An Amazing Month for Bird Books

October 2012 is going to be an amazing month for bird books. I mean, we’re getting not one, but two books on…

Birds of Paradise: Revealing the World’s Most Extraordinary Birds
Tim Laman and Edwin Scholes
October 23, 2012
Eight years. Eighteen expeditions. Fifty-one field sites. Thirty-nine unique species of birds-of-paradise, all photographed in the wild for the first time in history.

If that’s not enough to interest you in this book from National Geographic, click through to the Amazon page and take a look at some photographs. Wow.
Drawn from Paradise: The Discovery, Art and Natural History of the Birds of Paradise
David Attenborough and Errol Fuller
October 2, 2012
Instead of photos, this book showcases “more than two-hundred hand-painted images and sketches”. It looks like the perfect compliment to the above book.

Birds of the Masai Mara
Adam Scott Kennedy
October 28, 2012
A photography-based field guide to the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. And if you’re planning on going, also make sure you get the companion guide Animals of the Masai Mara.
Birds of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan
Raffael Ayé, Manuel Schweizer, and Tobias Roth
October 28, 2012
This guide is obviously very good news for anyone heading to Central Asia.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Ninth edition
Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight
October 1, 2012
This venerable field guide has been updated and expanded.

Audubon’s Aviary: The Original Watercolors for The Birds of America
Roberta J.M. Olson
October 16, 2012
This is probably my most-looked-forward-to book of the month. I was fortunate to have been given the Audubon Baby Elephant book a long time ago. I haven’t seen the need to get any further Audubon collection. Until now. I’m anxious to see how much of a difference there is between the original watercolors and the engravings. And, since I’m a sucker for such things, I’m very tempted by the fancy and oh-so-expensive limited edition.
National Geographic Bird-watcher’s Bible: A Complete Treasury
Jonathan Alderfer
October 2, 2012
I’m curious how this will compare to other birding miscellanies. Be on the lookout for an initial review sometime soon.
Rare Birds: The Extraordinary Tale of the Bermuda Petrel and the Man Who Brought It Back from Extinction
Elizabeth Gehrman
October 9, 2012
I really enjoy books about endangered species, especially those that chronicle birds brought back from oblivion’s edge.