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ID Guide for Australia (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Allen
- Start date
Edward
Umimmak
Hi Allen
If you do a search in the books forum you'll find quite a few threads discussing Australian field guides. My favourite is Pizzey & Knight's Field Guide to Birds of Australia but most British birders end up taking Simpson & Day's guide because it's easier to get hold of and is also pretty good.
E
If you do a search in the books forum you'll find quite a few threads discussing Australian field guides. My favourite is Pizzey & Knight's Field Guide to Birds of Australia but most British birders end up taking Simpson & Day's guide because it's easier to get hold of and is also pretty good.
E
cuckooroller
Registered User
Allen,
I agree with Ed and Chris on this. The Pizzey & Knight is the best all-round. I ordered mine from either NHBS or Subbuteo. Other than the Pizzey & Knight, people swear by the new compact field guide by Michael Morcombe - have heard so much good about that guide that I will probably buy it sooner or later as well.
I agree with Ed and Chris on this. The Pizzey & Knight is the best all-round. I ordered mine from either NHBS or Subbuteo. Other than the Pizzey & Knight, people swear by the new compact field guide by Michael Morcombe - have heard so much good about that guide that I will probably buy it sooner or later as well.
SueO
Well-known member
I used Simpson & Day and Michael Morcombe and liked them both. The Michael Morcombe's I had wasn't a compact; it was a beautiful book with outstanding illustrations. I bought it when I couldn't find a particular wren in the Simpson and Day. I was able to ID the bird very quickly in Morcombe's book as he illustrated the mottled plumage phase that Simpson and Day didn't show.
Charlie M
Well-known member
Hi
I posted a review of the compact edition of Michael Morcombe's book on my blog if you're interested (and actually had an email from the author saying he thought I was being very fair, which was good of him):
http://www.charliesbirdblog.com/~charlie/ausguide/ausguide.html
Cheers
I posted a review of the compact edition of Michael Morcombe's book on my blog if you're interested (and actually had an email from the author saying he thought I was being very fair, which was good of him):
http://www.charliesbirdblog.com/~charlie/ausguide/ausguide.html
Cheers
PaulJacobson
Well-known member
All the Australian guides have strengths and weaknesses. Pizzey and Knight is widely regarded as the best single volume reference, but very few Australian birders use it as field guide due to it's size and weight. For a field guide, Simpson and Day, and the compact edition of Morcombe both seem to have a wide following. Slater & Slater also has it's adherents. The argument has been made that you really need all the 4 main field guides, as they all excel in different areas. I realise that isn't entirely practical for a visitor.
My partner and I usually take both S&D and the compact Morcombe on birding outings. The paintings in S&D are far better than Morcombe's impressionistic and overly bright illustrations, but not quite up to the standard of P&K. However Morcombe's descriptions and diagnostics are far better than either S&D or P&K, and for this reason Morcombe is often recommended.
The definitive reference on Australian bird's is the absolutely stunning HANZAB - Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Unfortunately it's not portable and is pretty expensive to boot...
http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?tefno=144662
My partner and I usually take both S&D and the compact Morcombe on birding outings. The paintings in S&D are far better than Morcombe's impressionistic and overly bright illustrations, but not quite up to the standard of P&K. However Morcombe's descriptions and diagnostics are far better than either S&D or P&K, and for this reason Morcombe is often recommended.
The definitive reference on Australian bird's is the absolutely stunning HANZAB - Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Unfortunately it's not portable and is pretty expensive to boot...
http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?tefno=144662
cuckooroller
Registered User
Hi Paul,
HANZAB "pretty expensive", I just love the euphemism! Would love to have the series, but for now HBW is already costing me a bit of change. Unfortunately, this is one of those book series that will go out of print before they ever lower the prices.
HANZAB "pretty expensive", I just love the euphemism! Would love to have the series, but for now HBW is already costing me a bit of change. Unfortunately, this is one of those book series that will go out of print before they ever lower the prices.
PaulJacobson
Well-known member
cuckooroller said:
Well I had thought "hideously expensive" might be a bit over the top.
A high end scope would cost you more, so I settled on "pretty expensive".As an aside, Andrew Isles Natural History Books is worth checking out for Australian birding books. They offer very good mail order service and seem to have a good selection of small press titles.
http://www.andrewisles.com.au/AndrewIsles/
cheers
Paul
I have Pizzey & Knight, and the only bird I had problems with was Gray Shrike-thrush, where P&K did not depict the form I saw near Melbourne. A visit to a book-store with a little browsing took care of that deficiency. P&K is no larger or heavier than the field guides I have for Mexico or Venezuela.
Niels
Niels
swiss7
Well-known member
Field guides used in Australia
No matter who you ask you will get a different answer regarding this question! But from my experience, Simpson & Day appears to be one of the more popular ones.
Personally, I have used the Slater&Slater guide, but thats is mostly because I came from Brisbane and found him to have good illustrations of his local birds. Also it is a good guide for beginners as he has similar looking birds together, rather than using pure taxonomic order. Taxonomically he is a bit out of date also.
My girlfriend on the other hand swears by the Simpson & Day.. Overall, we together found that the ability to take Slaters anywhere, coupled with having a Simpson & Day handy was all we ever needed.
We find Morcombe's got too many descriptions, notes, etc.. not pleasant.
A note too is that newer versions of Simpson & Day have the names on the plates, rather than numbers like the old versions (much easier with names).
So in a nutshell, if you are new to the game in Oz, I recommend you go with both the Slaters and the Simpson & Day.
Damien
No matter who you ask you will get a different answer regarding this question! But from my experience, Simpson & Day appears to be one of the more popular ones.
