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Books about birdwatching on the Canary Islands

The books are listed by publication date with the most recent at the top.

 

Checklist Of The Birds of the Canary Islands / Lista de las Aves de las Islas Canarias

Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey

Sociedad Ornitológica Canaria

2017

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Natural History of Tenerife

Philip & Myrtle Ashmole

Whittles Publishing

2016

"Introductory chapters discuss the extinct mammals, birds and reptiles, the island's ecology and the impact of people. The five main types of landscape (ecosystems) are then considered; coastal and lowland shrubland; dry woodland remnants; laurel forest; pine forest and high mountain shrubland. Some special habitats are also described including the lava flows and volcanic caves, with their unique highly adapted invertebrate animals. Both vertebrates and invertebrates are treated systematically while photographs and brief descriptions of hundreds of endemic species of plants are included enabling easy identification. The island's geology is also featured, in an account that covers both the oceanic context of the Canaries archipelago and the complex history of Tenerife itself, one of the most intriguing and most studied of all volcanoes. This comprehensive text provides a readily accessible and full account of an extraordinary island, referred to by Charles Darwin as 'perhaps one of the most interesting places in the world'."

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Birds of the Canary Islands

Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey

Sociedad Ornitológica Canaria

2015

A 900 plus page guide that covers 201 species recorded on the Canary Islands. General chapters cover climate, geography, habitats, history of ornithology and a evaluation of data records between 1800 and 2015. These are followed by detailed species accounts for all 201 species. Includes distribution maps and over 400 colour photographs.

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Canary Islands II: Tenerife and La Gomera, Spain

Dirk Hilbers and Kees Woutersen

Crossbill Guides

KNNV Uitgeverij

2015

"This new title in the Crossbill Guides Series covers Tenerife and La Gomera, the two most diverse of the Canary Islands. The flora and fauna of these islands is unique and consists of many species that occur nowhere else in the world. This guidebook describes the nature of these islands from the sun-soaked lava fields on the coast to the lonely snow-capped peak of mount Teide, including all the fascinating life that can be found in these ecosystems. The Canary Islands II: Tenerife and La Gomera gives detailed route descriptions (13 in total) and site descriptions (about 30) for naturalists throughout both islands, covering the best sites for bird watching, finding wildflowers, dragonflies and butterflies; for seeing marine life and the most remarkable geological sites. It also gives detailed information on tracking down the evolutionary processes that shaped the unique ecology of these isolated Atlantic Islands. This information comes with extensive descriptions of the ecology, geology, history and flora and fauna of Tenerife and La Gomera."

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Canary Islands I: Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Spain

Dirk Hilbers and Kees Woutersen

Crossbill Guides

KNNV Uitgeverij

2014

"The Crossbill Guide: Canary Islands, Volume 1: Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Spain is the first of a series of guides covering the Canary Islands. It contains nine detailed itineraries and a large number of sites with observation tips. The guide describes the best sites for walking, birdwatching, and finding, butterflies, dragonflies and flowers; geological sites, scuba diving sites, and sites that reveal the unique evolutionary processes on the islands."

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Rare Birds of the Canary Islands / Aves Raras de las Islas Canarias

Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey and Francisco Javier García Vargas

Lynx Edicions

2013

"Rare Birds of the Canary Islands / Aves Raras de las Islas Canarias compiles all official rare bird records, including those presently treated as "rarities" by the Spanish Birds Rarities Committee as well as some added by the authors when reliable pictures were available. More than 169 species accounts are given with precise records covering a period of c. 30 years at the island level."

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Finding Birds in the Canaries

Dave Gosney

Easybirder

2013

A guide to bird watching sites on the Canaries.

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Field Guide to the Birds of Macaronesia: Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde

Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey

Lynx Edicions

2011

"This Field Guide describes and illustrates all the species and subspecies of birds in Macaronesia (the Azores, Madeira, the Savage Islands, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde). The guide describes 573 species and subspecies, covering all resident, nesting, migrating and vagrant birds and includes more than 230 detailed distribution maps and 150 colour plates."

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Wild Spain: The Animals, Plants And Landscape

Teresa Farino

New Holland

2009

"Spain is one of the richest countries in Europe in terms of flora and fauna - its mammals include wolves, bears and the endemic Iberian Lynx, it has the highest number of breeding bird species in Europe, some of the best butterfly sites and an outstanding array of wildflowers. The range of habitats is vast, from the snow-capped mountain peaks of the Pyrenees through evergreen forests, olive groves and wood-pasture to freshwater wetlands and the arid sub-desert of the south. Few other European countries can rival its appeal to those interested in wildlife and the environment. "Wild Spain" celebrates the landscapes and natural history of this surprisingly diverse country, including the Canaries and Balearics. Expert naturalist and landscape historian Teresa Farino examines the geography and climate, the many different habitat types and the remarkable variety of wildlife, including the many endemic species and impressive list of rarities for which Spain is a last refuge. More than 230 superb colour photographs bring alive their dramatic world. The past 20 years have seen a revolution in Spain in terms of wildlife conservation and environmental awareness, and the final section of the book looks at the country's protected areas, the development of green tourism and where to watch wildlife."

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A Field Guide to the Birds of the Atlantic Islands: Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde

Tony Clarke, Chris Orgill and Tony Disley

Helm Field Guides

Christopher Helm

2006

"This is the first comprehensive field guide dealing exclusively with the birds of this spetacular region. It covers all resident, migrant and vagrant species found in Macaronesia which comprises the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde. Over 450 species are illustrated with full details all the plumages and major races likely to be encountered. Concise text describes identification, status, range, habits and voice."

