Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Accidental Review, September 6, 2006
I was just surfing through Amazon to pick up a gift for a freind when for some reason my curiousity awoke and I wondered if Amazon carries this superb bird book. I was surprised to find it and surprised to find that there is neither a review or a description, so I will try to bang something out in ten minutes before I must go.
I have been a bird watcher all of me life. I was brought up on Peterson's Field Guide to Eastern and Central Birds. Birds have always been one of the strongest bonds that connect me to my mother and through her to my grandfather and great grandfather that I never knew. I can identify all the common midwestern birds in flight or at rest (with the exception of spring warblers, but then no-one can do much with them). I realize that this should be a critique and not a biography of the reviewer, but in the case of a bird book, I think that it is good to establish the credibility of the reviewer. To further assure the reader let me tell you that I lived for 18 years in Southern Chile until I moved back to Wisconsin last year.
The book itself is beautiful. The pages are good, stiff, high gloss paper and the photographs are printed with bright realistic color and resolution. The book is large and heavy, in fact much too large and heavy to be a true field guide. It would look nice on a coffee table though. The fact that this book is cumbersome is the only criticism that I have about it.
The book is divided into sensible sections and each bird has two full pages. Most entries have at least three full color photographs of the species in different postures: flying, standing, perching, swimming, etc. Each species has a range map and a written physical description as well as a description of its habitat, and habits. The text was written in Spanish and translated into English. The English is perfectly understandable, but it seems clear that the translator was not a native English speaker. If you can read Spanish, that text is more descriptive and vibrant. The text shows a deep love for the subject, especially certain birds. The authors have a great affinity for all the big seabirds, and for some others such as the Chucao and the Torrent Duck.
I would suggest to any birder headed to Patagonia or the Antarctic seas to procure this book. It is very good.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
High quality photos and a well written guide, June 30, 2008
Basics: 2003, 1st edition, softcover, 656 pages, 2,000+ color photos, 430+ species, range maps
This is an excellent photo guide covering the southern half of Chile and Argentina, along with the Falkland Islands and the sub-Antarctic seas. Over 300 species are shown with multiple color photos of great quality. Another 130+ species have brief accounts in the appendix. Most birds have two pages of photos. Typically, there is one large (half-page) photo with another 5-7 photos showing the various plumages for gender, age, and subspecies.
The text, in both English and Spanish, covers identification, habitat, range, and habits. The authors make a point to cover significant subspecies with many of the birds. While the identification section does give a good description, there is nearly zero mention of how the birds differ from their similar species. Even some brief notes on this would be helpful for groups like the canasteros, miners, and cinclodes.
The range maps are done very well and show the outlines of the provinces in each of the countries.
A slight quirk to this book is it being split into two halves. The first half covers land birds on green-margined pages. The second half covers water birds on blue-margined paper. Within each half, the standard taxonomic sequence is followed. I gave up looking for the kingfishers and had to resort to the index. The kingfisher is listed as a "water bird" and is on the last page next to the Black Skimmer. Now you know.
If you visit the Patagonia region, I highly recommend this somewhat thick and heavy guide. Just as importantly, I highly recommend it be accompanied by Jaramillo's Birds of Chile. This latter book gives superior descriptions and a more detailed set of illustrations.
I've listed several related books below...
1) Birds And Mammals of the Antarctic, Subantartic And Falkland Islands by Todd
2) Birds of Argentina & Uruguay: A Field Guide by Narosky and Yzurieta
3) Birds of Chile by Jaramillo
4) Birds of the Beagle Channel and Cape Horn by Couve
5) Birds of Torres Del Paine National Park - Patagonia Chile by Couve
6) Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica by de la Pena
7) Guia de aves de Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego by Narosky
8) Aves de Tierra del Fuego y Cabo de Hornos by Clark
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by Alvaro Jaramillo
