By Anton Crone – With a great variety of field guides (old and new) in circulation, and phone apps to back them up, birders are spoilt for choice when it comes to tools that help identify birds. But there has been a gap.
Regional definitions vary but the general consensus among South African birders is that Southern Africa refers to everything south of the Zambezi and Kunene rivers – beyond, there be dragons! The fact is there are lifers galore beyond those borders. If your perspective includes the subtropical (and distinctly southern) region encompassing Zambia, Malawi and northern Mozambique, you’re in for a birding bonanza.
This is where the new Birds of Greater Southern Africa field guide comes in. Angola is excluded (though its own dedicated guide is reportedly in progress) but the coverage of this book also extends southwards into the African sector of the Southern Ocean, acknowledging the interests of birders eager to push their boundaries further.
Good intentions
The choice of regions is not just academic: the authors, Keith Barnes, Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe hope that by encouraging birders to visit areas where wilderness is under pressure, such as Malawi, the guide can help highlight conservation needs while supporting local communities.
My own field experience has been around my home of Cape Town, and most importantly a two-week trip to Malawi. This is indeed a region where human habitation is putting the environment under great pressure. I was fortunate to see just how diverse the environment is, and how poverty is forcing communities to exploit it. The multifarious pockets of wilderness that are left in Malawi are stunningly beautiful and rich in flora and fauna. There is so much still to protect here. Tourism does help, and the more attention visitors can bestow on the region the better.
In the field
Backed up by local safari guides with extensive birding knowledge, this field guide was instrumental in helping me learn about and identify many birds I was unfamiliar with, living as I do at the very bottom of the continent.
The local safari guides were particularly enamoured with the book, often comparing it favourably to their own well-worn copies of Birds of Africa south of the Sahara and Birds of East Africa. This book’s roots stretch back to that highly influential Birds of East Africa. It set a benchmark for accuracy and artistry, and it inspired the authors to collaborate with the same illustrators, John Gale and Brian Small. Their work, complemented by contributions from Faansie Peacock, gives this new volume both authority and beauty.
For me, the book really came into its own in Dzalanyama Forest to the east of Lilongwe, along the hilly border with Mozambique. I was challenged while exploring this prime miombo woodland because I was alone there without the help of a local bird guide. The clarity and detail of the illustrations were invaluable, and the wealth of information proved crucial in identifying a variety of obscure species in what was, for me, a crowded and confusing field. Such was the case with woodpeckers: the dense woodland attracted large numbers of them and there was a constant tap-tap-tapping echoing through the forest. I ultimately counted five species in one small area alone, a task made simpler by the illustrations.
Another tricky one for me was the African Spotted Creeper, which is so well camouflaged in dappled shade and against tree bark. What helped was a clear description of its movement: “Always busy, climbing up trunks or large limbs and canopy before sweeping to bottom of another tree and working up again.” It was a perfect observation, and this was exactly what caught my eye — a detail neither Roberts nor Birds of Africa South of the Sahara mentions (though it is covered in Birds of East Africa). I spent a wonderful fifteen minutes watching a pair hunting through the trees.
I found that one of the book’s true strengths is its completeness: every subspecies and race occurring in the covered area has been taken into account. That means seasoned birders can drill down to the finest variations, exploring the full richness of regional diversity. And it helps beginners hone in on identification by studying them more closely. Some plates even focus on just two species, illustrating every race — as with the nine variations of the Yellow Wagtail — and offering precise guidance on how they differ, where to find them, and why.
Another prime example illustrates this approach: the Bar-throated Apalis, represented in no fewer than sixteen subspecies across the region. Understanding where one variation ends and another begins, or how their habits differ, provides a richer sense of purpose in the field.
One simple thing that left a lasting impression on me was the coloured bar and plate number in bold text on the top left of each page. The Quick Index refers to the plate numbers rather than pages, and I found this a much quicker way to find the bird group I was searching for.
Overall this field guide will be particularly helpful to the beginner as it just feels simpler to use. Back this up with helpful segments such as the deciphering of birding nomenclature, descriptions and graphics illustrating different habitats, maps of key birding areas in each nation, and the vital elements we are used to, and it’s a real winner.
Conclusion
The guide is not without its provocations. Some birders may balk at the expanded regional boundaries, or at the use of global English names over beloved local terms like “loerie” or “korhaan”. But the authors’ position is unapologetic: birds are part of a global system, and nomenclature must reflect that reality. By aligning with international standards, the guide places southern and central African birding firmly in a global conversation.
Birds of Greater Southern Africa emerges with a clear philosophy: to bring birders back to the heart of birdwatching itself. Rather than rushing through identifications and ticking species off a list, the book encourages deeper observation, the kind that notices subspecies, behaviours, and regional distinctions. I found that this philosophy comes through in the finer details and crucial observations presented in this book, which will hold it in good stead for many years to come.
If you are heading north of the Zambezi, this is a must-have field guide.
Birds of Greater Southern Africa is available at Takealot and other online retailers and book stores.
