The South Australian Ornithological Association (SAOA), also known as Birds SA, is an Australian birding organisation based in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The SAOA publishes a journal, the ''

South Australian Ornithologist The ''South Australian Ornithologist'' is the scientific journal of the South Australian Ornithological Association (also known as Birds SA). The journal was first published in 1914 and is usually issued twice a year to members of the associatio ...

'' as well as the ''Birds SA Newsletter "the Birder"''. It holds regular monthly meetings and conducts field trips for members. It is also involved in many conservation projects throughout South Australia to help protect local bird species and their habitats.

History

The SAOA was founded in Adelaide in 1899 and is the oldest birding association in

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

, pre-dating the founding of the

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native b ...

, now known as BirdLife Australia, by two years.

1960 schism

A period of uncertainty occurred in the association in the late 1950s when issues relating to the taking of birds from the wild became a matter of concern to many members. This concern led ultimately to a split in the membership and the formation of the Adelaide Ornithologists which remains as a separate group in Adelaide although the original reason for the schism has long been forgotten. On one side were those who urged for greater legislative protection for rare avicultural species, such as

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...

s and

finches The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

. On the other were people, including many aviculturists, who felt threatened by a proposal they saw would bring greater control over their hobby – and for those in the avicultural trade, their livelihoods. Eventually, after three stacked meetings in which control of the association swung between one side and the other, a poll of the membership reflected the mood for enhanced protection and the avicultural lobby was defeated. Consequently, some members broke away from the SAOA and formed the

Adelaide Ornithologists Club The Adelaide Ornithologists' Club (AOC) was founded by Alan Lendon, a leading surgeon and prominent aviculturist, in 1960, as a breakaway group from the South Australian Ornithological Association, with John Neil McGilp as its first President. ...

in 1960.

Activities

The SAOA has over 800 members and holds monthly meetings at the Hawker Centre in the Waite Institute of the University of Adelaide. It also organises regular excursions to birding sites in South Australia and holds campouts at least twice a year. Many of Australia's leading ornithologists, including

Richard Schodde Richard Schodde, OAM (born 23 September 1936) is an Australian botanist and ornithologist. Schodde studied at the University of Adelaide, where he received a BSc (Hons) in 1960 and a PhD in 1970. During the 1960s he was a botanist with the CSI ...

, Leo Joseph, Lyn Pedler, Andrew Black and David Paton, started their careers with the SAOA and continue as important contributors to its work and interests. SAOA (Birds SA) is a member group of the

Conservation Council of South Australia The Conservation Council of South Australia, also known as Conservation SA and Conservation Council SA, is an environmental organisation serving as a peak body, representing over 50 member groups, representing over 90,000 individual members, in ...

. Birds SA (SAOA) affiliated with BirdLife Australia (formerly RAOU) in March 2018, the aim is to collaborate on many conservation issues for Australian birds species and protection of their habitats, primarily in SA, but throughout Australia as well. Visit the Birds SA website for update information and about Birds SA today www.birdssa.asn.au

References

* Collier, Roger; Hatch, John; Matheson, Bill; & Russell, Tony. (Eds). (2000). ''Birds, Birders and Birdwatching. A celebration of one hundred years of the South Australian Ornithological Association''. SAOA: Adelaide. * Robin, Libby. (2001). ''The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901–2001''. Melbourne University Press: Carlton. {{ISBN, 0-522-84987-3

External links

SAOA
Ornithological organisations in Australia Organisations based in Adelaide 1899 establishments in Australia