Birds of Western Ecuador – a photographic guide by Nick Athanas and Paul j Greenfield

Published by Princeton university press paperback

Pages 448 Price £34.95 ISBN 9781400880706

Just to pick up this book is amazing in the fact that 946 species are represented in the book with 1500 colour photos to help you identify the species! There are pictures showing habitat and the descriptions of habitat and even elevation zones and you are still talking about only the western side of the country! It is a country on many a birder’s wish list but even then, you can see birds in the book that you have seen in USA making the point to protect species often needs to be a joint effect between nations. There are maps of distribution but how effective they are could only be gauged by someone there in the field as they do look small and that’s where habitat preference and elevation really comes into it for the species seen. The quality of the pictures is impressive and even in English the book must be useful to locals as the pictures speak for themselves. I am envious of the folk that have seen all these!