A book in a plain wrapper

A field guide to Brazilian birds proves to be as elusive as the harpy eagle

By Roger Hamilton

"Psst, Psst, want to buy a field guide to the birds of Brazil?"

It wasn’t quite like that, although the transaction took place in a shadowy corner of the ecolodge, out of sight of other ecotourists so as not to arouse their envy.

The little paperback, its cover displaying a parrot plumaged in Brazil's national colors, has become a scarce and sought-after item. No matter that it’s only in Portuguese. It is the only field guide devoted specifically to Brazilian birds, and it is out of print.

In truth, Todas as Aves do Brasil: Guia de Campo para Identificação is no landmark work. Author Deodato Souza in his introduction acknowledges its defects and apologizes for the quality of its illustrations. Nevertheless, the book is very useful and represents an enormous body of knowledge. It is treasured by its owners.

The near-nonexistence of a field guide to Brazil's birds is important to more than just a handful of quirky nature lovers. Birdwatchers make up the majority of nature-loving travelers known as ecotourists. Ecotourism is a growing economic sector in many parts of the world, including Latin America. Brazil has just launched a major ecotourism program for the Amazon region that is being financed with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank. Now in a preparatory stage, the program will finance infrastructure that should enable great increases in ecotourism in future years.

But in addition to physical infrastructure, such as airports and hotels, ecotourists also need intellectual infrastructure, such as books on local flora and fauna. Their enjoyment is directly related to the knowledge they bring to an activity and take away from it. One major ecotourism website in the United States provides its clients with lists of books on nature and scientific subjects that would daunt a university student.

For most ecotourists and birdwatchers, a good field guide in their native language is the single most important prerequisite to planning a trip. There are guides on birds of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, some of them very good, and all of them in English. But when it comes to Brazil, the Souza book is the only option.

“A new field guide on birds of Brazil would be a watershed for ecotourism,” says Victor Emanuel, founder of a large company specializing in birdwatching tours. According to him, a good quality guide in English, readily available through bookstores in Europe and the United States, would provide a powerful incentive for ecotourists to choose Brazil as a destination.

An improved Brazilian field guide in Portuguese would have another major benefit. Most people get interested in nature through birdwatching. In Brazil itself, a field guide would draw people to nature observation and greatly expand the national constituency for nature conservation, adds Emanuel.

But now for some good news: a Brazil field guide is on its way, although it won't be available for another four to five years. The book is being produced by two ornithologists: Kevin Zimmer, tour leader and author, and Andrew Whitaker, specialist in Amazonian birds who is based in Manaus.

According to Robert Kirk, senior editor at Princeton University Press, the book will likely be in two volumes: a large reference with detailed text and maps; and a smaller field guide with short texts, maps, and about 190 color plates. If financing is forthcoming, the book could eventually be translated into Portuguese.

In the meantime, though, it will have to be, “psst, psst, anybody want to buy a field guide to the birds of Brazil?”