Getting to Know the Birds in Your Neighbourhood

Interested in birds but don’ t know where to start? Overwhelmed by the bird guides? Want to know more about the birds you see around you? Then this is the book for you! Getting to Know the Birds in Your Neighbourhood is the first complete beginners’ field guide to the birds you are most likely to see in the towns and cities of Australia. Much more than a guidebook, though — helping you make a positive ID — it opens the door to understanding the habits and behaviours of your suburb’ s feathered locals. It’ s also easy to understand, friendly and beautiful, and packed full of information about these urban birds, and offers tips and suggestions on how to enjoy, protect and encourage more birds into your area. And one of the best features is that it works just as well in Cairns, Perth and Hobart as it does in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. So come and meet the neighbours.

Darryl Jones is a Professor of Ecology at Griffith University in Brisbane, where for over 30 years he has been investigating the many ways that people and wildlife interact. He is particularly interested in why some species have been so successful in urban landscapes, while many others have not, and how best to deal with the ensuing conflicts. His books include The Birds at My Table, Feeding the Birds at Your Table and Curlews on Vulture Street (all NewSouth).

Introduction Part head: Bird watching 101 Why do we need this book? Our first bird watchers How to use this book Glossary Part head: The birds Australian Pelican Great Cormorant Little Black Cormorant Little Pied Cormorant Australasian Darter Silver Gull Bush Stone-curlew Masked Lapwing Black Swan Australian Wood Duck Grey Teal Pacific Black Duck Northern Mallard Australasian Grebe White-faced Heron Great Egret Intermediate Egret Eastern Cattle Egret Little Egret Eastern Reef Egret Australian White Ibis Straw-necked Ibis Australasian Swamphen Eurasian Coot Dusky Moorhen Australian Brush-turkey Orange-footed Scrubfowl Eastern Osprey White-bellied Sea-eagle Whistling Kite Brahminy Kite Black Kite Brown Goshawk Pacific Baza Nankeen Kestrel Australian Hobby Peregrine Falcon Eastern Barn Owl Southern Boobook Powerful Owl Tawny Frogmouth Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Gang-gang Cockatoo Galah Long-billed Corella Western Corella Little Corella Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Musk Lorikeet Little Lorikeet Purple-crowned Lorikeet Swift Parrot Australian King Parrot Australian Ringneck Crimson Rosella Eastern Rosella Pale-headed Rosella Red-rumped Parrot Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon) Laughing Dove Spotted Dove Crested Pigeon Peaceful Dove Bar-shouldered Dove Pheasant Coucal Eastern Koel Channel-billed Cuckoo Laughing Kookaburra Sacred Kingfisher Rainbow Bee-eater Dollarbird Welcome Swallow Fairy Martin Tree Martin Yellow-rumped Thornbill Spotted Pardalote Striated Pardalote Superb Fairy-wren Splendid Fairy-wren Red-backed Fairy-wren Variegated Fairy-wren Singing Honeyeater White-plumed Honeyeater Lewin's Honeyeater Yellow-faced Honeyeater Scarlet Honeyeater Brown Honeyeater New Holland Honeyeater Eastern Spinebill Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Blue-faced Honeyeater Noisy Miner Bell Miner Western Wattlebird Little Wattlebird Red Wattlebird Yellow Wattlebird Helmeted Friarbird Silver-crowned Friarbird Noisy Friarbird Little Friarbird Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike White-breasted Woodswallow Pied Currawong Pied Butcherbird Grey Butcherbird Black Butcherbird Australian Magpie White-winged Chough Australian Raven Little Raven Torresian Crow Satin Bowerbird Great Bowerbird Australasian Figbird Olive-backed Oriole Spangled Drongo Magpie-lark Grey Fantail Willy Wagtail Rufous Whister Olive-backed Sunbird Mistletoebird Red-whiskered Bulbul Silvereye Common Blackbird Song Thrush Common Myna Common Starling Double-barred Finch Red-browed Finch Nutmeg Mannikin House Sparrow Eurasian Tree Sparrow European Goldfinch European Greenfinch Part head: Next level birdwatching How to see more birds in your backyard Facing up to some big issues Can bird watching make you happy? Where to next? References and useful resources Acknowledgments Index