Australian mammals
Field guides reviewed
from Australian-Wildlife.com
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| Books about Australian mammals |
| 1. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia Menkhorst and Knight Well this book does just about everything right. Frank Knight's clear and beautiful illustrations and Peter Menkhorst's amazingly comprehensive knowledge have come together in what must be the ideal field guide for Australian mammals. A quick look at the check list will show you that it doesn't really have any shortcomings. It even has a plasticised cover for weather protection, showing an attention to detail which is all to often lacking elsewhere. If it had been possible to make the book narrower so that it fits in the hand better then it would have scored a clear 10/10. However, that almost seems a little petty because if it is your intention to have a guidebook with you when you're out looking at/for Aussie wildlife then, for me, this is clearly the winning choice. |
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| 2. Spectacular Animals of Australia Dalys Newman This is a large, hardback book full of glossy pictures of a wide range of Australia's wild and weird animals. Basically the picture quality is average at best, many of the animals are clearly captive, there's no supporting information and all in all it's a big disappointment. Maybe it would be good for getting kids interested in Aussie wildlife prior to a visit here, or perhaps as a reminder of their travels, but I certainly couldn't recommend this for adults. |
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| 3. A Photographic Guide to the Mammals of Australia Strahan This book is really quite good. The introduction includes information on the different orders and families of mammals, a section on the different habitats in Australia and a piece on tips for watching mammal wildlife. The photo quality is good, with only the bats being difficult to distinguish (and you're never going to be able to identify the smaller bats on the wing anyway) and the descriptions that accompany them are probably enough for all sightings. The maps are not great (too small) and the lack of a large scale map could be an issue for those new to Australia, but overall this book scores well. And the size (fits in the back pocket) is a definite plus. Menkhorst and Knight's book (see 1. above) is clearly the choice for anyone who wants unambiguous identification in all situations but for those who aren't quite so bothered this book will do nicely. |
|
| Size mm/in |
| Weight g/oz |
| 180 x 130 x 8/7.1 x 5.1 x 0.3 |
| 173/6.1 |
| Photos |
| Photos/Illustrations |
| Complete coverage? |
| No |
| Paperback/Hardback |
| Paperback |
| Number of pages |
| 96 |
| Latin ind |
| No |
| English index? |
| Yes |
| Quality of introduction info. |
| 7/10 |
| Quality of illustrations/photos |
| 10/10 |
| Large scale coverage map? |
| No |
| Distribution maps? |
| No |
| Maps next to description? |
| No |
| Checklist? |
| Yes |
| Glossary? |
| Yes |
| My rating |
| 8/10 |
| Size mm/in |
| Weight g/oz |
| 190 x 95 x 12/7.5 x 3.8 x 0.5 |
| 182/6.4 |
| Photos |
| Photos/Illustrations |
| Complete coverage? |
| Yes |
| Paperback/Hardback |
| Paperback |
| Number of pages |
| 134 |
| Latin ind |
| No |
| English index? |
| Yes |
| Quality of introduction info. |
| 5/10 |
| Quality of illustrations/photos |
| 8/10 |
| Large scale coverage map? |
| No |
| Distribution maps? |
| Yes |
| Maps next to description? |
| Yes |
| Checklist? |
| Yes |
| Glossary? |
| No |
| My rating |
| 8/10 |
| Size mm/in |
| Weight (g) |
| 260 x 260 x 14/10 x 10 x 0.6 |
| N/A |
| Photos |
| Photos/Illustrations |
| Complete coverage? |
| No |
| Paperback/Hardback |
| Hardback |
| Number of pages |
| 128 |
| Latin ind |
| No |
| English index? |
| Yes |
| Quality of introduction info. |
| 0/10 |
| Quality of illustrations/photos |
| 6/10 |
| Large scale coverage map? |
| No |
| Distribution maps? |
| No |
| Maps next to description? |
| No |
| Checklist? |
| No |
| Glossary? |
| No |
| My rating |
| 6/10 |
| Size mm/in |
| Weight g/oz |
| 235 x 155 x 18/9.3 x 6.1 x 0.7 |
| 590/20.8 |
| Illustrations |
| Photos/Illustrations |
| Complete coverage? |
| Yes |
| Paperback/Hardback |
| Paperback |
| Number of pages |
| 278 |
| Scientific ind |
| Yes |
| English index? |
| Yes |
| Quality of introduction info. |
| 10/10 |
| Quality of illustrations/photos |
| 10/10 |
| Large scale coverage map? |
| Yes |
| Distribution maps? |
| Yes |
| Maps next to description? |
| Yes |
| Checklist? |
| Yes |
| Glossary? |
| Yes |
| My rating |
| 9/10 |
| 4. Green Guide Mammals of Australia Lindsey This book offers a guide to identifying and understanding Australia's most commonly seen mammals. The Green Guides are always done well and this is no exception. It is a photo guide with a huge amount of interesting facts scattered throughout the book. its format is possibly aimed more at children than adults with lots of 'did you know' kind of stuff but the information included will, I'm sure, be interesting to all. However, if your interest is a little more serious then don't think that this book will suffice - it won't. The images are more for attention than identification, there are no distribution maps and worst of all, it does not have complete coverage. So as long as you are aware of what this book is about I'm sure you'll be very pleased. 8/10 |
|
| Size mm |
| Weight g/oz |
| 235x155x18 |
| 590/20.8 |
| Illustrations |
| Photos/Illustrations |
| Complete coverage? |
| Yes |
| Paperback/Hardback |
| Paperback |
| Number of pages |
| 278 |
| Scientific ind |
| Yes |
| English index? |
| Yes |
| Quality of introduction info. |
| 10/10 |
| Quality of illustrations/photos |
| 10/10 |
| Large scale coverage map? |
| Yes |
| Distribution maps? |
| Yes |
| Maps next to description? |
| Yes |
| Checklist? |
| Yes |
| Glossary? |
| Yes |
| My rating |
| 9/10 |
| 190x95x12 |
| 182/6.4 |
| Photos |
| Yes |
| Paperback |
| 134 |
| No |
| Yes |
| 5/10 |
| 8/10 |
| No |
| Yes |
| Yes |
| Yes |
| No |
| 8/10 |
| 180x130x8 |
| 173/6.1 |
| Photos |
| No |
| Paperback |
| 96 |
| No |
| Yes |
| 7/10 |
| 10/10 |
| No |
| No |
| No |
| Yes |
| Yes |
| 8/10 |
| Well there's really not a huge selection of books that cover the field identification of Australian mammals, which makes my job easy. Essentially the choice is quite simple. If you want unambiguous ID go for number one, if you want something pocket sized with a slight compromise on ID ability then go for 3. If you want something for children or for someone with only a passing interest in wildlife then go for number 4. That's my opinion anyway. It's a shame that there aren't really any quality 'coffee-table' books that can be supplied via Amazon. However, one is available from Readers' Digest here in Australia and available in certain bookstores. It's big, about $60 Aus and is as good as anything you will find anywhere. Personally I can't recommend it highly enough, just make sure it doesn't take you over your weight allowance at the airport! |
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| Please click on either the US or UK link if you wish to buy this book from Amazon. |
| Please click on the US link if you wish to buy this book from Amazon. |
| Please click on either the US or UK link if you wish to buy this book from Amazon. |
| Please click on either the US or UK link if you wish to buy this book from Amazon. |