HONG KONG BIRDING LITERATURE
There are a number of books currently in print that may be of use to anyone interested in the birds of Hong Kong.
There is a local field guide, The Birds of Hong Kong and South China by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps and Lam Chiu Ying (Eighth Edition, 2005)
The first edition of this book was published in 1977 and was consistently revised and expanded during Clive Viney’s stay in Hong Kong. The eighth edition will, I imagine, be the last in the series but it is still the most compact and useful field guide for the visitor to Hong Kong. Note that there are still previous editions of this book in circulation, so if buying the guide online, make sure it is the 2005 edition that you are purchasing. It can be ordered abroad from Amazon UK. The link for the appropriate page is: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0000CP2NU/ref=sr_1_2_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1509858375&sr=8-2&keywords=Birds+of+Hong+Kong+and+South+China
Another book that my clients sometimes carry with them is the recently published A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong (2016) by Ray Tipper. This is a photographic guide to the commonest 282 species to be seen in the territory, which is just over half the number of species on the Hong Kong list.
The best regional field guide is perhaps Birds of East Asia (2009) by Mark Brazil and published by Helm. The coverage of this guide stops at Fujian, which is east of Hong Kong, so a small number of species found in Hong Kong are not included but it is a very useful book for those interested in Chinese birds.
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) has published the bilingual A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong (2009). This is too big and heavy for use in the field but is a useful home reference. It covers most of the species that have occurred in Hong Kong with several photographs devoted to each individual species. All photographs were taken in Hong Kong by members of the society.
Moving away from identification, The Avifauna of Hong Kong (2001) by Carey et al. is a thorough review of the status of all the birds that had occurred in the territory up until the end of 1998. Although inevitably a little dated now, it still remains a major work of reference.
Up to date information on Hong Kong's birds is provided in the annual Hong Kong Bird Report published by the HKBWS. The first report was published in 1958 and has been produced annually (or, on occasions, biannually) since then. All reports up until 2013 are currently available for download from the HKBWS website at http://www.hkbws.org.hk/web/eng/bird_report_eng.htm .
One further publication worthy of note is Ecology of the Birds of Hong Kong (2009) published by Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden. This excellent book has chapters by various authors that look at the ecology of birds in various habitats in Hong Kong, as well as sections on climate change and conservation of birds in the territory.
There is a local field guide, The Birds of Hong Kong and South China by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps and Lam Chiu Ying (Eighth Edition, 2005)
The first edition of this book was published in 1977 and was consistently revised and expanded during Clive Viney’s stay in Hong Kong. The eighth edition will, I imagine, be the last in the series but it is still the most compact and useful field guide for the visitor to Hong Kong. Note that there are still previous editions of this book in circulation, so if buying the guide online, make sure it is the 2005 edition that you are purchasing. It can be ordered abroad from Amazon UK. The link for the appropriate page is: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0000CP2NU/ref=sr_1_2_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1509858375&sr=8-2&keywords=Birds+of+Hong+Kong+and+South+China
Another book that my clients sometimes carry with them is the recently published A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong (2016) by Ray Tipper. This is a photographic guide to the commonest 282 species to be seen in the territory, which is just over half the number of species on the Hong Kong list.
The best regional field guide is perhaps Birds of East Asia (2009) by Mark Brazil and published by Helm. The coverage of this guide stops at Fujian, which is east of Hong Kong, so a small number of species found in Hong Kong are not included but it is a very useful book for those interested in Chinese birds.
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) has published the bilingual A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong (2009). This is too big and heavy for use in the field but is a useful home reference. It covers most of the species that have occurred in Hong Kong with several photographs devoted to each individual species. All photographs were taken in Hong Kong by members of the society.
Moving away from identification, The Avifauna of Hong Kong (2001) by Carey et al. is a thorough review of the status of all the birds that had occurred in the territory up until the end of 1998. Although inevitably a little dated now, it still remains a major work of reference.
Up to date information on Hong Kong's birds is provided in the annual Hong Kong Bird Report published by the HKBWS. The first report was published in 1958 and has been produced annually (or, on occasions, biannually) since then. All reports up until 2013 are currently available for download from the HKBWS website at http://www.hkbws.org.hk/web/eng/bird_report_eng.htm .
One further publication worthy of note is Ecology of the Birds of Hong Kong (2009) published by Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden. This excellent book has chapters by various authors that look at the ecology of birds in various habitats in Hong Kong, as well as sections on climate change and conservation of birds in the territory.
All images & text on this website are © David Diskin unless otherwise stated.
dadiskin@netvigator.com
dadiskin@netvigator.com