- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press (3 Nov 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0691117403
- ISBN-13: 978-0691117409
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 16.3 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,139,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'If you are going to Chile... this is certainly the book to take.' Scottish Bird News (June 2004) 'This book fills a niche and will be a 'must have' for anyone visiting the region.' Wildfowl & Wetlands (Summer 2004) 'This guide is a must-have for birding in Chile! "Birds of Chile" is a most welcome addition to the well-known Helm Guides.' Ostrich 2004, 75 (1&2) '...The essential field guide to the birds of this spectacular and tourist-friendly country.' birdtours.co.uk (April 2004) 'The long awaited, pocket-sized "Birds of Chile" attains a particularly high standard among field guides... "Birds of Chile" is an important addition to Neotropical and ocean ornithology.' Ibis (British Ornithologists' Union) 2004
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
This is the essential new field guide to the birds of Chile. Representing a great diversity of habitats, from the Andes in the north down to the tundra and sub-Antarctic rainforest of Tierra del Fuego in the far south, Chile is the breeding ground or temporary abode of 473 known species including 9 found nowhere else in the world. Birds of Chile covers them all, embracing not only the mainland but points offshore such as Easter Island as well as the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands, plus the Falklands and South Georgia. In addition to being a friendly and fruitful birding destination in its own right, Chile is the starting point for many Antarctic cruises.
Succinct, identification-focused text and distribution maps share a page opposite each of the 97 color plates to allow quick and easy reference. Between the boldfaced English name and the scientific name comes the Spanish name as used in Chile; this is important, for birders will find their quest far more enjoyable and effectual if they can explain to Chileans exactly what they are looking at, think they are looking at, or hope to be looking at.
Since Chile's list of resident species is yet far from conclusive, vagrants and rarities are also included. Indeed, some birds once thought to be accidentals in Chile have since proved to be regulars, including the Westland Petrel, Least Sandpiper, Cliff Swallow, and Golden-billed Saltator. Compact, comprehensive, and easy to use, Birds of Chile is the essential field guide to the birds of this spectacular and tourist-friendly country.
- The essential new field guide to the birds of Chile
- 97 color plates with succinct text and maps on facing pages for quick reference and easy identification
- All 473 known species breeding in or visiting Chile, from the Andes in the north down to the tundra and sub-Antarctic rainforest of Tierra del Fuego in the south
- Also covers points offshore such as Easter Island as well as the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands, plus the Falklands and South Georgia
- Compact, portable, and user-friendly
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In an earlier review, I explained how I found out about this book and why I liked it so much.
Quite recently, I returned to Chile for a holiday and was able to put the book to the test. My experience was that - if you take some time in advance to browse through the book so that you are familiar with its general organization - I was able to identify most birds that I encountered in minutes if not in seconds thanks to the very accurate drawings, the distribution maps, and, more generally, the handy format of the book. With this added experience, I find this excellent bird guide actually deserves 6 stars!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I came across this book during a full-day boat trip in Chilean northernPatagonia. It was owned by our tour guide, and he used it to identifyseveral birds we encountered during our trip. The book struck me by itsclear illustrations, often showing the birds in flight as well asdifferences between adults and immature birds and between males andfemales. Relevant descriptive texts as well as distribution maps flank theplates. The title of the description also contain the Spanish name of thebird as used in Chile, which I find very useful to communicate with localpeople. Even if they speak English, they are likely to be unfamiliar withthe English name of the bird. I immediately became enamoured with thisbook and bought it from Amazon as soon as I got back home.
The book compares favourably to "Birds of Southern South America andAntarctica" by Martin La Pena (Collins/Princeton Illustrated Checklistseries). Whereas the latter book has the obvious advantage of encompassinga very large geographical area, it has the disadvantage of the maps beingseparated from the plates and descriptions, and the illustrations oftenbeing too indiscriminative for a positive identification of the bird.
As an example, I looked up the flamingos in both books. While "Birds ofChile" spends a whole plate on them, "Birds of Southern South America" hasthree small illustrations, squeazed in into the white space of anotherplate. The illustrations in "Birds of Chile" acentuate the discriminativefeatures of the three species a lot, even somewhat exagerated (the yellowon the legs and beak of the Andean flamingo is not that bright inreality), but I do not mind that too much. In contrast,these
distincitve features are blurred out in "Birds of Southern SouthAmerica", making the illustrations almost useless for identificationpurposes.
So far, I encountered one typo, namely that the scientific name of the"Gentoo Penguin" has been omitted from the title of the relevantdescription. However, the interested reader can retrieve this informationfrom the book's index.
I can wholeheartedly recommend to everybody interested in both birds andChile!
The book compares favourably to "Birds of Southern South America andAntarctica" by Martin La Pena (Collins/Princeton Illustrated Checklistseries). Whereas the latter book has the obvious advantage of encompassinga very large geographical area, it has the disadvantage of the maps beingseparated from the plates and descriptions, and the illustrations oftenbeing too indiscriminative for a positive identification of the bird.
As an example, I looked up the flamingos in both books. While "Birds ofChile" spends a whole plate on them, "Birds of Southern South America" hasthree small illustrations, squeazed in into the white space of anotherplate. The illustrations in "Birds of Chile" acentuate the discriminativefeatures of the three species a lot, even somewhat exagerated (the yellowon the legs and beak of the Andean flamingo is not that bright inreality), but I do not mind that too much. In contrast,these
distincitve features are blurred out in "Birds of Southern SouthAmerica", making the illustrations almost useless for identificationpurposes.
So far, I encountered one typo, namely that the scientific name of the"Gentoo Penguin" has been omitted from the title of the relevantdescription. However, the interested reader can retrieve this informationfrom the book's index.
I can wholeheartedly recommend to everybody interested in both birds andChile!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the best and most user firendly bird book: small, thin but still full of information and excellent illustrations. Probably the best for birds in the Andes. If every field guide would be as good as this, I would be happy.
No less, than five stars.
No less, than five stars.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Birds of Chile
An essential accompaniment for any serious birder visiting Chile. Small enough to carry around but very comprehensive and easy to use.
Published 6 months ago by P J Smith
Birds of Chile Guide
Excellent, comprehensive, good colour plates - lightweight field guide. Well worth taking for any trip to Chile.
Published on 16 Feb 2009 by Mr. Mark A. Wigston
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
