John Harrison has had a lifelong interest in wildlife, and birds in particular. In 1973 he was appointed as a radio producer in the BBC Natural History Unit; during the 18 years he was there, he worked with most of the top naturalists and ornithologists in Britain. As a birdwatcher and wildlife enthusiast, he has made many visits to Sri Lanka over a number of years, and has a first-hand knowledge of the Sri Lankan avifauna. He is now the voluntary warden of a 70 ha wetland nature reserve for the Avon Wildlife Trust.Tim Worfolk is a full-time wildlife artist with several publications to his credit.

• BACKGROUND ; FAMILY AND SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS ; APPENDIX: LIST OF OTHER REPORTED BUT UNCONFIRMED VAGRANTS ; BIBLIOGRAPHY ; INDEX

Despite the small format the book comprehensively covers all confirmed and many more species found including rare winter guests and other birds that mistakenly find their way. [] it is an excellent field guide that greatly contributes to the ornithological research of the island state. Author and artist managed to depict and characterize all existing species in full colour and mostly superb pictures. With Birds of Sri Lanka local ornithologists and ornithology tourists finally have a handy field guide that fits into every backpack, fully satisfies experts, and meets international standards. - Highly recommendable!