Australian Bird Guide Give Away Today!

It's August 1st, the beginning of a brand new month and time to give away a beautiful field guide to the Birds of Australia to one of my lucky blog readers.  

As I thought about this yesterday, I realized I put a lot of pressure on myself to make the selection based solely on my reaction to the stories told.  To everyone who reads my blog, I want to say a big THANK YOU.  And to everyone who told their story, an extra special thank you for sharing your stories with us!  They were all special, enriching and great reasons to win a field guide.

Okay, I know, get on with it--about the book!

Above, I've posted images of a Laughing Kookaburra, one of the birds on the field guide page I featured in my review post.  That was no accident.  I had just met this enchanting kookaburra at the Brevard County Zoo in Florida, just days earlier.  He made me laugh, mesmerized me with his hilarious song, and captured my heart with his beautiful plumage.  He made me forget I was in a zoo and I felt the wonder of another country filled with interesting birds I've never seen before.  (Of course there are plenty in my own USA I haven't seen!)

My passion is not just birds but the conservation of birds.  Operation Migration's Whooping Crane Activity Book has been my effort to reach children and entice them into the world of conservation by telling them the magical story of how people are helping endangered Whooping Cranes, leading them on their first migration south behind ultralight aircraft.  (If you don't know this story, you can read about it here and here.)

All of that is to say, children are the future of conserving wildlife.  When Peter Gustas told me the story of his nine year old grandson's excitement over the continent of Australia and that he was introducing him to birding, it tugged my heart.  I thought, what better way for a young person to get to know a country than through its birds!

So Peter, you and your grandson are the proud winners of a beautiful new Australian field guide!  All you have to do now is send me your address so the publisher can get your book on its way (email Viclcsw (at) aol (dot) com).  I suspect one day that field guide will be traveling to Australia clutched in your grandson's hand!

Links:
Penguin Australia
Operation Migration
Brevard County Zoo

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #101, to promote the conservation of our world's birds!

Simpson & Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia--A Review and Give-Away

The 8th edition of the Field Guide to the Birds of Australia by Ken Simpson and Nicolas Day has been completely revised and updated and is now available from Penguin Australia.  And I have the pleasure of offering this book free to one of my blog readers!

Bound with a durable soft cover, this guide's pages are packed with beautiful illustrations, key points of identification, species location maps, and alternative views to aid identification, all easily located within a two-page spread.   

Below, the species page spread for the Laughing Kookaburra (top left on the color plate).  

In the detail below, you can see a comparison between the Laughing Kookaburra and its close cousin, the Blue-winged Kookaburra.  Smaller illustrations compare the two birds' color patterns in flight.

As you move to the left of the page spread, you find a description of key plumage along with a location map.  Supplemental line illustrations give more ID clues showing postures, behavior and plumage variations.    

And if you need a refresher on just what constitutes this bird's 'open forest' habitat, there is a handy reference section in the back entitled, "Where the birds live", an illustrated key to all the habitats found in Australia.  Every field guide should have this feature!  Habitat is crucial information, important to learn right along with field marks.

Some of the other outstanding features of this guide:

• How to observe a bird
• Key to bird families
• Vagrant bird bulletin  
• Breeding information 
• Australian island territories checklists
• Hints for birdwatchers 
• A glossary of terms
• List of birdwatching and naturalists organizations
• List of recommended books to enhance your bird knowledge   

Of course, as an artist, my favorite part of the book is the visual species information found in the 132 beautifully illustrated full-color plates.

As a relative beginner, I loved the handy and practical 'Hints' section.  And as a person who always enjoys digging deeper, the glossary of terms and breeding section were both winners.  Designed for experienced birders, as well as, beginners, this field guide browses like eye candy, packs volumes of information in every page, and offers over 900 line drawings to give its user even more information in a snapshot.  A highly recommended addition to your field guide collection!

And now for the GIVE-AWAY!  
If you would like to win a free copy of this guide, all you have to do is write a note in the comments section of this blog post telling me why you're just the right person to receive a free copy of the 8th Edition of Simpson & Day's Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.  Enter your comment by midnight July 31st (EDT).  I will select the story that impresses me the most and announce the winner on August 1st.  The winner will receive their new field guide directly from the publisher, Penguin Australia.