Clayton South: CSIRO Publishing, 2015. Octavo, colour photographs, maps, softcover.

WAS $80. This book presents the first comprehensive treatment of the avifauna of Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. Darwin has retained all of its original habitats in near-pristine condition, and is home or host to 323 bird species. Following an introduction to the history of ornithology in the region and a detailed appraisal of its avifauna, species accounts describe the habitats, relative abundance, behaviour, ecology and breeding season of 258 regularly occurring species, and 65 species considered as vagrants to the region. Colour photographs, distribution maps and charts of the seasonality of each species are presented, based on a data-set comprising almost 120,000 records, one-third of which were contributed by the authors. This book is a must-read for professional ornithologists and amateur birders, and an indispensable reference for local biologists, teachers and students, and government and non-government environmental agencies, as well as other people who just like to watch birds.