Bird
Fieldguides Bird
Fieldguides
New
Sasol Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa.
This remains the classic fieldguide, now in its sixth edition and one which originally set the standard of fieldguides in the region. The Sixth Edition is a bulky book, not really suitable for taking into the field. All the illustrations are in one place - at the start of the book, which some birder find annoying as you have to look for the species description in an entirely different place. Most serious birders keep a copy of Roberts as a reference guide as it offers more comprehensive information than the other guides on measurements, detailed descriptions of identification features. I also has far better information on habits, habitat, food etc than the other books. Illustrations are good, although a bit small and certainly not as detailed as the Illustrations in Sasol. Roberts is published by the John Voeckler Bird Book Fund and is very reasonable for a book this size !
Newmans
Birds of Southern Africa 
Newman's
Birds of Southern Africa, is an old favourite and the latest "Green
Edition" features a number of improvement to this popular guide. The
Green edition includes some revised illustrations and new text. The colour
coding system and the running heads enables one to quickly locate the group
of birds one is looking for. This book is a handy size for a fieldguide,
and along with the smaller Sasol, is carried by the majority of birder.
Information on birds does however tend to be limited, being restricted
to basic identification features, habitat and habits. The layout is very
easy to use, as illustrations and text are together. Newmans has also place
similar species together, making comparison of difficult birds easier.
Illustrations are generally good on shape and general impression, but are
not as detailed as those in the Sasol guides.
Sasol & The Larger Illustrated Guide to Birds of Southern Africa.
The "Sasol" series is a relatively more recent addition to the fieldguides, and has become very popular. Authored by Ian Sinclair and Phil Hockey, Sasol is a fieldguide which is more comprehensively illustrated than any other guide to Southern African birds. In general the amount of information and layout is the same as Newman's, although this guide has stuck to the same order as Roberts. Illustrations are particularly good for raptors and flying birds, being drawn with a great deal of precision. Some birders however feel that the illustrations for some species do not capture the posture and shape of the bird. The latest edition of SASOL (Larger Illustrated guide) has more illustrations and these are slightly larger. It has incorporated colour coding and has included detailed essays on "difficult to identify" groups of birds. The larger size of the book does make it less handy to lug around than the smaller Sasol or Newmans. To order Sasol - go to the bottom of this page.
New Sasol Handguide (1997 Edition)
Sasol has recently brought out a new and updated edition. This is in the handguide format and has introduced a number of improvements. It has the same colour coding as the larger illustrated version (covered above). With attractive cover and larger text, this guide has an easier "feel" to it, than the earlier edition. Species new to the South African list, have been integrated with their families and several are illustrated for the first time in a Southern African guide. Because of the additional species, a few of the plates have smaller illustrations than the original Sasol, but this is hardly significant. Illustrations are divided into groups by "ghost-lines" on the plates - which will eliminate some of the confusion about which illustrations belong to what species. This is a real improvement for some plates; for example that illustrating the wing patterns of Vultures. This goes together with a new numbering system which removes all names from the plates, replacing them with numbers which refer to the number of the bird on the opposite page. This is not as user friendly as the old system, but is a real problem when the illustrations have been incorrectly numbered. Wrongly numbered illustrations can be seriously confusing - especially for the beginner birder and compromise the otherwise high standard of this fieldguide. Species with "swopped illustrations" include:
In several cases the illustrations have been re-arranged in a way which makes it easier to compare similar species. The Swallows on page 295, and the Nighjars p244 are a case in point.
The colour of the several illustrations seems to have been adjusted and in some cases this is a definite improvement. The illustrations for raptors are nearly as comprehensive as those for the Larger Illustrated Sasol, and are really good. New plates for the Pipits are a significant improvement and new illustrations for the Barlow's/Karroo Lark and the Longbilled Lark will no doubt improve the likelihood of accurate identification, although I still think that this fieldguide creates the impression that identification of these groups is easier than it actually is.
The timing of this new book is perhaps unfortunate in that the distribution maps are not based on the new Atlas. Distribution can (in some cases) be misleading if it is used as a means of identification.
Overall the new Sasol is an excellent fieldguide and if one is aware of the shortcomings, is perhaps the best "fieldguide" currently available.
The Limitations of Fieldguides
Because of the need for fieldguides to be handy and accessible, they are limited in the amount of information they contain. Unfortunately this has contributed to the expectation, among many birders, that even the "difficult to identify" can be sorted out, if one gets a good enough view and simply refers properly to the guide. Groups such as the Pipits may very well defy identification, except for the most knowledgeable birders. Sasol on the one hand (not the '97 edition), makes the pipits look almost identical and therefore creates the impression that they simply cannot be sorted out by sight. While this is sobering for birdwatchers, it suggests that the birds are even more similar than they are in real life. Newmans on the other hand, in attempting to accentuate the ID features of the birds, makes them look quite easy to identify - which may well creat false expectations (and false confidence) among birdwatchers. Accurate identification of the most difficult groups (such as the pipits, some larks, cisticola's and warblers) should be based on a holistic evaluation of habitat, habits and knowledge of the calls. The fieldguides described above (including Roberts) should be seen as aids to identification. The best approach for birdwatchers is to interact with other birders, attend courses and to practise a bit of humility when it comes to these difficult groups.
The books described here are widely available in Southern Africa, particularly South Africa. For on-line or postal ordering the following sites are recommended:
This page is authored by Etienne Marais E-mail: sabirdstuff@oocities.com
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