''The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds '' is one of the main national bird

field guide A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (flora or fauna) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. rocks and minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the "field" or local area where such objects exi ...

s used by Australian

birders Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

Description

The guide was first published in 1986 in Sydney by Rigby Publishers and authored by Peter Slater and other members of his family. It is 215 mm high by 113 mm wide and weighs 440 g. The imprint page asserts

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

of the paintings for Peter Slater, of the text for Pat Slater, and of the maps for Raoul Slater.

History

In 1970-74 Slater had produced a two-volume guide to Australian birds which was the first of the new generation of Australian field guides to appear after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It was shortly followed by guides authored by

Graham Pizzey Graham Martin Pizzey AM (4 July 1930 – 12 November 2001) was a noted Australian author, photographer and ornithologist. Early life and education Graham Pizzey was born and grew up in grew up in East Ivanhoe on the Yarra River. At age sev ...

in 1980 and by Ken Simpson and Nicolas Day in 1984. Slater's second guide continued the evolutionary succession only two years later. In a review in the ornithological journal ''

Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...

'' Ian Taylor said:

”Peter Slater, in conjunction with his wife Pat and their son Raoul, has produced a one volume field guide for the whole of Australia which looks like being serious competition for Graham Pizzey's popular field guide. The great strengths of this book lie in its size and its format. For the first time, here is a field guide which can actually be used in the field. Unlike earlier multi-volume or large format guides, Slater will fit in a trouser or jacket pocket. Gone are the days of carrying guides in day packs or rushing back to the car to confirm an identification. What is remarkable is that it has taken so long for a pocket sized field guide to appear. Our northern hemisphere counterparts have had them for years. The other great strength is the format. At last we have a field guide with the text and distribution maps opposite the illustrations.”Taylor (1987).

A second updated and reorganised 360-page edition was issued by New Holland Publishers in 2009. It has 64 new or revised colour plates, incorporating all the new birds recorded in Australia since 1986.New Holland.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * 1986 non-fiction books Australian bird field guides {{bird-book-stub