Species Richness of Land Birds in East Asia   README   Tzung-Su Ding Feburary 2001

All the spatial data in this site are currently under reviews and will be prepared for publication in the future.  Please do not reproduce or use any map in this site, in any form or by any mean, without permission. Thanks.

Acknowledgments:

This project is supported by Pacific Rim Research Program, University of California.  I especially thank Dr. Pei-Fen Lee, Dr. Shu Geng, and Dr. Bill Rains for their supports and valuable suggestions and Soo-Hyung Kim for locating literature and developing ARC/INFO commands for converting draft images into GIS coverage.

Spatial extend:

This project is limited to Asia where locates within 70°E and 180°E longitude. This includes whole Oriental region, Wallacia region, and eastern half of Paleoarctic region.  Aru Islands and New Guinea with its offshore islands are not included because they are usually considered in the Australian region.  Mariana Islands, Bonin Islands, Palau Islands, Laccadive Islands, and Maldive Islands are not included either because they are either extremely small or far away from the mainland.  

Taxonomy, sequence and nomenclature:

All the taxonomy, sequence, and nomenclature of birds species in this site follow Monroe and Sibley (1993).  The world bird checklist of Monroe and Sibley (1993) is the final output of the Sibley-Ahlquist-Monroe (SAM) classification system, which is largely based on DNA-DNA hybridization techniques instead of traditional anatomical approach.  Since it differs so radically from the traditional (or so-called 'standard') sequences based on Wetmore (1930), it has been highly debated in last decade.   However,  personally I believe the SAM system is more objective than other sequences (e.g. Peters 1934-1987, Merony et al. 1975, Clements 1981, Howard and Moore 1980, 1991).  Also it has been receiving popularity among newly-published books.   So I decided to adapt this SAM system as the base of taxonomy, sequence, and nomenclature of this site.

It is noteworthy that Inskipp et al. (1996)  propose a checklist for the birds of Oriental region.  This checklist is very similar to SAM system except some modifications at species level and English names.  This checklist has been adapted by most bird field guides published for Oriental countries in last few years (e.g. Grimmett 1999, Robson 2000, MacKinnon and Phillipps 2000, Kennedy 2000).  It is more updated than Monroe and Sibley (1993) and, in my opnion, is becoming a 'standard' for birds of Oriental region.   However, Monroe and Sibley (1993) includes the bird species of Wallacia region and Sibley and Monroe (1990), which is almost identical to Monroe and Sibley (1993) in taxonomy, also describes the distribution ranges of all bird species of the world. For these advantages, I decided to stick with the checklist of Monroe and Sibley (1993). 

Species included:

Birds of Laridae (gulls, terns, auks), Phaethontidae (tropical birds), Sulidae (boobies), Fregatidae (frigatebird), and Procellariidae (petrels, storm petrels, albatrosses), which are mainly pelagic and feed on marine food sources, are not included in this website.  This site contains the species richness layers and distribution ranges of totally 2408 bird species.  A full list of the species can be viewed here.  

Methods:

Steps for distribution range:

1. Collect literature containing information of bird breeding distribution range.   All the literature sources are listed in Appendix 1.  Those literature sources supply global maps of species distribution range are considered as the first priority, then followed by those supply maps of species distribution range within a certain region or country.  For some species in some regions (e.g. babblers in Southeastern Asia), I could not find any distribution map, then textual description from books were used.

2. Draw the breeding distribution of each individual species as polygons, with real-world coordinates, on blank papers.  This drawing process is done by putting the draft paper and various geographical feature maps (e.g. latitude/longitude, elevation, rivers, political boundary, landcover) on top of a glass that allows light going through.  The precision of draft ranges is controlled to be less than 100 km of error.  The draft ranges are in Mercator projection. An example is provided.

3. Scan the distribution drawing and save them as Tagged-Image File Format (TIFF).

4. Convert the tiff images to vectorized coverage with real coordinates in ARC/INFO environment. See Appendix 2 for ARC/INFO commands.

5. Clip the distribution range coverage by land boundary coverage.

6. Change the projection to Lambert-Azimuth projection and create maps by ARC/VIEW.

Steps for species richness:

1. Create a new field in the attribute table of each species distribution coverage and assign binary values to them. A value of '1' represents 'present' and '0' represents 'absent'. 

2. Overlay all the species distribution ranges by families in ARC/INFO (UNION command). Delete unnecessary fields of the attribute tables of final coverage (DROPITEM command).

