Birds of New Guinea

This is the completely revised edition of the essential field guide to the birds of New Guinea. The world's largest tropical island, New Guinea boasts a spectacular avifauna characterized by cassowaries, megapodes, pigeons, parrots, cuckoos, kingfishers, and owlet-nightjars, as well as an exceptionally diverse assemblage of songbirds such as the iconic birds of paradise and bowerbirds. Birds of New Guinea is the only guide to cover all 780 bird species reported in the area, including 366 endemics. Expanding its coverage with 111 vibrant color plates--twice as many as the first edition--and the addition of 635 range maps, the book also contains updated species accounts with new information about identification, voice, habits, and range. A must-have for everyone from ecotourists to field researchers, Birds of New Guinea remains an indispensable guide to the diverse birds of this remarkable region.

• 780 bird species, including 366 found nowhere else
• 111 stunning color plates, twice the number of the first edition
• Expanded and updated species accounts provide details on identification, voice, habits, and range
• 635 range maps
• Revised classification of birds reflects the latest research

Praise for the first edition:"This book is not only indispensable to any bird-watcher visiting New Guinea and the adjacent islands, but, owing to the wealth of its information, it will be of great interest to anyone who is seriously interested in birds."--American Scientist

"A must have for birders with an interest in the region!"--Ian Paulsen, Birdbooker Report

"This is an excellent book and will serve travelling birders very well indeed and I am sure will be just as welcomes by local wildlife lovers in New Guinea. . . . This is also a thing of beauty in itself and a pleasure to drool over."--Bo Beolens, Fatbirder

"Amazing! Please buy it, whether or not you're planning a trip to West Papua or PNG. It's a must-have book. . . . [A] high quality field guide, with maps on the same page as the plates, excellent, informative text, good artwork--and everything one hopes for in a field guide."--Birding Ecotours

"Birds of New Guinea will be the major reference to birds of the island for many years to come and the authors are to be congratulated on a scholarly yet accessible book."--Phil Gregory, Australian Bird Life

"I can not recommend this guide highly enough whether you are planning a trip to New Guinea or you are just an armchair birder widening your horizons about the world's birds. An excellent present for yourself or the birder in your family."--Gloster Birder

One of the Birdbooker Report's Best Bird Books of 2014

"Pratt and Beehler here cover all 780 bird species in this region, drawing in even more biological data--including some on behavior, diet, and nesting--than typically found in field guides. Detailed species accounts are now separate from the 111 color illustrations--most new and twice as many as the first edition--with additional abridged species accounts and habitat maps facing these plates. A long-awaited, greatly expanded update to an authoritative regional reference."--Judy Quinn, Library Journal

"A wonderful updated and expanded second edition to the original Birds of New Guinea published 28 years ago. . . . In Birds of New Guinea: Second Edition, the authors have greatly expanded the description of each species beyond the typical birding guide. . . . An absolute must-have for both birders and individuals who work in the public or private sector focused on conservation of New Guinea's ecosystems."--Gabriel Thoumi, Mongabay.com

"A must-have for everyone from ecotourists to field researchers, Birds of New Guinea remains an indispensable guide to the diverse birds of this remarkable region."--Ornithological Newsletter

"If you're lucky enough to go birding in New Guinea, you'll want this field guide."--Grant McCreary, Birder's Library

"There is no doubt that this book will be a very popular addition to many birders libraries over the next few months and those visiting PNG next year will armed with a great deal more knowledge than before--the real test of a new book comes in the field and I like many more am looking forward to giving it that test."--Ashley Banwell, Rare Bird Alert

"From cassowaries to parrots and birds-of-paradise to fairy-wrens, with sicklebills, mannikins and fantails in between, birders visiting New Guinea need to be prepared for a deluge of delightful birds, and Birds of New Guinea: Second Edition is the book to help them do it. From an extensive orientation to beautifully illustrated plates and expanded species accounts, this guide is the go-to resource all things birding in New Guinea."--Melissa Mayntz, About.com Birding

"An incredibly good field guide."--Grant McCreary, Birder's Library

"Birding in New Guinea for the first time would make the most experienced birder feel like a beginner searching through the vast number of endemics. This is the guide to take along on such an adventure."--REH, Wildlife Activist

"It's hard to find fault in this excellent publication, so I won't. I would however, encourage all birders to purchase it and start saving for the ultimate birding trip--believe me, watching your first displaying bird-of-paradise will certainly bring this field guide alive!"--Tim Appleton, Birdwatch

"If there ever was a time to visit New Guinea it is now. Pratt and Beehler's impressive book will surely help you to make the most of your visit."--Vincent Nijman, IBIS

Thane K. Pratt is wildlife biologist emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey's Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center and a conservationist of birds of the tropical Pacific. He is the lead editor of Conservation Biology of Hawaiian Forest Birds. Bruce M. Beehler is an ornithologist in the Division of Birds at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and a tropical ecologist with interests in the birds and rainforests of the Asia-Pacific region. He is the author of Lost Worlds: Adventures in the Tropical Rainforest.

Preface 9

Acknowledgments 11

Abbreviations 13

1. Introduction 14

2. How to Use This Book 17

3. New Guinea Natural History 20

4. In the Field in Search of Birds 33

Selected References 36

Web Sources 39

Plates 40

Species Accounts 262

Index 517