Australian Outback Birds

Australian Outback Birds written and illustrated by Myke Mollard (Woodslane Press) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN: 9781922800718

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

If, like me, you thought there was only one Australian ‘outback’ and your knowledge of birds extends only as far as parrots, kookaburras and magpies, then you may want to take a closer look at Myke Mollard’s Australian Outback Birds.

This is not just another ‘fact book about birds’. The first thing readers will discover is that Australia is made up of ten environmental regions, within which there are twelve ‘outbacks’ – each with its own distinctive features and birdlife.

Mollard takes readers up close to 150 different birds from these outback areas, although you may be surprised to realise he is only just scratching the surface of the 800+ bird species found in Australia. But it’s a pretty solid start!

Each spread features stunning illustrations of the featured birds within their environment with some pictures a montage of birds with a labelled pictorial key for easy identification.

Reading through each section is like being taken on a personal tour by Mollard who talks about the features of the area, alerts you about what to look out for and wraps you up in his enthusiastic passion for ‘twitching’.

Australian Outback Birds is divided into sections by outback region, then further divided into some of the birds you can find in those regions. While I personally would have appreciated a table of contents, or an index, the lack of these may encourage the reader to either peruse slowly from start to finish, or dive in randomly. Either way, it’s a fascinating adventure where we not only learn about the quirky bird characteristics and behaviours, but also realise just how diverse Australia’s landscape is.

In addition to bird and landscape facts, there are also pages on the art of birdwatching, including detailed information about how to prepare, how to get the best photos and what to look out for. And, for the detail-oriented readers, Mollard has put in diagrams showing the different parts of a bird, different types of bird feet and how to identify birds by their flight silhouettes.

Essentially, there is something for everyone in Australian Outback Birds, although because the book is very text dense, it is probably better suited to older readers, 10 and above, or for adults to share with younger children.

And, if you’re not so taken by birds – but like the concept of this book – there are others in Myke Mollard’s series, including Australian Dinosaurs and Mega Beasts, Wildlife of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and several books on ‘bush creatures’.