relationships between birds. This information has led to a very different taxonomic system published in Sibley, G. and Monroe Jr. B. (1990), Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. This system was also adopted by Inskipp, Lindsey and Duckworth (1996), by Lim and Gardner (1997) and by Robson (2000). However, this taxonomy is by others deemed to be provisional and full of uncertainties' (Jürgen Haffer, Handbook of the Birds of the World: Vol. 4 p. 22), so until the experts agree we believe it will be most reader-friendly to follow the established system.
Where names differ significantly between the different systems, the alternative name has been mentioned in brackets for easy reference. Efforts have been made to provide correct, brief and user-friendly information, but it is not necessarily complete. Therefore, this list of alternative names does not include names no longer in use or mainly used outside this area (e.g. in India). Please refer to the titles listed in Selected Bibliography for this information.
Regarding the order in which the bird species are listed, it is important to note that all our main reference sources for Southeast Asia uses the 'buntings-last' sequence, as is adopted here. Contrary to that, Andrew, P. (1992) The Birds of Indonesia: A checklist (Peters' Sequence) Indonesian Ornithological Society, Jakarta, which is re-printed in Jepson and Ounsted (1997), provides our main source of reference for our twin volume, A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia. This book therefore lists birds according to the somewhat different 'crows-last' sequence.
Family and genus
The letter F: is short for family, and all Latin families end in '-idea'. The Latin family of the bird is rarely referred to during casual birdwatching. A birdwatcher would not say 'a member of the Apodidae family just flew over', he would use the term 'swift'. Nevertheless, the family of the bird is an important piece of information for the field observer and is therefore included. While almost all Pycnonotidae are labelled bulbuls in their common names, it might not be clear to readers that robins, shortwings, shamas, chats and forktails all belong to the Turdidae or thrush family. So only by looking at the Latin family name does their relationship become clearer.
Notice that mynas are part of the Sturnidae family, named after the starlings; these two groups are in fact closely related. Eagles, hawks, buzzards, kites, harriers and vultures are not different families, but all part of the large Accipitridae family.
Birds are divided into genera within each family. There is no English word for this subdivision, which can only be determined by studying the first of the Latin names. Only a few birds such as cochoas (F: Turdidae) and prinias (F: Sylviidae) use their genus name as their common name also, for example, the Green Cochoa, or Cochoa viridis.
It is useful to pay attention to at least the genus (the first part of the Latin name) as this establishes the relationship with other, often similar species. Note how Merops bee-eaters have so much in common in terms of build and habits, while Nyctyornis bee-eaters, within the same family Meropidae, differ from Merops bee-eaters, but are similar to each other.
Curlews, godwits, dowitchers, turnstones, sandpipers, stints and snipe all belong to the same large family Scolopacidae. But within this family notice how the Broad-billed Sandpiper, Limicola faltinellus, has a different genus name to the similar Calidris stints. Closer study reveals that it is in fact quite distinctive, just like the Ruff, Philomachus pugnax, is in many ways unlike the many similarly built Tringa sandpipers.
Some birds are unique, with no close relatives. They are monotypic, some form their own genus; this will usually be mentioned under the description of the bird. Very few birds are monotypic to the family level (in this book only the Osprey and the Hoopoe fall into this category), while others such as Oriental Darter, Masked Finfoot and Greater Painted-snipe are sole regional representatives of very small families.
The second part of the Latin name determines the species. Many birds occur in different distinct forms and are divided by taxonomists into separate subspecies or races designated by a third addition to the Latin name. In the Philippines, the resident subspecies Little Heron, Butorides striatus carcinophilus, is augmented by a migratory subspecies B. s. amurensis during winter. For this purpose only B. striatus is referred to. Only in a few instances, where differences are clearly noticeable in the field, are subspecies' characteristics mentioned here.
When birds are classified, families are split into subfamilies, and then grouped into suborders and orders, which together form the class Aves containing all birds. However fascinating the topic, we have deemed it outside the scope of this book, but the subject is thoroughly covered in some of the works listed in the Bibliography. We have, however, for the information of the readers, marked the beginning of the order Passeriformes—by far the largest order containing all the passerine (perching bird) families. These are regarded as the fastest evolving groups of birds. While some non-passerines have remained unchanged for millions of years, dating back almost to the dinosaurs, passerines are constantly developing; they are strong fliers, many males have bright colours or complex voices, and the young stay for longer in the nest, thus these birds are regarded as evolutionarily more advanced.
Each bird name is followed by the length of the species in centimetres. Within some species, notably many raptors in the Accipitridae family, the females are considerably larger than the males, but for brevity, an average size has been given for comparison. Only within the Phasianidae, where the male pheasant can sometimes be more than double the size of the female, have both sizes been included. Where extremely elongated tail feathers distort measurements, this has also been mentioned.
Photographs
Each species is illustrated with a photograph, sometimes two. If the sex of the bird is not mentioned, the photograph shows an adult bird that cannot be identified with regard to sex. Where sexes differ, this is mentioned in the first paragraph of each entry (Description). The term 'sexes similar' is only used on occasions where most other species within the family are sexually dimorphic—for instance some flowerpeckers.
Unless otherwise mentioned, resident birds are shown in breeding plumage and migrants are shown in non-breeding or winter plumage. An additional photograph might show the other sex of the species or a bird in flight.
Most photographs are taken on location in Southeast Asia and show wild individuals. Where no authentic photograph was available, one showing a captive bird might be used, in which case it is mentioned in the description. We have done this consistently as we felt it was important for the reader to know that habitat, perch and surroundings might not appear as they would in the field. Only one species is shown held in the hand—the Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo.
Description: bird topography
The description has been kept to a minimum. We have preferred to let the pictures do the talking and have only described what is not obvious, such as parts of the bird not visible in that particular pose or the appearance of the opposite sex. Efforts have been made, however, to point out so-called diagnostic features where appropriate. In the field there is often one single feature that distinguishes one species from all others. The Common Kingfisher has a tiny rufous dot behind the ear— once you spot that one all your worries are over! This technique enables trained birdwatchers to quickly put a name to most of the birds they see, leaving them more time to concentrate on the really tough groups with no (or very faint) diagnostic features.
Some species have no relatives that resemble them closely. These are easy to identify on all occasions, so have simply been labelled 'unmistakable'. Please bear in mind that this term and the diagnostic label only apply within the region covered. While the short bill of the Little Curlew is diagnostic in Southeast Asia, it is not enough as a single identification feature when compared with the Slender-billed Curlew of Eurasia or the Eskimo Curlew of the Americas, which both have fairly small bills. Parts of the bird are mentioned using the standard norm in bird books, but slightly modified for this specific purpose.
The
