Customer Reviews:
 Lost In Translation? July 28, 2006
28 out of 28 found this review helpful
As a mammal ecologist, I'm pretty familiar with feeding signs of rodents and also mammal footprints, and general identification... So it is probably quite natural that I'm a bit over-sensitive to things lost in translation. In general, this is a fantastic book, and I will take it with me on any "outing"... but there are a few errors...
On page 67 the photo in the centre at the bottom of the page says it is a fox print. I am familiar with the technique of putting a line, or an "x" through a track to determine if it is a fox or dog. They mention it above, on the very same page, but the one in the photo doesn't seem to fall in line with my (or their) criteria for a fox track.
On page 53, there are the tracks of a field vole jumping in the snow. (note marks from the "long tail" between the tracks... ) except field voles have particularly short tails. Could this be a bank vole track and it is just a typo??
On 138, there is a photo of a hazelnut eaten by a yellow-necked mouse / wood mouse on the "left" and a bank vole on the "right". I'm pretty sure these are backwards, again, according to both my experience and their text... Mice leave marks all over the outside of the edge of the hole, whereas voles are quite neat and tidy. The photos are backwards...
Don't get me wrong, I particulalry like this book, and I think it is very comprehensive. But I have found several mis-prints.
(sorry, Mr Bang, its a lovley book - I'm not trying to start tearing up this fantastic piece of work, but I'm just genuinely a bit confused...)
So in spite of all my grumbling, I give it 4 stars. But a warning that there are a few tiny mistakes.
Every walk an adventure with this book! August 4, 2005
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I bought this book for my ten year old, but it has proved fascinating and useful for all the family. How else can you differentiate fox poo from dog poo? Or identify the contents of pellets? We have used every section and it is the only book my son reads for pleasure!My only criticism would be some of the gaps - probably a regional bias. Not so much on bats for example. But a great book and highly recommended for small (and not so small) nature lovers. It makes every walk an adventure!
 Comprehensive... November 16, 2003
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
I can't praise this book enough...if you're at this page and you haven't got a copy, why not? It details not only footprints and tracks, but feeding signs, droppings, pellets etc. Nice clear, colourful illustrations and photos, too! Yes, it covers some animals you are unlikely to encounter in the UK (brown bear, anyone?) but that's in addition to in-depth coverage of our more 'local' wildlife...
 A childhood memory August 15, 2003
9 out of 15 found this review helpful
Not everyone is going to "get" this book. If you open this title flick through and laugh out loud at the pictures of droppings from various animals ,then you should buy the SAS handbook and stay in by the telly. If on the other hand you really need to know if the Pine Cone you've just picked up was eaten by Bank Vole or Squirrel then maybe you should own this quirky little book.
In a recent radio interview none other than Ray Mears confirmed that this book started it all off for him ,he particularly liked the way the authors had put their thumb prints on the frontispiece, that made me smile as I'd first seen those thumb prints on my 8th birthday in 1975.
Only 3 stars now as most of the text refers to Scandinavian fauna and is maybe now a tad limited , but if you'd asked me when I was 8 I'd have given it six. My copy has lost the original dust cover (a work of art if I remember ,a montage of feathers and cones , nuts and seeds) and is the tatiest book on my book shelves. Oh yeh, and now 28 years later half my clothes are camouflage.
Fantastic book! March 22, 2002
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
What a fantastic book! As a 4th Year Zoology student, this book has proved an invaluable reference during my fieldwork. It contains information on scat identification (with detailed descritpions and pictures/photos), foot print and other physical signs left by animals to provide a comprehensive collection of field information. This book really filled a niche which has been previously empty. Only gets four stars cause nothing is perfect!
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