Scroll down for reviews and information about field guides, flashlights, camera gear, optics and thermal scopes.

Books, Apps, Software

Global

All the Mammals of the World, July 2023

Bats of the World: A Guide to Every Family, April 2026

Bats: Handbook of the Mammals of the World October, 2019 Bats of the World Database, March, 2020 Canids of the World, November, 2018 Carnivores of the World, 2nd edition, January 2019 Mammal checklists for different national parks etc. July 2023 Felids and Hyenas of the World, September 2020 Handbook of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, December 2019 Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World, October 2020 Lagomorphs: Pikas, Rabbits and Hares of the World, August 2018 Mammals: A Very Short Introduction, December 2018 Mammal listing software: Scythebill, March 2020 Mammal listing software: iGoTerra, June 2020 Mongooses of the World, February 2020 Moonlight and Mammal activity (academic paper), March 2024 Scythebill listing software, March 2020 Squirrels of the World, September 2012 Useful travel apps and websites, October 2023 Walker’s Mammals of the World, July 2018

Africa

African Primates Journal – special edition on all African primates, September 2023 Bats of Central and Southern Africa, January 2022 Central African Forests, March 2022 Daan Drukker’s Field Guide to the Squirrels and Anomalures of West Africa, 2023 Habitats of Africa, May 2025 Mammals of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, November, 2020 Mammals of Madagascar, March 2022 Primates of East Africa, a free pocket ID guide, May 2023. Primates of Northeast Africa, a free pocket ID guide, May 2023.

The Rise of Mammals in Africa by Emmanuel Gheerbrant, April 2026

Stuarts’ Field Guide to the Marine Mammals (of southern Africa and the Southern Ocean), January 2022 Stuarts’ Field Guide to the Mammals of Southern African (book & app), November, 2018 Stuarts’ Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa (book & app), November, 2018 Stuarts’ Field Guide to the Tracks & Signs of Southern, Central & East African Wildlife, December, 2018 Stuarts’ Field Guide to National Parks & Game Reserves of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, June 2022 Stuarts’ Tracks & Scats of Southern Africa (app), March 2023 Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania (2014) by Charles and Lara Foley

Asia

Asia’s Greatest Wildlife Sanctuaries by Fanny Lai & Bjorn Olesen, September 2023 Asia’s Wildlife – A Journey to the Forests of Hope September, 2020 Borneo: A Field Guide to Tawau Hills Park Authors: Shavez Cheema, Rimi Repin, Chun Xing Wong and John Payne (2021), November 2023 Borneo: A Pocket Guide to Mammals of Borneo Author: Shavez Cheema (2020), November 2023 Borneo: An Illustrated Guide to Bornean Orangutan Food Plants, John Payne & Zainal Zahari Zainuddin, December 2023 Borneo: Phillipps’ Field Guide To The Mammals of Borneo And Their Ecology Author: Quentin Phillipps (Second edition 2018, reprinted 2023), November 2023 Daan Drukker’s Field Guide to the Squirrels of Mongolia, 2023 EcologyAsia.Com has photos and calls of many obscure S.E. Asian species, November, 2020 The Hairy Rhinoceros History, ecology and some lessons for management of the last Asian megafauna, John Payne, December 2023 Illustrated Checklist to Mammals of the South Asia, September, 2020 Indian Mammals: A Field Guide. 2014 Edition, October, 2019 Pictorial Pocket Guide to the Mammals of Sri Lanka, September, 2020 Sumatran Mammals – free online, September, 2020

Australasia

Habitats of Australia, New Guinea & The Solomons, April 2026

Europe

The Mammals of Iberia, Carlos Bocos & James Lowen, March 2025 A Wildlife Guide to Georgia, February 2025 Stuarts’ Guide to the Mammals of Europe (app), February 2020

North America

Guide to the Terrestrial Mammals of Southern California and the Eastern and Southern Sierra Nevada, November 2024 A Californian’s Guide to the Mammals Among Us, March, 2019 A guide to the kangaroo rats and mice of California, October 2023 Nocturnalia: Nature in the Western Night, October 2023 Stuart’s Guide to the Mammals of North America (app), January, 2019

South America

Illustrated Checklist to Neotropical Primates, December 2024 A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of South America, June 2024 Illustrated Checklist to Mammals of the Southern Cone, March 2020 A Field Guide to Bats of the Amazon,  April 2018 A Field Guide to the Mammals of Ecuador, April 2018 An excellent website on the mammals of Argentina (Spanish only),  January 2024

Gear

Mammalwatching Gear, May 2018 Echo Meter Touch II Bat Detector: RFI, July 2021

Flashlights

RFI Sofirn Flashlights, March 2026 Flashlight recommendations, October 2023 Thrunite Catapult, July, 2019 Choosing a Flashlight for Mammalwatching (a very thorough article from January 2019) as well as this post from 2020 also has useful advice. Mounting a Flashlight on a telescope or camera, January 2019. See also this article and this one from September 2023. Flashlight RFI, May 2018 Flashlight brightness for spotlighting on foot, May 2016

Photography

Camera Trapping: a guide from Sabah, August 2025 Looking for advice on camera gear, July 2025 Camera trapping the hard way, September 2024 What telephoto flash setup are you using? August 2023 A new way to mount a pocket torch on a camera, October 2021 $100 Trail Cam Recommendations, September 2021 Canon R5 & R6 Mirrorless SLRs: autofocus at night, September 2021 Tips on photography while solo spotlighting, May 2017 The ultimate mammal watching lens: Nikon 500 mm F5.6 PF ED VR, December 2019

Optics and Heat Scopes

Thermal Master DV2 Camera with laser pointer. Thermal scope specs decoded: a buyer’s guide, June 2025 Review of two thermal scopes from the field in Borneo, June 2025 Review of the Pulsar Axion 2 XG35, May 2025 RFI Thermal Scope Country Restrictions, May 2025 Review of the Topdon TS004 thermal monocular, March 2025 Review of the Thermal Master T2 Max camera with laser pointer, March 2025 Comparison between thermal imagers based on NETD-value, January 2025 First impressions of the Zeiss DTI6/40, October 2024 Thermal optics – a researcher’s perspective, March 2023 Best budget thermal optics?, March 2023 Thermal scope best practice?, October 2023 A Scientific Study on wildlife detection using thermal cameras, August, 2023 Xinfrared T2 Pro Thermal Camera for smartphones, July, 2023 (also see this download of the app you need) Pulsar Helion-2 XP50 thermal scope, July, 2022 Sub £1000 ($1500) heat scope? January 2021 How do you use your thermal imager to find wildlife? May, 2020 + Tips for Thermal Scope Use, (June, 2021) & Using Thermal Scopes for Ecological Surveys, July, 2021 What does using a heat scope look like? February, 2020 Top Binoculars: Leica vs Swarovski vs Zeiss, December, 2019 Swarovski Optik EL 8.5 x 42 binoculars, November, 2019 Traveling internationally with a Thermal Scope: what are the rules? August, 2019 Pulsar XQ 50 Thermal Scope Review, September, 2017 (also see this post from April 2019 on scope magnification) LCD monitors for thermal scopes, March, 2018 Vehicle mounted thermal scopes, September, 2020