Author Description

The Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB) is one of the most exciting and significant projects in Australasian ornithology today. It provides an up-to-date, comprehensive, and accurate synthesis of our knowledge of all the birds that live in the region. Continuing the tradition that began with Gould's Handbook of the Birds of Australia (1865), this authoritative and exciting volume will have a major impact on the direction of future research and the conservation of Australasian and Antarctic Birds. Nearly 900 species in the regions of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the islands and reefs of the Coral Sea have been recorded and studied by many ornithologists around the world. Each account includes a full list of references, black-and-white illustrations of behavioral postures and plumage features, maps showing breeding and non-breeding distribution, sonograms of calls and songs, and diagrams of timing of breeding and moulting. The book also includes 70 color plates, painted by J.N. Davies. Volume 3 covers the pratincoles, migratory waders and shore birds, skuas, gulls and terns, and pigeons and doves. Some of the 115 species covered are only well known in Australasia, while others are familiar to ornithologists throughout the world.