Product Description

This is a fully updated new edition of the award-winning Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife, the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to the birds and marine mammals of the vast and beautiful Antarctic region. Covering Antarctica, the southern ocean, and the subantarctic islands, this unique guide illustrates all of the region's breeding birds and mammals with some 920 color photographs and illustrations, including 300 new photographs. It features 128 color distribution maps and up-to-date species accounts that expertly detail abundance, seasonal status, and conservation prospects. The volume also covers numerous nonbreeding species, migrants, and vagrants, and the sections on albatrosses and petrels have been fully revised to make them current with the latest taxonomic knowledge.

Regional chapters describe all of the subantarctic islands, in addition to most of the regularly visited sites in Antarctica, and are accompanied by maps and photographs of each area. These chapters present detailed information on geography, climate, geology, general ecology, and flora. They also address conservation efforts--past, present, and planned. The book concludes with practical information about visiting the area, including details on the best landing sites and notes on seasonal weather conditions.

This is an indispensable companion for any trip to the far south, as well as an informative volume for anyone interested in the Antarctic region's remarkable, occasionally strange, and frequently beautiful animals.

• Features 35 color plates and some 920 color photographs
• Illustrates and maps the distribution of all of the region's breeding birds and marine mammals
• Includes information on many nonbreeders, migrants, and vagrants
• Features expert text reflecting recent advances in taxonomy
• Covers all of the subantarctic islands as well as Antarctica's regularly visited sites
• Offers travel tips, including weather considerations and landing sites

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50415 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-14
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

Wildlife Activist
This is without a doubt the most authoritative guide to the region's wildlife.

Review
Praise for the first edition: "This book contains more of the natural history of the Great White Continent in a single volume than any other book you are likely to find. . . . [It] goes well beyond describing the mammals and birds, offering a general treatise on the natural history of Antarctica.
(Charles F. Wurster Quarterly Review of Biology )

Praise for the first edition: "With the growth of interest in ecotourism, conservation, and research in Antarctica and the Southern Oceans comes a demand for an accurate, comprehensive guide to the area's wildlife, and this is it! . . . The plates . . . are among the best I have ever seen in any guide. . . . This is without a doubt the most authoritative guide to the region's wildlife.
(Wildlife Activist )

Praise for the first edition: "The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife is a remarkable book, probably the most complete general work on the topic ever produced, with more than 500 color photographs, 35 color plates and a 381-item bibliography. But these numbers tell only part of the story. The photographs are, almost without exception, simply terrific, representing the best work of 52 different photographers, each shot chosen for its beauty or its ability to show a particular aspect of the animal's identifying characteristics. . . . [An] amazing and valuable book.
(Jeff Rubin Polar Times )

Praise for the first edition: "This is an ambitious, single-volume guide to the wildlife of the Antarctic, subantarctic, and associated regions in the Southern Ocean. It is very comprehensive, with details of all of the relevant bird and mammal species likely to be encountered. It will prove invaluable for both visitors--either tourists or scientists--and those with a fascination for this region.
(Keith Reid British Antarctic Survey )

Review
The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife is a remarkable book, probably the most complete general work on the topic ever produced, with more than 500 color photographs, 35 color plates and a 381-item bibliography. But these numbers tell only part of the story. The photographs are, almost without exception, simply terrific, representing the best work of 52 different photographers, each shot chosen for it beauty or its ability to show a particular aspect of the animalÃ,¹s identifying characteristics. . . . [An] amazing and valuable book.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant masterpiece of photos and text - invaluable
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.

Other Related Books:
1) Birds and Mammals of the Antarctic, Subantarctic and Falkland Islands by Todd
2) Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic by Watson
3) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (7 volumes) by Marchant et.al.

A wonderful guide, now even better
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.

This book makes me eager to read other books by Hadoram Shirihai, which include Whales Dolphins and Seals, A Guide to the Birding Hot-spots of Northern Israel (Volume 1: Northern Guide), A Guide to the Birding Hot-spots of Southern Israel (Volume 2: Southern Guide), and Sylvia Warblers.

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

Spectacular
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.