The Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (Princeton Field Guides)

I have a LOT of field guides, for multiple places on the planet, and have been birding for nearly 60 years. All guides have some errors or less-than-perfect illustrations, but some are better than others. In my opinion, a field guide is supposed to be useful in the field, and so there are always tradeoffs in number of illustrations, size of the book, and of course, cost. The more biodiverse an area is, the heavier a guide will be if it's to be of use. In my opinion, Stevenson's book is one of the best guides I've seen primarily because he has chosen to organize the book to be most useful in the field. Other reference books can be used to find out more about the species present in an area, preferably prior to an outing, but sometimes the organization of a guide can make the difference between spending a lot of time identifying the bird, and actually enjoying watching it. What I find particularly useful about Stevenson's guide is that he groups similar species together (sometimes not necessarily by taxonomy) both in the plates and species accounts, with a very useful phrase discussing the group's special features. This goes beyond the typical family description somewhat resembling a biology lesson ('phalarope males take on parental duties' or the like), which again in my opinion belongs in the birder's study of the avifauna prior to the outing. An example of Stevenson's group characteristics, picked at random by opening the book, is the account above Black Flycatchers, noting what viewers should concentrate on (overall color, eye color, etc) and giving page numbers for three other all black birds. Other great examples are the groups of sunbirds ('Large sunbirds with blue-green heads'; 'Sunbirds with maroon or violet breast bands' etc), where the group names greatly help to narrow the focus to key field marks. More field guides should attempt Stevenson's style! Although I bought both Zimmerman et al's Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania, and Stevenson's Birds of East Africa, I prefer Stevenson's book by far for its usefulness. Zimmerman's guide has plates that are far too crowded (and he notes that they do not apologize for the crowded plates), which makes it almost overwhelming to find distinctive marks, especially since the birds are numbered instead of named and the maps are far separate from the plates. Both guides have quality illustrations (acknowledging that some features may be inaccurate--see first disclaimer in this review!). Each treats flying birds somewhat differently. For example, Zimmerman places all flying raptors together, which while super crowded does allow for many to be seen at once, whereas Stevenson places flying raptors next to the perched illustration, and then usefully separates the species with a line. I tend to bring all the guides I have for an area with me to the field (regardless of the weight), and both of these are useful for their respective features. However, if I had to choose one, it would be Stevenson's.

I used this guide on a birding trip to Uganda. This is an excellent guide. When you order the guide though be sure to order the soft back edition rather than the hard back if you are going to use it as a field guide. The hard back weighs more and if you happen to drop it the back is liable to rip off. If you do order the hard back be sure to reinforce the binding with shipping tape. Unlike some guides this one has a well though out index. The common names are indexed separately from the scientific names. The family name are in bold so they stand out and the font is a large size for we old time birders who have a difficult time reading small print. In the back is a map of the area with all the important bird sites noted and listed. Certain of the drawings are not accurate, the Mountain Greenbul being a prime example. The description says the underparts are yellow and they are in Uganda, but the drawing is not. The descriptions and range maps are opposite the drawings of the birds. This is the 2nd copy of this guide I have owned. I gave the first copy to my Uganda driver when he asked if I would sell it to him. Folks in Uganda have a difficult time getting birding equipment. If you do go there, take a couple of extra laser pointers, and an extra birding guide with you if you have room. They make great gratuity items if you do not wish to sell them instead. Also an extra pair of inexpensive binoculars.

Anyone spending prolonged time in East Africa and has even a modicum of curiosity for nature needs this book. It's well organized and has great detailed pictures and descriptions to help you identify the birds in your area. I feel it's a great companion to bird apps like Merlin because out here, the research is still quite lacking. Overall, it's a very fun way to get to know the new environment. Also, I bought this for my dad (who lives in the US) since I knew it would be a great way for him to learn about my home in Rwanda.

