A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica
by Ann Haynes-Sutton, Audrey Downer, and Robert Sutton with is an updated version of the 1990 edition, Birds of Jamaica – A Photographic Guide.
This updated and comprehensive guide to Jamaican birds covers more than 300 species of birds including 25 endemic to Jamaica. There are some 650 photographs by Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet.
Jamaica boasts a wide variety of habitats for a relatively small country (a bit smaller than Connecticut). These diverse habitat types are discussed thoroughly in the introduction along with topics such as migration and conservation.
Sixteen (16) birding hotspots are also covered briefly to aid birders in mapping out good locations to find endemic and “target” birds.
The guide uses all color photographs with two or more shots for many species. The species accounts include detailed information on habitat and behavior (a must for finding and identifying birds) as well as text on voice, range, and status in Jamaica. Multi-colored range maps are also included.
Another cool feature to this guide is that the local bird name is included when it varies from the common name.
A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica is a beautiful guide and a must for any birder wanting to visit this Caribbean island. And who wouldn’t want to see the “Old Woman Bird”, the endemic Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo?
Want to go birding in Jamaica? You can win 4 nights stay for two at the Hotel Mocking Bird Hill, situated on 6.5 acres of prime birding. Included in this prize is also 1 full day of birding. Full details and to enter before March 29th, 2010.
Disclosure: we were given a copy of this wonderful book by the publisher to review. However, we were not persuaded to say or do anything other than give an honest review, which we have.