This new major handbook covers 1282 species which occur in the western countries of Africa. The countries covered are Senegal, Gambia. Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Rio Muni, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Part of Mauritania and the islands of Sao Tome, Principe, and Bioko (Fernando Po). It is the only field gide available which covers the region's birds in detail and provides colour illustrations of all the species described. The book is illustrated with 142 colour plates, which cover all the species described apart from a few vagrants (which are depicted in black and white within the text). Distribution maps are provided for the majority of species.