Field Guide to the Birds of the Atlantic Islands

Some of the world’s rarest and most range-restricted birds live on islands. Most are found in tropical and sub-tropical latitudes, but even in waters close to the European mainland there are tiny populations of long-isolated birds that exist nowhere else on Earth. It is doubtless partly this reason, as well as the propensity for islands to attract more than their fair share of migrants and vagrants, which gives rise to the powerful attraction they hold for birders.

The ‘Atlantic Islands’ of this book comprise four well-separated archipelagos to the west of south-west Europe and north-west Africa. Known collectively as Macaronesia, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands share numerous avifaunal similarities, and are home to some of those rare and highly specialised island birds – not least Zino’s Petrel, numbered at no more than 80 pairs and restricted as a breeder to Madeira, and Raso Lark, whose four-square-kilometre range on the island after which it is named may well be the smallest of any bird species anywhere. And though many of Macaronesia’s birds are now well-illustrated in other field guides, having one book depicting all occurring species, including the many distinct island forms, makes much sense.

After a brief introduction covering geography, climate, habitats (including the unique montane laurel forest, or ‘laurisilva’), ornithological history and birdwatching areas, the first half of the book is devoted to the plates, with brief identification texts for each species on the facing pages. The plates as a whole and the figures individually are, in the main, very attractive and accurate, the styles of Tony Disley and Chris Orgill blending well together. Six male Chaffinches and no fewer than 10 kinglet plumages testify to the diversity of island forms featured here, although strangely the melanistic form of Blackcap known mainly from Madeira is not depicted, even though it is mentioned in the text and up to one in 50 birds of the local population involve this wholly black-headed variant.

A rather different oversight has resulted in the artists’ work not being individually credited on the plates or seemingly anywhere else in the book, so it is impossible to tell who has painted which plates.

The second half of the guide has more lengthy accounts for each species, with typically three covered per page. This means that not only is identification dealt with in sufficient detail, but there is also information on breeding, habitat and an island-by-island breakdown of status and distribution (there are no maps).

This last section makes particularly interesting reading, taking the book beyond the level of traditional field guide to a more comprehensive account of Macaronesian ornithology. Tony Clarke has clearly researched the records thoroughly, with all occurrences of rarer vagrants detailed in the species accounts, and with checklists at the back of the book for all species by island and island group, with similar information for endemic taxa (and with species names also given in Spanish and Portuguese). On cross-referencing records, I did notice that the region’s sole Savannah Sparrow record, from Flores on 31 October 2002, is included in the main text but not in the Azores checklist.

The question of taxonomy is something every field guide author has to address, and there’s no escaping it here. In the modern era this is a demanding task, with goalposts constantly being moved and conflicting treatments for borderline species frequently being published. Tony Clarke has chosen to take a common-sense path through the middle of this minefield, essentially recognising the traditional endemics and including a few justifiable new ones for good measure. In line with contemporary thinking Azores Bullfinch is treated as a full species, while the highly distinctive Madeira Firecrest is also split here. So too is Tenerife Goldcrest, although some authorities have recently favoured lumping the kinglets on the Canaries with Goldcrest again, while recent research published elsewhere proposes a new race for the islands of El Hierro and La Palma.

In a few instances a case could be made for going a bit further with, for example, the Neglected Kestrel of the Cape Verde Islands, which lacks the strong sexual dimorphism of ‘Common’ Kestrel (with which it is currently lumped), having a good claim to be split. However, as with the highly distinctive bournei form of Purple Heron, the author notes where others have already proposed a split. Conversely, Cape Verde Kite is still treated as a separate species here, though genetic research published in 2005 has revealed that this taxon – now quite possibly extinct – is in fact a subspecies of Red Kite.

In truth, no two authorities are ever likely to agree on a taxonomic consensus for one region’s birds, especially when such debatable island forms are involved. Tony Clarke’s guide is more up-to-date, and more pragmatic in its approach, than any other work covering the Atlantic Islands, and should be required reading for every resident or visiting birder.

And if you have not yet been to Macaronesia, you will find very good reason to do so in Appendix A, which summarises the breathtaking events of 2005 – “one of the most amazing [years] in the history of Macaronesian ornithology” – on the islands. A White-eyed Vireo on Corvo, Azores, became the first for the Western Palearctic, while 18 other species – Great Black-headed Gull, American Mourning Dove, Tree Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, Red-eyed and Philadelphia Vireos, Arctic Redpoll, Common Crossbill, Tennessee Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, Hooded and Black-throated Blue Warblers, Scarlet Tanager, White-crowned Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting and Baltimore Oriole – added themselves to the regional list. No doubt these, and others, will find their way into future editions of this highly recommended guide.

First published in Birdwatch 170: 59 (August 2006).

Tech spec

• Field Guide to the Birds of the Atlantic Islands by Tony Clarke, illustrated by Chris Orgill and Tony Disley (Christopher Helm, London, 2006)
• 368 pages, 69 plates, six black-and-white photographs, five maps and various tables
• ISBN 0713660236. Pbk, £29.99