Top Birding Spots of Southern Africa by Hugh Chittenden

Top Birding Spots of Southern Africa (Illustrated Guide to 127 Birding Sites, Softcover)

A Site-by-Site Guide to 127 of Southern Africa's Finest Birdwatching Locations, with Maps and Checklists

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Top Birding Spots of Southern Africa
• Author: Hugh Chittenden
• Publisher: Southern Book Publishers (Pty) Ltd, Halfway House
• Publication Date: 1992
• ISBN-13: 9781868124190
• ISBN-10: 1868124193
• Edition Details: First edition (1992), Second impression (1993).
• Binding: Publisher's printed illustrated card wrappers, perfect bound, with a Southern African Ornithological Society 'Recommended' sticker to the front cover.
• Physical Format: Large softcover, 421 pages. With line-drawn location maps and species checklists with tick boxes.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Wraps: Purple printed card covers with an eagle photograph, clean and glossy with no tears visible. A Southern African Ornithological Society 'Recommended' sticker is applied to the front cover. The spine is clean and legible and the corners are square. The page edges are toned to cream or tan.
• Interior: The text block is sound and the binding tight. The pages examined are clean, with no writing or markings, and the checklist boxes are unticked. The page edges are evenly toned with age.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Top Birding Spots of Southern Africa brings together 127 of the region's best birdwatching locations in a single practical guide. Each entry gives the location, habitat and facilities, along with a map and directions for finding the site.

The entries also note the special species and rare sightings to look out for, and close with a checklist that leaves room to record sightings on repeat visits. The guide was compiled with contributions from around 70 birders, which gives it the feel of field-tested local knowledge.

For collectors of Africana natural history, it is a useful period record of birding destinations in southern Africa in the early 1990s, and it remains a practical companion for anyone planning a birding trip.

Author Profile: Hugh Chittenden

Hugh Chittenden is a South African bird photographer and author. Besides this guide, his publications include the first Roberts Bird Guide (2007) and its second edition (2016), as well as Roberts Bird Guide: Kruger National Park and Adjacent Lowveld, written with Ian Whyte.

He is chairman of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, which oversees the Roberts bird book publications, and in 2012 he received an honorary doctorate for his contributions to ornithology.