Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba (Comstock books) - Hardcover

Garrido, Orlando H.; Kirkconnell, Arturo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801437180 ISBN 13: 9780801437182

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2000

Synopsis

The richness and diversity of Cuban birdlife features 354 recorded species that represent 20 orders and 60 families. The 21 living endemic species include the charming Cuban Today, the striking and elegant Cuban Trogon (the national bird), the colorful Cuban Green Woodpecker, and the smallest of all birds, the Bee Hummingbird.This compact and portable field reference will help Cubans, visitors from abroad, and bird enthusiasts identify and enjoy the island's avifauna. The 51 color plates and 662 images accurately illustrate male, female, and juvenile plumages (in some cases for the first time). Many migratory species are depicted in both winter and breeding colors, providing a glimpse of many common North American birds as they appear when away from northern surroundings. In the comprehensive Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba Orlando H. Garrido and Arturo Kirkconnell share their vast wealth of knowledge about birds -- and habitats -- that are too-little known.Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba contains: -- species accounts including habitat descriptions, similar species, range, status, nesting and feeding habits, and vocalizations.-- checklists of endemic species and subspecies.-- background on the geography, climate, geology, paleontology, and natural history of Cuba.-- 144 maps that show regional boundaries and vegetative habitats as well as the local distribution of each species.

About this title

Review:

"All students of West Indian birds and, especially, all birders visiting Cuba should own this book. Highly recommended."--Allan R. Keith, Cotinga: Journal of the Neotropical Bird Club

"Written and illustrated by Cuban nationals, this book is a significant contribution to ornithology within that country. . . There are 51 excellent plates showing all but two of the 354 species on the island. Distribution maps are large and clear. The book should be included in any library with an interest in the birds of the New World tropics either for travel or research. . . Suitable for all levels of readers."--Choice, December 2000

"The guide and its excellent color plates are the product of Cubans (by necessity), which is unusual and welcome among guides published in the U.S. As ecotourism to Cuba evolves, this book will be the choice of birders who visit the island."--Wildlife Activist, No. 41, April 2001

"As ecotourists return to Cuba to see the country and its plants and animals, they may well wish to take along Orlando Garrido and Arturo Kirkconnell's Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba. Bird descriptions and paintings are useful and often imaginatively helpful."--Georgia Tasker, El Nuevo Herald, February 10, 2002

"This is an impressive piece of work, an exceptionally complete field guide to the birds of Cuba, a valuable book that will fill a void in the literature that has existed for a long time, written by folks who know Cuban birding best."--John Faaborg, University of Missouri, Columbia

"Based on their lifetimes of work in their native country, Orlando Garrido and Arturo Kirkconnell have crafted a truly complete, self-contained guide that will be essential to all those seeking to enjoy Cuba's exciting birdlife."--James W. Wiley, Leader of the Grambling Cooperative Wildlife Project, Grambling State University

"Cuba is the largest and, arguably, ornithologically most interesting of the Caribbean islands. This guide, the first to comprehensively tackle the identification, status and range of all birds found in the archipelago, will be welcomed by aficionados of this stunning country; that it is the product of an all-Cuban team is a double triumph."--Guy M. Kirwan, Managing Editor of Cotinga (Journal of the Neotropical Bird Club)

"The first book entirely devoted to Cuba's birds to appear in eighty years, Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba is a serious work in the tradition of Don Ramón de la Sagra, Johannes Gundlach and Thomas Barbour. With vast amounts of new information, range maps, and admirable illustrations, it is at once a summation of Cuban ornithology and an excellent field guide."--Davis W. Finch, WINGS

About the Author:

Orlando H. Garrido is a founder of both the Cuban Academy of Science and the National Museum of Natural History of Cuba, where he served as Curator until his retirement. He has described 129 new species and subspecies, and is the author or coauthor of books including Las Palomas, Los Patos de Cuba, Conozca Las Rapaces, Catálogo de las Aves de Cuba, Birds of the West Indies, and Mariposas de Puerto Rico.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0801437180
• ISBN 13: 9780801437182
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256