Please note (August 2014): With the publication of volume 8 in 2013, Christopher Helm initially announced it would be reprinting The Birds of Africa, Volume 7: Sparrows to Buntings (originally published in 1986 and out of print for years) without modifications and release it as part of an 8-volume set. We have received confirmation from the publisher however that these plans have been abandoned and that both these reprints and the 8-volume set have been cancelled.
This is the penultimate volume in the Birds of Africa series – looking at the rich avifauna of the world's second largest continent. Volume VII treats the remainder of the passerine families of Africa and various offshore islands, covering the sparrows, weavers, whydahs, waxbills, finches and buntings. Like its predecessors, The Birds of Africa, Volume 7: Sparrows to Buntings boasts an exhaustively researched and referenced text, distilling all available data on the identification, ecology, distribution, behaviour and status of the species covered. Martin Woodcock's colour identification plates are complemented by a wealth of line drawings by Ian Willis which illustrate details of Africa's birdlife such as weaver nest structure and Ploceidae display postures.
" [...] the team [...] behind this monumental work can rest assured that it has more than fulfilled its goal [...] leaving us the pleasurable task of enjoying the extraordinary fruits of their labors."
- Scottish Bird News (December 2005)