Naturalist's Big Bend: An Introduction to the Trees and Shrubs, Wildflowers, Cacti, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fish, and Insects (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment Series, 33) [Hardcover]

Roland H. Wauer (Author), Carl M. Fleming (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ROLAND H. WAUER, formerly chief park naturalist for Big Bend National Park and chief of the Division of Natural Resources, National Park Service, is the author of numerous publications of the Big Bend region and of Naturalist’s Mexico, also published by Texas A&M University Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press; 2nd Revised edition edition (November 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585441554
• ISBN-13: 978-1585441556
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,174,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plants and Animals at Big Bend, December 26, 2004

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Naturalist's Big Bend: An Introduction to the Trees and Shrubs, Wildflowers, Cacti, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fish, and Insects (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment) (Paperback)

Big Bend National Park has a variety of habitats for plants and animals. I was surprised to read that Big Bend counts more bird species than any other National Park in the US. Most of the park is desert, but the Rio Grande attracts water-loving species and the higher elevations of the Chisos mountains support trees normally associated with the Rocky Mountains hundreds of miles further north.

This is a fine little book. It has many color illustrations of the rugged terrain of the Big Bend, historical photos, black and white photos of animals and plants, and line drawings of wildflowers for identification purposes.

The book offers a capsule history of the Big Bend and a description of the five ecological zones in the park: floodplain, desert shrub, desert grassland, woodland formation and woodland. A chapter each is devoted to describing trees and shrubs, wildflowers, cacti, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, fish, and insects and other invertebrates. An extensive bibliography will guide a reader who wants more information. The text is competently and clearly written with brief descriptions of each species and comments on its importance, uses, range, and habitat.

Smallchief

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, bad citations., December 13, 2005

By 

S - See all my reviews

This review is from: Naturalist's Big Bend: An Introduction to the Trees and Shrubs, Wildflowers, Cacti, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fish, and Insects (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment) (Paperback)

This is a neat little book summarizing the flora and fauna of Big Bend National Park. It covers plants, birds, mammals, invertebrates, fish, and reptiles and amphibians, and provides a brief history. It is not an identification guide, but a listing of species of interest with some facts about them. There are better resources of information about birds and plants, but the other topics are rarely covered elsewhere aside from checklists available at the park.

My only problem with this guide is that they have provided in-text citations that are not in the bibliography! If you are going to cite sources in the text, please provide complete information *somewhere*. The bibliography lists lots of great sources, just not ALL of the sources used in the book. This lack of attention to detail is the reason I gave this book anything less than 5 stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Birder/Botanist reviews the book, April 24, 2008

By 

J. Payeur "joyce p" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Naturalist's Big Bend: An Introduction to the Trees and Shrubs, Wildflowers, Cacti, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Fish, and Insects (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment) (Paperback)

A good set of lists, with location, for the various natural species found in Big Bend. Unfortunately drawings are not to scale and are not near the plant descriptions. The decriptions do not include any identifying characteristics such as bundles and number of needles, etc. The drawings are in black and white. It would be difficult to take with you as it is not eay to identify items by the descriptions and or drawings. You would need a plant book and bird book and tree book all in color to help you.