Birds of the Darwin Region

Book excerpt: Birds of the Darwin Region is the first comprehensive treatment of the avifauna of Darwin, a city located in Australia's monsoon tropics, where seasons are defined by rainfall rather than by temperature. With its mangrove-lined bays and creeks, tidal mudflats, monsoon rainforests, savanna woodlands and freshwater lagoons, Darwin has retained all of its original habitats in near-pristine condition, and is home or host to 323 bird species. Unlike other Australian cities, it has no established exotic bird species. Following an introduction to the history of ornithology in the region and a detailed appraisal of its avifauna, species accounts describe the habitats, relative abundance, behaviour, ecology and breeding season of 258 regularly occurring species, based on over 500 fully referenced sources, and original observations by the authors. Distribution maps and charts of the seasonality of each species are presented, based on a dataset comprising almost 120,000 records, one-third of which were contributed by the authors. Stunning colour photographs adorn the accounts of most species, including some of the 65 species considered as vagrants to the region. This book is a must-read for professional ornithologists and amateur birders, and an indispensable reference for local biologists, teachers and students, and government and non-government environmental agencies, as well as other people who just like to watch birds.