A Guide to the Birds and Mammals of Coastal Patagonia

Rating:
Summary: A very well done guide.
Review: Harris' knowledge and research, coupled with an excellent artistic hand made this book a critical element to my Patagonian journey. Most notably, his plates are exceptional, and although not nearly as extensive, they are in most cases far superior to the recently released Collins Illustrated Checklist covering birds in the same region. Harris also includes solid notes on each species, sometimes going into very good depth. One frustration was the limits of Harris' coverage: the book is very much "coastal" Patagonia, and omits several species such as Andean Condors, or the beavers and woodpeckers of the Nothofagus forests. Know that Harris specifically covers Argentine Patagonia from Peninsula Valdes to Tierra del Fuego. Despite this constraint, the book aided me in identifying many species throughout inland Chile and the Chilean seaboard. Overall the guide made for a phenomenal travel companion.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: Highly recommended for anyone traveling to Patagonia. The drawings are exemplary in comparison to any other available field guides to the region, particularly when used in combination with the de La Pena and Rumboll guide 'Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica'. I found Harris's illustrations and detailed descriptions to be much more extensive and truer to color and features than de La Pena. Particularly interesting was the inclusion of line drawings of mammal skeletons, which were much more common in the region than I ever imagined, and these drawings were extremely helpful in identification. However, a complementary bird guide is necessary when traveling south to the Beagle Channel, and toward the Andes, the route most vistors to Patagonia take. If you are limited to only one guide to the region, bring this one. If you have room for two, include de La Pena.

Rating:
Summary: A Guide to the Birds and Mammals of Coastal Patagonia
Review: This book has good quality pictures. Its strong point is the text for each bird and mammal. The real value of having this book on a recent trip to the Patagonia area was our ability to narrow down our choices of birds for identification making the process easier and speedier. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to read about and identify wildlife in the Patagonia area.