A visual feast for bird book collectors

IF you are looking for a collector’s dream on any visual bird books, then you don’t have to look any further.

The most visually presented book on birds has just made its appearance and is a must have either on your coffee table or on hand for daily use.

The Ultimate Companion for Birding in Southern Africa by Peter Ginn and Geoff MacIlleron is the most visual bird book ever published in South Africa.

The publication comprising two volumes includes over 1 400 photographs of birds covering a vast 960 species of Southern Africa. These were assembled from some 30 000 photograhs which were sent in by enthusiasts of bird photography who spent hours looking up and taking bird photos.

The information provided about each and every species were done scientifically by 18 top bird authorities, who reveal their personal observations and knowledge in an easy to read style.

Peter Ginn

After his record-breaking success 24 year ago of his last big book, The Complete Book of Southern African Birds, he has set himself a target and yet again achieved it. “We have worked on this book for so long on and off, but for the last two years I have been on it full time,” said Ginn.

Four years in the making, The Ultimate Companion for Birding in Southern Africa is on a higher level than previous bird publications. It consists of two volumes and all the bird species Ginn provided is accompanied by scientific descriptions covered on the same page and easy to read for both enthusiast and ordinary reader. He exhibits incredible insight, specialist bird knowledge and exceptional photography.

Ginn is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and the Photographic Society of Southern Africa and he pioneered the use of photographs to illustrate bird books in the 1970s. He has publised 10 iconic bird books for the Southern African region, each building on the success of the previous.

Geoff McIlleron

“We had so many photographers sending in their bird photos and ended up with some 30 000 photos and had to narrow it down to a suitable number for the book,” said McIlleron.

He has culminated over 35 years’ experience in co-authoring a number of popular bird books. McIlleron has teamed up again with Peter Ginn for the second time since the resounding success of their book, The Complete Book of Southern African Birds.

Honorary President of the Plettenberg Bay branch of BirdLife South Africa and a member of the Photographic Society of South Africa, he has a life-long love of the natural world. His dedication to photographing nature has seen him put together a personal collection of photographs covering well over 600 Southern African bird species.

Pre-order at www.birdbook.co.za or visit The Ultimate Companion – Bird Book