The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife: Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean - Second Edition

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.This book features 35 color plates and some 920 color photographs. It illustrates and maps the distribution of all of the region's breeding birds and marine mammals. It includes information on many nonbreeders, migrants, and vagrants. It also features expert text reflecting recent advances in taxonomy. This title covers all of the subantarctic islands as well as Antarctica's regularly visited sites. It offers travel tips, including weather considerations and landing sites.

About the Author :
Hadoram Shirihai is the author of a number of highly acclaimed books, including "The Birds of Israel, Sylvia Warblers", and "Whales, Dolphins, and Other Marine Mammals of the World" (all Princeton).

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