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Checklist of the Birds of the Canary Islands / Lista De Las Aves De Las Islas Canarias

Eduardo Garcia del Rey

Publicaciones Turquesa

2001

"This is the up-to-date list of all the bird species reliably recorded in the Canary Islands and its main islets between 1963 and 2001. It is arranged according to families and includes each bird's current status along with their scientific, common English and Spanish names."

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Where to Watch Birds in Tenerife

Eduardo Garcia del Rey

Publicaciones Turquesa

2000

"This work offers a selection of more than 67 sites of ornithological interest, some of which are the best ones to look for the endemics and rare seabirds. Each site is described in terms of its habitat, the best time to visit, location, strategy and birds to be expected (residents, summer visitors, winter visitors, passage migrants, accidentals and escapes). Detailed maps, photographs and illustrations complement the text."

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Natural History of the Canary Islands: La Gomera

David Bramwell and Juan Manuel Lopez

Editorial Rueda

1999

A guide to the flora and fauna of La Gomera.

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Las Aves Marinas de España y Portugal: Península Ibérica, Islas Baleares, Canarias, Azores y Madeira / Seabirds Of Spain And Portugal

Andy Paterson

Lynx Edicions

1997

Spanish with extensive English summaries

Covers 86 species of seabird recorded around the Iberian peninsula and associated islands.

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Birdwatchers' Guide to the Canary Islands

D. Collins and A.G. Clarke

Prion

1996

"This book provides detailed information on birding sites on this island archipelago, each site entry giving location and access, accommodation, birding strategy and species expected to be seen. It also includes a selective bird list giving brief details on the distribution and status of the uncommon birds which may be found, cross-referenced to site information, and a full species list. It also includes additional useful information on planning a trip, such as travel, climate and clothing, health and medical facilities."

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Where to Watch Birds in Spain And Portugal

Laurence Rose

Hamlyn Birdwatching Guides

Hamlyn

1995

"This birdwatching guide lists 190 of the best sites near holiday destinations in Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, the Azores, the Balearics, the Canaries and Madeira, including a wide variety of different habitat types. Details of birds to be seen at each season, illustrations of specialities, and directions are included for each site."

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Finding Birds In The Canary Islands

Dave Gosney

Gostours

1995?

A 26 page guide to birdwatching sites.

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Fauna of the Canary Islands: Illustrated Map

Jose Manuel Moreno

Turquesa Publicaciones

1992

A 24 page guide and map.

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Birds Of The Atlantic Islands, Volume 1

David A. Bannerman and W. Mary Bannerman

Illustrations: D.M. Reid-Henry

Oliver & Boyd

1963

The first of a four volume publication. This volume describes the birds of the Canary Islands.

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The Canary Islands: Their History, Natural History And Scenery

An Account Of An Ornithologist's Camping Trips In The Archipelago

David A. Bannerman

3 colour plates: Roland Green (1), Henrik Gronvold (2)

Many black and white photographs

Gurney & Jackson

1922

From the foreword:

"This book does not profess to be a complete Natural History of the Canary Islands. It deals principally with their Ornithology, and Parts II. and III. contain accounts of various expeditions made by the author during a more or less thorough exploration of the group on behalf of the Bird Department of the. British Museum of Natural History. When in pursuit of birds in the various islands, it naturally followed that other subjects besides ornithology had, in the course of investigations, to be studied. The geological formation of the Islands had to be examined in relation to the fauna and flora ; the Zones of Vegetation for their bearing on the distribution of bird-life, and so it came about that the material for Chapters II. to VI. was accumulated. The ornitho- logical results have already been published in the pages of the Ibis — the Journal of the British Ornithologists' Union. The lack of any really brief account of the discovery and conquest of the Islands prompted me to include Chapter I., although it is somewhat outside the scope of this book. So attractive is the early history of the Archipelago, that any traveller sufficiently interested in the Natural History of the Islands to read these pages, will almost certainly want to know something of their early inhabitants and conquerors."
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Further Notes on the Birds of the Canary Islands

E.G. Meade-Waldo

Colour plate (Parus ombriosus): J.G. Keulemans

Ibis: Volume 32, Issue 4, pages 429-438

1890

Opening lines:

"I am afraid that I have much less to relate of these islands, ornithologically, this time thau in my previous papers, having recently explored only the little island of Hierro, which is but a small field, and Lanzarote, that resembles the worst parts (for birds) of Fuerteventura."
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Notes on the Island of Palma in the Canary Group

H.B. Tristram

Colour plate (Fringilla palmae): J.G. Keulemans

Ibis: Volume 32, Issue 1, pages 67-76

1890

Opening lines:

"Mr. Meade-Waldo concludes his interesting paper in the last 'Ibis,' on the 'Birds of the Canary Islands,' by expressing his surprise that he has found so much to tell after all that has been written upon them. I can only follow him by the confession that I feel he has exhausted the subject, and that were it not for the imperative order of our Editor, I should not have ventured to take up my pen. The island of Palma certainly claims especial notice at the hands of the ornithologist, from its peculiar features, from what it does possess in the way of bird-life, and from what it does not possess."
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Further Notes on the Birds of the Canary Islands

E.G. Meade-Waldo

2 colour plates (Pratincola dacotiae / Parus palmensis): J.G. Keulemans

Ibis: Volume 31, Issue 4, pages 503-520

1889

Opening lines:

"In the middle of February of this year I paid another visit to the Island of Fuerteventura, meeting by chance in Las Palmas a kindred spirit, Dr. Percy Rendall, of Gambia, who accompanied me. A fortnight later Canon Tristram, whom I had not expected to see, arrived. My principal objects in this visit here to observe the habits of the Chat which I had procured the previous year, to have another good look at the Cream-coloured Courser and Houbara Bustard on their breeding-grounds, and to get living specimens of as many species as I could."
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Last updated November 2011