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Field Guide Comparison: Southern Africa

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[Disclosure: Princeton University Press provided a free review copy of Sasol] For anyone about to make their first trip to Southern Africa, you will have your choice of field guides to the region. There are some that treat the entire area, and some specific to a single country. The region is defined as the area south of the Kunene (Cunene), Okavango (Kavango), and Zambezi Rivers. This includes the countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (only that part south of the Zambezi River, which excludes the northern half of the country), South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. I'm going to briefly compare the two most popular guides to the region: [Sasol] Birds of Southern Africa (4th ed; 2011) by Sinclair, Hockey, Tarboton, and Ryan Roberts Bird Guide (2nd ed; 2016) by Chittenden, Davies, and Weiersbye Sasol or Roberts? That's the debate you'll hear among birders in Southern Africa. With differing styles, strengths, and weaknesses between the two field guide