This publication focuses on the avifauna of Thailand's Lower
Central Plains; that is the area of lowland floodplains within
a one to two hour drive of central Bangkok, a region clearly
defined with a map in the book itself.
It is important to be aware that this is not a field guide,
instead it fills a previously much-needed niche in that it
provides detailed information about the species recorded close
to Bangkok; their ecology, migratory habits, status within
the region and maximum counts. In this way the author attempts
to inform ornithologists about the avifauna of the region
and encourage birdwatchers to participate in helping to discover
more about them and contribute to furthering the local knowledge
with their own records.
The introduction to The Birds of the Bangkok Area is very
informative with information on the habitats and land use
found within the region, drawing the reader's attention to
the fact that many habitats used by previously common birds
are disappearing quickly as the city of Bangkok grows. The
introduction goes on to discuss the conservation issues concerning
the various bird habitats within the area; issues such as
the lack of planning restrictions, agricultural change and
climate change. This section of the book will give visiting
birdwatchers an excellent idea of the problems and pressures
that birds face in Thailand.
The second section of this publication briefly lists and comments
on some of the best birdwatching sites in and around Bangkok.
The main body of this book concentrates on the species accounts
which give far more information than any field guide in existence
and answers many of the commonly asked questions about many
species: What does it eat? When does it breed? When do they
migrate? In many cases these facts are unknown and if more
birdwatchers were to read this book then they would be encouraged
to contribute to the growing pool of knowledge on Thai birds.
The Birds of the Bangkok Area is an excellent book that contains
information that many visiting birders should be aware of
and, most importantly, this book will encourage more people
to be better ornithologists, to concentrate less on ticking
new birds and instead to focus more on behavioural and distributional
observations.
The only thing which slightly spoils this book is the very
poor quality of the illustrations on the colour plates. However,
this book is more about the text than the pictures so that
with the addition of a number of informative photographs this
book serves as excellent reference material for ornithologists
visiting or living in Thailand.
Phil Round tells me that it is his intention to update and
improve this volume in the future so buying a copy and submitting
records which complement those recorded here is a great way
to become involved in ornithology in Thailand. There are a
few copies available online - Birds
of the Bangkok Area
Score: 7.5/10
Other Relevant Field Guides
Birds
of Thailand - Published in 2002 this field guide
was created by extracting the relevant information from
the more expansive Birds of Southeast Asia. Most useful
as an update from earlier, outdated books, it suffers from
being out of date itself now but remains useful as the paperback
version is very light to carry in the field.
Birds
of Southeast Asia - A field guide covering the birds
found in all countries of mainland Southeast Asia and this
is the most up to date version of the book, published in
2011. An invaluable book for those traveling in several
countries but a little tricky to use in the field due to
its layout. It remains the best field guide to the whole
region though.
Bird
Guide of Thailand - This pioneering field guide,
first published in 1974, covers the species known in Thailand
at that time, making it far from complete from the avifauna
currently known. However, this is still a nice book and
certainly one that Thailand birders will want to add to
their collection, containing useful species accounts.
Birds
of Thailand
Birds
of Southeast Asia
Bird
Guide of Thailand
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