Now in its second print run, this best-selling book has become the essential companion to all local bird field guides. The Southern African Birdfinder fills a gap in the book market for a comprehensive guide to the region’s top birding destinations and to finding southern Africa and Madagascar’s most desirable birds. The authors outline and describe 39 key bird routes and more than 330 birding sites (and their associated birds) across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and the little-documented but increasingly popular areas of Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. All sites are ranked into one of three categories of priority: essential (the region’s best); excellent (top sites but expendable to a time-limited visitor) and local interest (ideal for those looking for new areas to explore). Sites include practical details of access, best times to visit, habitat diversity and the birds that occur there and general natural history; the more important sites feature a detailed map. A guide to finding the region’s top 150 birds and an annotated checklist conclude the book.

Book reviews:

Beautifully-produced and superbly designed this is THE essential “bird finder” book for southern Africa. If a better or more attractive “Where to Find…” guide has been produced I’ve never seen it…and for birding the region it is indispensable.
http://10000birds.com/southern-african-birdfinder.htm

Perhaps a better title for this book would be “How to see 1400 bird species in Southern Africa in the least possible time!”. The first thing you think when picking up this book is “How on earth did they gather all this material?”. This really is a tour de force and packs an enormous amount of information into a very compact book and any previous site guide for the region is now truly redundant. Covering 335 birding sites in South Africa (193), Namibia (27), Botswana (14), Zimbabwe (27), Mozambique (21), Malawi (16), Zambia (18), Angola (5) and Madagascar (13). A helpful aspect is that these sites are divided up into 38 birding routes that allow the reader to plan trips that may last several days or a week. Each site is described and in many cases a map is included. Key target species for each are highlighted in red and are supported by a cast of commoner species. Many of these are illustrated. For a number of sites the description is very detailed with step-by-step guidance around the area. Some 150 species are selected for special treatment in a separate chapter where tips are given on where and when to find them. A full checklist list of the 1400 species covered indicates each bird’s status and a list of sites where they may be found, cross-referenced back to the main text. Other introductory chapters include useful information about the region including a section on pelagic birding with a helpful month-by-month species list. This is a great book that really does justice to a fantastic part of Africa and its birds.
Keith Betton.

... First and foremost, you need the South African Birdfinder . A site-guide par excellence, this is a mine of pin-sharp information, and a delight to use, especially to anyone brought up on those dreary ‘Where to watch Birds in…’ from the UK. Makes trip reports like this one (almost!?) redundant. ... The South African Birdfinder, unquestionably the best site guide ever written (and I stated that in one of my trip reports!!)
Oscar Campbell
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/s_africa/Western-cape-3/WN-cape-08.htm