In Celebes, bird identification is difficult without a comprehensive field guide, but it is surprising how far you can get armed only with island checklist in Nusa Tenggara and Mollucas. Most island support under a hundred forest species, with only a few representatives of each family. If you already know, for instance, the difference between a fruit-dove, a green pigeon, a cuckoo-dove and an imperial pigeon, faced with an unfamiliar pigeon there are probably only two or three options, and the species name will give you the last clue to identification. Island lists can be found in The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Mollucas by Kathryn Monk et al or on the BirdLife Indonesia Programme’s homepage on the World Wide Web. A checklist, which shows regional distribution, is included in the Practicalities.