Birdbooker Report 273

Books to the ceiling,

Books to the sky,

My pile of books is a mile high.

How I love them! How I need them!

I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.

~ Arnold Lobel [1933-1987] author of many popular children’s books.

Compiled by Ian “Birdbooker” Paulsen, the Birdbooker Report is a weekly report that has been published online for years, listing the wide variety of nature, natural history, ecology, animal behaviour, science and history books that have been newly released or republished in North America and in the UK.

Six books made the Birdbooker list and one was “A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Cayman Islands”.

This what Birdbooker says:

Bradley, Patricia E. and Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Cayman Islands. 2013. Helm. Paperback: 288 pages. Price: $40.00 U.S./£25.00. [Guardian Bookshop; Amazon UK; Amazon US].

SUMMARY: With a rich avifauna of more than 300 species, the three islands that make up the Cayman Islands — Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac — form an increasingly popular birding destination. Although the islands’ sole endemic species, Cayman Islands Thrush, was extinct by the 1940s, the islands have a healthy crop of regional scarcities and are an important migrant stopping point as they cross the Caribbean.

Containing hundreds of stunning photographs by Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet, A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Cayman Islands, the latest addition to Helm’s Photographic Guides series, provides full photographic coverage of every species on the Cayman Islands list. Concise text for each species includes identification, similar species, voice, habitats and behaviour, status and distribution.

This guide is an essential companion for anyone visiting these beautiful islands.

IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: Birders to these islands will find this book useful.

To read the whole Birdbooker report go to:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/grrlscientist/2013/jun/09/1

The latest review of the book found on Amazon.com that received 4 stars out of 5 by K.F Betton says:

About 250 species have been recorded from the Cayman Islands (which are located just south of Cuba), although only 50 of these breed – all but three of them being resident. A short trip to the three islands (Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac) over a four day period will possibly only result in you seeing around 70 species, but there are several interesting targets. The islands’ only endemic species is the resident Vitelline Warbler, which is close in taxonomy and looks to the Prairie Warbler which is present as a migrant present from August to May. Other targets for many are the Cuban Bullfinch and Cuban Parrot, which are potential future splits from the birds found on Cuba.

The authors produced a previous photographic guide to the birds of the islands in 1985 (Birds of the Cayman Islands, privately published) but this new work provides photographs and details of 193 species. These are mostly residents and regular visitors although a few rare migrants are included. A further 47 species are mentioned briefly as they are rare vagrants for which there are few records. A concise text of around 150 words is given for each species and covers identification, voice, habitats, confusion species, status and distribution. No maps are included – even for resident species. In most cases two good quality photographs are given for each species, but there are often more – primarily by Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet. There is a very useful section on places to visit, giving brief details together with maps of each island and an explanation of habitats. This is a useful guide and is a huge improvement on the previous book.