ADDER LITERATURE????????????
Printed From: Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK
Category: General
Forum Name: UK Reptiles and Amphibians
Forum Description: A forum for general questions and answers relating to wild reptiles and amphibians in the UK
URL: http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3651
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Topic: ADDER LITERATURE????????????
Posted By: pesky
Subject: ADDER LITERATURE????????????
Date Posted: 11 May 2011 at 9:27am
| hi im looking for some good books on adders. ive just seen the ''the private life of adders'' on amazon so il be buying that, just wondering if theres any other good books people know of? thanks |
Replies:
Posted By: Liz Heard
Date Posted: 11 May 2011 at 4:42pm
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hi pesky, heres a few suggestions and my thoughts. all books ive enjoyed! hope you find them useful! perhaps other members will give you further direction; 1. "The Adder" Peter Stafford (Shire Natural History 1987); at first glance, a small and flimsy, almost throwaway work in a cheapo card cover with few pages. pry it open though and the old adage "dont judge a book by its cover" is reaffirmed. mucho detail and a bargain at the time - only £2.50! 2. "The British Amphibians and Reptiles" Malcolm Smith (Collins 1951) a herpetological foundation stone in print by the Edmund Hilary of Herp writers. a scholarly landmark as awesome to behold as Stonehenge. plenty of good stuff on VB! 3. "Amphibians and Reptiles" Trevor Beebee and Richard Griffiths (New Naturalist 2000) builds on the above with grandeur. roping in a multitude of more recent herp discoveries and adding much detail and bringing Herp publications into the 21st century with verve and aplomb. a fairly exhaustive section on alien to UK species. bit low on pix though. 4. "Britain's Reptiles and Amphibians" Howard Inns (WildGuides 2009) a workaday - but nevertheless accessible - easy-read with a good section on Chelonia (i know its adders youre after) and a throng of outstanding photos inc loads of good vipera ones it goes without saying that there are a multitude of other rewarding reads for adders inc scientific papers, the internet of course and this site - an excellent resource for friendly and informative, first hand knowledge/personal experience and opinion proffered by keen amateur enthusiast to Herpetologist alike. a trawl through previous RAUK postings under "The Adder" is very rewarding esp if you like the "personal touch". opinion is rare in books. RAUK info is not available in book form im afraid - at least so far!  happy reading  ben |
Posted By: pesky
Date Posted: 11 May 2011 at 4:58pm
thank you very much for all of these suggestions it will keep me busy 
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Posted By: Chris d
Date Posted: 11 May 2011 at 7:53pm
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Hi Pesky,
Another to try if you can get it is "British Snakes" by Leonard G Appleby ISBN 0 212 98393 8. A bit old but quite interesting. I purchased mine from the "Living World" in Armley, Leeds, a few years ago. Try them they may still have a copy.
Chris
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Posted By: pesky
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 9:16am
| hi chris brilliant thanks i know where you mean, they have a good choice of books actually, shame about other ''aspects'' of the shop. if not il have a search on the internet |
Posted By: Liz Heard
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 4:20pm
|
1 more for your consideration Pesky! if a good FIELD GUIDE is your bag then i recommend; "A Field Guide to The Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain & Europe" Nick Arnold (Collins 1978, updated 2002). pretty hard to beat! every european species of herp is covered including many of the various colour phases of Sand Lizard etc etc. Denys Ovenden deserves a knighthood for his startlingly lifelike full-colour illustrations - and all the Vipera etc are cheek-by-jowl on the same page for easy comparison. well almost the same page! full set of distribution maps and plenty of detailed sketches of scaling patterns etc to help you identify tricky ones more easily. a genuinely "pocket-sized" book with a robust, hard cover that you can spill beer on and take with you when you (inevitably) want to check out the other species of viper beyond the UK!  ben |
Posted By: pesky
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 4:25pm
| cheers ben im gunna check that out now it sounds perfect! |
Posted By: pesky
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 4:27pm
| thanks ben just bought it of amazon for 1p! £2.80 postage bargain |
Posted By: Noodles
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 11:40pm
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By some extraordinary act of generosity Tony Phelps's Adder study is available somewhere on-line. If you can find it Ian Prestt's study is worth rooting out. Failing that the RAUK back catalogue should fill yer boots for a while. Gemma F (on this forum) is your go to gal, although i suspect her posts will tend to correspond with the reptile hibernation period. I'm sure Rodger McPhail would be someone very worth getting to know. His approach to 'Private Life..' will hopefully inspire many a young whippersnapper in the generations to follow us.
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Posted By: Noodles
Date Posted: 13 May 2011 at 2:51pm
| Here's the Tony Phelps page http://www.crepinstitute.co.za/pdf/Adder.pdf - http://www.crepinstitute.co.za/pdf/Adder.pdf |
Posted By: Richard2
Date Posted: 15 May 2011 at 3:38pm
| It may be scientific books and field guides that you are looking for, but if you are interested in literary nature writing that also includes stories, personal emotion and philosophical ideas, then you might like to look at the early twentieth-century nature writer W.H. Hudson, who wrote powerfully about adders in several of his works, such as Hampshire Days and Nature in Downland. |
Posted By: pesky
Date Posted: 17 May 2011 at 3:06pm
| thanks il check these papers and people out, ive already got a decent book from a recomendation on this thread so thanks |
Posted By: luluxiu
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2011 at 7:12am
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Dennis Ovenden worth his amazing realistic full-color illustrations
knighthood - and all of the Viper are all cheek by cheek on the same page for
comparison. And almost on the same page!
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