Complete Mediterranean Wildlife: Photoguide Paperback – 7 Feb. 2000

A good book to have, especially since I'm thinking of moving to the Mediterranean region.The book is about the same size as other Collins Field Guides, except this one's 1.5cm taller.With respect to the subject matter, the book is way too small. A two or even three volume set would give sufficient room to write a decent description; here there are only four lines to fit the common name, scientific name, size, and description — that's nowhere near enough. I think that more than half of the book has twelve descriptions on the left hand page and twelve photographs on the facing page — that's way too many.That said, I'm still happy to have it on my shelves as a dip in reference book.

This is a very good book and was good value but it is misleadingly titled as a " complete guide..." There is a subtext on the cover explaining that it refers to the more commonly encountered species but it is pretty difficult to read this when buying online and even when I had the book in my hands it wasn't until I found species missing that I noticed it. I understand it may be difficult to included everything in a volume this size but I would have preferred the option of smaller pictures and/or separate volumes for animals and plants which were then more comprehensive in terms actual species. However, as it stands it is still a very good book and worth taking on a Mediterranean holiday.

Has proved to be very useful in a recent 8 week stay in S France, used many days. There were occasions when more information was needed which I then found on the internet once connected. It is basic on some items but as a general cover-all book gives you a good idea of what something might be.

This is my third purchase of this publication , in three years . I have taken it with me on many field trips in France and Italy and find most of my identification requirements fulfilled . As a general portable identification guide I have found it essential. ( two copies have fallen apart with constant use.)

I suppose it does 'what it says on the tin' If you are interested in vertebrates, shore life and plants the ok. Rather disappointing for fungi and a total waste of time for anyone with entomological interests other than butterflies and the showy stuff. There were just 13 beetles included, several to genus only. All in all a nice book, but disappointing.

Having bought a house in the rolling countryside of the Sabine Hills outside Rome, I was keen to identify the many trees, flowers, insects, birds ... the wealth of wildlife of all kinds on the property and in the surroundings - and thought that a 'complete' guide could do just that.Only after it arrived did I discover that the focus is on what the author - undoubtedly a well-qualified naturalist - considers to be the places most visited by northern European tourists. Fine, but not 'complete'.Surely the most glaring omission is that THE iconic tree of Italy,. aptly known as the Italian cypress (cupressus sempervirens), is not mentioned, even in passing. (Happily, later I discovered the pocket-sized Collins Trees of Britain & Europe, which covers the picture-postcard 'narrow' variety and the original broad-spreading one.)But the problems didn't stop there. Throughout my neighbourhood there are persimmon trees with foliage that turns a magnificent deep orange in autumn, the leaves then falling off to leave the still-ripening deep-orange fruit in full view. Not mentioned in the Complete Guide, nor are the varieties of oak, ash, maple and beech found throughout the area - like the intriguing Ashleaf Maple (acer negundo) growing wild in the (touristically appealing) Appennne foothills.However, the book does seem to have ample coverage of wildflowers, and insects; likewise for most of the birds I've spotted. But the little frogs that wait by the doorstep after a heavy rain? and the usefully insect-gobbling geckos that bear no resemblance to the three types presented in the book?Because the author has tried to cram so much into one manageable volume, a lot has been omitted, and even then, the photographs are not as helpful as those in the pocket-sized Collins tree guide, which generally show the whole tree and not just a close-up of the leaves or fruits.On the whole, then: this is a well-written and very attractively produced volume - but it's not what the title promises.

i have the British Nature version of this book which is very good. However, this version tries to cover a huge area in the same way and unfortunately, it fails. Many of the pictures are poor and don't help towards identification. It's also very vague on distribution of various species and I've only been in Kos a week and have discovered many species which are NOT in the book. It would be better if there were several books covering areas of the Med instead of one book trying to cover the whole Med.

Lovely photos though not comprehensive, found lots of butterflies. insects and plants in Greek island not in book.Written information is also limited.Book is also heavy for flights.Paul Sterry's Complete British garden wildlife seems to cover more

Good info on land and sea animals, birds and wildflowers

Esta muy bien y perfecto - llego muy rápido

ottima per avere un'idea generale sulle splendide specie animali e vegetali dell'area mediterranea; non solo per naturalisti ma anche per fotografi e semplici appassionati

Completeness and portability are hard to make work well together. The solution here allows for rather smallish pictures of the wildlife. This is acceptable, but I do wish that some means were available to make for an easier means of display. Perhaps for plants a focus could be made for the flower in terms of paired close matches where symmetry is assumed and left and right sides off a median plane could have paired matched species highlighting the difference between the two in one image. Where vegetation has many similar species a general form of the stem and placement might be featured with such paired images increasing the available space for a species. For the rare similar animals a similar split picture comparison might allow more ready comparison and larger pictorial representation.Some may find this suggestion untenable, but the average individual probably can make a mirroring in their mind of a half body image fairly readily and easily manage the image conception. It is hard otherwise to limit the bulk of such a work if it is to remain in hard copy. Digital conversion is possible, but I expect that this is not likely or easily affordable and perhaps would be hard to afford for the average smaller digital device by way of its memory consumption.

Good for some things but too broad to include everything. Not many trees listed!