Phillipps' Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan - Fully Revised Third Edition (Princeton Field Guides)

I recently purchased this book for an upcoming trip to Borneo. I had an older guide but this one was strongly suggested by a friend and fellow tour leader. The recommendation was based upon several points: the book is newer, the taxonomy has been updated, a few more species have been added to the text, a smaller geographic area is covered (making it easier to use than my older guide), and much additional information not usually found in bird guides has been included in the form of side bars. The later includes illustrations of food plants and their fruits, paintings of a few mammals that associate with birds, as well as brief discussions concerning all sorts of topics ranging from zoogeography to animal behavior to organizations that support bird research. There are some very good regional maps with notes on places to bird and what species might be expected. The illustrations are excellent, and the book is reasonably priced. It fits the bill and then some. Highly recommended.

I purchased both this Field Guide and the Susan Myers field guide. The illustrations in Meyers are marginally better but the Phillipps guide has species we saw that the Meyers guide is missing. Also the Phillipps guide is laid out much better and has additional information that is really useful and interesting. The Meyers guide is about 20% smaller and lighter but has less content. If you want a comprehensive guide, but this one.

Illustrations, range maps, information on different birding regions in Borneo, conservation and natural history information.

wow - one of the best field guides i’ve ever seen - a ton of information and maps along with great photos - top quality

We agree with all the other (100%) 5-star reviews. This is without a doubt the finest bird guide we have ever used. Besides superb avian drawings and great maps, this book also tells the complete natural history of Borneo from Wallace to palm oil and even climate to detailed travel recommendations, etc. and how it all relates. We have used 40-50 other bird and natural-world guides and been birding to 99 countries (3800+ sp.) and we're still very very impressed on finding and using this very handy-sized and sturdy Princeton series field guide.

I have taken the second edition of this guide on several field trips to Sabah and Sarawak. I have had something of a love-hate relationship with it. Like so many others users of this book, I found the text boxes on ecology and other topics to be interesting and informative bonuses in a field guide, but the numerous failures of proofreading and occasional bizarre illustrations (among so many good ones) alloyed my pleasure in the guide. You expect a new edition to follow an overhaul, especially when this third edition, like its predecessor, includes the words "fully revised" on the front cover. I was therefore disappointed to find so many of the old misprints unaltered. Some of the illustrations have changed, such as that of the Bornean Ibon (Pygmy White-eye), which makes the species much easier to identify. Not all the changes are quite so happy: the strange depiction of the Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler in the second edition has been replaced by one that correctly removes the gold colour from the wing and tail but has the wing feathers in a dishevelled and white-edged state, with (in my copy, at any rate) the chestnut on the back now almost the colour of a traffic light. For anyone contemplating a purchase, I advise comparing this book with Birds of Borneo by Susan Myers Birds of Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan (Princeton Field Guides) . Take your pick!

This book not only contains information about identifying the birds of Borneo, but it gives you interesting facts about their ecology and interactions with people and other animals. There are beautiful pieces of artwork featuring the flora and fauna of Borneo that make this book more than just a field guide.

Thanks for excellent service, good price, and accurate description of product.