Book Review Dipu Karuthedathu dipu.kp@gmail.com Birds of Kerala - Status and Distribution C Sashikumar, Praveen J, Muhammed Jafer Palot and P O Nameer ISBN : 9788126429219 Publisher: DC Books List price: Rs. 995 Available online at: http://www.dcbookshop.net/books/Birds-of-Kerala For the benefit of those who are yet to decide whether they should buy this book or not, here is my suggestion: `This book is not "yet another field guide", but does exactly what the title says - gives the accurate status and the precise distribution of all birds that can be seen in Kerala as of today, with lot of supplementary information and good photographs. So if you are interested in the birds that inhabit Kerala, this is a must have book and there are no equivalents. So, if you can afford it, go for it`
What you will find: - Accurate status and distribution supplemented with good photographs - Lot of supplementary information. (E.g.: details of habitats, details on conservation related topics, exhaustive reference to existing literature etc). - Well packaged and printed book, which fits nicely in your hand and bag!
What you will not find: - Species identification tips and plumage details Now, if you have the patience to read a really long mail, my detailed impressions are below -
Contents of the book The book starts with a dedication to Professor K K Neelakantan followed by the list of described families, forward by Dr. Asad Rahmani (Director, BNHS), preface and acknowledgments. Then a brief history of ornithology in Kerala is revealed mainly with the help of individual accounts of prominent ornithologists in chronological order. The chapter ends with short accounts on diverse birding related topics like Bird-ringing, Books, Surveys, AWC, Nature camps, Bird Photography, keralabirder egroup, Bird Tours etc. Then follows an excellent chapter on changing landscape of Kerala which describes the various habitats in Kerala with a special focus on how these are getting affected by recent human interferences. A one page description of climate of Kerala is followed by another very interesting account of the various Bird communities in Kerala based on the habitat. Though the previous sections do emphasize on conservation related topics, there is still another chapter completely devoted to conservation with details including the list of threatened birds of Kerala, endemic birds, IBAs, Protected Areas and important birding sites. After a detailed chapter on methodology and criteria for selection of birds for the book, the core content of the book - the individual species account - starts. This is divided into two lists: Main list describes species that have been recorded at least once since Jan 1975 (based on specimen / two published records / two photographs). The Secondary List contains all other species which have been reported from Kerala, but not part of the Main List (E.g.: Historical records, Misidentified records, Unconfirmed Sight records etc.). Both the lists follow the same format for the individual species description. For each bird the habitat, status, distribution, breeding and historical references are detailed. Where ever applicable, one or more photographs, the population trends, conservation related information and additional notes are also provided. The appendix, which follows the species accounts contain checklists for protected areas and other important birding areas, locations of Sรกlim Ali's Travancore-Cochin bird survey, glossary and useful contacts. The book ends with an exhaustive (yes, it is really exhaustive, spreading over 40 pages) bibliography, index of
13 Vol. 9 (1&2) Jan-August 2011