Customer Reviews

Birds of Chile (Princeton Field Guides)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The great void of high-quality field guides for South America is gradually shrinking. This book is undoubtedly most useful way beyond the boundaries of Chile. I wish I had had this book for my trip to southern Peru in 2000. The attempt to identify yellow-finches with the only field guide I had for that area (de la Peña and Rumboll) was an exercise in sheer frustration. The new book shows clear differences between the species. I can't judge the accuracy for most species, but this is a book that gives you confidence that the author and the illustrators got the vast majority right. As had been mentioned in earlier reviews, the quality of the plates is a bit variable, but they all seem at least usable, and the majority is downright excellent. The many flight pictures are particularly welcome. Sexual differences and even some geographical variations are clearly depicted as well. What a fine and compact guide book! And it is so affordable (at least here at Amazon!)that any traveller could really take a second copy along for local birders, as had been suggested.

Backcover statement for Jaramillo's "Birds of Chile" as the first bird fieldguide for the country is false: back to 1986 Araya and colleagues published "Guía de Campo de las Aves de Chile". But it was a quite simple work, all black & white drawings, succint descriptions, and almost nil encroachment with ID problems. So for practical purposes Jaramillo's guide is really the first reliable one for Chilean birders... and visiting foreigners as well.
Introductory chapters are excellent. Plate-facing descriptions are very good and don't fear tackle with the toughest ID puzzles. Distributional maps are the first critical for a lot of species (Thinocoridae, Oreopholus, Chilia, Phleocryopes,etc.). Plates include some masterpieces, e.g. Sheldgeese (plate #24), Treerunner (68), Hummingbirds II (62). A few (#11,#54) rank below average, and would deserve reassesment. Also some inevitable mishaps affect the book: the missing initial text for Juan Fernández Firecrown (page 150), wrong-written words ("Azúl", p.152) .... minor defects easy to amend in future editions.
No doubt Jaramillo's book inaugurates a new era in Chilean ornithology. That's why I give it five stars level.

This is a fantastic field guide. The plates are excellent and the descriptions detailed. I'm no expert birder, but with this guide I've been able to clearly ID far more birds than what was possible using Sharon Chester's guide (which is a great quick-start for spotting, but otherwise not detailed enough), or the Collins book "Birds of Southern South America" (which is good, but too expansive for focus solely on Chile). It is obvious that a lot of work has gone into "Birds of Chile", yet it is an infinitely user-friendly guide. Thanks to this book, I find I try to get out more to see what's around.

My only gripe with the book concerns its durability under wet conditions. Chile is a rainy country, and my copy suffered on a typical hike in the rain. That's a minor gripe, however, and I probably could have taken extra measures to protect it.

One side note: If you are planning a birding trip in Chile, it would be nice to bring an extra copy to leave behind for someone you meet here. Field guides are usually imported, very expensive, and hard to find. I haven't seen this one in the stores here yet, and I'm sure that many folks would be glad to receive a copy.

Basics: 2003, softcover, 240 pages, 96 color plates, 473 species, range map for each bird

In case I fail to make it clear in my review of the book, I'll state it now: This book is a necessity for your birding trip to anywhere in Chile. The illustrations are excellent and cover every bird - both resident and migrant - found in the country. It also covers 13 extra species found in the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

The illustrations are done superbly in detail, structure, and color. If I had to pick on something for criticism, it would only be the vaguely angled outline to some of the birds' nape/crown and the necks of the swans, but this is minor. The plates do a great job of displaying the many subspecies and seasonal plumages. The many in-flight views are definitely helpful.

The majority of the text consists of excellent notes on identification and of comparing similar species. The detailed notes proved to be very helpful when examining the the various cinclodes and miners in the field. An admiral effort is given to describing the vocalizations. These notes are effectively written and are more detailed than most other field guides of any country.

The range maps are unique due to the shape of Chile. To properly display the 2,500 miles of coastline, the country was broken into thirds: northern, central, and southern. These are placed adjacent to each other in one box. To help provide some orientation, the 12 regions (i.e., provinces) are outlined and Santiago is dotted. For birds with a small range, the map zooms in to that particular area. These maps use five different colors to denote seasons and sparseness.

There are a couple of other books you could use for Chile, but I found this one to be superior to all in terms of illustrations, text, and book size. It will definitely accompany me again. Any other book I bring will be only for back-up reference.

Other Related Books:
1) Las Aves de Chile: Nueva Guia de Campo by Martinez and Gonzalez (ISBN 9568426000)
2) Birds of Patagonia, Tierra Del Fuego and Antarctic Peninsula by Couve
3) Birds of Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile by Couve
4) Birds of Chile and Adjacent Regions of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru -- Vol. I-II by Johnson
5) Birds of Chile: A Field Guide by Araya
6) Guia de campo de las aves de Chile by Araya

Being chilean and living in this country, I know many of the birds described here. It is really very good and images are perfect.
For future editions, may I suggest to include a CD with the sounds of some of the described birds.

A solid ornthilogical text that I found useful as an onsite field guide in Chile.

I took this book on a recent trip to Chile. My travels were from the Atacama Desert in the north to Punta Arenas in the south. The book is well written and illustrated and made for easy identification. One of my guides (a birder) had this book in Spanish. Highly recommend it; buy it before leaving the states as it is twice expensive in Chile-if you can find the English version.

The Birds of Chile by Alvaro Jaramillo is of convenient size with excellent illustrations. The birds are named by common English name plus scientific name as well as the name by which they are known in Chile. Distribution and habitat maps are plentiful and well positioned.

Compré el libro y me lo mandaron a mi casa en Santiago, Chile, dentro del tiempo estimado sin ningún problema.

La guía es muy buena porque además de ser muy completa es muy práctica en tamaño para llevarla a terreno.

I bought, shared and very actively used the Jaramillo field guide in Chile during December 2003. I birded the Santiago region, Chiloe and Patagonia. Chilean guides accompanied me on all occasions and all wanted to purchase the book. There has never been anything better for Chile, and that probably applies to Antarctica too.

I did not give the book a five because I did not think the paintings are arranged in a way that clearly separates similar species. Nonetheless, the book is a four plus and I recommend it strongly to anyone birding Chile.