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For each species, the authors examine the many-and-varied common names and full scientific name, with derivation, translation and a guide to pronunciation. Stories behind the name are included, as well as relevant aspects of biology, conservation and history. Original descriptions, translated by the authors, have been sourced for many species.

As well as being a book about names, this is a book about the history of the ever-developing understanding of birds, about the people who contributed to this understanding and, most of all, about the birds themselves. This Second Edition has been revised to follow current taxonomy and understanding of the relationships between families, genera and species. It contains new taxa, updated text and new vagrants and will be interesting reading for anyone with a love of birds, words or the history of Australian biology and bird-watching.

• Offers readers with a greater understanding of the origins and bases for the names and relationships of Australian birds, which will in turn provide greater appreciation of and familiarity with the birds themselves
• Presented in an entertaining and discursive manner, so that it can be read for enjoyment, as well as a reference
• Expanded, rewritten and reorganised to conform taxonomically to the most recent version of the International Ornithological Committee's (IOC) World Bird List (Version 8.2), including the addition of new vagrants and taxa.