Ecuador Nature Guide: Southwest Forests

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

This compact guide to a seldom-visited area of Ecuador is written for
potential nature-oriented tourists, and provides basic information.
After some brief descriptive material (“When to Visit,” etc.), it
goes on to offer site descriptions of five forest areas, complete with
advice about “how to get there” (bus or car) and “where to stay”
(camping or cheap hotel).

The rest of the book offers a one-species-per-page listing of a
selection of the plants (21), mammals (9), reptiles (1—a beautiful and
deadly poisonous snake), butterflies (12), and birds (30) to be found in
the region. This is, I think, where the guide runs into problems. As the
authors acknowledge, “[T]he seventy-three examples include only a tiny
proportion” of the species to be seen. Sensibly, they choose those
that are “conspicuous and easily identified” and “typical of the
area described,” and emphasize “as many endemics as possible.”
Fair enough, but I cannot help feeling that most of those venturing into
what is still a relatively inaccessible area will be sufficiently
interested in the natural world that they will want to possess more
comprehensive field guides.

However, the book contains relevant maps, and is helpfully illustrated
and easy to use. Furthermore, it is dedicated to the worthy cause of
conservation, with profits from sales going to support forest
conservation in southwest Ecuador.