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The books are arranged by publication date with the most recent at the top of the page.

Africa bird books page.

Birds of Western Africa

Nik Borrow and Ron Demey

Christopher Helm

2nd edition

2014

Text and plates are same as Princeton publication below

"Birds of Western Africa (Helm, 2001) was the first single-volume guide to cover all the species of this region, which comprises 23 countries from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to Chad and the Central African Republic, and south to Congo. This new edition uses all of the plates from Birds of Western Africa, with a concise, authoritative text on facing pages, to create a conveniently-sized, lightweight field reference covering all 1300 species found in the region. The book also has updated colour distribution maps for each species placed on the text pages for the first time. A number of new images have been painted for this new edition and several of the illustrations have been replaced. This major new guide will enable birders to identify any species found in any of the countries covered."

Birds of Western Africa

Nik Borrow and Ron Demey

Princeton University Press

2nd edition

2014

Text and plates are same as Helm publication above

"This revised and expanded edition of Birds of Western Africa is now the most up-to-date field guide available to the 1,285 species of birds found in the region--from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to Chad and the Central African Republic and south to Congo. It now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quick and easy reference. The comprehensive species accounts have been fully updated and expanded, and the color distribution maps have been completely revised. This premier guide also includes more than 3,000 illustrations on 266 stunning color plates."

Cameroon

Ben West

3rd edition

2011

"With ancient chiefdoms tucked between terraced fields and volcanic mountains, Mount Cameroon - Africa's highest peak, the impressive Waza National Park with its herds of elephants, and the coast's sleepy palm-fringed beaches, Cameroon has no shortage of attractions, yet it somehow fails to be a tourist haunt. The only full-length, English-language guide, this book contains essential information on nature, culture and staying healthy plus practical details like getting around and accommodation options in the city and countryside. It includes details of wildlife and bird sites, ancient tribal kingdoms, colourful trading towns, 'pygmy' hunting camps and even where to see the endangered lowland gorilla."

Birds of Africa: South of the Sahara

Ian Sinclair and Peter Evans

2nd edition

2010

"With over 2,500 photographs, the text, by Africa's top birders, this indispensable companion in the field gives identification, call, habitat, status, breeding and diet, with calendar bars showing breeding, and distribution maps. Fully revised, Birds of Africa south of the Sahara provides unrivalled coverage of African birds in a single volume, and is the first book to describe and illustrate all of the birds found in Africa south of the Sahara Desert (the Afrotropic Region), including Socotra, Pemba and islands in the Gulf of Guinea. Despite its exceptional coverage of over 2,100 species described, plus 70 vagrants, this guide is compact enough to use in the field, and follows the standard field guide format, with texts and range maps appearing opposite the color plates. Comprehensively revised to reflect changes in taxonomy. Illustrations show most distinctive plumages, diagnostic flight patterns and major geographic variants."

Living on the Edge: Wetlands and Birds in a Changing Sahel

Leo Zwarts, Rob G Bijlsma, Jan van der Kamp and Eddy Wymenga

2009

"What do Siberian-breeding ruffs, Ukrainian glossy ibises, Dutch purple herons and Spanish subalpine warblers have in common? They all winter in Africa's Sahel! You will find this information, and much more in Living on the edge, a tribute to the region's function as an important wintering area for long-distance migrants. This fascinating book describes the challenges the birds have to cope with: climate change, of course, and rapid man-made habitat changes related to deforestation, irrigation and reclamation of wetlands. How have all these changes affected the birds, and have birds adapted to these changes? Can we explain the changing numbers of breeding birds in Europe by changes in the Sahel, or vice versa? This book will answer more questions than you will be able to raise."

