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Chamberlain’s Waders: the Definitive Guide to Southern Africa’s Shorebirds

Article  in  Ostrich - Journal of African Ornithology · April 2017

DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2017.1317994

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 Ostrich
Journal of African Ornithology

ISSN: 0030-6525 (Print) 1727-947X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tost20

Chamberlain’s Waders: the Definitive Guide to

Southern Africa’s Shorebirds

Campbell Fleming

To cite this article: Campbell Fleming (2017): Chamberlain’s Waders: the Definitive Guide to
Southern Africa’s Shorebirds, Ostrich, DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2017.1317994

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2017.1317994

Published online: 17 Apr 2017.

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Download by: [University of Cape Town Libraries] Date: 26 April 2017, At: 03:59
Ostrich 2017: 1–2
Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved
This is the final version of the article that is
published ahead of the print and online issue
Chamberlain’s Waders: the Definitive Guide to Southern Africa’s Shorebirds
By Faansie Peacock
2016, Pavo Publishing, South Africa
Softcover, colour illustrations, colour maps, 256 pages
ISBN 978-0-620-73552-0. Price R380
Faansie Peacock’s previous field guides have aimed at
shedding light on the tricky business of identification among
southern Africa’s most nondescript groups of birds. These
have included an extensive treatment of the subregion’s
pipits (Peacock 2006) as well as the ‘Little Brown Jobs’,
or LBJs (Peacock 2012), a blanket term for the group of
small, brown, featureless birds that includes, among others,
the pipits, larks, warblers and cisticolas. His latest publica-
tion, Chamberlain’s Waders, continues the theme, this time
tackling the leggy, grey and often identification-defying
denizens of estuaries and mudflats known as waders.
More specifically, the term ‘waders’ refers to birds
belonging to the order Charadriiformes. The book covers
80 wader species recorded in southern Africa, including
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus of which the only
reliable record to date is of a desiccated corpse found on
the Skeleton Coast in 1984 (Avery 1989). The species
are divided into 11 neatly colour-coded families, namely
the sheathbills, thick-knees, oystercatchers, stilts and
avocets, painted snipes, jacanas, buttonquails, coursers,
the enigmatic crab plover and the two large wader families,
Charadriidae (plovers and lapwings) and Scolopacidae
(sandpipers and allies). Missing, unfortunately, are the Lari,
a suborder within the Charadriiformes comprising the gulls,
terns, skuas and skimmers. Identification in this group can
be complex, with the terns in particular leaving many birders
scratching their heads and I would have enjoyed seeing
them treated in this volume. They were, however, likely
omitted on the grounds that they do not fit in with the typical
notion of what constitutes a wader.
The book begins with a wealth of background informa-
tion on waders, offering practical advice on how best to go
about locating, watching and identifying them. The latter
emphasises aspects of shape, structure and behaviour as
generally more useful characters than scrutiny of minor
plumage details. Also covered is a description of 17 wader
hot-spots, both inland and coastal. These sites either
harbour an impressive abundance or diversity of waders,
host narrowly distributed or difficult-to-find species or
reliably turn up vagrants.
The layout of the species accounts remains largely
unchanged from that of Chamberlain’s LBJs. Each group
receives its own detailed, thoroughly researched and
Ostrich is co-published by NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group)
Copyright © NISC (Pty) Ltd
OSTRICH
ISSN 0030–6525 EISSN 1727-947X
http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2017.1317994
Book Review
illustrated introduction, covering aspects of identification,
biology, taxonomy and a treatment of the etymology and
history of species names. The information in these sections
is, I think, what sets this book apart. Peacock’s authorita-
tive tone, peppered with his personal brand of humour and
whimsy, makes the reading enjoyable.
The plates themselves are packed with illustrations
and text annotations. They seem dauntingly busy at
first, though the efficient use of space here was certainly
vital in condensing such a treasure trove of information
into a lean, field-sized volume. The illustrations follow a
consistent structure and understanding this organisa-
tion enhances appreciation of the plates and facilitates
cross-species comparisons. An incredibly helpful feature
is the inclusion of vignette illustrations for every species,
depicting individuals in natural poses in the context of their
typical habitat, often with similar or potentially confusing
species alongside. These little artworks are real gems,
frequently containing amusing background details such
as an airplane, human twitchers, rhinoceroses, a monitor
lizard and more.
The illustrations are magnificent throughout, perhaps
even an improvement upon those in Chamberlain’s
LBJs, which themselves received high praise (Ryan
2013). Paintings in other field guides, such as Shorebirds
(Hayman et al. 1986) and Collins Bird Guide (Svensson
et al. 2009), do tend to appear crisper, with sharper
boundaries between feather tracts of different colour.
This is not meant as a criticism of Peacock’s illustrations
though, as I feel his technique more accurately portrays
birds as they appear in the field, as creatures of feather
and bone rather than ink and paint. The book concludes
with an illustrated appendix covering an additional
21 species of potential future vagrants, likely increasing
the chances of these species being identified if they do
wander into the subregion.
In summary, Chamberlain’s Waders is more than a
traditional field guide – it is a celebration of a very special
group of birds. The combination of unparalleled illustra-
tions, thoroughly researched text, a site guide and an
appendix covering potential future vagrants make this book
perhaps the best group specific guide in the world and well
deserving of a place on any birder’s bookshelf.
2 Fleming

References Peacock F. 2006. Pipits of southern Africa: the complete guide to

Avery G. 1989. Results of patrols for beached seabirds conducted
in southern Africa in 1984 and 1985. Cormorant 17: 57–71.
Hayman P, Marchant J, Prater T. 1986. Shorebirds: an identifica-
tion guide to the waders of the world. London: Croom Helm.
Peacock F. 2012. Chamberlain’s LBJs: the definitive guide to
southern Africa’s Little Brown Jobs. Pretoria: Mirafra Publishing.
Africa’s ultimate LBJ’s. Pretoria: Mirafra Publishing.
Ryan PG. 2013. Reviews you can use: Chamberlain’s LBJs.
African Birdlife 1(4): 14.
Svensson L, Mullarney K, Zetterström D. 2009. Collins bird guide:
the most complete guide to the birds of Britain and Europe (2nd
edn). London: HarperCollins.

Campbell Fleming
Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town,
South Africa
Email: Campbell.Fleming@alumni.uct.ac.za

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