Where Song Began

Where Song Began PDF Author: Tim Low
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300226802
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
An authoritative and entertaining exploration of Australia’s distinctive birds and their unheralded role in global evolution Renowned for its gallery of unusual mammals, Australia is also a land of extraordinary birds. But unlike the mammals, the birds of Australia flew beyond the continent’s boundaries and around the globe many millions of years ago. This eye-opening book tells the dynamic but little-known story of how Australia provided the world with songbirds and parrots, among other bird groups, why Australian birds wield surprising ecological power, how Australia became a major evolutionary center, and why scientific biases have hindered recognition of these discoveries. From violent, swooping magpies to tool-making cockatoos, Australia’s birds are strikingly different from birds of other lands—often more intelligent and aggressive, often larger and longer-lived. Tim Low, a renowned biologist with a rare storytelling gift, here presents the amazing evolutionary history of Australia’s birds. The story of the birds, it turns out, is inseparable from the story of the continent itself and also the people who inhabit it.

Australian Birds

Australian Birds PDF Author: Matt Chun
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781760502003
Category : Australia
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Acclaimed artist Matt Chun showcases 16 remarkable Australian species that have captured the imagination of the world. It took millions of years of isolation and a diverse range of habitats for Australian birds to evolve the way they did. The result is many of the world's most striking and beautiful birds, including some that are stranger than fiction. In Australian Birds, acclaimed artist Matt Chun showcases 16 remarkable species that have captured the imagination of the world. From the iconic cockatoo, to the endangered Cassowary, Australian Birds has been carefully curated to inform and entrance children of all ages.

Birds of Australia

Birds of Australia PDF Author: Iain Campbell
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400865107
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
The best photographic field guide to Australia's birds Australia is home to a spectacular diversity of birdlife, from parrots and penguins to emus and vibrant passerines. Birds of Australia covers all 714 species of resident birds and regularly occurring migrants and features more than 1,100 stunning color photographs, including many photos of subspecies and plumage variations never before seen in a field guide. Detailed facing-page species accounts describe key identification features such as size, plumage, distribution, behavior, and voice. This one-of-a-kind guide also provides extensive habitat descriptions with a large number of accompanying photos. The text relies on the very latest IOC taxonomy and the distribution maps incorporate the most current mapping data, making this the most up-to-date guide to Australian birds. Covers all 714 species of resident birds and regularly occurring migrants Features more than 1,100 stunning color photos Includes facing-page species accounts, habitat descriptions, and distribution maps The ideal photographic guide for beginners and seasoned birders alike

Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds

Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds PDF Author: Les Christidis
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643065113
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Lists all those species of birds that have been recorded from the Australian mainland, Tasmania, island territories and surrounding waters. Based on theauthors' original book The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories, it includes any new species for which records have been accepted by the Records Appraisal Committee of Birds Australia. It also includes all extant and recently extinct (post-1800) native species, as well as new species, accepted vagrants and introduced species that have become established and continue to survive in the wild.

Bird Minds

Bird Minds PDF Author: Gisela Kaplan
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 1486300197
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
In her comprehensive and carefully crafted book, Gisela Kaplan demonstrates how intelligent and emotional Australian birds can be. She describes complex behaviours such as grieving, deception, problem solving and the use of tools. Many Australian birds cooperate and defend each other, and exceptional ones go fishing by throwing breadcrumbs in the water, extract poisonous parts from prey and use tools to crack open eggshells and mussels. The author brings together evidence of many such cognitive abilities, suggesting plausible reasons for their appearance in Australian birds. Bird Minds is the first attempt to shine a critical and scientific light on the cognitive behaviour of Australian land birds. In this fascinating volume, the author also presents recent changes in our understanding of the avian brain and links these to life histories and longevity. Following on from Gisela’s well-received books on the Australian Magpie and the Tawny Frogmouth, as well as two earlier titles on birds, Bird Minds contends that the unique and often difficult conditions of Australia's environment have been crucial for the evolution of unusual complexities in avian cognition and behaviour.

Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds

Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds PDF Author: Stephen Garnett
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643108041
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
This is the first climate change adaptation plan produced for a national faunal group anywhere in the world. It outlines the nature of threats related to climate change for the Australian bird taxa most likely to be affected by climate change, and provides recommendations on what might be done to assist them and approximate costs of doing so. It also features an analysis of how climate change will affect all Australian birds, explains why some species are likely to be more exposed or sensitive to it than others, and explores the theory and practice of conservation management under the realities of a changing climate. Species profiles include maps showing current core habitat and modelled climatic suitability based on historical records, as well as maps showing projected climatic suitability in 2085 in relation to current core habitat. Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds is an important reference for policy makers, conservation scientists, land managers, climate change adaptation biologists, as well as bird watchers and advocacy groups.

Complete Guide to Australian Birds

Complete Guide to Australian Birds PDF Author: George Adams
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 014378708X
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 578

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Book Description
This book is the most up-to-date guide to Australian birds available. Written in everyday language, with crisp, brilliant digital images taken in the wild, this authoritative guide includes: - The first entry and photograph of the previously believed extinct Night Parrot - The recently recognised as a full specie Lesser Sooty Owl - The Thick-billed Grasswren - All seven species of Quail-thrush - The Paperbark Flycatcher - Rare photographs of the male Superb Lyrebird in courtship display - The Bustard in courtship plumage - The male Magnificent Riflebird in its courtship dance - The first photograph of a nesting colony of Australian Swiftlets taken in a deep, dark cave in tropical Queensland . . . and much more. Beyond a field guide, this book is divided into 27 chapters, with each chapter opening with fascinating background information. The easily accessible information on each bird includes: common and scientific names, size, description, behaviour, preferred habitat, feeding habits, voice, status and breeding. Distribution maps are arranged next to the photographic illustrations of the bird. A binocular icon indicates 'hot spots' to find particular birds. All wild birds that have been regularly recorded on the Australian mainland, Tasmania and offshore continental islands and oceans, including sub-species where the differences are recognisable in the field, have been included and photographed. Features over 1400 photographs by some of Australia's best wildlife photographers, including Colin Cock, Michael Schmid, Eric Sohn Joo Tan, Duade Patton, John Anderson, Alwyn Simple, Peter Jacobs, Andrew Bell, Tony Ashton, Nolan Caldwell, Chris Wiley, Maureen Goninan, Marlene Lyelle and George Adams to name but a few. This book will be enjoyed by beginners and seasoned 'birdos' alike.

The Literature of Australian Birds

The Literature of Australian Birds PDF Author: Hubert Massey Whittell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 788

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Book Description


Australian Bird Guide

Australian Bird Guide PDF Author: Peter Menkhorst
Publisher: Helm
ISBN: 1399421700
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Australian Bird Guide – the most comprehensive field guide to Australian birds ever published. Australia's avifauna is large, diverse and spectacular, reflecting the continent's wide range of habitats and evolutionary history. The book covers every regularly occurring species in Australia, including subspecies and rarities. Illustrations of more than 900 species on almost 250 plates, with particular emphasis on providing the fine detail required to identify difficult groups and distinctive plumages, make The Australian Bird Guide the most comprehensive guide to Australian birds ever published. This revised edition includes updated maps and artwork, reflecting advances in our knowledge of the biology and distribution of Australia's birds, plus fully updated text to ensure identification, distribution and status details are current and accurate, along with an improved index. This book sets the standard for coverage of Australia's remarkable avifauna. It is truly indispensable for anyone looking to explore Australia's magnificent and unique birdlife.

Australian Birds of Prey in Flight

Australian Birds of Prey in Flight PDF Author: Richard Seaton
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 1486308686
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Birds of prey spend most of their time in flight and, when viewed from the ground, they are notoriously hard to identify. Australian Birds of Prey in Flight is a photographic guide to the eagles, hawks, kites and falcons flying high above you. Individual species profiles describe distinguishing features and the text is supported by detailed images showing the birds at six different angles and poses, using photographs from many of Australia's leading bird photographers. Annotated multi-species comparison plates highlight key features that can help differentiate birds of prey in flight. This book will be of value to anyone who wants to learn more about Australia's birds of prey, and will provide a useful reference for identifying soaring birds in the field, and also while trying to identify images from your own camera.