Many field ornithologists record where and when they identify species of birds, especially when they encounter a species out of its normal range or for the first time. Until now, however, a checklist based on the Sibley-Ahlquist-Monroe classification has not been available. In this book, Burt L. Monroe, Jr., and Charles G. Sibley provide a list of 9,702 living avian species based on their 1990 book Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World and its 1993 Supplement. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World was awarded the title of "Best Bird Book of the Year" for 1991 by the journal British Birds. A World Checklist of Birds gives the Latin and English names for the species recognised in that work and in the Supplement, abbreviated geographic distributions, and spaces for checking species observed in the field and for brief notes. As a complete, standardised bird name list and a summary of avian biogeography and biodiversity, this book should be useful to professional and amateur ornithologists, museum curators, wildlife biologists, and nature writers.