Current read? The 2003 Eureka Science prizewinner, The New Atlas of Australian Birds edited by G. Barrett and others (Birds Australia).
Why? “Birds are ideal indicators of environmental change,” Low says. This atlas of bird distribution maps, compiled from vast numbers of sightings, shows us which birds are winning and losing since the last atlas was published in 1984. “The losers include, surprisingly, sparrows and starlings, the winners silvereyes, galahs and willie wagtails.”
Books he admires? Jared Diamond and Ernst Mayr’s The Birds of Northern Melanesia (Oxford, 2001). “I was much affected by this book, which helped me…
