Renowned African field birder Sinclair--the most published author on the birds of Africa--combines efforts with Ryan (ornithology, U. of Cape Town) to create a completely revised and updated guide. It is the only book on the market describing and illustrating all of the birds found in Africa south of the Sahara Desert (the Afrotropic Region), including Socota, Pemba, and the islands of Gulf of Guinea. Now featuring 500 new full-color images--for a total of 3000-plus images assembled on 363 plates--and 400 updated maps, the second edition is color-coded by bird group and covers 2100-plus species, with an additional 101 vagrants briefly described. The species descriptions provide precise identification features, noting differences between similar species, and habitat, status, and calls. The distribution maps for each species are based on the latest atlas surveys. The work is indexed by scientific and common name. Distributed by International Publishers Marketing. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)