The Birds of Africa explained

"The Birds of Africa" is also a five-volume handbook by George Ernest Shelley, published 1896-1912.

The Birds of Africa
Author:	C. Hilary Fry, Stuart Keith, Emil Urban
Illustrator:	Martin Woodcock
Publisher:	Academic Press
Pub Date:	1982 - 2013

The Birds of Africa is an eight-volume ornithological handbook. Its authors/editors are C. Hilary Fry, Stuart Keith and Emil Urban, and each volume contains colour plates painted by Martin Woodcock ^[1] The series ended with the 8th volume in 2013 and shortly after in August 2014 publisher Academic Press confirmed that they would no longer be reprinting the first 7 volumes.^[2]

Content

It covers all breeding species in full, with details of range, status, description, voice, general habits and breeding; non-breeding visitors are treated more briefly, with emphasis on their status and behaviour whilst in Africa. The first 3 volumes refer to non passerine birds, 4, 5, 6, and 7 refer to passerine, and the 8th and final volume refers to the birds of and relating to Madagascar specifically.^[3]

Volumes

The series contained the following volumes:

1. Ostriches to Falcons, published in 1982 521 pp.
2. Gamebirds to Pigeons, published in 1986 552 pp. + 32 color plates
3. Parrots to Woodpeckers, published in 1988 611 pp. + 32 color plates
4. Broadbills to Chats, published in 1992 609 pp. + 32 color plates
5. Thrushes to Puffback Flycatchers, published in 1997 669 pp. + 32color plates
6. Picathartes to Oxpeckers, published in 2000 724 pp. + 36 color plates
7. Sparrows to Buntings, published in 2004 666 pp.
8. The Malagasy Region, published 2013 1024 pp.

Notes and References

1. Book: C Hillary . Fry . Emil K . Urban . Stuart . Keith . Roger . Safford . Frank . Hawkins . The Birds of Africa. . 2014 . A & C Black . 9781408190609 . Hardback . 24 March 2020.
2. Web site: The Birds of Africa (8-Volume Set) . nhbs . 20 August 2024.
3. Web site: The Birds of Africa (8-Volume Set) . nhbs . 20 August 2024.