Waterbird Census Of Coastal Cameroon And Sanaga River, January-March 2007

Editor: J.J. Van der Waarde

Working Group International Waterbird and Wetland Research

2007

"A bird survey was carried out from January to March 2007 of the coastal wetlands of Cameroon and the lower Sanaga River. This WIWO report describes the results of this study. The coastal wetlands are described, and for all 66 species of waterbirds present, numbers and estimates for the total coast are presented. The coast of Cameroon is important for Palaearctic waders and Afrotropical waterbirds. Numbers of African Skimmer, Grey Pratincole, Royal Tern and Little Tern exceed the 1% population threshold. Three areas, the Ndian Basin on the Northern coast, the Wouri or Douala estuary and the lower reaches of the Sanaga pass several criteria for the Ramsar Convention and qualify as wetland of international importance. All three areas currently face threats of habitat destruction due to human interventions including oil exploration, hydropower dam construction, industrial developments, clearing of mangroves and overfishing. Conservation actions are recommended, including designation of three areas under the Ramsar Convention and poverty alleviation programs for the population that inhabit these areas."

Birds of Western Africa

Nik Borrow and Ron Demey

Princeton University Press

2005

"This new field guide uses all 147 color plates from Princeton's A Guide to the Birds of Western Africa, with concise, authoritative text on facing pages, to create a compact, lightweight field reference covering all 1,285 species found in the region - from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to Chad and the Central African Republic and south to Congo. It is the first field guide to cover this region exclusively and in such comprehensive depth, and will enable birders to identify any species found in any of the twenty-three countries and territories covered. Birds of Western Africa also has an updated color distribution map for each species, conveniently placed on interleaved pages within the color plates. The plates, all original and painted by the same leading illustrator, comprise over 3,000 figures - including a number of new images painted for this field guide - and depict almost all the species described. The entries opposite the plates focus on key identification marks for all main plumages."

Waders And Waterbirds In The Floodplains Of The Logone, Cameroon And Chad, February 2000

Editor: W. Ganzevles, & J. Bredenbeek

Working Group International Waterbird and Wetland Research

2005

"Since 1991 several ornithological surveys and studies have been carried out in the Waza-Logone floodplain. A total of 346 bird species has been recorded since 1991. The most numerous waterbird species are White Pelican, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, White-faced Whistling Duck, Collared Pratincole, Ruff and Black-tailed Godwit. For the resident species Black-crowned Crane the Logone gloodplain is one of the last strongholds. For Collared Pratincole the area is one of the major wintering areas in Africa. Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler are vvery abundant as well as Barn Swallow. Annual counts of wintering waterbirds in the Lake Chad Basin Area in Cameroon (The Logone river and its floodplain) started in 1993 ans showed the importance of the Logone floodplain for wintering waterbird species. The February 2000 census presented in this report counted nearly 230,000 waterbirds and waders in the floodplains on both sided of the Logone river in Cameroon and chad. Waterbird numbers in the Lake Chad Basin Area have been increasing since 1995, indicating that the floodplain restoration of the Waza-Logone Project has a positive effect on waterbird habitat quality."

Field Guide To The Birds of Western Africa

Nik Borrow and Ron Demey

Christopher Helm

2004

"This field guide utilises all the plates from Birds of Western Africa: An Identification Guide by the same authors, with a concise, authoritative text on facing pages, to create a lightweight guide covering all 1285 species found in the region. The guide also contains an updated colour distribution map for each species and a number of new images have been painted just for this guide."

Birds of Western and Central Africa

Ber Van perlo

Princeton University Press

2003

"This is the only pocket guide to all the species of bird known to inhabit Western and Central Africa. Ber van Perlo introduces more than 1,500 species through 109 expertly rendered full-color plates and concise, easy-to-consult entries. The territory covered is vast - nearly 2,500 miles down the coast and over 1,000 miles inland, including not only Senegal, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo but all or part of Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cte d'Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Prncipe, So Tom, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The plates show all plumages for each species where these differ, including male, female, and juvenile. Succinct textual entries on each species appear on the facing pages, providing key notes for identification and basic information about habitats and voice. Distribution maps follow in the next section, and an appendix provides the French and Portuguese names. Presenting the most essential, up-to-date information in convenient, highly portable form, Birds of Western and Central Africa is the definitive guide for all birders planning or simply pondering a visit to the region."

