Roadside Birds of South Africa by Kenneth Newman

Roadside Birds of South Africa (Illustrated Roadside Bird Guide in Dust Jacket)

A Motorist's Field Guide to South Africa's Highway Birds, Illustrated with the Author's Own Colour Plates

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Roadside Birds of South Africa: A traveller's guide to the birds of the highways
• Author: Kenneth Newman
• Publisher: Purnell & Sons S.A. (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town: Johannesburg: London
• Publication Date: 1969
• Binding: Publisher's green cloth boards with a gilt-blocked bird motif to the front board, in an illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Large quarto-style format, approximately 250 x 200 mm. With colour plates by the author, a bird topography diagram and a map.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The green cloth boards are clean and bright, with the gilt-blocked outline of two swifts or swallows to the front. The spine is straight and the corners are sharp.
• Interior: The text block is clean and tight, with cream, bright pages and no foxing or markings. The colour plates and the topography diagram are clean and fresh.
• The Dust Jacket: Present. The illustrated jacket shows lilac-breasted rollers on the front and a long-tailed widow bird on the back. There is light chipping and small nicks to the top edge of both panels, nicks to the spine ends with a small tear at the foot, and a few light stains to the spine. The flaps are intact, with the author's biography on the rear flap. The jacket is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in Cape Town in 1969 by Purnell, Roadside Birds of South Africa is an illustrated field guide written for motorists and travellers. It helps the reader identify the birds most commonly seen along the country's roads and highways, and is illustrated with the author's own paintings of the species.

The book belongs to the Newman's Birds series, which Kenneth Newman began in 1967 with Garden Birds of South Africa. That first title was followed by more than twenty others, among them this volume. It remains a charming period record of South African bird-watching from the car window, and a pleasing companion to the author's other early titles.

Author Profile: Kenneth Newman

Kenneth Newman (1924-2006) was a renowned bird painter and ornithologist. He served as president of the South African Ornithological Society and of BirdLife South Africa, and received the SAOS Gill Memorial Award and the Zoological Society's Stevenson-Hamilton Award.

His books have sold close to a million copies worldwide. He founded the Newman's Birds series in 1967, and his best-known title is Newman's Birds of Southern Africa.

Roadside Birds of South Africa · Kenneth Newman bird book · Newman's Birds series · South African bird field guide · 1969 Purnell bird book · vintage South African bird guide · Africana ornithology book