A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America

I will be brief - I find this to be the best field guide to the birds of any neotropical region currently available, and I pretty much have studied them all on depth! The only guides that come close to this level of usefulness are Hilty's Columbia field guide and the new Ridgely/Greenfield Ecuador 2 volume set. This book has excellent, seasonally specific range maps, and illustrates many plumage variations. I am astonished to read other reviews in which this book is considered cumbersome, because all too often smaller, lighter books sacrifice completness of information and thoroughness, which compromises their usefulness. True, it's a hefty volume, but it treats a complex avifauna without sacrificing necessary information. The other criticism I was surprised by was that the pictures were too "cartoonlike"; I have found these plates to be some of the most useful in the field, for they emphasize key characteristics with clarity. In the field, simplicity is far more practical than overly-detailed artwork which may be more lifelike, but blurs the differences between species. Anyway, praise for Howell! May this volume set an example for future field guides throughout Latin America!

After reading this guide almost cover to cover, and field testing it in several locations in the guide area, I believe that this may very well be the best bird guide that has ever been written for a geographical area. The book is quite large (23.3 x 14.3 x 4.4 cm) and heavy (about 3 lbs), with 71 color plates sandwiched between over 850 pages of text. In spite of it being a bit cumbersome in the field, it is an essential resource that should always be close at hand when studying birds of this region.The introduction is a lengthy 90 pages that includes a wealth of information such as geography, climate, ornithological history, conservation efforts per country, taxonomy, and an excellent outline of the species accounts which includes a bird topography page and a glossary for looking up words like heterodactyl or vermiculations. It can not be overstated that all of this is worth reading for a greater understanding of the species' descriptions.The species accounts are packed with information and written in a easily accessed style. The accounts are taxonomically organized and preceding every taxonomic order, family and large genus is an introduction concerning their identification and habits. Every species is named by its American name, latin name, and its Spanish name. I have found the Spanish names to be almost worthless since they are so regional, but I am glad to see that Howell has made an attempt at standardizing them. All the species identification pieces are well written with sexual and age differences given lots of space. I particularly like the voice sections where he writes out in letters how he hears the songs and calls. There are some songs and calls of resident birds that he has omitted, but it would take up too much space to include all the calls. And, of course, there are many calls that he has written that I hear differently which is to be expected when dealing with sounds. The habitat and habits section informs as to where one is likely to find a certain species and to what it might be doing. Nidification is also covered in this section. The similar species section is excellent for differentiating between look-alikes. And the status and distribution section tells you how rare or common a species is in the geographical areas it inhabits. Elevational limits are also given here. This section is aided greatly by the superb range maps which accompany most species. They delimit summer and winter ranges as well as showing migratory pathways. Vagrants and isolated breeding colony locations are shown with an asterisk or dot respectively. The notes section at the end gives overall ranges and may inform of a name or taxonomic change that Howell made that was not recognized by the AOU at the time of printing. The 71 plates were all expertly drawn by Sophie Webb illustrating mainly the species that occur in the guide region, but not in the U.S. There are several North American species incl

When I first received this book, I was overwhelmed by its size and weight - it is bigger than the typical field guide. However, after using it for one week in Mexico I was won over. It contains a wealth of useful well-organized info, about each species, plus plates and drawings which are both beautiful and carefully accurate. I found myself reading in it extensively nearly every evening, just for pleasure. Helpful tip: supplement it with a standard North American field guide. Common NA species which occur in Mexico and Central America are not always pictured in plates or drawings, though they are clearly described.

From the moment I bought this book, I became captivated with simply looking at it's pictures. It's amazing! The diversity and beauty of Mexican birds is unbelievable, and Steve Howell and Sophie Webb do an excellent job of portraying the reality of Mexican birds. It's by far, the best guide out there (heads and tails above the Peterson guide to Mexican birds) for the region. If you're going south of the border or just want to drool over God's creation, this is the book to look at.