Where Song Began
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Australia's Birds and How They Changed the World
Tim Low
An authoritative and entertaining exploration of Australia’s distinctive birds and their unheralded role in global evolution
Renowned for its gallery of unusual mammals, Australia is also a land of extraordinary birds. But unlike the mammals, the birds of Australia flew beyond the continent’s boundaries and around the globe many millions of years ago. This eye-opening book tells the dynamic but little-known story of how Australia provided the world with songbirds and parrots, among other bird groups, why Australian birds wield surprising ecological power, how Australia became a major evolutionary center, and why scientific biases have hindered recognition of these discoveries.
From violent, swooping magpies to tool-making cockatoos, Australia’s birds are strikingly different from birds of other lands—often more intelligent and aggressive, often larger and longer-lived. Tim Low, a renowned biologist with a rare storytelling gift, here presents the amazing evolutionary history of Australia’s birds. The story of the birds, it turns out, is inseparable from the story of the continent itself and also the people who inhabit it.
Renowned for its gallery of unusual mammals, Australia is also a land of extraordinary birds. But unlike the mammals, the birds of Australia flew beyond the continent’s boundaries and around the globe many millions of years ago. This eye-opening book tells the dynamic but little-known story of how Australia provided the world with songbirds and parrots, among other bird groups, why Australian birds wield surprising ecological power, how Australia became a major evolutionary center, and why scientific biases have hindered recognition of these discoveries.
From violent, swooping magpies to tool-making cockatoos, Australia’s birds are strikingly different from birds of other lands—often more intelligent and aggressive, often larger and longer-lived. Tim Low, a renowned biologist with a rare storytelling gift, here presents the amazing evolutionary history of Australia’s birds. The story of the birds, it turns out, is inseparable from the story of the continent itself and also the people who inhabit it.
Tim Low is a field biologist, writer, environmental consultant, and wildlife photographer. He is the prize-winning author of six previous books, including Feral Future and The New Nature, and a frequent contributor to Wildlife Australia magazine. He lives in Brisbane, Australia.
ISBN: 9780300221664
Publication Date: September 27, 2016
Publication Date: September 27, 2016
424 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
28 b/w + 16 color illus.
28 b/w + 16 color illus.
Sales Restrictions: For sale in the United States of America, its dependencies, the Philippine Islands, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe only.