I love birds of prey. But, even with my plethora of field guides, I struggle. I can be comparing images, sometimes from multiple guides, and still get confused. It got to the point where I needed a guide dedicated to just birds of prey.

Birds Of Prey Of Australia is a mixture of field guide and handbook.. It is separated into two parts: one focusing just on identification and one dedicated to exploring the behaviour and characteristics of a species in more detail.

It is one of the best guides I own and one that I would recommend to any bird enthusiast.

Part 1: The field guide

The first part is dedicated to helping readers identify the 26 different species of birds of prey. Most of this part is organized into species descriptions. There are smaller sections at the end dedicated to vagrants and difficult pairs.

Most species descriptions take up just two pages, except for white-bellied sea eagle which has four. These descriptions are split equally between text and graphics.

The images vary between 4 and 16 per page, depending on the amount of variations within a species. The images show:

• how different morphs, gender and age can influence the birds physical appearance.
• examples of worn plumage
• what the bird looks like in moult.
• what the birds look like from different perspectives including in flight, from above, from below and perched.

The images are accompanied by detailed physical descriptions. There is information on the adults, juveniles and chicks. The final paragraph is dedicated the explaining how to tell a species apart from similar ones.

I love this. There are so many subtleties when it comes variations in a birds appearance; much more than most field guides can cover. Previously, I’d learn this information in the field when with a more experienced birder. This guide lessons the learning curve.

Difficult species: pairs

This section is a highlight and something that I will be returning to often. The section features 38 pages of comparisons between different species.

The first 12 pages are illustrations showing the visual differences between species. These illustrations are split in the middle of the page and show how the underwings compare to similar species. In some cases, the illustrations show the differences between different morphs and adult/juvenile.

This section alone is worth the cost of the guide.

Part 2: Handbook

The handbook section is organized differently to Part 1. The content focuses on the behaviour and issues facing each species. Debus allocates two pages to each species and writes about the species distribution, food and hunting, breeding and threats and conservation.

I appreciated this content being kept separate from the part focused on identification. It helps me avoid being overwhelmed when trying to identify a species and allows me to learn more at my own pace.

Do I recommend it?

I highly recommend this book.

I used to sit with multiple guides in front of me and still have difficulty identifying a species. The difficult species pages are so useful that they are worth the entire cost of the book.

The guide also had just enough information. I’m able to dive in and learn more about the species that intrigue me without getting overwhelmed. Overwhelm has been a huge issue for me so this was very much appreciated.

I recommend it to people at all stages of their birdwatching journey.

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I’ve had close connections to the Colac/Otway region for most of my life. My aunt lives in Colac, and our family would often holiday in Apollo Bay. It is a tradition that I’ve continued as an adult. Now my visits are less about swimming and sandcastles, and more about discovering wildlife.

I was excited when I discovered this book. It focuses on a smaller geographic area than other guides about the region and goes into more detail. It isn’t as comprehensive as I would have liked; however, it’s a useful addition to your bookshelf if you frequently visit the area.

[Read more…] about Book Review: Colac Otway Birds

I was so overwhelmed when I first started birdwatching in 2015. There was so much information online on various blogs, social media sites and e-bird. Where To See Birds In Victoria was one of the first birdwatching books that I bought, and it has been a much-used resource during my journey. It is a brilliant primer for birdwatching and gives you a broad overview of many sites in Victoria.

It’s the first book I use when researching a new area and one of the few I always take with me.

How Is The Book Structured?

The book is organized into eight key regions of Victoria: The Victorian Mallee, greater Wimmera, north-central Victoria, western Victoria, Geelong, Melbourne, Gippsland and Far Eastern Gippsland. Each section has dedicated chapters dedicated to specific birding sites or areas. Some of these sites are quite large, such as the Great Otway National Park and Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula.

Each chapter has a brief background on the region, information on how to get there, accommodation and facilities, and the key birding sites in that area.
There is also a Bird Finding Guide at the end of the book. It listed each species in Victoria and give a short explanation of how common it is and where to find it. The guide was so useful. I was able to go through the book and discover some of the species I was after and create a bit of a bucket list. I’d notice similarities and then look up specific locations and plan an adventure.

Some chapters were too brief

Some chapters focus on just 3-4 locations, whereas others, like the Greater Geelong chapter, have 13. As a newbie, I found that the chapters that covered more sites weren’t comprehensive enough. Balyang Sanctuary got one short paragraph and, due to seasonal changes, was a bit outdated. This is to be expected; external forces such as bushfires and climate change have changed the birds behaviour. The brevity meant that there were times in the field when I was in over my head. This isn’t a fault of the book, as no statewide guide can cover everything. I’d recommend using this guide as your first reference point, and then using additional resources like ebird and Facebook for the best chance of finding birds.

Do I recommend it?

Definitely.

This book is intended to be a starting point, and it very much serves that purpose. However, the guide shouldn’t be the sole source of information when going on trips. It would be best if you used the book to get an overview of the birding opportunities in an area and use that as a starting point for further research. Use it to create a shortlist of locations.

If you are birding in only one or two regions of Victoria, a more specific guidebook may be more relevant. Alternately, you can check out the local Birdlife office for resources.

I’m critical of the book only so people can make the right decision when buying it. I would have learned a lot more in a shorter time if I’d used it the right way.

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I first became obsessed with birds when I was in primary school. I got a pet cockatiel and set about learning as much as possible about cockatoos. I learned the scientific name of many of my favourite species such as cockatiels, galahs and rosellas.

Ten-year-old me struggled. I devoured what few books our local library had growing up. This is the type of book I would have really enjoyed. The authors explain the history behind the scientific names for the families, species and orders of Australian birds. These histories explore the challenge new naturalists faced, the previous names and the influence of the indigenous names for species. It is packed with so many information that a reader would likely learn something new with each reading.

How is the book structured?

The book is separated into two main ‘chapters’: passerines and non-passerines. A ‘passerine’ is a bird that belongs to the order Passeriformes; an order that comprises of two-thirds of living birds in the world. The remaining orders were combined into their own chapter. In both chapters, the various species are then organized into their family. The order is listed next to the family name.

The species in each family section is then organized into genus and species. Information about the bird names is given for family, species and genus. All the genera are listed at the start of the section, which can be overwhelming for the new reader. There also is no page breaks after each family.

What information is given about each species?

The book covers all of the species of birds in Australia, including the extinct ones. This is an amazing feat when you consider that 55 species had been adding to the national list in the 6 years between the publication of the first and second editions. The species information lists their common name, scientific names and other names they would be known by. All three types of names are given descriptions. In some cases, such as the crimson rosella, the authors discuss the names of the more prominent subspecies. These descriptions vary in length

It is meticulously researched; the authors went through a lot of historical records. Readers will learn how the names changed over time and how the current species names came into use. For instance, the name ‘paradise parrot’ was chosen as a marketing term. It’s the type of book you need to delve into over multiple sittings.

Do I recommend this book?

Sadly, no. It is a great book and one that you can learn a lot from, however, it isn’t essential reading. The beginner birdwatcher would get a lot more out of 1-2 dedicated field guides and a guide to finding birds in their region.

I do recommend this book as a gift. It brings so much joy and would remain in any naturalists library for a long time. It just isn’t the most practical purchase for the amateur naturalist.

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