Tracks, Scats and Other Traces

This volume is an enlarged and updated successor to “Mammal Tracks and Signs: A Field guide for South-Eastern Australia”, which won the Whitley Award for the Best Field Guide in 1984. It covers all Australian States and Territories, contains hundreds of new illustrations and extensive new text, and is organized in a different format for easier identification of the visible traces left by Australian mammals in their passage. It is divided into four sections, each of which has a key for easy identification. The first covers tracks – line drawings of “perfect” tracks are matched with photographs of the same tracks in sand or mud. In the second section, scats of 128 species of mammals are illustrated in full colour. A selection of scats and a distribution map and habitat information are given for each species. In addition, pellets and scats of birds, reptiles and invertebrates are illustrated. The third section, dealing with shelters, feeding signs and other traces, provides detailed descriptions and over 70 colour photographs of the distinctive traces of mammals. The final section on bones contains 40 full page plates of skulls, lower jaws, humeri and femurs covering 38 of the more commonly found species, plus a detailed guide which covers all mammal groups. Naturalists, both amateur and professional, are becoming increasingly aware of the value of the indirect methods of finding and identifying mammals. This handbook of detection should be a useful companion, to be kept in the pocket, backpack or car for constant ready reference.