Fantastic Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand

Finally the field guide of reptiles and amphibians that we’ve all been waiting for! 

Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand: a field guide by Dylan van Winkle, Marleen Baling and Rod Hitchmough published by Auckland University Press

Followers of my blog will know that over the last five years I’ve been involved with several volunteer lizard projects. I’ve gone from only being able to tell the difference between a gecko and a skink to being able to identify particular skinks and geckos, such as a copper skink or a ngahere gecko. That hasn’t been an easy journey, but I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside some excellent herpetologists who’ve patiently explained the differences. My fellow volunteers and I have pored over some imperfect online guides and photos trying to spot the subtle differences between brown skinks and northern grass skinks, for example, subtle that is to a beginner's eye. So it was with huge excitement that I opened the field guide.

The guide is everything I hoped for. It’ll be an essential part of every restoration project’s kit bag, and for those of us working specifically with lizards a must have for the home library.

The authors have thought of everything, from a quick guide on the inside covers to identification, through regional checklists, to keys for experts, making this a flexible and user-friendly guide. 

The photos are superb, each species is clearly described including useful detail about habitat, what the animal eats and whether, for example, it is diurnal or nocturnal. Importantly each species comes with a map showing where it is likely to be found, which will prevent many beginner’s mistaken identification.

Highly recommended