Birds of Western Ghats, Kokan and Malabar (Including Birds of Goa)/Satish Pande, Saleel Tambe, Clement Francis M. and Niranjan Sant. New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2003, xvi, 377 p., colour photographs, $55. ISBN 019-566878-2.

    Contents: 1. Grebes. 2. Aerial waterbirds: Petrels, Shearwaters, Storm-Petrels, Tropicbirds, Boobies, Cormorants, Darters, Frigatebirds, Skuas, Jaegers, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers. 3. Large and medium sized waders: Herons, Egrets, Bitterns, Storks, Ibises, Spoonbills, Flamingos. 4. Ducks, swans, geese. 5. Birds of prey: Hawks, Eagles, Buzzards, Vultures, Kites, Harriers, Osprey, Falcons. 6. Fowl - like birds: Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Buttonquails. 7. Large landbirds: Cranes, Bustards. 8. Shorebirds, small and medium sized waders: Rails, Crakes, Moorhens, Coots, Jacanas, Snipes, Oystercatchers, Plovers, Lapwings, Sandpipers, Stints, Godwits, Curlews, Avocets, Stilts, Crab-Plovers. 9. Medium sized perching birds: Pigeons, Doves, Parakeets, Cuckoos, Coucals, Malkohas. 10. Nocturnal birds: Owls, Nightjars, Frogmouths. 11. Small aerial birds: Swifts, Tree-Swifts, Swallows, Martins. 12. Hole nesters: Trogons, Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, Rollers, Hornbills, Barbets, Woodpeckers. 13. Small terrestrial birds: Pittas, Larks, Wagtails, Pipits. 14. Small songbirds: Cuckoo-Shrikes, Bulbuls, Ioras, Minivets, Thrushes, Shrikes, Robins, Babblers, Tits, Nuthatches. 15. Warblers. 16. Flycatchers. 17. Small nectar-seekers: Creepers, Flowerpeckers, Sunbirds, White-eyes. 18. Grain and grass eaters: Sandgrouses, Buntings, Finches, Munias, Sparrows, Weavers. 19. Starlings, Mynas, Drongos and Corvids.

    From the Preface: "This book on birds intends to document, with unique photographs, the current status of rich bird life of an Indian Hotspot of global importance - the Western Ghats, including Kokan and Malabar. Several committed and knowledgeable bird watchers are studying local bird life. I am thankful to them for sharing with me their meticulously documented data and rare photographs. Having seriously indulged in bird photography, I appreciate that these represent a part of their very life, the time spent in search of facts about the enigmatic feathered bipeds. The larger canvas could be painted due to the strokes of several of these smaller brushes, each important and essential. The splendour of pelagic birds; the resplendent breeding plumage of winter migrating avian species; the elusive endemic and threatened birds and several aspects of more than 580 species could be photographically presented in this book, due to unconditional contributions from ornithologists and bird watchers, not only from India but also from Europe, North Asian, East Asian and Austral-Asian countries. This book is a truly international collaboration. Another unique aspect of this endeavour is that our organisation, ELA Foundation, has met the cost of this no-profit publication through donations from several nature lovers."

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