3. Calculate species richness of each family and order.

Projection of maps:

Most of the maps presenting in this website are in Lambert_azimith Equal Area Projection, except the topography map is in Mercator projection. Users should be aware of the properties of Lambert_azimith Projection.  Area is always true.  Shape is slightly distorted, less than 2% within 15 degrees from center, but angular distortion is more severe beyond that.  Direction is also distorted radiating from the center.   Distance is true around center but distort increase away from the center.   Therefore, north and scale are not provided in all the maps of this site and users should be aware of those distortions.  Below is the projection definition used in this project.

Projection: Lambert_azimuth

units: meter

radius of sphere of reference: 6370997

Center of Projection: (+119°00'00", +33°30'0")

False easting: 0.000, false northing: 0.000

Literature cited:

Clement, J. 1981. Birds of the World: a checklist. Facts on Files Inc. New York, USA

Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp, and T. Inskipp. 1999. A guide to the birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton, N.J. USA.

Howards R.and A. Moore. 1980. A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 1^st Edition. Oxford Univ. Press. Oxford, UK

Howards R.and A. Moore. 1991. A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 2^nd Edition. Academic Press. San Diego, CA, USA

Inskipp, T., N. Lindsey, and W. Duckworth. 1996. An annotated checklist of the birds of the Oriental region. Oriental Bird Club.

Kennedy, R. S. 2000. A guide to the birds of the Philippines.  Oxford University Press. New York.USA

MacKinnon, J. R. and K. Phillipps. 2000. A field guide to the birds of China. Oxford University Press. New York.USA

Merony, J., W. Bock, and J. Farrand. 1975. Reference list of the birds of the world. American Museum of Natural History. New York, USA

Monroe, B. L. and C. G. Sibley. 1993. A World Checklist of Birds.Yale Univ. Press. New Heaven, USA

Peters, J. L. 1934-1987. Check-list of birds of the World. Vol.1-15. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Robson, C. 2000. A guide to the birds of Southeast Asia. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton. N.J. USA

Sibley, C. G. and B. L. Monroe. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale Univ. Press. New Heaven, USA

 

Appendix 1:

(1) By taxa: having global maps of species distribution range

Baker, K. 1997. Warblers of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton. N.J. USA

Burton, J. A. 1973. Owls of the world, their evolution, structure, and ecology. Dutton. N.Y. USA.

Byers, C., J. Curson, and U. Olsson. 1995. Sparrows and buntings. Houghton Mifflin. Boston, N.Y. USA

Chantler, P. and G. Driessens. 1995. Swifts: a guide to the swifts and treeswifts of the world. Pica, Mountfield. UK.

Cleere, N. 1998. Nightjars : a guide to the nightjars, nighthawks, and their relatives. Yale University Press, New Haven

Clement, P. 1993. Finches & sparrows : an identification guide. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton, N.J. USA

Delacour, J. 1977. The pheasants of the world. Spur.

Del Joyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (eds.). 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World : - Vol.1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicion. Barcelona, Spain.

Del Joyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (eds.). 1994. Handbook of the Birds of the World : - Vol.2: New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicion. Barcelona, Spain.

Del Joyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (eds.). 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World : - Vol.3:. Lynx Edicion. Barcelona, Spain.

Del Joyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (eds.). 1997. Handbook of the Birds of the World : - Vol.4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Lynx Edicion. Barcelona, Spain.

Del Joyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (eds.). 1999. Handbook of the Birds of the World : - Vol.5: Barn Owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicion. Barcelona, Spain.

Fry, C. H. and K. Fry. 1992. Kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers: a handbook. Christopher Helm. London, UK

Goodwin, D. 1982. Estrildid finches of the world. British Museum. London. UK

Godwin, D. 1983. Pigeons, and doves of the world. British Museum. London. UK

Hancock, J. A. 1978. The herons of the world. Harper & Row, New York N.Y. USA

Hancock, J. A., and J. A. Kushlan. 1984. The herons handbook. Croom Helm. London. UK

Hancock, J. A., J. A. Kushlan, and M. P. Kahl. 1992. Storks, ibises and spoonbills of the world. Academic Press. London. UK

Harrap, S. and D. Quinn. 1995. Chickadees, tits, nuthatches, and treecreepers. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton, N.J. USA.

