Below you will find books that will assist you with all aspects of garden birding. You can also order books directly from Kalahari.net. Please note that this site only provides a link to Kalahari.net. All details about the transaction itself must be clarified with Kalahari.net

Bird Field Guides

In South Africa we have over 800 species of birds. In order to identify a bird correctly out of such a large number of birds, it is extremely important to get a good field guide. Below are two examples:

This is the newest version of this series and was published in 2005. It contains all the newest species splits and new names. A wonderful book and most probably the most up-to-date field guide.

This is an old favorite of many birders. Kenneth Newman has through his books introduced a lot of birders to this fantastic hobby. The biggest asset of this book is the quality and accuracy of the sketches. If you can, buy both of these field guides. They compliment each other nicely.

Specialised Bird Books

The above mentioned field guides provide general information about all the species of birds in Southern Africa. Sometimes you need more detailed information about certain groups of birds - especially the difficult to identify groups as for instance raptors

Raptors can be extremely difficult to identify. This book will guide you through all the pitfalls in identifying this group of birds. You will find the general description of the different groups especially helpful. The book also contains beautiful photographs which greatly augment the text about each species. Also available in Afrikaans.

Another raptor guide not only covering the raptors of Southern Africa but also the rest of Africa and its Islands. The text is very well written and the images and sketches are great. As an added bonus you will also learn about the birds of prey in the rest of Africa

This book will tell you all there is to know about watching owls. Some of the topics covered are how to find owls, their identification, photographing owls, nest boxes for owls and a general discussion about the special features of owls that makes them such extraordinary creatures. A really nice compact guide about owls and owling.

LBJ is an acronym for "Little Brown Jobs". A description used to describe difficult to identify little brown birds. Many birders will never try to identify them - simply stating that it is too difficult. This book attempts to de-mystify these interesting birds and provide a lot of clues as to what to look for when getting face to face with an LBJ. The most important thing with LBJs - at least try to identify them!

This is a book that has been recently published and promises to be a best-seller. You will most probably not get a pipit in your garden, but as soon as you go birding outside of your garden you will soon meet a pipit - a birder's nightmare. This book will help you to identify this difficult group of birds. Tons of sketches - all done by the author himself

Although this book was written as a text book for Ornithology students, it is not too technical and the chapters on Food and Feeding, Migration and Navigation, Bird behaviour and Breeding biology are extremely interesting and will provide you with a fresh insight into the wonderful and varied world of birds.

This has been the bible of birding for years. However Roberts VII is a total "upgrade" from previous versions of Roberts. It became a major birding reference work. Its price tag of over R700 is as hefty as the 5kg that it weighs. But believe me it is worth every cent. Detailed descriptions of each species will most probably answer all your questions that you might have.