The Natural History of Southern New Zealand

Forest and Bird, Issue 313, 1 August 2004, Page 48

The Natural History of Southern New Zealand

edited by John Darby, R. Ewan Fordyce, Alan Mark, Keith Probert and Colin Townsend, 387pp, hardbound, Otago University Press, Dunedin 2004 RRP$ 120.00. Oh, that every region of New Zealand had such a fine natural history book! This volume — devoted to Otago. Southland.

Fiordland and Stewart Island- is the work of a large team of scientists from the south, including many museum and university staff. It begins with the geological history and continues through the ages of the evolving landscape, describing how the forests grew, exploring the habitats, and recording the impacts of the animals (and people) that occupied them. Evidence from recent scientific discovery gives this book a helpful new dimension, carrying the lay reader along with a fresh view of the natural values of the south. Good and helpful photographs parallel the text and special-interest ‘boxes’ make it easier to accommodate complex ideas. The book is a serious symposium made readable, for the interested layperson, by the high quality of its editing and presentation.