The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds

by Peter Slater, Paul Slater, Raoul Slater

This guide to the identification of all the birds so far recorded in Australia is designed for use in the field, to slip easily into a hip-pocket, backpack or glovebox. More than 750 species are described and illustrated with emphasis on easy comparison between similar species. The accompanying text details the different plumages of male and female birds, variations between adult and juvenile birds, and information on separate sub-species or races, together with their range, setting out the most helpful characteristics to watch out for. The guide also includes species distribution maps which enable the watcher to tell at a glance whether the particular bird is within its area, or is perhaps a rare visitor. In addition, the eggs of all the species that actually breed in Australia are illustrated with a concise description of the nest.

Genres: Birds, Reference, Nonfiction, Australia, Biology, Field Guides, Wildlife

343 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, well I obviously haven't read the whole thing: it's a reference book. But I have had it for years (Christmas 1990) and it's a brilliant book to have on the shelf. Recently we have been taking Mum to the duck pond to get her out of the Care Facility and there are quite a lot of different ducks and birds. I wanted to know what the one with the red beak and frontal shield and the blue breast was. Because of the great colour plates, I was able to flick through and identify it from pp96-97 as an Eastern Swamp Hen. Also the Dusky Moorhen and the Eurasian Coot. It will stay on my shelves.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 for an autistic child who had birds as a hyperfixation

[Troy Mutton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This latest edition goes back to the bad tradition of not being in taxonomic order and has a vagrant and an extinct species on the front cover. I still use the older edition, and have sold this newer one on to someone else - after warning them about the issues with taxonomic "order".

[Troy Mutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first field guide - I still have it, falling apart though it is. The 1986 edition is the one with the "diagnostic" red dot on one of the cuckoos.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reliable field guide, better than some other illustrated field guides on the market.

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a reference book, so of course you don't read it as a novel. You take it with you on a long weekend in a bush cabin. For that it's one of the better guides out there.