BOOKS ON BIRDS - FIELD GUIDES

I started birding seriously only a few months ago and have to admit somewhat lacking in the knowledge on the so many various aspects of birds identification, species and sub-species, anatomy descriptions of the birds, their habitats, favourite food, and even their unique sounds.

So, whether i like it or not, i had to start doing a lot of reading on the whatever materials available in Malaysia on birds, by searching for information on Internet or getting involved in bird related forum like the Photography Malaysia bird forum. The number of books or magazines on birds and birding in Malaysia is quite limited. Of course there are hundreds of books on birds and birding on the Internet, but i wanted something specific to Malaysia as this is my domain for birding for now. I need books on birds complete with local names so i can use them as a guide to identify and search the birds with the help of the locals wherever i go.

Currently, i only found three good books which contain some of the species that are found in Malaysia and the surrounding Asean countries. They are Birds of Malaysia and Singapore(including Sabah and Sarawak), the Natural History Book - the Ultimate Visual Guide on Anything on Earth, and Birds of Fraser's Hill which i just bought during my last weekend trip(7 July 2012) to Fraser's Hill. They are quite affordable selling for RM49.90 for the first one, RM169.95 for the second and RM30.00 for the third, and complete with all the information and illustrations for each species.

Between these three, i prefer the Birds of Malaysia and Singapore,and Birds of Fraser's Hill as the sizes are quite pocket able, and i can carry them with me for reference in the fields. They also cover more local species than the Natural History Book which only features birds in certain section of the book. Anyway, they are still good for beginner birder like me and worth having as references.

I am sure i will be buying more books as time goes by to add to my collection. Interestingly, there are free apps on birds that we can download to our Ipad or smartphones like eBird Lite, iBird Lite, Sibley Lite and myNaturalist. They are usually the lite versions which we have to pay to get their full features, but still  they are quite handy in the field if you carry your Ipad or smartphones with you.