Birds of India: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives - Second Edition (Princeton Field Guides)

This is one of the largest and heaviest bird books I own, but it covers such a large area that this is necessary. The problems are due to the fact that it covers such a large area. For birds in a limited area such as the Andaman Islands, the range maps are clear where the birds are and aren't seen. But for it is not possible for a range map to be accurate for such as large area. I have relied, instead, on bird watching trip reports and find that many birds expected in an area are not seen (maybe they hide in the jungles) and many birds are seen well out of their apparent range. It is reasonable that the range map shows where they are most common and the farther you are from that area, the less common the birds will be.Aside from this, my only other complaint is the missing table of contents. I handled this by typing a list of the main bird groups and taping it inside the front cover. This works well. I also tape in a chart showing the relationship of sizes in cm and in inches.But I still think this is an outstanding bird book. It seems to be well-bound so it won't fall apart with use. The pictures are beautiful and give an indication of relative sizes.I enjoyed the descriptions of the different groups of birds at the beginning. Most helpful is the descriptions of the birds where they are compared with similar birds. I have been studying this book for several months now, even though we don't plan our trip to India until early next year.

I grew up in India but now reside in the US and started birding only after I came to the US. Last year when I planned a visit to India for visiting family, I decided to spend a few days birding and went to look for a field guide. After scouring all the local libraries and bookshops for all the books on Indian birding, I have to say that this is the closes thing to the Sibley's field guide for India. That is, it is good enough and small enough to be used in the field for identification. This book covers entire subcontinent, so it is a bit bulkier than the Sibley's eastern or western US field guides.For every bird, it has a short text describing its key field marks and its habitat and distribution. The best thing about the field guide is that it has description, images and distribution maps all side-by-side. The plates are pretty good and realistic. On the negative side, the print is a little small and may be difficult to read for some people. Also, for some birds, the colors are a bit off, as if I am looking at an old photograph. I only found that an issue for some birds where the color differences are subtle. But, it is not that big a deal. The description does clearly point out the field marks when the differences are that subtle.So, if you are looking for a field guide for India birds, I would heartily recommend this book. Even the Indian birders that I met, suggested this as the best field guide for Indian birds.

For someone who has never been to the sub-continent, but is planning to go next year, this is a great introduction, if a little daunting with the sheer numbers involved! With 1300 odd species, almost twice what we have in Australia, it is a heck of a lot to fit into a "Field Guide". This brings me to the only 2 small criticisms that I have of the book .... Firstly the type is very small. For a person with a few years behind him now it is difficult to read in dim light without glasses (which, at 70, I do not normally need). Secondly, I would have liked to have seen a couple of paragraphs of general introduction to each Family in the text. My copy of Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali( John MacKinnon & Karen Phillips) has this, and it is an excellent introduction to unfamiliar groups. Apart from that, it appears to be an excellent book, good illustrations, but a lot of reading needed before taking it into the field to get some familiarity with at least the families. As a keep photographer I miss any mention of nesting behaviour, but few modern guides give much detail on that. On balance, an excellent book!

This is a great book about the birds of India and all of South Asia in general. Great illustrations and great information. This book I recommend this book for travelers to India that want to find and identify different types of birds in India!

This book is a very slow reading for me, not because it is boring. Because every other minute I am stoping and discussing with my family members: did you know this? And we are not a beginner family about nature or evolutionary biology of animals. Of course we are not the scholars. Very enjoyable reading.

I purchased this book for a recent trip I took to India. The book itself is well constructed, and of superior quality. It is fairly large, but fit well in my back pack and held up well to frequent use in the field. I found the drawings and descriptions to be accurate and helpful. While in India I looked at other bird books of the region and was very happy to have purchased this one.

I sent this to a friend in India. She really loves it. As I travel there frequently for my job, I have noticed that in the interior of the country trhere are few birds - perhaps because of the use of DDT in controlling mosquitos. However in costal areas there are many birds that we were unable to identify. Amazon was the only place I was able to locate a book that focused about the birds of India and Asia. I hope that awareness will slowly grow of the need to protect the huge diversity you find still in more isolated areas. Maybe this book and my friend will be a good start.

This appears to be a very comprehensive field guide, with just the necessary information needed to help ID birds of India. Some of the illustrations appear to have proportions that are slightly off, but they are generally very good otherwise.

Book with good information, distribution maps and beautiful prints. It is a plus to consider for visiting the Indian subcontinent or just want to have curiosodade and improve their knowledge about birds at this location in the world.I recommend this book.

A heavy tome but excellent value. Good , clear illustrations and distribution mapping as well as helpful, detailed descriptions of the birds. One of the better guides.

First use of the book was in Sri Lanka - excellent guide, not too big to bring along while hiking, and keeps me typing in Princeton first when I start looking for a bird field guide in a new corner of the World.

Very interesting and informative.

Ottima guida per chi decida di fare un viaggio Birdwatching in India senza portare volumi troppo pesanti.Ho potuto identificare correttamente tutte le sp. viste e ho trovato i colori abbastanza vicini al reale (normalmente uno dei problemi più frequenti con le guide da campo....)