Birds of India ─ Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives

The second edition of the standard contemporary English-language field guide to the birds of the Indian subcontinent, this book has been updated with many new images and a structural change that puts the relevant text and range maps opposite the image of each bird. Most birders will find the new edition easier to use. The book now follows the general format of Peterson guides, and it uses a similar visual style, making it very comfortable for US birders. Though many artists have participated in making the images (each bird species and most local variants are fully illustrated), the quality of the art is uniformly high and superior to photographs for identification purposes. The text and maps are easy to read and the information on each species is extensive, within the limits of a general birding field guide. The editors are independent wildlife consultants Tim and Carol Inskipp, and Richard Grimmett, who is head of conservation at BirdLife International. The book is the size of a Peterson guide: too large for a trouser pocket but easy to carry in the field. It does not feature images of birds compared with the size of the book, and measurements are in metric units only, so users should be conversant with metric measurement. A high quality product, this book covers Indian birds with the skill and convenience of the best US and European general field guides. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Richard Grimmett is head of conservation at BirdLife International. Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp are freelance wildlife consultants. The authors have traveled widely in Asia and together written a series of books on the continent's birds.