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
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| #Field Guide to Australian Birds | Michael Morcombe | Steve Parish Publishing, Archerfield, Qld |
Has an extensive section on nests and eggs. Quick index inside both covers. |
| Field Guide to Australian Birds: Complete Compact Edition |
Michael Morcombe | Steve Parish Publishing, Archerfield, Qld |
Small and light. Similar to above, but nest and egg section omitted. Quick index inside both covers. |
| Field Guide to the Birds of Australia |
Ken Simpson & Nicolas Day | Viking, Penguin Group, Camberwell, Vic. |
Includes a section on breeding seasons. Quick index near front. |
| The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds |
Peter, Pat & Raoul Slater | Reed New Holland, Frenchs Forest, NSW |
Small and light. Eggs are illustrated. |
| #The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia |
Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight | HarperCollins, Pymble, NSW | Quick pictorial index inside front cover. Section on classifying and naming birds. |
| Birds of Prey of Australia: A Field Guide |
Stephen Debus | CSIRO Publishing | This second edition includes a field guide, coloured plates and a guide to identifying difficult species. |
| Australian birds: a concise photographic field guide. |
Donald and Molly Trounson | Wingfield: Bluestone Press, (2005 reprint). |
Photographic field guide |
| Photographic field guide: Birds of Australia |
Flegg, Jim. | Frenchs Forest: New Holland, (2002 2nd edition). |
Photographic field guide |
# Both of these field guides are also available as apps
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.
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 Word 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.
- 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.
