MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

A field guide to the wildlife of South Georgia with 350 colour photos

The guide is small enough to fit in a large coat pocket and will be a vital tool for anyone visiting the Island

“A Field Guide to the Wildlife of South Georgia” is the title of the comprehensive new 200-page soft-back guide to the Island’s wildlife. The book contains over 350 colour photos of the fauna and flora it describes.

Introductory pages give an overview of the Island’s topography, geology, climate and much more besides before describing each species of bird, seal, cetacean, insect, spider, other invertebrates, plants, algae, lichen and fungi that you are likely to see on the Island, and a few you are not - some of the rare visitors that have been recorded here. In all around 180 species are included.

For each bird or seal species there is a description of their distribution, how to identify them, what they sound like, and their behaviour. Pointers are given in text on the photographs to help distinguish similar looking species such as the Antarctic prion and the slender-billed prion.

Robert Burton, editor of the field guide, is a renowned natural history writer who has a rich understanding of the Island’s wildlife, having spent time studying at the BAS research station at Bird Island and has a long association with the Island. He was aided by Professor John Croxall, who studied the birds and mammals of South Georgia over three decades as a leading scientist for BAS, and there are contributions from other experts on South Georgia’s flora and fauna.

Despite his intimate knowledge of the wildlife of South Georgia editor Robert Burton said: “It was only when I started to compile the list of species that I realised just how rich and diverse is the wildlife of the Island. We have included 88 species of birds, some, it has to be said, only recorded once but they range from barn owl and barn swallow to emperor penguin and black-necked swan. And overlooked by nearly every visitor, space had to be found for several hundred plants and a surprising variety of invertebrates. Compiling this Field Guide was possible only because so many experts were eager to contribute their knowledge of their favourite island.”

The guide is small enough to fit in a large coat pocket and will be a vital tool for anyone visiting the Island. It is also part of a suite of books on South Georgia produced by WILDGuides; other complimentary publications include a visitor’s guide to South Georgia and a guide to the flora of the island, however the new field guide is the sole book to provide information on all of the Island’s species.

”A Field Guide to the Wildlife of South Georgia” is published by the SGHT and produced by Princeton. All proceeds from the guide will go towards funding the Trust’s conservation work on South Georgia, including its landmark Habitat Restoration Project. (August edition of South Georgia News and Events)

ISBN: 9780691156613; List Price: US $ 24.95 / UK £17.95; Postage: UK £3.70, Europe £5.35, ROW £12.75 The guide can be ordered online from the SGHT shop http://www.sght.org or from John Wiley & Sons Ltd, New Era Estate, Oldlands Way, Bognor Regis PO22 9NQ (Tel: +44 (0) 1243 843291; GRATIS +44 (0) 1243 843291 )