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This page lists books about birds and birdwatching in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The books are arranged by publication date with the most recent at the top of the page.

Africa

- Africa (All)

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."

Birds of Katanga

Michel Louette & Michel Hasson

Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale

2012

"This is the first illustrated book on the birds of Katanga. The status of the 693 species with confirmed records was investigated carefully, including research on the collections of the Royal Museum for Central Africa. General distribution, presence and status in Katanga, ecology, breeding and migration, notes, and conservation status are discussed for a selection of 248 species that are illustrated in full colour. Habitat diversity is illustrated by 25 photos."

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."

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."

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."

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."

The Birds Of The Belgian Congo, Part 4

James P. Chapin

The American Museum of Natural History

1954

The Fourth of four volumes published between 1932 and 1954.

From the introduction: "The fourth and final volume of this series includes the passerine families Dicruridae to Fringillidae, a list of species now to be added, a list of African localities mentioned in the text and a bibliography."

The Birds Of The Belgian Congo, Part 3

James P. Chapin

The American Museum of Natural History

1953

The third of four volumes published between 1932 and 1954.

From the introduction: "This third volume of the avifauna of the Belgian Congo includes the families Eurylaimidae to Hirundinidae, and the remaining passeriform families are to be covered in a fourth and final volume. Work on the present volume was begun in 1938, when aided by a grant from the Belgian American Educational Foundation I spent the whole summer studying the collections in the Musee du Congo Belge at Tervueren, Belgium. I wish to express my gratitude to the Foundation and its President, Dr. Perrin C. Galpin."

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.

The Birds Of The Belgian Congo, Part 2

James P. Chapin

The American Museum of Natural History

1939

The second of four volumes published between 1932 and 1954.

From the introduction: "This second volume on the avifauna of the Belgian Congo includes the families Rallidze to Picidze. It is expected that the Passeriformes will require two more volumes. While bringing the manuscript up to date, I have had the privilege of spending ten months at the Musee du Congo Belge, where the Director, Dr. H. Schouteden, has aided me in every way to study its abundant ornithological collections. No other museum in the world has such a splendid representation of Congo birds. There I had the great good fortune to discover two mounted specimens of Afropavo congensis, and this remarkable bird is figured in color as the frontispiece of the present volume. My gratitude to Dr. Schouteden is difficult to express in full. Unfailing support and encouragement in my work have been given by Dr. Frank M. Chapman."

The Birds Of The Belgian Congo, Part 1

James P. Chapin

The American Museum of Natural History

1932

The first of four volumes published between 1932 and 1954.

From the introduction: "For an undertaking such as this an author may be expected to present his qualifications. During a five and a half years’ sojourn in the Congo I collected and carefully observed the birds across the entire width of the colony, along a route of approximately 1800 miles, from Banana on the coast to Aba and the adjoining border of the Lado district. After returning from the Congo seventeen years ago, I endeavored to profit by every opportunity to further my knowledge of Ethiopian birds. These studies were rendered possible by the generous support given by The American Museum of Natural History in the working out of its Congo collections. The means were willingly furnished to enable me to make extensive comparisons of our own material with many other collections; and other museums have done their utmost to assist me in studying their African specimens. Thus I have worked at five of the other important museums of the United States, as well as at eleven museums in Europe."