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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol 124. No. 3. September 2012 
The introductory material includes sections on 
geography, geology and climate, flora, habitats, 
human history, conservation, and alien species, and 
three maps, one showing New Zealand and its 
offshore islands, and one each of the North Island, 
and South and Stewart islands. A long series of 
abbreviations (which 1 initially found daunting, but 
soon got used to) help compress the species 
accounts. These accounts, two-to-four per left- 
hand page, begin with a small line diagram which 
outlines the number and arrangement of photo¬ 
graphs on the facing page with the species’ share of 
the photographs identified in gray. The typical 
species account includes a description with the 
critical identification features in italics, differences 
in female and juvenile plumage, sections on voice/ 
call, feeding, breeding, breeding range, and estima¬ 
tion of breeding numbers, threats and management, 
habitat where best viewed, and status in New 
Zealand. The number of facing page photographs 
varies from two to nine with one to five photo¬ 
graphs per species. About a quarter of the species 
covered are listed as vagrant, occasional, or chance 
sightings, mostly of Australian birds. Following the 
species accounts are a list of extinct species and 
‘Notes for the Visitor,' which includes an annotat¬ 
ed list of island sanctuaries, mainland sanctuaries 
(each surrounded by pest-proof fences), a long list 
of ‘Other Birding Spots.' ‘Offshore Boat Trips,' 
national parks and other protected areas, birding 
tour operators with contact information, environ¬ 
mental and conservation organizations, a bibliog¬ 
raphy, a glossary, and an index—all very useful 
information. 
One of the great strengths of this book is its size- 
at 115 X 189 X 18 mm it fits easily into most 
jacket pockets and is an actual ‘field' guide. The 
sequence of bird species is not laxonornically 
arranged, which may annoy some people, but 
rather starts with a section on ‘Seabirds.' fol¬ 
lowed by ‘Waterside and Wetland Birds,' and 
finally ‘Landbirds.' The Waterside and Wetland 
bird section begins with the shorebirds (waders), 
followed by grebes, spoonbills, ibises, cranes, 
pelicans, and rails before getting to ducks and 
geese. The photographs tire generally of excellent 
quality, but there arc exceptions. For example, the 
white neck of the White-necked Heron (Aniea 
pucij'ua) is in deep shadow, neither photograph of 
the White-chinned Peu - el ( Procell aria aequinoc- 
tialis) has even a hint of white, and the white on 
several birds is huffy. I personally prefer painted 
plates to photographs, partially because photo¬ 
graphs make visual size comparisons among spe 
eies problematic, it is difficult to standardize poses 
for comparison purposes, and foreshortening in 
other than side view' causes problems. That said, I 
think the selection of photographs for this book was 
well done with a lew exceptions—three photo¬ 
graphs of the Rock Dove (Columbo livia ) are a bit 
much, especially when only a single photograph of 
the endemic New Zealand Pigeon (Kercru) (Hcmi- 
phaga novae seel and! ae) was presented on the 
same page. 
This field guide is not perfect, but it is loaded 
with information and will allow you to identify 
the vast majority of New Zealand birds. 1 will 
have one in my pocket on my next trip to New 
Zealand.—WILLIAM E. DAVIS JR., Professor 
Emeritus, Boston University, 23 Knollwood 
Drive, East Falmouth, MA 02536, USA; 
e-mail: wedavisl l@gmail.com 
