About Rozzi's Multi-Ethnic Bird Guide of the Sub-Antarctic Forests of South America

Freely access the audio files from the book’s two CDs located in the UNT Digital Library, which include identifying bird songs and folklore stories.{media}

A copublication between the University of North Texas Press and the Universidad de Magallanes, in support of the joint Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program

The sub-Antarctic forests of South America are the world’s southernmost forested ecosystems. The birds have sung in these austral forests for millions of years; the Yahgan and Mapuche peoples have handed down their bird stories from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

In Multi-ethnic Bird Guide of the Sub-Antarctic Forests of South America, Ricardo Rozzi and his collaborators present a unique combination of bird guide and cultural ethnography. The book includes entries on fifty bird species of southern Chile and Argentina, among them the Magellanic Woodpecker, Rufous-Legged Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Buff-Necked Ibis, Giant Hummingbird, and Andean Condor. Each bird is named in Yahgan, Mapudungun, Spanish, English, and scientific nomenclature, followed by a description, full color photographs, the bird’s distribution map, habitat and lifestyle, and its history in the region.

Each entry is augmented further with indigenous accounts of the bird in history and folklore. Two audio CDs (included) orient the reader with the birdcalls and their names in four languages, followed by numerous narratives of Yahgan and Mapuche stories about the birds translated directly from interviews with elders of both communities.

“Highly original in its approach of combining information on natural history and biodiversity with information on the region’s human cultural and linguistic diversity.” —Chris Elphick, coauthor of The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior

“Full of the rich complexity of human/animal relations as well as being a beautiful and informative guide to the birds of South America.” —David Rothenberg, New Jersey Institute of Technology