Birds of India (Collins Field Guide)

good fast delivery

must for all Birdwatchers

all birds are not listed

Expect labeling of each bird picture. Text and narration is superlative.

very useful

My grandpa bought this book the year I’m born it’s very good but should include more species and have all images it’s very good and add more raptors

Hi fellow birders,This pocket sized guide is a nice introduction to the birds of the Indian sub-continent. Whilst it does not list all the species and sub-species that can be encountered all the commonly seen birds are there.176 pages of painted or drawn illustrations in colour, black and white and greyscale combine with the usual index of species, glossary of terms, basic map, bibliography etc to make this book a useful little guide for anyone interested in the birds of India, or travellers visiting India.It is small enough to fit in your pocket and light enough not to be noticed so it is handy for back packers with a passing interest in birds or keen birders that want some up front knowledge of the species that they may encounter.The colour illustrations are very good and birds are set in habitat paintings or backgrounds and not seperated on neatly arranged white background plates.There is a full description of each species along with notes on habitat to help to identify what are observing.Overall an inexpensive little useful guide to the birds of the Indian sub-continent. If you are travelling to Sri Lanka whilst visiting India you might also be interested in my review of  A Photographic Guide to Birds of Sri Lanka Enjoy your birding! Keep the wind in your face and the sun on your back. Bwana Foster. A Photographic Guide to Birds of Sri Lanka

For a birder this isn't what you would want as there are not enough species covered and plumage variations aren't covered all that well. There are no distribution maps ,though there is a brief description of where the birds occur . The are no notes on song .The colours are a bit overdone though you probably wouldn't have any difficulty in identifying the birds .The drawings have the proportions of individual species about right and the birds look real in that respect. For the average person just wanting to know,"What was that bird?" it is probably OK .

After looking at the option I bought the Collins Birds of India to take on holiday as we are keen amateur birders. It was light and easy to put in my man bag with my travel binoculars. We managed to identify over 50 species pretty well. during our 2 weeks in South Goa; confirmed when we met up with experienced local birder photographer . On arriving home and having decided to return to India next year I bought the larger Helms Guide to Birds of Southern India ( a bit more than 1/2 size of Collins UK Bird book ). That has more species varieties but the smaller Collins has clearer pictures

I have just returned from my trip to India and can confirm that this book was one of the best I took. I was not on a bird watching holiday as such, but none the less saw and, with its help, identified a multitude of birds both in towns and while driving between stops. You really need it too as there are very few familiar birds in India. Most exciting - thank you.

This is just a beautiful little book with lovely illustrations of many Indian birds with illustrations by Hermann Heinzel, who also illustrated my Collins North Europe and Middle East and North Africa Guide that I have used since I was a child. I love his bird paintings/pictures and I have learned to identify birds from his pictures alone for many years. It was in practically new condition too when I bought it and it only cost a penny.