Field guides and references

A good field guide will help to identify birds, as well as provide information about their appearance, plumage variations, habitat, behaviour, migration, calls and breeding. There is a wide choice of field guides available on Australian birds, both in print form and electronic

This page contains the following categories of listing:

mobile device apps, both free and paid
printed field guides
On-line resources
other recent references;
Some compiled indexes for older publications.
older references (pre 2000)

Apps for Mobile Computing

These are available from the Google store and Apple store (unless otherwise noted).

Free

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab. provides a photograph, distribution map, description and example calls. Filtering is extremely limited. It offers automatic ID by call, however very few Australian birds are identifiable with its current dataset (Nov 2024). Can link to your eBird account.
Birdly. supported by BirdLife Australia. Free version has images and a brief description of all Australian species. Also you can filter your search by habitat, state and various characteristics of the bird. There is also a visual compare function.
Aussie Bird Count, developed by BirdLife Australia for the Aussie Bird Count. Has a built-in bird-finder tool to help identify a bird. You can filter by size, shape and colour. The descriptions are more detailed than Birdly and useful tips on similar species. Useful for teachers in involving students.
My Shorebird Watcher, produced by Qld Wader Study Group for 7-14 year olds but used by older birders as well. Designed for use by parents and teachers as well as young people. Useful guide to telling similar species apart.

Paid

Prices are current as of October 2024

Birdly offers two levels of subscription that add features to the free version.
- Sounds and Maps: $7 per year – distribution maps and call recordings
- full: $30 per year – Sounds and maps plus automatic photo recognition of 700 species, automatic call recording recognition of selected species, and other features.
David Stewart Australian Bird Calls. $35. Recordings of range of bird calls of each species. Includes calls of sub-species and calls with different purposes.
Morecombe & Stewart Birds of Australia. $30. Text, maps and illustrations from the printed field guide, with some bird calls from David Stewart included. Has facility to list one’s own observations.
The Pizzey & Knight Birds of Australia Digital Edition. $50, Text, maps and illustrations from the field guide, with added bird calls and photographs. Has facility to list one’s own observations.

Printed Field Guides

Title	Author(s)	Publisher	Comments
The Compact Australian Bird Guide	Jeff Davies et al.	2022, CSIRO Publishing	A compact version of the following 264pp.
The Australian Bird Guide	Peter Menkhorst et al.	2019, CSIRO Publishing	Most up-to-date: very useful, succinct but detailed reference, too weighty for carrying in field. 576pp.
Birds of Southeast Queensland	many contributors	2023, 7th Ed. Birdlife Australia	Photographic identification guide to 373 species found in S-E Qld.
Birds of Southwest Queensland	many contributors	2023, Birdlife Australia	Photographic identification guide to 259 species found in S-W Qld.
Field Guide to Australian Birds	Michael Morcombe	2004, 2nd Ed. Steve Parish Publishing, Archerfield, Qld	Has an extensive section on nests and eggs. Quick index inside both covers. Out of print?, some still available, 448 pp
Compact Field Guide to Australian Birds	Michael Morcombe	2024, 3rd Ed. Woodslane Press, Sydney	Small and light. Similar to above, but nest and egg section omitted. Quick index inside both covers. 384pp
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia	Ken Simpson & Nicolas Day	2010, 8th Ed. Viking, Penguin Australia.	Includes a section on breeding seasons. Quick index near front. 392pp
The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds	Peter, Pat & Raoul Slater	2023, 3rd Ed. Reed New Holland, Frenchs Forest, NSW	Small and light. Eggs are illustrated.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia	Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight	2012, 9th Ed. HarperCollins, Pymble, NSW	Quick pictorial index inside front cover. Section on classifying and naming birds. 624pp
Birds of Prey of Australia: A Field Guide	Stephen Debus	2019, 3rd Ed. CSIRO Publishing	This edition includes a field guide, coloured plates and compares similar looking raptors side by side to help with identification. Also includes a handbook of current knowledge of each species. 224pp, also eBook
Australian Birds of Prey in Flight	Richard Seaton, Mat Gilfedder, Stephen Debus	2019, 1st Ed. CSIRO Publishing	Photographic guide to identifying birds of prey while in flight. Photos from 6 directions and includes multi-species comparison plates.144pp, also eBook
Finding Australian Birds: A Field Guide to Locations	Tim Dolby, Rohan Clarke	Feb 2025, 2nd Ed. CSIRO Publishing	A guide to the best 400 sites to find Australia’s birds 584pp, (only the eBook 1st Ed is available in 2024)
Australian birds: a concise photographic field guide.	Donald and Molly Trounson	2005, reprint, Wingfield: Bluestone Press	Photographic field guide
Photographic field guide: Birds of Australia	Flegg, Jim.	2002, 2nd Ed. New Holland, Frenchs Forest	Photographic field guide

Some of the earlier field guides, now out of print, contain interesting and valuable information which does not appear in later editions. These can often be bought cheaply in second-hand bookshops.

