Birds of the Middle East

A guest blog from the authors of Birds of the Middle East …

We are so pleased to have finally brought to fruition the new edition of Birds of the Middle East. Once again it has been great working with John Gale, Mike Langman and Brian Small, not only because they are fine illustrators but because of their knowledge of bird identification. It really has been a team effort.

The result is a virtually a new book. It has an entirely new layout with the text and maps opposite the plates. Over 100 new species are included bringing the total number of species covered to over 820. The detailed maps, now in full colour, have been extensively revised to show wintering and migration distributions as well as breeding.

It is only field guide to the birds of the Middle East and covers Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, the Arabian peninsula and Socotra. There are 176 colour plates and the accompanying concise species accounts cover all key identification features.

Field guides can quickly get out of date as new species are recorded, new identification features discovered and new breeding areas located with increased travel. Thus we will be starting a webpage ‘Middle East Birds’ on A&C Black’s website which we will be updating twice yearly with news of new species, revised distributions and new identification information – including revised plates that can be downloaded to fit in your guide. So we would welcome your contributions to this – all of which will be acknowledged.

Finally we are proud to have dedicated this field guide to BirdLife International’s Middle East conservation programme.

Simon Aspinall & Richard Porter
August 2010