The Australian Bird Guide

“Like looking through a new pair of binoculars, The Australian Bird Guide makes it seem like you are seeing even familiar birds for the first time.” – Sean Dooley * Australian Birdlife *“This field guide is an invaluable reference for anyone with an interest in this country’s birdlife.” * Gardening Australia *“Books, such as The Australian Bird Guide, are important for the conservation of Australia’s flora and fauna; they bring nature to people and enable everyone to identify and take joy in the birds, other animals, and plants that we share the world with.” – Harry F. Recher * Pacific Conservation Biology 26(1) *

Peter Menkhorst became hooked on birding and natural history books when, as a seven year old, he used Cayley’s What Bird is That? to identify a New Holland Honeyeater in his garden; he is now a zoologist at the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Victoria. He is author, with Frank Knight, of A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia, editor and major contributor to the award-winning Mammals of Victoria and edited two editions of Pizzey and Knight’s Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. He was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion in 1998.

Danny Rogers started birding when he was four years old, and regrets those wasted first four years. Any birding is fun, but he has particular interests in the minutiae of plumage, moults and field identification, and in the ecology and conservation of shorebirds. He prepared many of the plumage sections in the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, did a shorebirds PhD in north-western Australia, has written or co-authored many papers and a couple of coffee-table books on shorebirds and is a waterbird ecologist at the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Victoria.

Rohan Clarke is an ecologist and ornithologist at Monash University. A birder since childhood, he has field experience with all but a couple of Australian species. He gets a kick out of birding remote island outposts and leading pelagic excursions to watch seabirds, as both present rich opportunities for new insight and discovery. He has previously authored Finding Australian Birds: A Field Guide to Birding Locations.

Jeff Davies is a lifelong birder who completed a Fine Arts Painting Major at Caulfield Institute of Technology. He has contributed artwork for Freshwater and Estuarine Fishes of Wilson’s Promontory, Shorebirds of Australia, Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds and The Penguins. Jeff prefers to work with water-based mediums and commissioned works can be found in private collections in Australia and North America.

Peter Marsack trained as a zoologist but has also worked extensively as a natural history artist and illustrator. He was an artist for the multi-volume Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, and a prize-winner in the inaugural Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize. His collaboration with Canberra naturalist Ian Fraser on A Bush Capital Year was awarded a Whitley Certificate for regional natural history.

Kim Franklin, BA (Fine Art) has had an interest in birds throughout his life. He has exhibited in Africa and Europe. His illustrations have featured in ornithological books including Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Birds of the Western Palearctic, Parrots, Raptors of the World, Birds of the Indian Subcontinent and Pheasants, Partridges, and Grouse.