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The belt of islands leading from Australia northeastward to Hawaii offers any number of choice birders' destinations: some 20 families (cassowaries, logrunners, and honeycreepers, for instance) are endemic, while another hundred or so are common, including most of the world's birds of paradise species and an astonishing variety of sunbirds, flycatchers, and nightjars. Wheatley, an accomplished birder and writer, offers a guide to some 200 destinations, with notes on endemic and characteristic populations, other regional wildlife, and lodging and other services.
--Gregory McNamee
Synopsis
"Where to Watch Birds in Australasia and Oceania" is the fourth guide in a series that will ultimately cover the whole world. It describes over two hundred major sites in detail and many more in passing, from New Guinea to New Zealand and across the Pacific to Hawaii. Most important, it answers crucial questions you find yourself asking before you go: Where can I see birds that epitomize the region? Which country supports the best cross section of species and the most endemics, and which sites do I need to visit to see most of them? How long do I need, and when is the best time to go? The layout of the book is practical, with countries, archipelagos, and islands treated alphabetically. General introductions to each country are followed by site details, which include bird lists under the headings "Endemics," "Specialties," and "Others"; a list of other wildlife if applicable; and the latest information on where to look for the best birds. Over one hundred maps and fifty line drawings complement the text. This guide will prove invaluable in both the preparation and execution of birding trips to any country, archipelago, or island in this highly varied region of the world.
