Birds of Costa Rica (Helm Field Guides)

Product Information

This is a particular study area for Steve Howell and Dale Dyer, and in an appendix, they outline the potential splits to look out for.

In total 834 species are illustrated, so there are around five per plate facing a page of text and maps. It features descriptions and illustrations of more than 820 resident and neotropical migrant species found in Costa Rica, all in a compact, portable, user-friendly design. This updated second edition features 903 species in total, including 64 that are illustrated here for the first time. Robert Dean has supplied more than 360 new illustrations, including sixty-four species that are illustrated for the first time in this edition.Geoff Carpentier, North Durham Nature "An exemplary field guide and a rich source of information on Costa Rican birds. The text and maps have been fully updated to ensure that this guide is the definitive field guide for anyone visiting Costa Rica. Unfortunately these do not indicate whether a species is a resident or migrant, but this is a considerable advance on Stiles and Skutch which had no maps and gave range descriptions which required a good knowledge of the country. For most species that you find in a country barely 9 degrees from the equator, this is of no great concern, but seasonal migrants from both north and south are indicated only in the text. Ever since Helm published A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica in 1989 the stream of birders heading to Costa Rica has been steady.

Having travelled throughout the world and accumulated a vast image library, he now enjoys passing on the wealth of information he has acquired. It will give you everything you need to help you identify the many new species you’re about to see during your trip to Costa Rica. I am a little disappointed as I have just gone to wrap this as it is a gift to find that it is quite damaged .All in all, I found this to be an extremely good book and for somewhere short of 20 quid, you are really getting value for money. The discussion of taxonomic uncertainty and the reasoning behind species labels is forthright and provides readers with a candid understanding of how decisions were made.

Graced with bounteous natural beauty Costa Rica has become a popular destination for travelers from all over the world. This is a good and brand new (May 2023) field guide but not necessarily superior to the older (2014) book by other authors that we also recommend for Costa Rica at our “ recommended field guides blog”.Costa Rica is among the most popular birding destinations in the world, with a breathtaking diversity of neotropical birdlife and stunningly beautiful habitats ranging from shady mangrove swamps to mist-enshrouded mountaintops and verdant rainforests. As well as the commoner species likely to be encountered - colourful birds such as the Blue-grey Tanager, Social Flycatcher, Kiskadee, Clay-coloured Robin and Rufous-collared Sparrow - the guide also focuses on endemics, such as Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager, and endangered species, such as the Bare-necked Umbrellabird and Three-wattled Bellbird. Like most field guides, Birds of Costa Rica (2023) opens with a section detailing how to use the book. I liked this book because the layout is better than the other book but in practice sometimes the ID descriptions could be more detailed so it is useful to have the other book around somewhere as standby.

Our friend (and guide) had an old stiles and schutch (Probable mis-spelling of authors) bird guide which has been a bible for most but knew of this book. For the nature lover fortunate enough to vacation in Costa Rica―and for all lovers of beautiful birds―comes this up-to-date, comprehensive field guide to the native and migrant birds to be found in that country.

This is exactly the focus of The Birds of Costa Rica ―to assist with identification in the field―and the book succeeds admirably. It is certainly the best book to use for any bird tours to Costa Rica, compact and generally accurate and I recommend it to all of our clients. For the nature lover fortunate enough to vacation in Costa Rica – and for all lovers of beautiful birds – comes this up-to-date, comprehensive field guide to the native and migrant birds to be found in that country. There are no written names or inscriptions in the book, but there are 2 circular embossed previous private ownership stamps (the same owner) at the very beginning of the volume: in the bottom right-hand corner of the half title and title pages.