Johnsgard, P. A. 1981. The plovers, sandpipers, and snipes of the world. Univ. Nebraska Press. Lincoln, N.E. USA

Johnsgard, P. A. 1983. The grouse of the world. Univ. Nebraska Press. Lincoln, N.E. USA

Johnsgard, P. A. 1988. The quails, patridges and francolins of the world. Oxford Univ. Press. Oxford, UK

Johnsgard, P. A. 1991. Bustards, hemipodes, and sandgrouse. Oxford Univ. Press. Oxford, UK

Johnsgard, P. A. 1999. The pheasants of the world. Smithsonia Inst. Press, Washington D.C., USA

Juniper, T. and M. Parr. 1998. Parrots: a guide to parrots of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven

Kear, J. 1994. Ducks of the world. Houghton Mifflin. Boston, N.Y. USA

Kemp, A. C. 1995. The hornbills : Bucerotiformes. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK.

Lambert, F. R. and M. Woodcock. 1996. Pittas, broadbills and asities. Pica, Mountfield. UK.

Lefranc, N. 1997. Shrikes : a guide to the shrikes of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, MA, USA

Madge, S. and H. Burn. 1994. Crows and jays: a guide to the crows, jays, and magpies of dthe world. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. USA

Marchant, J. 1986. Shorebirds : an identification guide to the waders of the world. Croom Helm, London. UK

Restall, R. 1997. Munias and mannikins. : Yale University Press, New Haven, MA, USA

Soothill, E. and R. Soothill. 1990. Wading birds of the world. Blandford Press. Dorset, UK

Todd, F. S. 1999. Natural history of the waterfowl. San Diego Natural History Museum. San Diego, CA, USA

Turner, A. K. 1989. A handbook to the swallows and martins of the world. Christopher Helm, London.

Winkler, W., D. A. Chistie, and D. Nurney. 1995. Woodpeckers, a guide to the woodpeckers of the world. Houghton Mifflin. Boston, N.Y. USA

 

(2) By regions: maps of distribution range of all species within the region or country

Brazil, M. A. 1991. The birds of Japan. Helm. London, UK

Cheng, Tso-hsin. 1987. A synopsis of the avifauna of China. Science Press. Beijing, China

Flint, V. F., R. L. Boehme, Y. V. Kostin, A. A. Kuznetsov. 1984. A field guide to birds of USSR. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton, N.J. USA

Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp, and T. Inskipp. 1999. A guide to the birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton, N.J. USA.

Inskipp, C. and T. Inskipp. 1991. A guide to the birds of Nepal. Helm. London, UK

Lekagul, B. and P. D. Round. 1991. A guide to the birds of Thailand. Karn Bhaet. Bangkok, Thailand

Ranjit, D. R. 1997. A field guide to the birds of southwestern. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK

Ripley, S. D. 1982. A synopsis of the birds of India and Pakistan : together with those of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay. India

Wild Bird Society of Japan. 1982. A field guide to the birds of Japan. Kodansha. Tokyo, Japan

 

(3) textual description of distribution ranges

Ali, S. 1968. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan, together with those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon. Oxford Univ. Press. Oxford, UK

Ali, S. 1977. Field guide to the birds of the eastern Himalayas. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK

Ali, S. 1996. The book of Indian Birds. Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay. India

Bucknill, J. A. S. and F. N. Chasen. 1990. Birds of Singapore and South-East Asia.

Delacour, J. and E. Mayr. 1946. Birds of the Philippines. Machilan. NewYork, N.Y. USA

du Pont, J. E. 1971. Philippine birds. Delaware Museum of Natural History. Greenville, D.E. USA

Holmes, D. 1989. The birds of Java and Bali. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK

Holmes, D. and K. Phillips. 1996. The birds of Sulawesi. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK

Howards R.and A. Moore. 1991. A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 2^nd Edition. Academic Press. San Diego, CA, USA.

King, B. F. and E. C. Dickinson. 1975. Birds of South-East Asia. HarperCollins. London, UK

MacKinnon, J. 1990. Birds of Java and Bali. Gadjan Mada Univ. Press. Yogyakarta, Indonesia

MacKinnon, J. and K. Phillips. 1993. A field guide to the birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali, the Greater Sunda Islands. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK

Mason, V. and F. Jarvis. 1989. Birds of Bali. Perilpus. Hong Kong. China

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1984. The birds of China. Smithsonian Press. Washington D.C. USA

Rabor, D. S. 1977. Philippine birds and mammals.

Robson, C. 2000. A guide to the birds of Southeast Asia. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton. N.J. USA

Sibley, C. G. and B. L. Monroe. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale Univ. Press. New Heaven, USA

van Marle, J. G. and K. H. Voous. 1988. The birds of Sumatra. British Ornithologists Union. UK

Wildash, P. 1968. Birds of South Vietnam. Tuttle. Rutland, V.T. USA

Yoon, M-B. 1995. Wildbirds of Korea. Kyo-Hak. Seoul, Korea.