If you plan a trip to the Galápagos, read up on some of the many field guides to the islands' wildlife. I own eight of them and recommend as the best Birds, Mammals and Reptiles of the Galápagos Islands 2nd edition (2005) by Andy Swash and Rob Still.

Birds, Mammals & Reptiles of the Galápagos Islands (2nd edition)
By Andy Swash & Rob Still; paper, 168 pp.

This is a simple identification guide, with each species given English, Spanish, and scientific names, and status, e.g. "common resident" or "uncommon migrant", a rough population estimate, plus details of behaviour, voice, and features aiding identification. There is a photo of every species, and these are cleverly arranged with the aid of digital technology on an appropriate background, such as sandy beach, or lava rocks, as if they are all in the same photograph. Where relevant, the photos may show male & female, as well as juveniles, etc. There are many thumbnail maps showing the resident species' distribution in Galápagos. If you only need this kind of basic information, this book is the best. The authors are British naturalists with qualifications in ecology. A contribution is made to the Charles Darwin Foundation for every copy of this book that is sold.

As it is well known, Galápagos is a unique environment.
It has fascinated naturalists and scientists for almost five centuries.
This is a concise and brilliantly illustrated little field guide. Birds, mammals and reptiles are all exceptionally well described as are the geography and climate of this peculiar archipelago.

"Anyone traveling to the Galápagos Islands should have a copy."

Unless you are an advanced nature buff, birder, etc. this book should fulfill the need for travelers to recognize habitats and the land and air critters that inhabit them. Lavishly illustrated, good identification information, and even range maps- all very compact, and accurate. The information is next to the photo, so there's no paging back and forth- a good thing when you have a critter right in front of you. There's even a cross-referenced check-list by habitat! I'll definitely be taking this slender book with its strengthened, plasticized covers on my next trip to the "Islas Encantadas". You'll be glad you got this for your trip.

WILDGuides' comprehensive field guide to the birds, mammals and reptiles of the Galápagos Islands has been honoured with the "2001 WorldTwitch Technical Innovation Book Award" in the USA. This high accolade comes as a result of the following reviews from the judging panel:

"Unique. . . . The text is as up-to-date as one can get. . . . The day [this book] reaches the bookstore shelf, I cannot conceive anyone going to the Galápagos without it in hand." - Noble S. Proctor.

"This book is highly recommended to anyone from novice to expert naturalist who is planning to visit the Galápagos to observe and study the wildlife of these enchanting islands." - Wildlife Activist.

"Anyone travelling to the Galápagos Islands should have a copy." - Choice

"This book adds to the many Galápagos field guides, but is sufficiently different to make it a significant contribution to the guidebook literature of these islands. The presentation is effective and the images sufficient to help the casual traveller identify most of the birds and reptiles. It should be a very useful guide for the average visitor to these unusual islands that are suffering from too many tourist visits." - ARBA (American Reference Books Annual 2003)

"I am happy to recommend this as the essential field companion for Galápagos visitors with a vertebrate orientation." - The Quarterly Review of Biology

When it comes to field guides there are two camps. The first favours an artist's rendition of species, which allows careful and deliberate representation of the most subtle, but often useful field marks. The second camp favours photographs that show the species as it really exists within a more natural context. Swash and Still's guide provides the best of both worlds by using digitally manipulated photographs that highlight the most important field characteristics of all species of terrestrial and marine birds, mammals and reptiles ever recorded in the islands, including introduced species and one-off sightings of vagrants.

Nearly all of the photographs are of very high quality, and are logically grouped with close relatives, facilitating discrimination between even the more difficult species. A particularly useful feature is that all species have been sized, so that their proportions relative to other species on the same page, are preserved. This is a notable improvement over the other recent bird guide for the Galápagos A Guide to the Birds of the Galápagos Islands reviewed in IBIS 140: 188. Although the authors provide the disclaimer that it is beyond the scope of the book to provide biological and ecological information, a very accurate, precise and well-presented description of the Galápagos geography, climate, habitats, habitat affinities and biogeography of each species is provided, as are a glossary, reading list and useful contact details for relevant organizations.

Like so many field guides, the most commonly observed species are mingled amongst those recorded only infrequently. Although providing comprehensive treatment, the non-specialist in particular is often presented with more options than necessary given the probability of occurrence, although the accompanying text indicates the likelihood of seeing each species. Whilst most of the identifications are accurate, there are some minor exceptions; reversal of the labels on the photos of Columba livia, the 'feral pigeon', or 'rock dove', and Zenaida auriculata, the 'eared dove' (p. 86), and the colour rendition of some of the cetaceans, most notably the garish red colour attributed to Blainville's beaked whale (p. 142). But these minor details should not overshadow what is otherwise an extremely well conceived and presented book. It is clearly the best book currently available for the taxa it covers.

The composite plates are works of art and clearly enable the reader to identify each animal with confidence - especially the land birds and shore birds, which can be somewhat tricky. New and a most welcome edition to our list, this book is very highly recommended. Absolutely the best identification guide!

The innovative authors have used advanced digital technology to collage photographic images of species in their natural habitats for the main part of this very portable guide. Other chapters look at geography and climate, habitats and a checklist of species.

Although much has been written about the Galápagos, this guide is unusual in representing all the birds, mammals and reptiles in a single pocket-sized book. The colour plates combine photographs and illustrations, with text and maps on facing pages to facilitate identification. It is intended that this will be the only guide needed by the ecotourist in order to identify all the higher vertebrates of the islands.