A Guide to the Birds and Mammals of Coastal Patagonia [Hardcover]

Graham Harris (Author), William Conway (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 1998

This is a guidebook to the birds and mammals of the coastal region of Patagonia, an area at the southern tip of South America. It describes the 185 species of birds and 61 species of mammals known to inhabit the land and sea along 2000 miles of the Patagonian coast, from Peninsula Valdes to the Strait of Magellan. It contains information on identifying all the birds and mammals of the region, as well as details of the natural history of some of the more common species.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Besides being a guide to identification, [this book] contains valuable life-history information on each species, much of which is not available elsewhere.

About the Author

Graham Harris was born in Argentine Patagonia, received an advanced degree in veterinary science from the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, and returned to Patagonia to work for wildlife conservation. He is co-founder and president of Fundacion Patagonia Natural. He has contributed articles and illustrations to books, journals, and magazines and is co-author of The Right Whales of Península Valdés and co-author as well as co-illustrator of the authoritative two-volume Nueva Guia de Aves Argentinas (published by Fundacion Acindar).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691058318
• ISBN-13: 978-0691058313
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,220,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very well done guide., January 17, 2000

By 

Ted "Reverend Ted" (PARK CITY, UT, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Guide to the Birds and Mammals of Coastal Patagonia (Hardcover)

Harris' knowledge and research, coupled with an excellent artistic hand made this book a critical element to my Patagonian journey. Most notably, his plates are exceptional, and although not nearly as extensive, they are in most cases far superior to the recently released Collins Illustrated Checklist covering birds in the same region. Harris also includes solid notes on each species, sometimes going into very good depth. One frustration was the limits of Harris' coverage: the book is very much "coastal" Patagonia, and omits several species such as Andean Condors, or the beavers and woodpeckers of the Nothofagus forests. Know that Harris specifically covers Argentine Patagonia from Peninsula Valdes to Tierra del Fuego. Despite this constraint, the book aided me in identifying many species throughout inland Chile and the Chilean seaboard. Overall the guide made for a phenomenal travel companion.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, January 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Guide to the Birds and Mammals of Coastal Patagonia (Hardcover)

Highly recommended for anyone traveling to Patagonia. The drawings are exemplary in comparison to any other available field guides to the region, particularly when used in combination with the de La Pena and Rumboll guide 'Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica'. I found Harris's illustrations and detailed descriptions to be much more extensive and truer to color and features than de La Pena. Particularly interesting was the inclusion of line drawings of mammal skeletons, which were much more common in the region than I ever imagined, and these drawings were extremely helpful in identification. However, a complementary bird guide is necessary when traveling south to the Beagle Channel, and toward the Andes, the route most vistors to Patagonia take. If you are limited to only one guide to the region, bring this one. If you have room for two, include de La Pena.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guide to Patagonia, January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Guide to the Birds and Mammals of Coastal Patagonia (Hardcover)

This book is a great field guide to the area. The color plates are well drawn and are accurate. Very useful for identifying the species of this region.