Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica

Rating:
Summary: Dont let the title of this book fool you.
Review: An amazingly beautiful book about the wildlife in Costa Rica. Not as thorough and extensive as "A Guide To The Birds Of Costa Rica", but so artistically presented, I forgive it in a heart beat. The pictures of each bird, butterfly, frog, sloth and more are artistic, rich, expressive and liveful. I would be so lucky to bring back just one that look as good as that.

A must-have to read before and after a trip to Costa Rica. And in your hotel room after a field trip. Or on the bus going to a field trip. Or in your living room, dreaming about going there...

Rating:
Summary: beautiful and essential
Review: At a hefty 600 pages this collection has something for everyone--and manages not to skimp on the essentials or pad itself with filler. Though it would serve well as an introduction, "Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica" is even better as a companion (especially to my favorite book on the country, "Costa Rica: The Last Country The Gods Made").

Rating:
Summary: Dont let the title of this book fool you.
Review: I bought this book because I wanted a field guide to tropical wildife. Since Audubon and Peterson do not offer guides of this sort I went out on a limb. This book is definately not a field guide, but a desk reference. If you want to quickly identify the birds you are seeing, this is by no means the book to have. There are wonderful pictures and great descriptions, but the layout of the book takes time to find what you are looking for. It should also be noted that this is predominantly a guide to the birds of costa rica, there are less than a dozen insects mentioned and about the same number of reptiles/amphibians. Overall good information on the birds and few other animals listed, but terrible format. One final thought- this is not a light book to have in your backback hiking through backcountry Costa Rica.

Rating:
Summary: Great, but superficial
Review: This book is a great overview of the most common and the most sought-after wildlife in Costa Rica. It is nowhere close to all-inclusive. If you're looking for something inclusive, buy field guides for specific types of critters (birds, reptiles, etc). The pictures are gorgeous and are a good supplement to specific field guides. The book is really too big for taking into the field.

The best features of this book are the maps and the information about scarcity. It tells how often a particular animal was sighted out of 15 trips to areas where it occurs.