Tito Narosky

Written entirely in Spanish, this book offers a modest sample of the 970+ birds that can be found in Argentina. The primary focus of the book is to display a good color photo of selected species and to provide some general information about the bird.

Although the title of the book says “100”, there are actually 106 species shown in nice-sized color photographs. The photo covers 1/3 to 1/2 of the page. Photos of the extra six birds are found at the beginning of the book and do not receive any coverage in the text. A few other photographs are included of nests, eggs, and young.

Most, but not all, of the photographs are good and show the bird well. In a few of the photographs, the bird is displayed from a distance or the picture is notably blurry or fuzzy. Some additional, smaller photos were added for nearly 20 of the birds. These smaller inserts show the female plumage. The photos in this book were not meant to be used for identification, but merely to illustrate some of Argentina’s birds.

With one bird per page, the associated text gives a general background on the bird’s description, behavior, and other natural history information related to food and nesting.

This book will appeal to the casual bird enthusiast who may want to browse through some of the country’s birds.

I've listed several related books below...
1) Birds of Argentina and Uruguay by Narosky/Yzurieta
2) Birds of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and Antarctic Peninsula by Couve
3) Birds of Chile by Jaramillo/Burke/Beadle
4) South American Birds by Dunning
5) Aves Argentinas y Sudamericanas by Vigil
6) Aves de Costanera Sur y Ciudad de Buenos Aires by Narosky
7) Aves de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires by Narosky… (mehr)

Basics: 2002, 1st edition, softcover, Spanish only, 128 pages, 68 color plates, 265 species, no range maps

This is a brief, concise identification guide covering a specific spot of extreme NE Argentina called Iguazu Falls (S25.679928°, W54.445459°). This is near the tri-juncture of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

For those of you familiar with the authors’ other works, you’ll quickly recognize these plates. They are taken directly from the previous, and still in print, “Birds of Argentina and Uruguay: A Field Guide”. Aves de Iguazu is simply a scaled down rendition of the larger book. The same paintings, text, and maps are kept in this reduced version. If you own Argentina & Uruguay, you already own Aves de Iguazu. Consequently, my book reviews of each are nearly the same.

There are 265 species illustrated, with 3-4 birds on each page. The majority of the birds are illustrated with multiple views (e.g., perched vs. flying; dorsal vs. ventral) and are accompanied by a very short (20-60 words) physical description of the bird. Only the minimum of text is given to range or habitat – typically only a dozen words.

The artistic quality is decent but not great. Given the relatively low number of species in this area, the drawings are sufficient to identify all but the similar species (e.g., elaenias, flycatchers, furnarids, etc.).

There are no range maps.

English and scientific names are supplied with the bird and the scientific name is also in the index, but everything else is Spanish.

Other Related Books:
1) Birds of Argentina and Uruguay by Narosky and Yzurieta.
2) All the Birds of Brazil by Souza
3) Guia de Campo Aves da Grande Sao Paulo by Develey… (mehr)

Basics: 1996, 1st edition, softcover, Spanish only; 71 pages, 38 color plates, 148 species, no range maps

This is a brief, concise identification guide covering the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve in Buenos Aires, Argentina (S34.608499°, W58.352367°).

For those of you familiar with the authors’ other works, you’ll quickly recognize these plates. They are taken directly from the previous, and still in print, “Birds of Argentina and Uruguay: A Field Guide”. Aves de Costanera Sur is simply a scaled down rendition of the larger book. The same paintings, text, and maps are kept in this reduced version. If you own Argentina & Uruguay, you already own Aves de Costanera Sur -- other than the 25 specific pages addressing the reserve itself. Consequently, my book reviews of each are nearly the same.

The first 25 pages address the ecology of the reserve and offers a brief review of the mammals, amphibians, and reptiles found there. This book illustrates 148 species of birds, with 3-4 on each page. The majority of the birds are illustrated with multiple views (e.g., perched vs. flying; dorsal vs. ventral) and are accompanied by a very short (20-60 words) physical description of the bird. Only the minimum of text is given to range or habitat – typically only a dozen words.

The artistic quality is decent but not great. Given the lower number of species in this area, the drawings are sufficient to identify all but the similar species. The physical structure of the passerines is captured with better realism than other groups such as the gulls, terns, shorebirds, and ducks. These latter groups have misproportioned wings, bills, chests, or length-to-width ratios. Additionally, similar species (e.g., elaenias, flycatchers, furnarids, etc.) will expose the limitations of the minimal descriptions, small-sized paintings, and average detail.

There are no range maps.

English and scientific names are supplied with the bird and also in the index, but everything else is Spanish.

Other Related Books:
1) Birds of Argentina and Uruguay by Narosky and Yzurieta.… (mehr)

Basics: 2003, 15th edition, softcover, 341 pages, 256 color plates, 975 species, range map for each bird

First published in 1987, this is a brief, concise identification guide covering all of Argentina, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands.

There are 975 species illustrated, with 3-4 on each page. The majority of the birds are illustrated with multiple views (e.g., perched vs. flying; dorsal vs. ventral) and are accompanied by a very short (20-60 words) physical description of the bird. Only the minimum of text is given to range or habitat – typically only a dozen words.

The artistic quality is decent but not great. The physical structure of the passerines is captured with better realism than other groups such as the gulls, terns, shorebirds, ducks, or petrels. These latter groups have misproportioned wings, bills, chests, or length-to-width ratios. Additionally, similar species (e.g., elaenias, flycatchers, furnarids, etc.) will expose the limitations of the minimal descriptions, small-sized paintings, and average detail.

The color reproduction is much better in the 2003 and later editions than in the books printed up through the mid 1990s. The earlier editions have muted or washed out colors on a thinner paper that allows birds from the other side to bleed through. The new books have sharper edges to the illustrations and are on thicker, glossy paper.

The range maps are tiny at 1x2cm; however, they do effectively illustrate the generalized range of the birds.

Heads-up: This book is the original source used to create four other scaled-down books that use the same paintings, text, and maps. They're mini-clones. These include 1) Aves de Patagonia y Antartida, 2) Guia Para la Identificacion de las Aves de Paraguay, 3) Aves de Costanera Sur y Ciudad de Buenos Aires, and 4) Guia para la Identificacion de las Aves de Iguazu. Owning this one book means you own all four of the other books, other than 60 species added to the newer Paraguayan guide.

If you're going to the Patagonia region, I recommend you also take the Chilean guide by Jaramillo and/or the Birds of Patagonia guide by Couve. The illustrations are superior in Jaramillo's book. Couve's book, even with photographs, is also better. And, text is more useful.

This book is available in both Spanish and English.

Other Related Books:
1) Birds of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and Antarctic Peninsula by Couve
2) Birds of Chile by Jaramillo
3) Las Aves de Chile: Nueva Guia de Campo by Martinez and Orlando
4) Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica by de la Pena
5) Las Aves del Uruguay by Gore/Gepp
6) Birds and Mammals of the Antarctic, Subantarctic and Falkland Islands by Todd
7) Falkland Islands Birds by Woods
8) Guide to Birds of the Falkland Islands by Woods… (mehr)