Bird Folder

A laminated folder "Quick Guide to the Birds of Lake Chapala"  illustrating 150 local species can be purchased for $200 pesos at Diane  Pearl Gallery, Sta. Margarita #23, 11.00 am to 4.00 pm, Mon. - Sat., at the east end of Riberas del Pilar  (between Chapala and Ajijic). It is also available from John Keeling. This is  especially useful to newcomers - it is produced by "Defenders of  Wildlife" which works to protect imperiled species throughout greater North America.

Recommended Bird Books for Mexico

We recommend the following three books.

Note that bird books for Mexico in English assume that the reader knows the common birds from Oregon to Florida and does not need pictures of those species.

1. The first is a “field guide”, meaning it is thin enough to be carried in the field:

• BIRDS  OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA by Ber Van Perlo, 2006, Princeton University  Press.  (This has very brief descriptions and moderately  good drawings of all species occurring in Mexico. This is the only book which illustrates all the species seen in Mexico.)

2. The next book is the essential reference book for birds in Mexico, but is too big to be carried around easily:

• A  GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF MEXICO AND NORTHERN CENTRAL AMERICA by Steve Howell and Sophie Webb, 1995, Oxford University Press.  (This is the bible for serious birders in Mexico. It has comprehensive  descriptions and range maps of every species in Mexico, and includes pictures of just over half of those species.)

It is a good idea to have a good guide to North American birds. Many people like the illustrations in the "National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America". We happen to think that Sibley does the best job of illustrating US and Canadian birds of different ages and sex. 

3. We use:

• THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS by David Allen Sibley, 2000, Alfred A. KnopfSBN.  (This is an essential reference for all the birds seen in the USA and Canada, excluding Mexico, with brief descriptions, range maps and particularly good drawings.)

Sources of books

These books are available from www.amazon.com.mx at very reasonable prices for delivery in Mexico (go to “books” and enter Birds of Mexico in the search bar at the top of the web page.) These books are not available locally in Guadalajara or at Lake Chapala.

Important note on the use of bird books

In general it is a mistake to identify an unknown bird on the basis of a picture in only one bird book. The truth of this statement will become apparent to you when you compare the pictures in the different books. You will see that many birds look quite different in each book.