The thrill of arriving in a new and vastly different geographical area from your home to search for birds is one of the most invigorating desires of birders. It isn’t so much that their “home turf” is boring, but that the mere idea of nearly every possible bird seen being brand new and often wildly exotic is impossible to ignore.
National Geographic’s Global Birding: Traveling the World in Search of Birds
An introductory chapter covers “The Geography of Birds” which examines the most bird-rich areas as well as explain why certain places have more bird diversity than others. Les explains what endemic birds are and the allure of searching for them.
Endemics aren’t necessarily difficult to find (although many colossally are) but often have limited geographic ranges (many found on islands) and the only way you’ll find them is by traveling to faraway places (they aren’t migratory).
After the introductory chapters whet your global birding appetite, Global Birding
- Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies
- South America and Antarctica
- Europe and the Middle East
- Africa
- Asia
- Australasia and the Tropical Pacific
Each region is broken further down into sub-regions and covers significant bird groups you are likely to encounter. Some of the top, must-see species are showcased with jaw-dropping color photographs. There are also “Significant Species” sections that list some of the coolest birds of each sub-region that you most definitely will want to look for.
Mixed throughout each region are sidebars with info covering birding and conservation organizations as well as field guides and other useful books. Pearson’s narratives are sprinkled throughout and recount trips he’s taken to find some spectacular birds.
Global Birding: Traveling the World in Search of Birds
Disclaimer: We were given this book for free from the publisher to provide a review.
Looks nice. I’d love to check it out.