Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife: Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean (Second Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone who has read my other reviews will know that I don't give stars easily but I can find no reason even to deduct a single star from this book. Whether you have been, are going or just want to dream of going this is the book for you. As its title indicates, its prime purpose is to describe the wildlife, and it gives top billing to the birds - all in a level of detail which should satisfy the most demanding birder, but which the average interested amateur naturalist should also find interesting. The authors have sensibly provided a fine set of plates rather than relying on photos as the main identification aid. There are however many good photos as well - this use of both "media" is, as far as my experience goes, unusual in bird books which tend to opt for one or the other when in fact each has its advantages and disadvantages. The section on marine mammals is of a similar quality. Another section comprehensively describes each of the regions (including Sub-Antarctic islands all the way up to Tristan) with information which makes the book useful as a "travel guide" for planning and accompanying a trip (though it is really too fine a book to get damaged in use!). In addition there are good (if relatively short) sections on geology, climate, history, botany etc etc - in fact on just about any relevant subject you could think of. Indeed if you could only have 1 book on the Antarctic this is a very good candidate - and at a very good price!

I brought this book to the Antarctic peninsula with me, only to find a copy already aboard ship. It was still worth carrying.

Yes, good photos, but much better for the information. Details on identifying all sorts of animals, including the territories they can be found in at various times of the year, changes in appearance during the year and even a rather comical phonetic approximation of the sounds they might make.

I bought a lot of books in my year prep for this trip. This was one of the best. Must owning for anyone going south of 50 degrees.

Basics: 2008, 2nd edition, hardcover, 544 pages, 35 color plates, 920 color photos, range maps

Exquisite. Impressive. Awesome. This is an incredible book for three reasons. One, the thoroughness of information for so large a geographic region is unmatched in any other book I've seen. Two, the depth of coverage for each species leaves the reader wanting for little else. Three, the photos are outstanding and probably offer the best examples available for many of these remote species. A fourth reason just came to mind: I cannot think of one bird species in the region that is not represented with a good color photo.

This book has excellent photos for remote species that 99% of us will only dream about seeing. This is the only book I know of to offer quality photos of all the birds of the Tristan da Cunha islands -- a remote location that has always captured my fancy and wishes. Other sub-antarctic islands like Antipodes, South Georgia, Falklands, Chatham, Campbell, and Aukland islands have their unique species covered.

The text dedicated to each of the bird and mammal species is well written, complete, and invaluable to anyone visiting this sub-polar region. Topics for each include identification, distribution and biology, conservation, and taxonomy. The range maps do a valiant job at trying to capture detail for such a massive area. Viewed from directly above the southern pole, the map shows all of Antarctica along with the southern tips of South America, Africa, Australia, and all of New Zealand. The information in the identification section is detailed and offers great information on the plumage variations and critical differences between similar species.

The author uses the latest taxomonic revisions, which is important for the ongoing flux with albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters.

The layout of the chapters is a bit different from the typical book. I recommend taking a few moments to first review the contents outline at the very beginning. It helped me to better understand how the species and geographic groups were aligned as I flipped through the pages. There are several distinct sections which include a synopsis of the region, species accounts for birds and mammals, and regional descriptions to cover the many island groups.

The breadth of information in the first 40 and in the last 120 pages of the book is excellent material on the ecology, natural history, and geography of a rarely seen world. It is also a testament to the author's passions, experience, and scientific contributions.

If you ever go south of the S40-degree latitude, you must take this book despite its size and weight. This is also a requirement for your library if you have even the slightest interest in Antarctic wildlife.

I've listed several related books below...

1) Birds And Mammals of the Antarctic, Subantartic And Falkland Islands by Todd

2) Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic by Watson

3) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds: Vol 1-7 by Marchant et.al.

Lot of great pictures and very informative articles. This book will definitely be with my camara and computer during my trip to Antarctica.

Great book, excellent photos, very detailed. The one downside would be the size and bulk. It is a great reference book, but due to its large size may not be the book you want to take with you on an antarctic trip.

The first edition of this wonderful book of natural history won many prizes and won my heart during a trip to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands a few years ago. It has just been significantly updated and revised and is significantly improved.

It has 920 color photographs and illustrations, including 300 new photographs. There are 128 color distribution maps and up-to-date species accounts including abundance, seasonal status, and conservation prospects. It covers many nonbreeding species, migrants, and vagrants. Sections on albatrosses and petrels have been fully revised.

There are excellent maps of each region, and chapters are devoted to geography, climate, geology, general ecology, and flora. The sections on conservation efforts are excellent and challenging.

There is a useful section on visiting Antarctica and the various islands; my trip was on the Explorer II (the successor to the "little red boat" Explorer I which sank a few months ago). It was a great joy to read this new edition and to relive my wonderful experiences visiting that marvelous part of the world.

Robert C. Ross 2008

This excellent guide is well produced and thought out. The first 41 pages cover the layout of the book and a synopsis of the region covering the geology, environment and history plus a species list. The next 290 pages cover the avian species while pages 332-414 cover the marine mammals. 415-534 cover the islands and landmasses of the southern ocean in detail and a section on the gateways to the antarctic.

The 35 plates illustrate all the birds and marine mammals of the region in fine detail and hundreds of photographs add to the visual feast. Each species is described in detail with identification, distribution and biology, conservation and taxonomy. The range maps for the birds are fairly large and show the entire antarctic continent and southern ocean with the tips of South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Each of the main islands and breeding grounds are show in numbered circles and where the specific species breeds it is shown filled with red, pink shows the ocean distribution. Maps with two species distribution uses two colors for the nesting areas and describes each below the map. For the cetaceans the colors show the summer and winter concentrations.

Overall this is a fantastic piece of work with excellent illustrations and packed with information. It's large format and weight don't lend itself for use as a field guide but fit it in your backpack as you'll want it with you anyway. If you're heading south, want to head south, thinking about heading south or want to know about birds and mammals in the south, get this book!

This is a very complete book with exhaustive verterbrate (not including fishes) fauna description of Antarctica and the surrounding areas. Each major group has a general description and introduction, followed by more detailed information on each species. I highly recommend this book to anybody interested to know more about the vertebrates that can be found in the region.

I've wanted to take a circumpolar Antarctic cruise for so many years, and this book is a fantastic primer. My primary interest is cetaceans (specifically Ziphiid whales and small Odontocetes) so I did not spend much time examining the bird section. This book covers cetaceans well, with a few small omissions. I did find it odd that although the book covers landbirds for subantarctic locations, it omits land mammals. Also omitted is Mesoplodon traversii. Although no information exists yet regarding the physical form of this Mesoplodon, it's skeletal remains have been found within the range covered by this book. Pitman hypothesizes that his Mesoplodon species 'B' MAY be M. traversii (a long-beaked Mesoplodon). A printing error on page 383 (Plate 33) of my copy omits portions of the name of most of the small beaked whales illustrated on this plate. Think of this page as a quiz (weak grin). At-sea photos of most of the cetaceans covered are included and plates with artist renderings of similar species summarize field marks for each species(Plate 30 - coastal dolphins & porpoises, Plate 31 - oceanic and coastal dolphins, Plate 32- dark animals with similar, prominent dorsal fins, Plate 33- small beaked whales, Plate 34 - large beaked whales & small baleen whales, Plate 35 - large rorquals and robust-bodied whales). Each species summary includes sections on Identification (confusion risks, main characters, age-sex variation, physical notes, chief identification at sea, similar species) Distribution & biology (distribution, movements & population, diet and feeding techniques, main social behavior, breathing & diving, breeding biology), Conservation, & Taxonomy. A range map is included for each species.