Fabulous reads: Birding by colour
Book review - Newman’s Birds by Colour by Kenneth Newman
Newman’s Birds by Colour, Kenneth Newman, Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9781775848370
KWAZULU-NATAL – and certainly the greater Durban area – is a haven for birdwatchers. So, the latest (fourth) edition of Kenneth Newman’s guide to identifying birds is the perfect gift for any bird or nature lover.
The book is centred and formatted around colour – providing a simple way for both experts and beginners to identify birds. The coloured tabs on the pages makes it easy to sift through the hundreds of Southern African birds listed.
To further aid the identification process, the book also breaks down the anatomy of a bird – right down to types of beaks and legs you could encounter.
Each entry also includes information on the bird’s markings, size, likely habitat and behaviour. The information is all compact and user-friendly. No book on birds would be complete without rich images of birds, and Newman’s book is no exception.
If that is not enough, the book is also sprinkled with random bird facts, and more specifically, each section takes the time to explain the benefits a bird could gain from their respective colours – such as camouflage or heat reflection. Most certainly a treasure for any birder. – Mariclair Smit 5/5 stars
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