Illustrated Field Guides to the Birds of Oriental South-east Asia

--- This write-up was first posted on September 12, 2010. Reposted to include the newly published second edition of  A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Allen Jeyarajasingam and Alan Pearson. ---

I frequently received questions from friends who are interested to learn birding, about which field book shall they use when birding in Malaysia, Indochina Peninsula, China and Taiwan. Therefore, I would like to share my views about the field books which I have read and still using to ease the reader's decision on which field guide shall they purchase and use in the field.

Introduction

South China Sea as the central of the region, bordered by the Yangtze River in the North and Wallace Line in the South, this region ranges from subtropical Southern China to the Greater Mekong, Sundaland, Borneo, the Philippines and Taiwan. The Oriental South-east Asia region is also located along the important flyway of the East-Asia-Australasia migratory birds. As a result, this region is rich in both oriental birds and migratory birds of East-Asia-Australasia. 

Oriental South-east Asia Region

Following are my 10 favourite illustrated field guides to the birds of Oriental South-east Asia region:

Mainland South-east Asia 

The most popular illustrated field guide to the birds of this region is the one by Craig Robson. The painting of the birds are in high quality and illustrated by a group of artists. This field guide is particularly useful in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Yunnan, China.

There are two print versions of this field guide, the hardcover complete version and the softcover concise version. The hardcover version is a detailed book for further reference, the concise version is recommended if you need to bring the book to the field.

Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia

Birds of Thailand

A Guide to the Birds of Thailand by Boonsong Lekagul and Philip D. Round, is my favourite field guide to the birds of Thailand. The key field marks on every bird are clearly indicated, the field marks are particularly useful in the field to identify and differentiate the close related species. Currently this book is out of print.

A guide to the Birds of Thailand

Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore

A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Allen Jeyarajasingam and Alan Pearson, is a recommended field guide to the birds of the Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Click HERE to find out more about the newly published second edition.

A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore 

Quick Facts on the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia

Total number of bird species = 656

Total number of resident birds = 445

Total number of species occurring as migrants = 185

Total number of species occurring as vagrants = 58

Total number of species with both resident and migratory populations = 40

Total number of species considered extinct within Peninsular Malaysia = 8

Total number of regional endemics = 4

Total number of threatened species = 126

Borneo

My favourite field guide to the birds of Borneo is A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo by Susan Myer. It is a complete bird book of Borneo with species distribution maps, the painting of the birds are in high quality, a good reference for detailed identification of Borneo birds. The other reason why I select this book is because the author separates the songbirds into two main clades, the Corvidans and Passeridans based on the phylogenetic relationships among modern birds.

A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo 

Indonesian Sundaland

A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali, by John Mackinnon, illustrated by Karen Phillips, is a recommended field guide to the birds of Indonesia's islands of the Sundaland, which include Kalimantan, Sumatra, Java and Bali. This book is a bit bulky to bring to the field, but shouldn't be any problem if you bring a backpack.

A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali

The Bahasa Indonesia edition of this field guide (panduan lapagan) and other field guides to the birds of Sulawasi, Wallacea and Papua, can be purchased through Burung Indonesia.

The Philippines

Philippines is one of the countries in Asia with high endemic species of birds, it is also located at the important East-Asian-Australasian Flyway of the migratory birds. 

A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines by Robert Kennedy et al. is the recommended field guide to the birds of the Philippines. I haven't visited Philippines and do not have this field guide, but I have read the content of this field guide in the library at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. 

A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines

Taiwan

Taiwan is one of the countries in this region with high endemic species of birds, is one of the recommended birding sites in Asia, find out more from my blog about Birding in Taiwan. Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan by Wu Sen-hsiang et al, illustrated by Takashi Taniguch, is the recommended field guide for birding in Taiwan, is my favourite as well. 

Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan

The book is written in traditional Chinese, with the exception of the common and scientific name. The paintings of birds are superior, the key field marks are clearly indicated. I personally like this book because it is a pocket size book, as small as the size of Lonely Planet's travel guide, very convenient to carry to the field. This book can be purchased from Wild Bird Society of Taipei. Click HERE to download a complete book of Birds of Taiwan (台灣鳥類誌), in Chinese only.

Another handy pocket size and useful field guide illustrated by Takashi Taniguchi is A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia, published by Wild Bird Society of Japan, and written in English.

A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia

China

My favourite field guide to the birds of China is the one by John Mackinnon, illustrated by Karen Phillips. A complete book with species distribution maps, paintings of the birds are clear. The Chinese edition is available, with an affordable price, which can be purchased from Wild Bird Society of Taipei.

A Field Guide to the Birds of China

The birds of Hong Kong and South China by Clive Viney, Karen Philips and Lam Chiu Ying, is a good field guide to the birds of South-China region, with the emphasis on birds of Hong Kong. The Chinese edition is also available from Hong Kong Bird Watching Society and Wild Bird Society of Taipei.

The birds of Hong Kong and South China

I hope that this blog posting provides sufficient and useful information about which illustrated bird guide shall be used by a person who is interested to bird watch in Oriental South-east Asia region.

Happy Birding.