You may find second hand copies of Van Perlo's illustrated checklist to the region. Easily slipped in to a pocket this is a good guide but Borrow & Demey will be needed to sort out the trickier species.
Many birdwatchers are not only interested in birds, so we have added the most useful books for other taxa where possible. Clicking on a link will take you to our partner, Wildsounds, one of the largest specialist UK mail-order companies. The prices here are a guide price and Wildsounds may be able to offer a better deal.
*** Wildsounds donates 5% of each order generated via these links to the ABC Conservation Fund. Please order here, get a good price and support ABC! ***
Field Guides | Avifaunas and Monographs | Bird Sounds | Mammals | Other taxa - Sounds |
Field Guides
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Birds of Western Africa |
If you're visiting West Africa then this is the book for you! The softback is much more portable than the hardback version and is ideal to take with you in the field. If you're just visiting Senegal or The Gambia, consider the Barlow et al. guide as it is as good for those countries. This edition has updated colour distribution maps and some new images. Covers all 1285 species found in the region. 512 pages. |
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Birds of Western Africa |
142 plates depicting over 1280 species in 2800 individual figures. Covers Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Rio Muni (Equatorial Guinea), Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, part of Mauritania and the islands of Sao Tome, Principe and Bioko (Fernando Po). All the species described are illustrated in colour apart from a few vagrants, which are depicted in black and white in the text. Distribution maps are provided for the majority of species (except vagrants). 832 pages. What more can one say? The biggest choice you will have to make is to go for this very detailed, but large and heavy, hardback version or the more portable softback version. ABC's advice is to go for both but to leave the hardback one in the car or back at the hotel and take the paperback in the field! |
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A complete illustrated field guide to the Birds of Africa south of the Sahara |
This is the first book to describe and illustrate all of the birds found in Africa south of the Sahara, including Socotra. It excludes Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles. The guide covers nearly 2100 species, and has 3000 images on 340 plates. The paintings portray most distinctive plumages, as well as diagnostic flight patterns and other details. It is compact enough to use in the field, and follows the standard field guide format, with texts and maps appearing opposite the colour plates. Many new species are described and illustrated for the first time. The text is formatted to give precise identification features, habitat, status and calls. The distribution maps are the first to show accurately the species distribution in sub-Saharan Africa and have combined all the latest atlas surveys. Also available with a durable PVC cover, this guide will be an indispensible part of any African birder's field equipment. 712 pages. |
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Raptors of the World: A Field Guide |
This new field guide uses all of the plates from the Helm ID Guide Raptors of the World, with concise, revised text on facing pages, to create a conveniently-sized, lightweight field reference covering all 330 raptor species. Several of the plates have been reworked and repainted for this field guide. The book also has an updated colour distribution map for each species. 320 pages. |
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Birds of Prey of Africa |
Single group guides have often been restricted to world-wide distribution and it is nice to see one devoted to Africa. This guide is excellent and well worth having to identify raptors, many of which are tricky to identify at the best of times! This guide covers the identification, distribution & behaviour of over 100 species of diurnal raptor and 40-plus species of owl. 220 colour photos. 500 colour paintings. 347 pages. |
Avifaunas and Monographs
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The Birds of Nigeria |
BOU checklist 4. Second edition 1994. Introductory chapters cover the history of Nigerian ornithology, geography, geology, climate and vegetation. Other chapters cover migration, breeding, and co-operative / parasitic breeding, and there are appendices of ringing recoveries, references, English and scientific names. The bulk of the book comprises the Systematic list, which includes every species reliably recorded in Nigeria. As with all BOU checklists a wealth of material written by experts on the country. 306 pages. |
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Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands |
This book is great. Need to know something about important sites in Africa? This book should be your first port of call and is ideal for background reading or planning a trip. This is the first regional analysis of its kind for the African continent including Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands, giving a clear understanding of the conservation status of the most significant sites for birds in Africa. 1144 pages. |
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Robins of Africa |
A nice coffee table book. Full of information about this fascinating and attractive group. |
Bird Sounds
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African Bird Sounds |
Out of a total of 1550 regular species in the area, 1466 are presented (95% of the total) on 15 CDs. Of these 1550 species, 150 are only found north of the Sahara, 275 (migrating and overwintering species) north and south of the Sahara and 1125 in the south only. Expensive but extremely good coverage. |
Mammals
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Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals |
New pocket identification guide to all African land mammals by one of the world's leading naturalists. It is an adaptation of the original Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. The greatly condensed text focuses on essential information such as identification and distribution, while the author's superb illustrations have been rearranged into an easy-to-use plate format and placed opposite the text. Complex and more obscure groups like the bats and certain rodent families are summarised by genera. 272 pages. |
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Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals |
All 1150 known species of African land mammals are covered in precise text with over 480 colour pictures and 280 maps covering 460 mammals or species groups. 494 pages. |
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The Larger Mammals of Africa (Revised Edition) |
Struik Field Guide. 400 colour photos. Includes distribution maps, an extensive discussion on the description, distribution, status, habitat, behaviour, food and reproduction habits of the species as well as a succinct summary. 320 pages. |
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African Predators |
Author Mills and wildlife photographer Harvey combine their talents and their knowledge of the large African carnivores to tell the story of their existence. Mills brings many years of study and practical research in revealing the origins, the present struggle for survival and the uncertain future of Africa's predatory mammals. His examination of their behaviour, social make-up, relations and interactions is supported by Harvey's superb and dramatic photography. 160 pages. |
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Collins Field Guide to Mammals of Africa |
Available from March 2009. The most up-to-date field guide to the mammals of Africa, a continent that includes about 25% of the world's mammals. This field guide includes all the species people most want to see when on safari and contains some 50 colour plates depicting almost all of Africa's 1150 plus species. For many species the female or juvenile is shown in addition to the adult male. Identifiable races or colour forms have also been included, as have the spores or tracks of key species. Informative notes on each species are placed opposite the illustrations and text describes the key identification features, the usual habits and habitat of the species and its global conservation status. In addition there are over 1000 distribution maps, information on geography, climate, conservation, finding and observing wildlife and a section on the continent's finest national parks. 304 pages. |
Other taxa - Sounds
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Animal Calls of Africa |
40 mammals and 9 conspicuous birds. 34 min. |
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