Birds of Liberia contains distributions, biology and other ornithological information on the birds of this West African country.

In geographical terms, Liberia is still regarded as one of the least known areas of Africa. An inventory of its birds was only undertaken for the first time in the 1960s and 1970s. Liberia has the most extensive area of rainforest within the Upper Guinea region of West Africa. In 1980, half the country was covered by primary forest and ­significant areas of lowland rainforest were only first surveyed after 1981.

This book is the result of 15 years of research by the author and includes a complete checklist of the birds of the region. It contains distribution maps for 400 species as well as a wealth of other ornithological information. Fresh insights are given into the impact of forest destruction on the distribution of species.

There is also new information on the movement of diurnal migrants and the numbers and ecology of migrant Palearctic and Afrotropical species. Of particular interest are the recently ­discovered endemic species in the region of Mt. Nimba which straddles the border of Guinea and the Ivory Coast.

This book adds considerably to our knowledge of West African birds and will be regarded as a model for future studies of the area.

Wulf Gatter is a forester but developed an interest in birds at an early age. For the last 28 years he has been Project Manager at the Randecker Maar research station for bird and insect migration in southern Germany. He is the author of many ornithological and ecological scientific papers. For his work on birds he has received the award of the DDA (Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten), Germany's principal organisation for field ornithology.

He has carried out extensive fieldwork in the Liberian rainforests and is ornithological adviser to the Society for the Renewal of Nature Conservation in Liberia. He is also a member of the advisory council of DO-G (Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft) and of the journal Die Vogelwelt.