White Wagtail at NCKU, Tainan.

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba, 白鶺鴒) was my lifer on 24 December, 2010 in Tainan, Taiwan. 

28 March, 2012 was a fortunate date for me to digiscope this beautiful bird at NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan City. There were three of them foraging food on the ground, two adults and one juvenile with the summer plumage, the juvenile was very shy and hard to approach nearer.

All pictures shown in this write-up are the adult with summer plumage. (click on the picture for enlarged view)

Keep Watching, Keep Listening and Keep Exploring.

Video clip of White Wagtail, digiscoped by Steen Heilesen:

  

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

--- This blog 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. ---

One of the frequently asked questions from friends who are interested to learn or start birding, is about which field book shall they use when birding in Malaysia, mainland South-east Asia, China and Taiwan. Therefore, I would like to share my personal views about the field books which I have read and used in the field when birding in this region.

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 Sundaland, Borneo, the Philippines and Taiwan. This region is known as the Oriental South-east Asia region, it is also located along the important flyway of the East-Asia-Australasia migratory birds. Therefore, this region is rich in both oriental birds and migratory birds of the 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 types of printing 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. This book maybe 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 Taniguchi, is the recommended field guide in Taiwan. 

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.

For the complete information about the birds of Taiwan,  click HERE to download a free book of Birds of Taiwan (台灣鳥類誌), in traditional 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. It is complete book with species distribution maps, the illustrations 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 provides sufficient and useful information to those who are interested to bird watch in this region, the Oriental South-east Asia region.

Happy Birding.