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

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 8 reviews)

Great photos and detail by Tom Ulmer (NJ)

5 Stars
April 12, 2009
Great book, excellent photos, very detailed. The one downside would be the size and bulk. It is a great reference book, but due to its large size may not be the book you want to take with you on an antarctic trip.

Very complete by S. Frederic (Suisse)

5 Stars
January 13, 2009
This is a very complete book with exhaustive verterbrate (not including fishes) fauna description of Antarctica and the surrounding areas. Each major group has a general description and introduction, followed by more detailed information on each species. I highly recommend this book to anybody interested to know more about the vertebrates that can be found in the region.

almost (but not quite) perfect by bothellbuyer (WA USA)

4 Stars
December 08, 2008
I've wanted to take a circumpolar Antarctic cruise for so many years, and this book is a fantastic primer. My primary interest is cetaceans (specifically Ziphiid whales and small Odontocetes) so I did not spend much time examining the bird section. This book covers cetaceans well, with a few small omissions. I did find it odd that although the book covers landbirds for subantarctic locations, it omits land mammals. Also omitted is Mesoplodon traversii. Although no information exists yet regarding the physical form of this Mesoplodon, it's skeletal remains have been found within the range covered by this book. Pitman hypothesizes that his Mesoplodon species 'B' MAY be M. traversii (a long-beaked Mesoplodon). A printing error on page 383 (Plate 33) of my copy omits portions of the name of most of the small beaked whales illustrated on this plate. Think of this page as a quiz (weak grin). At-sea photos of most of the cetaceans covered are included and plates with artist renderings of similar species summarize field marks for each species(Plate 30 - coastal dolphins & porpoises, Plate 31 - oceanic and coastal dolphins, Plate 32- dark animals with similar, prominent dorsal fins, Plate 33- small beaked whales, Plate 34 - large beaked whales & small baleen whales, Plate 35 - large rorquals and robust-bodied whales). Each species summary includes sections on Identification (confusion risks, main characters, age-sex variation, physical notes, chief identification at sea, similar species) Distribution & biology (distribution, movements & population, diet and feeding techniques, main social behavior, breathing & diving, breeding biology), Conservation, & Taxonomy. A range map is included for each species.

Brilliant masterpiece of photos and text - invaluable by Soleglad (Arizona, USA)

5 Stars
July 03, 2008
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. I've listed several related books below... 1) Birds And Mammals of the Antarctic, Subantartic And Falkland Islands by Todd 2) Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic by Watson 3) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds: Vol 1-7 by Marchant et.al.

An excellent book now even better by Robert C. Ross (New Jersey)

5 Stars
May 18, 2008
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. 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

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