Birds of Western Africa

Nick Borrow

Christopher Helm

2002

"This major new handbook covers 1282 species which occur in the western countries of Africa. The countries covered are Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Rio Muni, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, part of Mauritania and the islands of Sao Tome, Principe, and Bioko (Fernando Po). It is the only field guide available which covers the region's birds in detail and provides colour illustrations of all the species described. The book is illustrated with 142 colour plates which cover all the species described apart from a few vagrants (which are depicted in black and white within the text). Distribution maps are provided for the majority of species."

A Guide to the Birds of Western Africa

Nick Borrow and Ron Demey

2002

"A Guide to the Birds of Western Africa describes 1,285 species, representing the entire avifauna of the region. There are 147 original color plates, all painted by the same leading illustrator, comprising over 3,000 figures and depicting almost all the species described. The detailed species accounts cover all identification criteria, including differences between similar species, voice, habits, habitat, breeding, distribution, and status. The text also features color distribution maps for over 1,100 species, and numerous line drawings illustrate particular aspects of behavior and identification."

Waders and waterbirds in the floodplains of the Logone, Cameroon and Chad, January-February 1999

A.J. Dijkstra, W. Ganzevles, G.J. Gerritsen & S. de Kort

Working Group International Waterbird and Wetland Research

2002

"For many wader and waterbird species the inland West-African wetlands are of great importance as wintering sites. However the expanding human population caused a tremendously increased pressure on inland wetland resources in the past four decades. Together with a sequence of droughts in West-Africa this diminished, and still threatens, the capacity to support wildlife. Therefore further research should be carried out to extend knowledge and quantify the value of specific inland wetlands, in view of possible protection of the most vulnerable areas in the nearby future."

Birds of Western and Central Africa

Ber Van Perlo

Collins

2002

"This is the only pocket guide to all the species of bird known to inhabit Western and Central Africa. Ber van Perlo introduces more than 1,500 species through 109 expertly rendered full-color plates and concise, easy-to-consult entries. The territory covered is vast - nearly 2,500 miles down the coast and over 1,000 miles inland, including not only Senegal, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo but all or part of Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cte d'Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Prncipe, So Tom, Sierra Leone, and Togo."

A Field Guide to the Birds of West Africa

W. Searle, G.J. Morel and W. Hartwig

1977

"A complete bird guide for Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, the Gambia and the whole West African region from the Atlantic to Chad and the Central African Republic in the east, and northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara at 18ºN - 20ºN - the border between the Ethiopian and Palaearctic faunal regions. Over 500 species are illustrated and fully described, with notes on identifying characters, measurements, details of voice, distribution, habitat, nests and eggs. A further 200 allied species are dealt with more briefly and the 371 local or uncommon species are included in the Checklist on pages 263-94. The illustrations by Wolfgang Hartwig were painted specially for this book and are arranged on the Peterson pattern with facing caption pages. A special feature is the list on pages 295-336 which gives the scientific and English, Spanish, French and German vernacular names."

Birds of West Central and Western Africa

African Handbook Of Birds: Series 3

C. W Mackworth-Praed and C.H.B. Grant

Uncertain of original publication date

1970/73

This series was published in two volumes, Volume 1 covers non-passerines, volume 2 covers passerines. This series is part of the 6 volume African Handbook Of Birds.

Birds Of The West African Town And Garden

J.H. Elgood

1960

A guide to 100 species of commoner birds of West Africa.

The Birds Of West And Equatorial Africa

David A.Bannerman

1953

Published in 2 volumes with over 1,500 pages in total and 30 coloured plates. This two volume set is a condensed version of the earlier 8 volume publication.