Personally, I have used the Slater&Slater guide, but thats is mostly because I came from Brisbane and found him to have good illustrations of his local birds. Also it is a good guide for beginners as he has similar looking birds together, rather than using pure taxonomic order. Taxonomically he is a bit out of date also.
My girlfriend on the other hand swears by the Simpson & Day.. Overall, we together found that the ability to take Slaters anywhere, coupled with having a Simpson & Day handy was all we ever needed.
We find Morcombe's got too many descriptions, notes, etc.. not pleasant.
A note too is that newer versions of Simpson & Day have the names on the plates, rather than numbers like the old versions (much easier with names).
So in a nutshell, if you are new to the game in Oz, I recommend you go with both the Slaters and the Simpson & Day.
Damien
jimmyjames
Well-known member
I'm heading to Oz and NZ fro 6 months dtarting in August. need a field guide and as I prefer portability I think I'll go for Simpson and Day...
Should I buy it on amazon or pick it up there? I will land in Sydney or Melbourne and one of the first things I will want to do is find a good bookshop to get it. Is this easy to do?
Thanks
james
Should I buy it on amazon or pick it up there? I will land in Sydney or Melbourne and one of the first things I will want to do is find a good bookshop to get it. Is this easy to do?
Thanks
james
cuckooroller
Registered User
Jimmy,
This is preferable in my opinion: http://www.michaelmorcombe.com.au/
This is preferable in my opinion: http://www.michaelmorcombe.com.au/
Tannin
Common; sedentary.
Good thread summing up the contenders pretty well. I'll try to do a summary:
Simpson & Day. Excellent illustrations in the main, sometimes regarded as the best of all, very terse, often unhelpful text lacking in flavour. Up-to-date and accurate.
Moorcombe: the best single-volume guide for the visiting birder or anyone learning Australian birds: good illustrations, brilliant layout that lets you see more birds at a glance and find things faster, informative, readable text, detailed ID tips when you need them.
Pizzey & Knight. Excellent illustrations, superb text with even more flavour than Morecombe, really useful detail about distribution and etc in the entries. Second only to Morecome as an introductory guide, not as space-efficient or time-efficient if you are trying to ID something unfamiliar. Regarded as the all-round best Australian guide for those who already know the local birds, and pretty good for visitors too.
Slater, Slater & Slater. Very dated now, but pocket-sized and quite cheap. The most popular beginners field-guide, I suspect. Infuriatingly difficult to find things in because it follows Century of the Fruitbat taxonomic order - drives me nuts! But very helpful too in that it doesn't just say "a small, olive-breasted whistler" or "a large whistler with distinctive golden plumage", it stats the section on whistlers with a few words about what a whistler actually is. None of the other guides do this and it's invaluable if you are just starting out in this country.
If this is your first trip to Oz, Morecombe is my recommendation, but all four are good. Please yourself.
Simpson & Day. Excellent illustrations in the main, sometimes regarded as the best of all, very terse, often unhelpful text lacking in flavour. Up-to-date and accurate.
Moorcombe: the best single-volume guide for the visiting birder or anyone learning Australian birds: good illustrations, brilliant layout that lets you see more birds at a glance and find things faster, informative, readable text, detailed ID tips when you need them.
Pizzey & Knight. Excellent illustrations, superb text with even more flavour than Morecombe, really useful detail about distribution and etc in the entries. Second only to Morecome as an introductory guide, not as space-efficient or time-efficient if you are trying to ID something unfamiliar. Regarded as the all-round best Australian guide for those who already know the local birds, and pretty good for visitors too.
Slater, Slater & Slater. Very dated now, but pocket-sized and quite cheap. The most popular beginners field-guide, I suspect. Infuriatingly difficult to find things in because it follows Century of the Fruitbat taxonomic order - drives me nuts! But very helpful too in that it doesn't just say "a small, olive-breasted whistler" or "a large whistler with distinctive golden plumage", it stats the section on whistlers with a few words about what a whistler actually is. None of the other guides do this and it's invaluable if you are just starting out in this country.
If this is your first trip to Oz, Morecombe is my recommendation, but all four are good. Please yourself.
jimmyjames
Well-known member
Morecombe it willbe then. If Ican walk into Borders and purchase a copy then even better!
Big Pix
Big Pix
I'm heading to Oz and NZ fro 6 months dtarting in August. need a field guide and as I prefer portability I think I'll go for Simpson and Day...
Should I buy it on amazon or pick it up there? I will land in Sydney or Melbourne and one of the first things I will want to do is find a good bookshop to get it. Is this easy to do?
Thanks
james
lots of good book stores, easy to obtain.....
I would like to repeat that if you go somewhere unfamiliar, it is always valuable to use some time to get familiar with at least the families before going (or in your case maybe during the flight given that you are close to leaving
). Therefore, buy it now. I have previously tried to find a site-guide in Melbourne (I had brought Pizzey and Knight with me) but failed miserably: the lady who helped me could not even find it in their computerized catalogue. Niels
jimmyjames
Well-known member
I was told to get Simpson and Day by someoen who has seen 5000+ species worldwide and I trust his judgement. (hope i'm right)
redmill
Active member
Jimmy,
If you're going for Morcombe, just be aware that there are two types. The compact one is illustrations only. The other volume (rather large to be considered portable) has lots of good gen. Me - I own them all. Slater and Simpson and Day are in the car all the time and the rest are at home on the table ready for cross reference.
If you're going for Morcombe, just be aware that there are two types. The compact one is illustrations only. The other volume (rather large to be considered portable) has lots of good gen. Me - I own them all. Slater and Simpson and Day are in the car all the time and the rest are at home on the table ready for cross reference.
