Birds of Australia: Seventh Edition (Princeton Field Guides)

This updated edition includes sixteen new or revised color plates, all new distribution maps with subspecies shown, and more than 900 black-and white-illustrations. The Vagrant Bird Bulletin has been extended to include 74 species, while a useful breeding summary for every species gives immediate information regarding their annual breeding cycle.

All readers, whether beginners or experienced birdwatchers, ornithologists, students or travelers, will find Simpson & Day's Birds of Australia an unrivalled companion to discovering the unique birdlife of this remarkable continent.

• Field guide section that offers key points of identification using the latest classification system
• 132 superb full color plates showing all Australian bird species, including 16 new or revised plates
• All new distribution maps with subspecies shown
• More than 900 black and white line illustrations, many new or redrawn
• Extended breeding information
• Vagrant Bird Bulletin with 74 species
• Updated core library for beginner birdwatchers

One last note: I did not see another book either in stores or in another birder's hand while in Australia that I thought was as good or better than this guide.


Very Good   June 15, 2006
W. Laszlo (Hungary)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

This guide covers all the bird species known to occur in Australia - not an easy task in a continent with as rich an aviafauna.
I found it very good - the illustrations are excellent quality and often cover distinctive subspecies separately.
The maps, conveniently placed opposite the illustrations also show boundaries of the various subspecies' distribution - something few field guides seem to bother with!
All the essential information about appearence, size, voice and habitat is also found along with the maps right opposite the pictures.
These pages make up the bulk of the book, followed by a "Vagrant Bird Bulletin", breeding information, checklists for off-shore island territories and excellent lists of local oganisations and recommended further reading - complete with the competing field guides!
Once you remove the color cover, the book is bound in a sturdy but flexible plastic one - making it ideal for carrying in the field without getting it torn or soaked.
All in all, an excellent book that served me very well on my trip in Australia. Recommended.


Great Guide   July 14, 2007
D.J. Young (Melbourne, Australia)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is a really good book for people who are into bird watching. I looked at several guides and I'm really glad that I got this one. The book is logically laid out and the colour plates are great. It is a bit big Aprox 16cm x 22cm but the way it is laid out justifies it. This is a great reference book that will give bird watches many years of enjoyment.


Too large to be a field guide   September 18, 2007
Jack P. Hailman (Jupiter, FL USA)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

This book was my constant companion for just under 3 weeks birding in Oz. It's a very nice book, but a field guide it is not. The huge size (about 6 x 9 inches) means it won't fit in any pocket, so I had to carry it in a backpack--hardly convenient for field use. I also looked at every other book on the market, at B&B's, bookstores, and wherever I went. All but two are much too large to be field guides, even though many are labeled as such. Of the two truly pocket-compatible books, one is clearly superior: Michael Morcombe's Field Guide to Australian Birds: Complete Compact Edition (not to be confused with his earlier, larger sized books). This one is about 4 x 9 in and the illustrations are annotated with labeled arrows to diagostic features of the birds. Alas, I found this book in a bookstore only on my last day in Australia after having searched intesively for it after first running across it in a B&B library. I bought it anyway, hoping some day to return to Oz.


Excellent Field Guide to Australian Birds   May 3, 2008
Dr. Greg Euston (Brisbane, Qld, Australia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Thorough field guide, easy to use, compact and suitable size to truly call itself a field guide. Well illustrated.