Birds of Borneo; The (4th edition)

Smythies’ Birds of Borneo 4th edition revised by Geoffrey Davison. 1999. The bird book to end all bird books! Opulent and utterly comprehensive, this 4th edition re-instates the fascinating introductory chapters, omitted for reasons of economy from the 3rd edition, and brings them up to date. The book is an object to treasure for those who love books, let alone birds. The Birds of Borneo by the late Bertram Smythies, fully revised 4th edition by Geoffrey Davison. Natural History Publications (Borneo) & Sabah Society, 1999. Ppvii + 853, 190 x 255mm (7.5 x 10.5″ – and 2.5″ thick!). Index to Topics & Index to names (25pp). Eight introductory chapters, Systematic List, Distribution Table, History of Bornean Ornithology, Bibliography (33pp), profile of B E Smythies, Colour Plates, 57 in number. Borneo is the third biggest island in the world, the only island shared by three countries, and the biggest land mass in the Malay Archipelago It has a rich avifauna, 70% of the recorded bird species being resident, and most of these are species dependent on the South-East Asian lowland tropical rain forest for their survival. They are therefore vulnerable to recent rapid land use change, and many are becoming threatened. This book was first produced in 1960. It carries newly written chapters on the Borneo environment for birds, migration, conservation, and cave swiftlets, and reintroduces from the first edition those classic chapters on birds and man, bird augury and the Than hornbill ritual. Since the first edition the total number of birds recorded from Borneo has risen from 554 to 622. The additions include ten species newly recognised as endemic to Borneo, through the redefinition of species limits; eight newly resident either by introduction or colonisation; and an additional 50 rnigrants and vagrants. This swift and continuing growth of information is due to many factors: a change in methods of study, the rise of local scientific institutions and the protection of a network of managed areas where birds and their habitats are conserved. Severe new challenges have arisen, such as fire, drought and forest loss, and this new edition sets the avian scene for the massive changes likely to occur in Borneo over the next few decades.