Forests

Carr, Archie. High Jungles and Low. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1953. Well-known biologist Archie Carr spent several years in Honduras, most of it at the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana in the Valle de Zamorano. His account of this time combines plant and animal biology, particularly regarding the cloud forest and the tropical rainforest, with anecdotes and stories about local people. This well-written volume, obviously a labor of love, clearly shows the author’s affection for Honduras and its people. Carr also wrote “Animal Habitats in Honduras,” one of the best English-language essays on the subject, which appeared in The Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 1950, volume 96.

Forsyth, Adrian, and Ken Miyata. Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1984. Not specifically about Honduras, this book is nonetheless a good anecdotal overview of the workings of the rainforest ecosystem found in the Mosquitia, written for the general reader.

Kricher, John, and Mark Plotkin. A Neotropical Companion: An Introduction to the Animals, Plant, and Ecosystems of the New World Tropics. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1997. Another good general study for nonspecialists, more thorough and less anecdotal than Tropical Nature.

Reef

DeLoach, Ned, and Paul Humann. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. 3rd ed. Jacksonville, Florida: New World Publishing, 2002. This picture-packed three-volume set is without a doubt the best available on Caribbean reef life.

Birds

Alderfer, Jonathan, and Jon L. Dunn. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. 5th ed. National Geographic, 2006. Although it is titled for North America, this is a useful guide for identifying the birds of Honduras, with 4,000 full-color illustrations of more than 960 species.

Bonta, Mark. Seven Names for the Bellbird: Conservation Geography in Honduras. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2003. This is a different kind of bird book, a narrative of “conservation geography”—the study of human beings and their landscapes—that weaves descriptions of Honduran birds and local traditions of bird appreciation with an analysis of how to ensure locals participate in and take ownership of conservation efforts.

Bonta, Mark, and David Anderson. Birding Honduras: A Checklist and Guide. New York: Ecoarte, 2002. This is the only guide specifically to Honduran birds. More information about the guide and birding in Honduras can be found at the authors’ website, www.birdinghonduras.com.

Van Perlo, Ber. Birds of Mexico and Central America. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2006. While birders criticize the tiny drawings, the plus is that more than 1,500 species are packed into this relatively small volume.

© Chris Humphrey and Amy E. Robertson from Moon Honduras, 5th Edition