The Australian Bird Guide

Winner of the 2018 ABIA Small Publisher's Adult Book of the Year
Winner of the 2017 Whitley Medal

Australia’s avifauna is large, diverse and spectacular, reflecting the continent’s impressive range of habitats and evolutionary history. With specially commissioned paintings of over 900 species, The Australian Bird Guide is the most comprehensive field guide to Australian birds ever seen.

This Revised Edition includes updated maps, artwork and species accounts, reflecting current knowledge of the biology and distribution of Australia’s birds. It features around 4700 specially commissioned colour illustrations of over 900 species, with particular emphasis on providing the fine detail required to identify difficult groups and distinctive plumages. Comprehensive species accounts have been written by a dedicated team of ornithologists to ensure identification details, distribution and status are current and accurate. A new easier-to-use index is also included.

The Australian Bird Guide sets a new standard in field guides, providing an indispensable reference for all birders and naturalists looking to explore Australia’s magnificent and unique birdlife.

About the Authors

Peter Menkhorst got hooked on birding at age seven and is now a zoologist at the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research. He has been involved in a number of major publications, including co-authoring A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia (OUP) with Frank Knight. He was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion in 1998.

Danny Rogers started birding when he was four years old, and regrets those wasted first four years. He is a waterbird ecologist at the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, is author or co-author of many papers, and prepared many of the plumage sections in the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (OUP).

Rohan Clarke is an ecologist and ornithologist at Monash University. He enjoys birding remote island outposts and leading pelagic excursions to watch seabirds, and was co-author of Finding Australian Birds: A Field Guide to Birding Locations (CSIRO Publishing).

About the Illustrators

Jeff Davies is a lifelong birder who completed a Fine Arts Painting Major at Caulfield Institute of Technology. He has contributed artwork for a number of publications, including the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (OUP).

Peter Marsack trained as a zoologist but has also worked extensively as a natural history artist and illustrator. He was an artist for the multi-Volume Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (OUP), and a prize-winner in the inaugural Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize.

Kim Franklin, BA (Fine Art) has had an interest in birds throughout his life. His illustrations have featured in a number of publications including the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (OUP) and Raptors of the World (Helm).