Field Guide to Birds of Australia 8Rev edition by Graham Pizzey (2008) Hardcover

by Graham Pizzey

From back cover - The definitive and most respected work on bird identification in Australia. The combined talents of foremost naturalist Graham Pizzey and leading natural history illustrator Frank Knight, make this a most comprehensive bird guide. 820 species covered; new visual index allows rapid determination of the relevant group; 2500 superb illustrations; 750 distribution maps. (Description by http-mart, Roy Schoenbeck)

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Reference, Australia, Nature, Field Guides, Natural History

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Erin]

Got my bike, got my bird book, got my binoculars, all I need now is some nice weather so I can go out and spot these beautiful babies!

[Sheri Fresonke Harper]

Huge size and weight of this definitive book on bird identification in Australia makes it somewhat difficult to use in the field or carry in your luggage to Australia. However, every bird is richly described, beautifully illustrated. Definitely a work of art and research worth having.

[Callan R]

Intro section is boring. Pretty pictures are great. I like the distribution maps being all clumped together at the back, actually kinda useful. This is mostly just an interesting window into bird knowledge at the time, so its cool to have something that is actually a little useful. Still outdated though.

[Jennifer]

This is a very useful guide if you like Australian birds or are an avid birdwatcher. I am interested in bird photography, so I have been consulting it regularly since I got it.

[indy]

I love this book! It's essential reading for bird fanciers, watchers and photographers in Australia.

[Debbie]

Too heavy for a field guide; overwhelmingly comprehensive and beautifully illustrated

[Amelia]

Ready to add more ticks as I find more!!

[Maddy]

(This started/finished date is totally arbitrary.)

This isn't exactly the type of book you read from cover to cover in a sitting, but it's been so useful and fun and knowledge-enhancing that it's an easy five stars. I am but a very very casual birder so I can't say how it compares to other guides, but the pictures are fantastic and the information is even better. I've had it a solid four or five months, but I still use it all the time. Yesterday, I consulted the section on birds of prey to confirm that the bird cooly soaring two metres above my head on a bushwalk yesterday was indeed a wedge-tailed eagle. (It was - and a juvenile, I learned, which was a testament to how big the adults really are because *it was damn huge*.) This morning, the king parrot couple who come to my house for sunflower seeds brought along five kids I'd never met before. There was a male and female who were clearly the older siblings, but also three younger ones with black eyes, and all had mostly green plumage (which, in adults, means that they're females). The book informed me that all young king parrots have the adult female's colouring, and the males turn red in patches as they age. I'm now gleefully looking forward to watching the young males go through parrot puberty and grow the dorky patches of red feathers. Basically, this book is great.

[Paul Hackett]

Excellent Field Guide for anyone wanting to learn more about Australian Birds.

[Amber Jaded]

Beautiful book, stunning illustrations, detailed descriptions of both juvenile, adult and of both genders of the birds. A must have for an animal lover

[Radiantflux]

The slightly bigger size is amply compensated by the beauty and quality of the illustrations and information contained within. Really a work of art as much as a guide.