ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 
861 
some mention in the introduction. Furthermore 
some shorebirds are rather similar in appearance, 
sucb as the North American dowitchers ( Limno- 
dromus scolopaceus and griseus) to give one 
example, yet the displays are quite different in 
these closely related species. Another point to be 
made is that foraging is dealt with well, but 
habitat, and not only foraging habitat but breeding 
habitat, is given almost no space. These birds 
travel half way around the world to get to specific 
breeding areas: some summary of what makes 
these breeding habitats special would have been 
good to include. Finally, migration itself is not 
detailed. These are among the most impressive of 
avian migrants that exist! While some long¬ 
distance journeys are noted in the species 
accounts, some information in the introduction 
regarding migration and vagrancy would have 
been good. 
The other subsection in the Introduction is that 
of Plumages and Molts, and it is nicely detailed, 
complete and well illustrated. The images of 
juvenile plumage patterns are very helpful. 
However, the molt terminology used is not the 
standard Humphrey-Parkes system that North 
American ornithologists and also many bird 
identification enthusiasts have come to expect. 
There is a chart that notes ‘equivalents' of various 
plumage naming systems, although this is only 
somewhat useful us the Humphrey-Parkes (H-P) 
system is not always equivalent to other systems, 
and in these particular differences it s where H-P 
becomes most useful. Ii will be a disappointment 
lo many North Americans that the H-P molt 
naming system was not used, particularly as it 
allows fora more precise comparison ot plumages 
between species. It also appears that in cases 
where molt differences are very helpful in 
separating similar species, such as the American 
and Pacific Golden plovers (Pluvialis dominica 
and fulva. respectively), this molt information is 
not included in the main identification summary. 
Instead, it is relegated to a later section and then, 
at least with the plovers, only treats differences in 
timing of body plumage rather than the more 
important differences in timing of wing molt. 
These differences in timing of the wing molt, by 
age, and the corresponding differences in wear 
later in the year are not noted at all. These may be 
nit-picks, but shorebird identification knowledge 
is rather detailed these days, and the quality ot 
high-pow'ered optics and ability to lake precise 
Photographs of these features allows for use ol 
very nitpicky features to aid in identification. 
Given that the imagery in this book is so fantastic, 
1 note the few instances where the text does not 
come up to par with the fabulous imagery. 
The main body of this book is of course the 
species accounts. The 134 species are well 
illustrated, and this includes an undescribed 
plover (‘White-faced Plover* |Charadrius sp.] 
from South Asia), as well as some extremely rare 
species such as the Slender-billed Curlew ( Nume- 
nius tenuirostris). The Eskimo Curlew (N. bore¬ 
alis) is not illustrated. Each account is divided 
into various sections: Identification: Plumages by 
Age and Time of Year: Calls: Status. Habitat and 
Distribution: Racial Variation; Similar Species; 
and References. Each species account is accom¬ 
panied by a range map and various images of the 
species in different life stages, and usually in 
night. It is a shame that the map didn't include 
migratory routes, although the maps themselves 
are of sufficient size to see details and are color 
coded seasonally and easy to read. 
The real reason you want to have this book is 
the fantastic set of images included. The images 
appear to be very carefully chosen to illustrate 
each age or plumage well, they are almost all side 
on images and standardized in pose so that they all 
point lo the right and the bird in the image is 
approximately the same size within species or 
related species. Chandler, for the most part, uses 
classical ‘portrait’ style photographs, in other 
words up close, and in detail. Shorebirds in its 
layout and style of photography used makes 
comparisons between species easier and more 
direct. Similarly, Chandler’s book makes it 
straightforward to review differences in age 
classes and plumages within species. The images 
in Chandler are truly stunning, and very, very 
useful. I find that, when wanting to know what a 
bird actually looks like, I go to this book first; 
when I want to study fine feather details, and 
characteristics that are particularly along the 
‘nitpicky' end of the shorebird identification 
continuum. 1 turn to this book. 
Given that there have been some important 
contributions to the shorebird identification field 
in the last few years, it is necessary to compare 
this book to them in some manner. Perhaps the 
most innovative book in recent years dealing with 
shorebirds is The Shorebird Guide (M. O'Brien, 
R. Crossley, and K. Karlson. 2006. The Shorebird 
Guide. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. Massachu¬ 
setts, USA). That book makes the argument that 
