Customer Reviews

Field Guide to Tasmanian Birds

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Basics: 1999, softcover, 192 pages, 179 species in color photographs, range maps

Covering all the expected birds of Tasmania, each is given its own page of text and a photo. The decently sized photos are good color and quality. Only one photo is given for each bird, which is the breeding plumaged male - except for the female Satin Flycatcher (no male shown) and the winter plumaged shorebirds. As with most photo guides, this one-photo method is a weakness when encountering a female or the plumages of juveniles and seasonal differences. Coming across a juvenile Grey Shrike-Thrush with just this book will be a bit puzzling if you're not familiar with the island's birds.

The text for each bird gives brief coverage on identification, habits, voice, habitat, breeding, distribution, and "where to see". This latter section is not offered for all birds and can be variable. It might give specific locations like "Maria Island and Forest Glen Tea Gardens" or "heathland near Strahan" or something more generic like "any coastal areas of Tasmania."

The identification section is adequate for most birds, but could have offered a bit more information on the other plumages not illustrated - and, certainly more tips on distinguishing the Brown vs. Tasmanian Thornbills.

A small range map of Tasmania - with two of the larger Bass Strait islands - does a good job of showing the birds' ranges.

Considering the uniqueness of Tasmania, it would have been good to draw attention to the 12 endemic species found on the island. Perhaps a decal in the corner, or a bold red font for the bird's name could have been included. A brief note of the endemnism buried in the text was insufficient.

This is a nice book to use for practice before going to Tasmania. I especially appreciated having good photos with a narrowed focus on just the Tasmanian birds. You can use this book to practice with photos, but I highly recommend taking any one of the illustrated - and superior - field guides by Simpson/Day, Morcombe, or later editions of Pizzey to Tasmania.

I've listed several related books below...
1) A Guide to the Birds of Tasmania by Sharland
2) Photographic Field Guide: Birds of Australia by Flegg
3) Birds of Australia: 7th ed. by Simpson/Day
4) Field Guide to Australian Birds by Morcombe
5) The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia (2005) by Pizzey
6) Australian Birds: A Concise Photographic Field Guide by Trounson