Robert S. RidgelyThe Birds of South America: Volume 1: The Oscine Passerines

This really is a must for everyone who's seriously interested in South-American birds. The colour plates are up to Tudor's high standards. I even managed to identify some birds I saw 2 years ago. This surely was not due to the (poor) quality of my notes, but to the excellent quality of the plates.The text is as clear as can be with good discription of the species, accompanied by clear distribution maps.There are only two drawbacks:- they did manage to illustrate "only" about 60% of the species (this cost them a star),- we have to wait very long for the two remaining volumes.

This a huge book, covering 750 passerine birds. There are only 440 illustrations in 31 plates. The whole book is mostly text. The descriptions are in detail, and the illustrations are excellent. I do not recommend it for the casual readers or bird photographers. The other book, Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America: The Passerines (Mildred Wyatt-Wold Series in Ornithology) by Robert S. Ridgely and Guy Tudor (Jul 15, 2009), may be a better alternative.

The first of a planned four-volume set cataloging the incredibly diverse avifauna of South America. Ridgely and Tudor "departed from the traditional phylogenetic list sequence, commencing work with the passerine groups and not the nonpasserines (in other words, proceeding 'backwards')", explaining that in doing so they simply wanted "to first tackle the birds which needed attention the most". Regrettably, only this volume and the next (covering the suboscine passerines) were completed, and we can only hope that some intrepid souls will undertake a project of similar scope and depth covering the nonpasserines.Only this volume (covering the oscine passerines) includes the well-written, informative introductory chapters covering habitats and biogeography; anyone contemplating a birding adventure in South America would be well-served by reading and rereading those chapters.No one credibly doubts Robert Ridgely's placement among the foremost authorities on the bird life of tropical America, and especially of South America. In this volume he coherently and accessibly takes the reader through the taxonomic minefield that is the bird life of the oscine passerines of South America. He introduces each family with a brief but useful paragraph. He then similarly introduces each genus, and within each generic subchapter are found the species accounts for all birds associated with that genus (be prepared for numerous disclaimers related to ongoing taxonomic disputes).The species accounts are rewarding and authoritative. Each account includes a section covering identification, followed by a reference to similar species with which the subject might be confused. Perhaps most useful is the section addressing habitat and behavior, summarizing in one place information previously scattered among dozens (hundreds?) of disparate resources (and including a healthy dose of information gleaned from the author's observations of many species). Finally, a written description of the South American range, including elevational distribution (in meters). That range description is supported in each account by a range map in which the species range is shaded in gray. It is after the range description that any taxonomic "footnote" is included.Guy Tudor is ranked as one of the outstanding wildlife illustrators (he has also collaborated with Steven Hilty on guides to Colombia and Venezuela, to cite well-known examples). The plates in this volume certainly merit praise for their beauty, but perhaps more crucially for their accurate depictions of living birds (no small feat!). This reviewer has first-hand experience with only a small percentage of the birds found on the South American continent (and to date no experience in South America), but I find these few species illustrated faithfully.It is true that the plates do not include illustrations of every species described in the text. The plates do include at least one member of each genus and of each group within large genera (excepting North American migrants, of which a "selection of common migrants has been included"). The plates portray any "range of variation within each genus or group", and preference is given to species which are "numerous or widespread, all other factors being equal, over those which are relatively scarce". Preference is given to species "found mainly or entirely in eastern or Southern South America; these tend to be less well known as compared with birds found in northern and western South America". And finally, Ridgely and Tudor wanted to "illustrate approximately two-thirds of the species within each (large) genus". They resolved "not to give short shrift to females, as so often is done".It is inconceivable that any serious student of South American (or even tropical American) bird life would consider his or her library complete without this volume.

All Good