The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide (Zona Tropical Publications)
$18.81
Pros
- good size
- good descriptions and illustration graphs
- useful color coded zone maps
Cons
- many rarities do not have corresponding illustration
- organization by bird type is not always accurate taxonomically
Book Review: The Birds Of Costa Rica: A Field Guide
December 27, 2015
“Simply put, you want The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide if you’re birding in Costa Rica. It’s the best field guide available.”
Publisher’s Description:
This is the one compact, portable, and user-friendly field guide the novice or experienced birder needs to identify birds in the field in the diverse habitats found in Costa Rica. It features descriptions and illustrations of all 903 species definitely known from Costa Rica, including pelagics and species regular to Cocos Island. Fifty-six of these species are placed in a “Rarities” section that includes accidentals, rarer pelagics, and species that have not been reported in more than twenty years.
The detailed full-color illustrations show identifying features―including plumage differences among males, females, and juveniles―and views of birds in flight wherever pertinent.Robert Dean has supplied more than 360 new illustrations, including sixty-four species that are illustrated for the first time in this edition. These include recent additions to the country list, pelagic species, Cocos Island species, and all accidentals recorded from the Costa Rican mainland. Range maps and nomenclature have been updated for this edition, which also has a new user-friendly organizational scheme and an alphabetical quick-find index of groups on the inside back cover.