Hi Tony,

Concerning Ecuador, I should recommend the Helm Field Guide "The Birds of Ecuador" by Ridgely and Greenfield (2001). There are 2 books, but one is concerned with taxonomy, distribution and status, the other is the field guide proper. While you may want to buy both (from memory about £65), you will have enough in your rucksack in terms of weight with just the fieldguide, which covers everything you are likely to see except Foothill Elaenia (which was discovered too late to make the book).
The first 2 volumes by Tudor and Ridgely (the passerines) was a wonderful publication, though "overkill",for any individual country, but nevertheless hooked me onto birding S. America in the mid 90's when I first went to Argentina and Venezuela, taking both these heavy tomes with me, as the only decent field guides then were for Columbia (where I dreaded to venture), and of course for Venezuela, (though this largely drawn from museum specimens).
The pity was that not all the passerines were actually illustrated, but one look at those wonderfully depicted mouth watering "Tangara" Tanagers got me hooked on them especially, alongside a whole new assemblage of S. American Warblers, Furnariids and Antpittas!

I had a chat with Ridgely at the Bird Fair some years ago and said what a pity it was that they didn't do the full works for all S. America's birds, but he more or less said it was just impossible in one lifetime to achieve in a comprehensive manner.
I think also he loved Ecuador especially, hence the collaboration at least in producing a good specific field guide.

I don't know if you've birded those parts before, but either way it's fabulous birding and I wish you a great trip!

Kind Regards,
Mike P.

Tony, Princeton university press have published the Non-passerines book therefore putting it in the Old bird book thread.



Keep birding