Emil K. Urban

Basics: 1980, reprinted 1987, softcover, 31 pages, color plates of 23 endemics, range maps

This is an interesting little booklet that focuses on the 23 Ethiopian endemics known as of 1980, when Eritrea was still considered part of Ethiopia. Today (2008), 12 of those birds are technically not endemic and, with some taxonomic revisions, 6 other species are not included in the book. This is not a field or identification guide, but a reference that showcases the special birds of this little-visited country. The book is formatted a bit uniquely, cut into a nine-by-nine inch square.

Each bird is illustrated by one color painting of average-to-good quality and is shown in a size of 4-6 inches.

The text ranges from 1-4 paragraphs for each bird and focuses on its natural history. This information covers the bird’s habitat and range along with some notes about its behavior or breeding. Most of the birds also have descriptive and brief identification notes as well. Each account is written in an easy to understand format that can be appreciated by the casual or the avid birder.

A basic range map is provided for each bird. This show a 2-inch square outline of Ethiopia with the range colored in. Although no geographic features or boundaries are shown in the map, the often detailed ranges depict isolated pockets that would be associated with the bird’s limited habitats.

Although not of great value for field use, this book does present a bit more information than can be found in the otherwise excellent field guides that now cover the country.

I’ve listed several related books below…
1) A Guide to the Endemic Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea by Pol
2) Checklist of the Birds of Ethiopia by Urban
3) Ethiopia: In Search of Endemic Birds by Francis
4) Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Zimmerman
5) Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Stevenson
6) Birds of Africa South of the Sahara by Sinclair
7) African Handbook of Birds: Series 1 Volumes 1 & 2
8) Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Williams… (meer)