Birds of Belize

This new field guide covers a destination that is attracting a growing number of birders. Belize has taken a while to catch on to being overshadowed by countries such as Costa Rica, but it still has huge swathes of unexplored forest with no road access. To reach Belize from the UK you must change planes at least once and flight prices are not quite as competitive as they are for other places in Central America.

Belize has a decent bird list and about 540 species are seen each year. There are about 85 species that regularly occur in Belize but not Costa Rica, particularly as it shares borders with Mexico and Guatemala.

The taxonomy used in this book follows the IOC except for oceanic species, where Steve Howell has adopted the classification that he used in his recent photo guide, Oceanic Birds of the World. You may already have Birds of Central America, which was published by Princeton in 2018. It is a hefty book weighing 1.4 kg, while this new volume weighs just 600 g and will fit into a rucksack more easily.

Dale Dyer’s colour illustrations from the original Central America book are repeated here. The text from Steve Howell is new and covers all you need to know about plumage, sounds and status. The rarest vagrants have not been included, but are listed in appendices. Colour distribution maps show where the species are mostly seen and are colour-coded to indicate those that are resident or winter/summer migrants. The text and maps are on the left page facing the colour plates with around five species per spread.

There is a chapter explaining the habitats available and the typical birds that can be seen. Belize has benefitted from a number of species splits in recent years, and potentially there are many more to come. Two obvious examples are the Clapper Rail and the Nutting’s Flycatcher, which are both likely to be different species. This is a particular study area for Steve Howell and Dale Dyer, and in an appendix, outlines the potential splits to look out for.

Trips to Belize are less widely available than for some destinations but often include the chance to visit Tikal in Guatemala. I have not visited yet, but this book has made me think about a trip before too long.