A guide to the special birds found across Australia’s vastly varied landscapes.
From the eastern rainforests to the central deserts, Australia is home to some 900 species of birds. Finding Australian Birds covers over 400 birdwatching sites conveniently grouped into the best birding areas, from one end of the country to the other. This includes areas such as Kakadu in the Top End and Uluru in the Red Centre of the Northern Territory, the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, an amazing diversity of forests along the eastern Australian seaboard, including some of the world’s tallest forests in Tasmania, the iconic Strzelecki and Birdsville Tracks in South Australia, and the mallee woodlands and remote Kimberley region in Western Australia.
Chapters are arranged by state or territory and begin with an overview. Birdwatching sites are then grouped by region to provide specific details on target species, access and useful information such as accommodation and facilities. This second edition includes over 30 new birdwatching sites and updated information on site access. The book also provides a comprehensive ‘Bird Finding Guide’, listing all of Australia’s birds with details on their abundance and where exactly to see them.
Finding Australian Birds will be valuable to both Australian birdwatchers and international visitors. It will assist novices, birders of intermediate skill and keen ‘twitchers’ to find any Australian species.
Praise for the first edition:
"Twitchers will find this a most agreeable companion but all bird-loving travellers should pop a copy in their backpack, along with good binoculars."
Susan Kurosawa, Weekend Australian, June 2014
"The amount of detailed information within its pages will be enough to make even the best-travelled birders eager to get out and check a few more sites"
Chris Watson, Australian Birdlife, June 2014
"This excellent birdwatching site guide by Tim Dolby and Rohan Clarke will save you time if you are planning an Australian birdwatching trip, and is sure to help you find more of your target species... you wouldn’t want to plan an Australian birding trip without consulting this one."
Michael Szabo, Birds New Zealand (16), December 2017
Includes:
- Fully updated second edition, featuring new sites and current site access details.
- Up-to-date information on 400+ good birding locations in Australia, written by experts with first-hand knowledge of the sites.
- An easy-to-use travel companion for local and international birdwatchers on Australia’s best natural sites.
Contents:
NORTHERN TERRITORY
The Top End
The Red Centre: Alice Springs and nearby arid lands
QUEENSLAND
Cape York Peninsula
North Queensland
Queensland Gulf Country and outback
South-East Queensland
NEW SOUTH WALES AND THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Sydney, the Central and South Coasts
The Hunter Valley and NSW North Coast
Western slopes and central tablelands
Western plains
VICTORIA
Northern Victoria
Southern Victoria
TASMANIA
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Adelaide and the South-East
Arid lands: the Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula and the South Australian outback
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Southern Western Australia
Northern Western Australia
OFFSHORE ISLANDS AND TERRITORIES
Annotated bird list of Australia and its territories
Further reading
Useful resources
Index of bird common names
Index of place names
Authors:
Tim Dolby is a well-known Australian birdwatcher and guide, who has led multi-day birdwatching tours to remote parts of Australia for over a decade. He was the principal editor of Where to See Birds in Victoria, a comprehensive guidebook to some of the best birdwatching sites in the state.
Rohan Clarke is an ecologist at Monash University with a research focus on bird conservation and island ecosystems. He’s also a passionate birder, with a love of seabirds, and an author of both the award-winning The Australian Bird Guide and The Compact Australian Bird Guide.
