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| Sunday, 27 January 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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A treasure trove for ornithologists
An easy to use, reasonably priced pocket sized photographic guide to the birds of Sri Lanka has been published by New Holland based in London. The book is the only photographic guide to Sri Lankan birds published to date. It is in essence a stunning and extensive photographic portfolio of Sri Lankan birds published in a handy portable size with concise non technical text. Priced at around Rs. 750 the book is expected to sell out very quickly. "Although there are technical field guides in the market, this is the first book to combine a plain language style with stunning photographs" a leading bookseller said. The format, just 3.75 inches by 7.5 inches is a tried and tested format successfully employed by New Holland in a series that features over thirty titles. "The pocket photographic guides cater to the average person who would like to put a name to a bird they see without a desire to consult a technical guide or carry a heavy book around" explains Jo Hemmings, New Holland's Publishing Manager.
Much of the credit of the book's photographic appeal is due to T. S. U. de Zylva, a medical practitioner from Kurunegala who is undoubtedly Sri Lanka's premier bird photographer. With several books and films to his credit his collaboration was vital to the success of the book. Many Sri Lankan birds were first photographed by him and indeed he may well hold the only known photographs of some birds. 'Upen' was an obvious choice as principal photographer' says Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne ( [email protected] ), the lead author and project manager for the book. "Together with Deepal Warakagoda, we brought in two of the leading names in Sri Lankan ornithology" he adds. Warakagoda is a professional Wildlife Tour leader and field ornithologist who has published several papers on birds and who has also added several first records of birds to the 'national list.' Recently he announced the landmark discovery of a new species of bird, an Owl.
The discovery of a new endemic bird to Sri Lanka after a lapse of 132 years made international news. He was also one of the revisionists of the classic A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka by the late G. M. Henry. Combining Warakagoda's eye for detail and de Silva Wijeyeratne's flair for popular writing has inevitably entailed compromises. But the result is a happy compromise of a book that will be readable to the general public without sacrificing the extra detail that keener birdwatchers would like, despite the severe constraints on the volume of text. The book is structured with photographs, two on a page, of 252 species with short, succinct descriptions. The care taken to transcribe the calls of birds is not surprising given that the co-author Deepal Warakagoda is the country's leading wildlife sound recordists. An index and glossary is at the end of the 142 page book with the introductory sections at the front of the book dealing with the avifauna of Sri Lanka, the endemics and threatened species. An innovation for the series is a description of actual accounts of bird species seen at various sites to illustrate what a birdwatcher can expect to see. The species seen on visits to Bellanwila Attidiya, Uda Walawe and Morapitiya encompass a variety of habitats and complement the section on where to watch birds in Sri Lanka. "We also looked at how we can sell Sri Lanka as a birding destination" said de Silva Wijeyeratne who also included a section on tour operators and practical details on organizing a birdwatching visit to Sri Lanka. The emphasis on the eco-tourism aspect is not surprising given that the lead author has been engaged for some time in writing a travel guide for culture and wildlife enthusiasts. The book is available at leading booksellers including Odel, Lake House Bookshop , Sarasavi, Vijitha Yapa, Taprobane and Zubair Makeen. A need for a pocket sized non technical photographic guide has been felt for a long time. This book will fill this gap and bring about an appreciation of the country's precious and colourful bio-diversity. "The appeal of the book will go beyond the traditional collectors of natural history books" predicts Jo Hemmings of New Holland. "This book with its popular style will pave the way for a wide audience to take an interest in the country's bird life." Not least, it will be another step towards promoting the country as a destination for the growing international eco-tourism market. |
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