+ new illustrations - are superbly done. Plumage variations are shown for the more distinct races and usually for the gender differences. Of the 1,981 birds described in the text, just over 1,500 are illustrated in the plates. And, about 1,800 are accompanied with a range map. These maps include country and state boundaries along with major rivers, which help to bring greater detail to the birds' ranges. These maps also display migrational movements with a nice touch of using two different colors to denote if the bird is austral or boreal in origin.

As noted above, not all species are illustrated, which means you will still need a regional guide for the other 500 or so birds. As a bit of irony, I had to chuckle at the Elusive Antpitta. Antpittas are notorious enough for being hard to find in the field. Well, within this book the Elusive Antpitta goes one step further - it's not illustrated, making it even more elusive. That's just not fair. Also, of the 40 species of the smaller tapaculos, only 18 are shown in the plates, although a map is supplied for each. I guess that is in keeping with their frustrating skill at remaining hidden, too.

A few other quirks with the plates are particular missing species or plumages. For example, only the female of the One-colored Becard is shown while only the male of the Cinereous Becard is included. Other more common species such as the Scaly-throated Foliage-Gleaner is not illustrated while some rarer birds like the Cherry-throated Tanager is. Also, the numbering of the birds is sometimes jumbled on the plate, making you search around for "#6". But, these notes are trivial in comparison to the massive amount of excellent work that is present.

Regarding the layout of the book, the plates and maps are together in the beginning third of the book. Each bird's map is on the left while the plate is on the right. Many of the birds with smaller ranges are combined onto one map. There is zero text with these plates other than the English and scientific names. The text that goes with these birds creates the last two-thirds of the book.

The text for each bird consists of a single paragraph that focuses almost entirely on description, identification, similar species, and behavioral notes that can aid with identification. Additional notes are given for distribution, habitat, and voice. The information offers excellent detail and accounts for the racial variations across the bird's range.

This book is probably good enough to cause many birders to buy two; but, for nefarious reasons. That is to cut up the second copy and to spiral-bind the plates/maps together into a smaller, more portable book. Now, I'm eagerly awaiting the future volume on non-passerines. -- (written by Jack, shown with sample pages at Avian Review, July 2009)

I've listed several related books below...
1) Birds of South America: Non-Passerines: Rheas to Woodpeckers by Erize/Mata/Rumboll, 2006
2) Birds of South America: Vol. 1 Oscine Passerines by Ridgely/Guy, 1989
3) Birds of South America: Vol. II Suboscine Passerines by Ridgely/Guy, 1994
4) A Guide to the Birds of South America by de Schauensee, 1970
5) South American Land Birds: A Photographic Aid to Identification by Dunning, 1987
6) Species of Birds of South America, The by de Schauensee, 1966

I am mostly pleased about this new addition to SA birding. It is set up in a very easy to use fashion. However, I am disappointed that the bird names are not larger. This makes it a bit hard to read. Also, I am very surprised that not all species are shown. Again, a few dozen are not shown. They tend to be species with smaller populations, limited range, or found in Central America. But if you are going to publish an excellent book such as this, why not go the extra little bit.

I recently traveled to Brazil for a conference and some birding-oriented travel, and waffled between purchasing this book (accompanied by Erize et al.'s non-passerine Birds of South America) or the single-volume Birds of Brazil by Ber van Perlo. At the advice of a few birder friends who had recently spent time in Brazil, I chose Ridgely and Tudor - and I am so glad that I did! Most other people I birded with had van Perlo's book, so I was able to compare the plates side-by-side. Ridgely and Tudor was superior, often by orders of magnitude, in every single case - better, more accurate drawings; more accurate color rendition; more updated and precise range information; and more in-depth natural-history descriptions. This is the book to buy, no doubt about it!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 11 reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars