Michael Webster - Birds of Thailand

Bloomsbury Natural History

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This electronic edition published in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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First published by New Holland UK Ltd, 1998 as A Photographic Guide to Birds of Thailand

This edition first published by Bloomsbury, 2016

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016

text Michael Webster and Chew Yen Fook 2016

This electronic edition published 2016

Michael Webster and Chew Yen Fook have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

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ISBN: 978-1-4729-3792-6 (PB)

ISBN: 978-1-4729-3793-3 (eBook)

ISBN: 978-1-4729-3795-7 (ePDF)

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Nobody can write about the birds of Thailand without recognizing a tremendous debt to two people in particular: the late Dr Boonsong Lekagul, the force behind Thailands conservation movement, and the author of books on birds, mammals and butterflies, and Philip D. Round, who, without question, knows more about birds in Thailand than anybody else. The standard field guide, A Guide to the Birds of Thailand, was written by Philip Round on the foundations laid by Dr Boonsong in two earlier versions.

In the present book, that guide has been used extensively as a basis for distribution details, and for field information about birds which the author himself has not seen. It is in addition the source of all information on calls (with Philip Rounds permission), as it was thought sensible to standardize descriptions where possible. English and scientific names also follow Lekagul and Round in principle, though some have been updated in accordance with the most recent (2008) A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asiaby Craig Robson.

Lekagul and Round list 915 species which have been recorded in Thailand, and a few more have been added to the list since their guide was published. This book illustrates 252 species, slightly more than a quarter of the total, and many others are referred to in the text. All the illustrations are real-life photographs showing the jizz of the birds as they are likely to appear in the field. While this range of species should cover the vast majority of species which the average visitor can expect to see, there will no doubt be some for which the dedicated birdwatcher may need the more comprehensive book.

Many species have undoubtedly been lost through the wholesale destruction of habitat, especially the forests, during the past fifty years, and many are endangered as suitable habitats continue to shrink.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This guide has been designed for ease of use and quick reference when birdwatching in Thailand. The introductory section contains basic necessary information, including a map and description of the different regions of the country, and details of some important birdwatching areas.