This is a book of two parts, in terms of its content and also of its quality. After a brief introductory section, which gives an interesting and well-written overview on waders and their habitats in the Indian subcontinent, there are 22 colour plates. The images have something of an ‘old-school’ feel to them and they reminded me a lot of the plates from Hayman et al.’s 1991 Shorebirds. Most are painted on an orange-cream background, many of the birds are depicted in rather stiff poses, and the colours are generally too orange/red (see, for example, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis, which is almost Curlew Sandpiper-esque C. ferruginea). The images of the pratincoles Glareola, in comparison, are almost too washed-out to be of practical use. I don’t think this is down to printing errors, as the photographs in the rest of the book are fine.
However, I don’t want to dwell on the plates too long, since the species accounts, which comprise some 80% of the book, are a considerable improvement on what came before them. Each account starts with a summary of local names used for the species, an overview of the taxonomy, and details of the range and distribution. A broad description is given summarising a species’ usual range but, for areas where the bird is a vagrant, a more detailed description is given; for species with only a few records in the treated region, individual records are listed. Field characteristics and a description of plumage follows, along with measurements and vocalisation. General habitats and food/foraging are described, followed by – where relevant – a detailed section on breeding. The text concludes with a short note on movements, a paragraph or two on the species’ conservation, and an often-fascinating ‘miscellaneous’ section, which covers anything from longevity records to folklore. A series of four to eight photographs finish the species account, all of which are of good quality and mostly (rare vagrants aside) photographed within the treated region.
With so many titles on the market that focus on waders, this book stands out by virtue of its Indian subcontinent-specific content. Despite being a little pricey, Waders of the Indian Subcontinent is an excellent one-stop shop for accessing the up-to-date status, distribution and breeding information for waders within the treated region.
Stephen Menzie