Customer Reviews

A Wildlife Guide to Chile: Continental Chile, Chilean Antarctica, Easter Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago

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

 

 

This is not a specialized guide book, though birds predominate. But I particularly like the much wider spectrum this book offers. There are no range maps, and it took me a while to get to grips with the range info. But basically, range is indicated by using the administrative regions shown on page 3 of the book. Species pictured are mostly digital cutouts from photographs. This results in some odd outlines and in many missing claws in the reptiles, to just name the most often encountered drawbacks. Depending on the photos used, the quality of these illustrations varies, and their size as well. This variable picture quality is the reason why I have not given five stars. But the illustrations should serve very well for their main purpose; i.e. they are usually quite adequate for identifying the species. Photos, even in this form, however, rarely allow to illustrate all the plumages of the more variable bird species. Nevertheless, many species have flight pictures as well.

The book tries to cover the more common species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies. The flora is treated according to the major habitats with a few rather conspicuous typical species. For the marine environment, some commercial fish, molluscs and crabs, as well as some marine algae are presented.

Generally, both English and Spanish, as well as the scientific names are given. Often, more names are mentioned as well, with at least some names in other languages. For those birds that are included, there is always a German name as well. The texts for the individual species vary considerably. But they are usually quite comprehensive for the birds and mammals.

As a birder, I would not want to take along only this book, but this guide has definitely enlarged my view of nature in Chile. And a special benefit is the inclusion of the outlying islands that belong to Chile. There is also a section on where to go for wildlife observations. The paperback version is quite compact and lightweight, and it is thus the perfect travel companion. But it's a fine book for preparing a trip or just to get an overview as well. Definitely worth getting if you have any interest in that area of the world.

The South American countries are characterised by a very high natural diversity coupled with a relative scarcity of biologists and field naturalists, the result of which is a paucity of popular literature which would enable the curious resident or visitor to easily identify what he/she encounters. Admittedly, in recent years, the lack of reliable field guides is being successfully addressed for at least one group, and there are now excellent - if heavy! - guides to the birds of almost all of the countries of highest diversity. Even so, field guides to any other groups remain a rarity. So it was a very pleasant surprise to come across Sharon Chester's new book, particularly because it aims not just to identify the butterflies or the reptiles, but to provide a broad overview of the entire natural history of Chile and its territories. As far as I know, there is nothing similar available for mainland Chile and since this guide also covers the all Chilean territories, it will be of interest for visitors to the Antarctic too.

The book is very well organised and carefully laid out: it must have been a real labour of love for its creator, who wrote the nearly 400 pages of small text and produced the photographically derived illustrations. In scope it is a general guide to the natural history of Chile, something along the lines of the Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide series but, to my taste, better put together. After an overview of Chile's natural environments and ecology, subsequent chapters tackle marine organisms, flora, lepidoptera, reptiles and amphibians, birds (by far the largest section, though it does not replace Jaramillo's excellent Birds of Chile (Princeton Field Guides)) and mammals, after which there is a short gazetteer on wildlife viewing sites. The text is concise and informative and the illustrations very lifelike. The book would fit easily into a coat pocket, so it could be used as a true field guide, but is more likely to be used to plan trip or as reference back at base camp.

Should the potential visitor to Chile, the Chilean Antarctic or any other territories buy this book? Definitely! The book will certainly make a Chilean trip more enjoyable for the birder and general naturalist - there is nothing else comparable. And if you need further convincing, at under $14, it has to be one of the bargain nature books of 2008.

Highly recommended!

Chris Sharpe, 17 September 2008. ISBN: 0691129762

I brought a few of these books down to a bookstore in Southern Chilean Patagonia, and they sold out quickly. I use my own copy for identifying some of the animals that I photograph for various websites, including Flickr groups. The illustrations are adequate in some cases but I find myself wishing for better views, such as birds in flight as well as in repose. Not sure why the book had to include so much on flora -- which I don't usually associate with "wildlife." The heavy stock is nice and durable but also makes the book heavy, so I don't carry this book with me on hiking trips. The fairly detailed regional maps were a bonus I did not expect and these help if you are not familiar with an area.

This field guide is very complete, has excellent illustrations and provides region by region detail for all things animal and vegtable. The fact that it is bilingual (and also includes Latin designations) makes it especialy useful on the ground for sharing information with local travelers or colleagues.

This book was very useful in identifying the birds, plants and animals I saw on a recent trip to Patagonia. The information on habitat range was particularly helpful in distinguishing between similar species.

This is a beautifully organized and marvelously illustrated guide to birds and other wildlife in Chile. The text and maps are outstanding.

It sets a high standard for preparing similar books for other regions of the world.