Read more
This is the first single volume guide ever devoted to the eastern Asian avifauna. The eastern Asian region, centring especially on the major islands off the continental coast (including Japan and Taiwan) and the immediately adjacent areas of the Asian continent from Kamchatka in the north and including the Korean Peninsula are an important centre of endemism. Birds endemic to this region include representatives of many of the major families, from the world''s largest eagle - Steller''s Sea Eagle - to the tiny Formosan Firecrest.The east Asian continental coast and the offshore islands also form one of the world''s major international bird migration routes, especially for waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors, while the east Asian continental mainland itself is home to a wide range of species little known to western ornithologists such as Scaly-sided Merganser, Oriental Stork and Mugimaki Flycatcher.The guide features the most up-to-date text available, which, in conjunction with extensive colour plates throughout, facilitates the field identification of all of the species known from the region. Colour distribution maps enhance the text by providing a visual analysis of the summer, winter and migratory ranges of all species.>
About the author
Mark Brazil is a widely travelled field ornithologist and an experienced writer. He received a doctorate for his studies of the behavioural ecology of the Whooper Swan in Scotland and Iceland. His interest in swans has continued and he spends part of each winter studying them in Hokkaido, where he is currently Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido. His main research interests have centred around East Asian birds, particularly the Japanese avifauna.
Mark is the author of The Birds of Japan (Helm, 1991), The Whooper Swan (Poyser, 2003), Field Guide to Birds of East Asia (Helm, 2009) and Field Guide to the Birds of Japan (Helm, 2019). He has written research and review papers on a wide range of species and has contributed a regular column on natural history to The Japan Times newspaper continuously since 1982.