"Birds of East Africa" by Stevenson and Fanshawe is generally a good field guide. The layout is fairly standard, typical of most good field guides for birds. Some of the colours seemed a little off to me. The yellow wagtails I saw in Uganda were not as yellow as the plates in the guide, although I may have been seeing juveniles (not shown in the guide). The poses of the birds were mostly a little static and did not show the birds in typical habitats. The illustrations seemed mostly dead, lacking a sense of the live bird in its habitat. Usability in the field is an important design consideration, and the design of this guide could be improved. To find a bird quickly, you have to flick through a 6-page table of contents, or refer to the comprehensive (but longer) indices of both scientific and common names. Then you have to locate the right page, but the page numbers are quite small. Newman's "Birds of Southern Africa" uses a much better system. The major bird groups with reference pages are on the inside of the front cover, making for rapid location. Major groups are colour-coded, as are the corresponding pages. Page numbers are large. All these design features make Newman's mush faster and easier to use than "Birds of East Africa". Stevenson and Fanshawe have written a good guide, but it could have been so much better with more attention to usability and more vivid illustrations.

everywhere you go in east africa you see birds. if you like them- you better be prepared for the trip! i got the guide a month before, and tried to get as familiar as possible with the birds before arriving to tanzania. when we went on safari our guide pulled out his worn and faded zimmerman- the descriptions on one part, the illustrations on another and the distribution maps at the end. when i pulled my guide and gave him a try- he was very attached to his zimmerman but had to admit that the stevenson is indeed a worthy companion, with all the info about a species is on the same page... compared to my european guide it is heavy and big- but the european contains only about 750 spp, while this one has more than 1200! the illustrations are bright and clear. i used it during my 30 day trip to tanzania and got more than 200 positive identifications, so i must go again to get the rest... recommended!

I think I have all the guides to the birds of East Africa in the last 30 years, but this most recent by Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe is certainly the most comprehensive, artistically excellent and usable. Ber van Perlo's Collins Illustrated Checklist "Birds of Eastern Africa" is smaller and lighterweight but no comparison, nor intended to be, in description or plate detail. This new volume, with a 2002(!) publication date has amongst the best plates and abbreviated descriptions, in my opinion, ever published in a comparable volume on birds. Artists John Gale and Brian Small are fabulous (Norman Arlott lacks their skills, but does his subjects justice as well). It is a exceedingly worthwhile complement to Dale Zimmerman's larger format "Birds of Kenya and northern Tanzania" and includes all of Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi as well. Don't miss this book!

In 1997 my mother and I went on a safari in Kenya with the Kenyan tour company The East African Ornithological Safaris lld. Who could forget a name like that. If I'm remembering it right, the gentleman who hosted the introductory meeting was the son of the author, Terry Stevenson. The son said that his dad had worked in East Africa for many years and had become an expert on the birds of the area. He showed us a hardcover copy of the book and it was a tome. This paperback version is smaller and more convenient but is quite heavy because of the density of pages and information. Clearly an authoritative volume. Very impressive and useful.

After reading glowing reviews on Amazon, we chose this book over Zimmerman's Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania . Initially, we were very excited about the book, beautiful birds, beautiful colors. But shortly after starting our birding in Kenya, we realized that the book was not very helpful as a field guide. Its main shortcoming is its inaccurate illustrations of birds. Often, the color is off, such as the blue of Blue flycatcher and of grey-headed kingfisher. The color differ quite a bit from the nature. African paradise flycatcher's eye ring is blue, in the book, it is grey. Plain-backed pipit's back is pale toupee in nature, but brown in the book. In addition to inaccurate colors, the shape are often wrong too. For example, larks look very exaggerated in the book, they simply do not match the general impression of the larks in the field. Bird ID in East Africa would be a real challenge, if one had to rely on this field guide. During our 2 week trip in Kenya (Lewa Downs, Lake Baringo, Kakamega forest, Masai Mara), we had at least 6 birding/game drive guides. All use Zimmerman's book for its better illustrations. So during the trip, we used our guides' book and left ours in the tent. People rightly complain about Zimmerman's poor organization, but in the end that is a minor issue compared to the accuracy of the drawings (do not expect too much from Zimmerman either though: the drawings are nowhere near as good as Sibley's or as in Birds of Europe by Svensson/Zetterström/Mullarney) .

This is THE bird guide for East Africa. It has not dated despite being 15 years old. This is because it is thoroughly modern in layout and very user-friendly. The species descriptions and distributions are placed opposite the illustrations. All the regions182 important bird areas are shown. There is an introductory section on vegetation, topography, and seasonality. The 1388 species are well illustrated. Thankfully Princeton resisted the temptation to condense too many on a single page. Other publishers, please note.

Se amate il birdwatching questa è la guida di riferimento per l'africa dell'est. non potete trovare di meglio sul mercato. le tavole son ben fatte.

Es perfecto, trae muchas especies, lo único malo es que este en inglés.... Pero como no hay otro.... Pues perfecto.

Superbe guide facile à utiliser ! Je recommande !

Amazing book, really concise and distribution is well marked which is the main thing. The plates are user friendly and description is great as well.