Guy M. Kirwan

This is a solid ornithological reference to the status, distribution, and breeding of all the birds found in Turkey. Enhancing the book are 78 good color photographs and a good introduction to the ecoregions and the ornithological history of the country.

Predominantly a reference that documents the presence and status of the 463 species known from Turkey, this book offers a good account for each bird. The section on status and distribution does a good job at consolidating historical records to provide detailed dates of occurrence in various regions of the country. This information is typically 1-2 paragraphs in length. The other section on breeding, which can be as long as half of a page, also makes good use of the many references researched by the authors. This breeding information describes the nesting and the types of nesting sites. A comprehensive summary of nesting dates are given for separate regions of the country.

Another short account is provided for any subspecies that may be present in Turkey. This information offers brief notes on the historical records of these birds.

The 78 color photographs are of very good quality. These photos display 57 species along with 21 different habitat types across Turkey. The photos of the Moustached Warbler, Finsch’s Wheatear, and Cretzschmar’s Bunting are especially good.

The range maps zoom in on just Turkey, barely showing the bordering countries. The ranges of the birds do not extend beyond the country’s borders. Four different shadings are used to denote year-round residency, breeding visitor, non-breeding (winter) visitor, and migrant. For vagrant species, small gray or black dots are used to indicate individual records. These dots do not always stand out and can blend into the geographic features of the map. In comparison, the maps of Roselaar’s book “Songbirds of Turkey” are much better for displaying detail.

The author’s provide a good 35-page introduction of the ornithological history in Turkey as well as a thorough description of the country’s 13 distinct ecoregions. Reading through the few pages that discuss the strategy of making the species accounts gave me a better appreciation of the material presented in the book. Lastly, a very comprehensive 31-page bibliography is provided.

I think it would be fair to say this book is a more thorough extension of the earlier book “Songbirds of Turkey” by Roselaar, which is also a very good reference on the distribution and status of Turkey’s breeding passerines.

I’ve listed several related books below…
1) Songbirds of Turkey: An Atlas of Biodiversity of Turkish Passerine Birds by Roselaar
2) The Birds of Azerbaijan by Patrikeev
3) Raptors and Owls of Georgia by Galvez
4) A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia by Adamian/Klem
5) Handbook of the Birds of Armenia by Adamian/Klem
6) Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East by Jonsson
7) Birds of Europe by Mullarney/Svensson, Zetterstronm/Grant
8) Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East by Porter et.al.
9) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa by Hollom et.al.… (altro)