This is a comprehensive and up-to-date field guide to the birds of Southern Africa, featuring more than 4000 newly commissioned images. Intended to aid birders in identifying and distinguishing birds in one of the world's richest birding areas, the book depicts over 900 species, resulting in the most comprehensively illustrated field guide ever produced for Southern Africa. Although the region contains less than three percent of the world's land area, more than ten percent of the world's bird species breed here--more than in the whole of the United States and Canada combined.The Guide is devoted to identification features of the different species, sexes, and ages of Southern African birds as well as to their calls and habitat preferences. Both text and plates emphasize the separation of potentially confusing species and identify features which assist in differentiation. Illustrations include as many different plumages of each species as possible to further assist in identification. Special attention has been paid in the illustrations to plumage variations of age, sex, and season and there are numerous depictions of birds in flight, especially where these pictures can aid the birder.The informative text, written by eminent ornithologists, is fully integrated with the color plates to facilitate use in the field. The species accounts emphasize the essential characteristics of each bird, and distribution maps are included for each species. This guide is not only an unparalleled reference, but is a superb visual record of the rich variety of Southern Africa's birdlife.