Best for India

[SzimiStyle]

Hi Folks,

Could not find any more relevant forum for my question than this. I am looking for the best bird guide for India. What would you recommend?

Cheers, Szimi

[Steve Keen]

When I went I found that the Helm guide by Grimmett, Inskipp & Inskipp had the best pics and maps, but the one by Kazmierczak & van Perlo had much better text, including altitude range for Himalayan stuff. Thankfully I took both, which wasn't a problem as they're both small. The first one came into the field, the other was for checking up any problems at the end of the day.

[forktail]

Birds of South Asia by Pamela Rasmussen is the standard reference, It's the most up-to-date on splits etc and has lots of info on songs and calls and hundreds and hundreds of sonograms. It has two volumes - one is a field guide the other has an amazing amount of info on distrubution, status, taxonomy etc. The books is a single package costing around £55-60 with separate books, if you get me.

The downside is that it also addresses several other countries in the region. If more than one person is going, it might be worth considering taking Rasmussen and Grimmskipp / Kazmierczak

F.