African Wildlife and Environment Issue 64

GENERAL

GENERAL

GOOD READS Kruger Birds

Light-hearted bedtime reading

Book reviews by John Ledger

Muirhead, David (2016). The Bedside Ark. A riotous assembly of unrespectable creatures. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 22x15 cm, 144 pp, illustrated by B/W sketches. ISBN 978-1- 77584 -461-7. R160 . This book presents 42 short accounts of some of our interesting wild creatures. From Aardvark to zebra and many in between, these little essays contain much of interest, and David Muirhead draws on his extensive knowledge to enrich the tales. Basing his accounts on accurate detail, the author captures the wonderful and sometimes weird lives of his subjects, investigating their often exaggerated reputations, habits, weaknesses and strategies. We meet the wilfully ignorant Ostrich, the Houdini-like Honey Badger, the precariously specialised Klipspringer, the curvaceous sports-model Springbok and the recklessly insensitive hyena. The writing is sharp – the honeyguide

Tarboton, Warwick & Peter Ryan (2016). Guide to Birds of the Kruger National Park. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 21x14 cm, 224 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and maps. ISBN 978 1-775 84-449-5. R250 .

As an internationally renowned wildlife destination, South Africa’s Kruger National Park was visited by 4 167 216 people in the 2014/15 financial year. Apart from the spectacular large mammal fauna, more than 500 species of birds have been described from this premier destination. In this new book more than 400 of the more common or likely to be seen species are described and illustrated by colour photographs. There are distribution maps based on actual sightings of the birds, which help birders narrow down the identity of the beauty in their binoculars. There is also an introduction describing the KNP’s underlying geology, vegetation types, climate and rainfall, and how these drive the distribution of birds within the park. Both authors are outstanding bird photographers and the images are superb. A highly recommended new addition to our birding literature, and certainly a must have for all visitors to the Kruger National Park. Okavango

‘sends a tweet’ to the Honey Badger about the location of the hive. And in the vignette on the Indian House Crow, I recognised Dr Aldo Berruti who was charged by the City of Durban to exterminate the introduced birds. After his first successes, the birds got to recognise him anywhere in town, chastising him noisily and staying well out of range!

Natural History

Carruthers, Vincent (Editor) (2016). Wildlife of Southern Africa – A field guide to the animals and plants of the region. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 21x15 cm, 336 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with drawings and maps. ISBN 978-1-7758-4353-5. R300 .

Butchart, Duncan (2016). Wildlife of the Okavango. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 21x15 cm, 144 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and a double-spread map. ISBN 978-1-77584-338 2. R150. Botswana’s vast inland lake, the Okavango Delta, is one of nature’s most spectacular showpieces, an intricate wetland ecosystem surrounded by dry savanna. Duncan Butchart is a gifted naturalist, photographer and illustrator and he uses these skills to introduce the reader to more than 470 of the Delta’s most conspicuous and interesting mammals, bird, reptiles, frogs, fish, invertebrates, trees and aquatic plants. Excellent photographs are coupled with concise text describing the species in question – all this helps to identify the subject. The treatment of birds is particularly good, as the resident population is swelled by numbers of migrants during the summer months. To understand the Okavango you need to understand the underlying geology, topography, climate, vegetation and the habitats

Described as ‘The All-in-one Guide to Animal and Plant Groups in the Region’, this is a revised and streamlined revision of the book first published in 1997. Vincent Carruthers is a noted authority on frogs, but his wide knowledge of natural history makes him an ideal person to co-ordinate the work of the nine collaborating authors who contributed to the specialised sections, from invertebrates, fish, frogs, reptiles, birds mammals, and plants. Given the renowned biodiversity of southern Africa, it is a daunting task to give a comprehensive overview of the animals and plants of the region. Over 2 000 of these are described, with a coloured illustration, a concise description and, in most cases, a distribution map. This book will be very useful to anyone interested in natural history, to young people and school teachers as a guide to biodiversity, and to tourists to the region who don’t want to carry around a rucksack full of specialised field guides. As an all-in-one guide, it does the job!

which support the Delta’s abundant biodiversity. Botswana’s policy of high value, low volume tourism sees more than 50,000 visitors come to the Delta every year. This handy little book is an invaluable guide to the many tourists who come here from Europe and North America – highly recommended!

The Birder’s Bible

Chittenden, Hugh, Greg Davies & Ingrid Weiersbye (2016). Roberts Bird Guide, Second Edition. The John Voelker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. Flexicover and hardcover, 29x22 cm, 571 pp, colour illustrations, photos and maps. ISBN 978-1-92060 -201-7 (Flexicover); 978-1-92060 -201-7978-1-92060 -202-4 (hardcover). R280 (flexicover), R320 (hardcover). Distributed by Jacana Media. The Birds of South Africa by Austin Roberts, illustrated by Norman Lighton was published on 8 June 1940. The book was funded by the South African Bird Book Fund, and proved to be hugely successful, with over 300 000 copies of the various revised editions being sold – it was truly the South African ‘Birder’s Bible’. Now 76 years later, we have a completely new, redesigned, up to date ‘Roberts’ that is a magnificent and eminently worthy successor to those that came before, and a fitting tribute to the memory of Austin Roberts. The new book is excellent in every respect, with numerous new illustrations by Ingrid Weiersbye as well as many splendid photographs. The book deals with nearly 1,000 species and has 240

Insects

Picker, Mike & Charles Griffiths (2016). Pocket Guide: Insects of South Africa. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 18x11 cm, 152 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs, drawings and distribution maps. ISBN 978-1- 77584 -195-12. R150.

With over 100 000 insects known from South Africa, you have got to be a very good ‘information compactor’ to squeeze just a fraction of them into a little book that will fit into your pocket! The authors are up to the task, and cleverly operate at the level of insect families, and then give one or more examples at family, genus or species level (where this is known). The result is rather successful, and the 260 insects featured are certainly representative of what an interested person might encounter around South Africa. The photographs are generally very good, and each insect has a useful concise description and a distribution map, arranged four to a page, occasionally three. Some of the common names -such as ‘Balbyter sugar ant’ may not be familiar to non-South Africans! This is a useful little booklet to carry into the field, or to have at hand for when some new creature comes into your garden or home.

coloured plates. Because of the financial backing of the John Voelker Bird Book Fund, it is possible to put this book onto the market for the extremely modest price of R280 for the ‘flexicover’ version, outstanding value for money. Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved in this project!

8 | African Wildlife & Environment | 64 (2017)

9 | African Wildlife & Environment | 64 (2017)