Birds of Ecuador

Many of us can only long to travel to exotic birding places in South America,... but Ridgely and Greenfield live the dream and generously share it with us through their exquisite writings and paintings.... In summary, this is a thorough and thoughtful production that not only provides useful and complete information, but does so in a user-friendly manner.... The decades-long wait for these volumes has been worth it!- Birders Journal The Birds of Ecuador comprehensively treats the nearly 1600 species of birds that can be found in mainland Ecuador. The authors describe Ecuador this way: "One of the wonders of the natural world. Nowhere else is such incredible avian diversity crammed into such a small country.... Birds are, happily, numerous in many parts of Ecuador: even the downtown parks of the big cities such as Quito and Guayaquil host their complement." Volume I, Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy, contains: detailed information on the ecology, status, and distribution of all speciesintroductory chapters deal with geography, climate, and vegetationbird migration in EcuadorEcuadorian ornithologyendemic bird areas in Ecuadorand conservation Individual species accounts treat habitat, distribution, and taxonomy. Volume II, Field Guide, contains: 96 full-color plates and facing pages of descriptive texta color map of Ecuador2 line drawings of bird anatomy115 silhouette outlinesand nearly 1600 distribution maps All species are illustrated in full color, including migrants and vagrants and visually distinctive subspecies. The text focuses on the field identification aspects of each species, including their behavior, vocalizations, and nest appearance. The two volumes are available separately or may be purchased as a slipcased set.