Peter Thomsen

Basics: 1979, softcover, 175 pages, ~30 b&w drawings, 353 species, range maps

As noted in the book’s subtitle, this is an annotated checklist. And, in contrast to what’s also in the subtitle, this is not a field guide. This book briefly discusses the 353 species of birds that can be found in Tunisia – at least as of 1979. A paragraph of 3-20 short lines offers general information on the bird’s status and seasonal presence in the country. For visiting birds, the seasonal arrival and departure dates are given. Information is sometimes offered to describe where in the country the birds might be seen along with some notes on habitat. Despite the subtitle’s reference to being a field guide, there is zero information on identification or physical descriptions of the bird.

About 130 of the birds are accompanied with a nice sized map (3.75 x 2.5 inches). This map is a combination of abundance as well as breeding distributions. Small, medium, and large dots represent the average number of observations of the bird.

The only artwork consists of nearly 30 nice black-and-white drawings. These are useful only for aesthetic touches in the book and not for identification.

A nice addition to the beginning of this book are 35 locations to visit for birding in Tunisia. These sites cover a variety of habitats. Each is listed with a brief description of its environmnent and location. Another 14 maps are supplied to help locate these sites.

I’ve listed several related books below…
1) Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East by Johnsson
2) Birds of North Africa by Etchecopar/Hue
3) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa by Hollom et.al.
4) Oiseaux de Tunisie by Isenmann
5) The Birds of Tunisia by Whitaker… (more)