They include:

Pizzey, Graham and Roy Doyle. A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins, 1986
Slater, Peter. A Field Guide to Australian Birds (2 Volumes). Rigby, 1970 (non-passerines), 1974 (passerines)
Cayley, Neville. What Bird is That? A Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1931.

On-line Resources

Facebook Groups Aiming to Assist with Bird Identification

ABID: Australian Bird Identification
Norfolk Island Birds Aims to help people identify birds of Norfolk Island.

Websites with Additional information about Birds/ Bird Identification

Our Local Birds. An initiative of Birds Queensland and Birdlife Southern Qld to help anyone of any age learn about birds of southeast Qld. Has a section for teachers with curriculum-relevant materials.
Birdlife Australia’s Find a Bird page – (many species are still to be added)
Birds in Backyards, includes bird calls – Includes interactive guide to identifying an observed bird.
Birdlife Australia has made the text of the 7-volume Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds available online. Free with Birdlife Australia login.

Useful Websites With Bird Calls, Some With Images Also

Graeme Chapman graemechapman.com.au
Michael Dahlem Birds of Australia mdahlem.net
Xeno Canto (Australasia Collection) is specifically for audio recordings

Specialized Identification Guides:

Species-specific guides to distinguishing between some of the more difficult species in the same family of birds: here on Birds Qld web site

Online Databases To Enter Bird Observations And To Obtain Information About Bird Observations According to Location

eBird Australia (Cornell University). An international database, with capacity to separate records according to country, state or local district. This is Birds Queensland’s recommended recording system, both for structured surveys and personal checklists.
Birdata (Birdlife Australia database) More focussed on formalised surveys, although it also permits personal checklists.

Quick Indexes for Some Popular Field Guides

There are quick indexes available for some older editions of some field guides. These indexes were produced by Bob Forsyth dated 29 November 2002 but are still useful since these editions are still much-thumbed within our birding community.

The following links access small PDF document indexes for these guides:

Stephen Debus, The Birds of Prey of Australia – A Field Guide to Australian Raptors. Oxford University Press / Birds Australia, 1998.
Michael Morcombe, Field Guide to Australian Birds, about 2002.
Pizzey, Graham and Knight, Frank, Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, about 2002.
Simpson, Ken & Day, Nicolas, Field Guide to the Birds of Australia (5th & 6th Editions)
Slater, Raoul, The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds, about 2002.

Other Recent References

These references are useful after the birder returns home to checkout the days contacts:

Higgins, Peter et al. (eds) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vols 1-7. (HANZAB) South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1993-2006. This is the definitive reference book on Australian birds, now available on-line.
Christidis, Les and Walter E Boles.. Systematics andTaxonomy of Australian Birds. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing, 2008.
Geering, Andrew, et al. Shorebirds of Australia. Collingwood: CSIRO, 2007.
Barrett, Geoff et al.: The New Atlas of Australian Birds. Hawthorn East: Birds Australia, 2003.

Older References

Generally, these refer to references prior to 2000:

Beruldsen, Gordon. Which Bird of Prey is That? Kenmore Hills. 1995. Reprinted 2004.
Trounson, Donald and Molly. Australia: Land of Birds. Sydney: Collins, 1987. (Photographic guide)
Frith, H J.(cons ed). Reader’s Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds. Surry Hills: Reader’s Digest Services, 1976. (1st ed)
Macdonald,J D. Birds of Australia. Sydney: AH and AW Reed, 1973.

There are 10 volumes in the National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, now out of print. They contain excellent images, and detailed information. They are:

Boles, W E. The Robins and Flycatchers of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1988.
Crome, F and Shields, J. Parrots and Pigeons of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1992
Lindsey, T R. The Seabirds of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1986.
Longmore, N W. The Honeyeaters and their Allies of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1991.
Olsen, P, Crome, F and Olsen, J. The Birds of Prey and Ground Birds of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1993.
Pringle, J D. The Shorebirds of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1987.
Pringle, J D. The Waterbirds of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1985.
Serventy, V N (ed) .The Wrens and Warblers of Australia. Australian Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1982.
Strahan, R (ed). Cuckoos, Nightbirds and Kingfishers of Australia. Australian Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1994.
Strahan, R (ed.). Finches, Bowerbirds and Other Passerines of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Australian Museum with Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1996.

Queensland Museum Publications

The Queensland Museum has published a series of Wild Guides, which include information about birds as well as other wildlife. These include:

Wild Guide to Moreton Bay, and
Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland.

In addition, the Museum has published two small books which are both useful and inexpensive:

Greg Czechura and Chris Field: Raptors of Southern Queensland
Greg Czechura: Birds of Brisbane

This reference list is by no means comprehensive. There are many other excellent books relating to birds in Australia.

The Birds Queensland Library contains an excellent collection of books and videos, available to members. The catalogue can be accessed through the Members section of this website.