Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae

A huge, limited edition monograph, measuring 41 x 29cm, dedicated to an exceedingly colourful group of birds. Designed as a work of reference, the book contains current knowledge on a group that are notoriously difficult to study. The best known species, Resplendent Quetzal, has 12 pages of information, including a lengthy description of plumages, subspecies, habitats and status, movements, habits, calls, feeding, breeding and eggs. The highlights of the book, however, are the stunning paintings, done from life in almost all cases, by well-known American artist Albert Earl Gilbert. Gilbert travelled extensively in his quest to observe and draw each species in the wild and the illustrations are the reason why this book is so big, as large full colour images accompany each species entry Even so, the main picture of a male Resplendent Quetzal is on a folded page, with the painting measuring in at a mighty 80cm long! A book for the enthusiast, it is not cheap due partly to its size, and partly to the costly 5-colour printing method used for the paintings, but will be regarded as the last word on the Trogonidae.

Book reviewed by Su Gough