In the text, different sections of the Asian continent are referred to as in Figure 2 (opposite, top). The faunal region of special interest here is the Oriental region. This region is usually defined to include South and Southeast Asia from Pakistan east to Borneo and Bali. The northern limit is the Himalayan mountain range and south China. Inskipp, Lindsey and Duckworth (1996) use the Yangtze river as the northern boundary and include the transitional subregion of Wallaces, i.e. Eastern Indonesia between Bali and Irian Jaya. Thus defined, the Oriental region has the extension as shown in Figure 3 (previous page, bottom).
Figure 2: Subregions of the Asian continent
Figure 3: The Oriental region
Birding is a social activity.
Within the Oriental region, the book covers Southeast Asia, an area defined for this purpose to include the following countries and territories shown on the map on pages 2-3.
The term Southeast Asia usually includes the country of Indonesia, Indonesia however straddles two very different faunal regions and is treated separately in another volume.
Nomenclature, taxonomy and sequence
For nomenclature, taxonomy and sequence our main reference was King, Dickinson and Woodcock (1975). Since this book does not include the latest taxonomic changes, small adjustments have been introduced, mainly following Lekagul and Round (1991) and MacKinnon and Phillipps (1993). Therefore we have placed fantails and monarch flycatchers in their own families, Rhipiduridae and Monarchidae respectively, a practice long ago accepted as standard. Darters, barn owls, Asian barbets, fairy bluebirds, weavers, munias and buntings have also been allocated their own families.
We are aware of the considerably more radical taxonomic changes inspired by new DNA-based research into the 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
