Winner of the 2009 Whitley Medal, presented by the Royal Zoological Society of NSW for work of outstanding quality that makes a landmark contribution to zoological knowledge.
The authors draw on the natural history of Australia's charismatic birds to explore the relations between fauna, people and environment. They consider changing ideas about deserts and how these have helped to understand birds and their behaviour in this driest of continents. The book describes the responses of animals and plants to environmental variability and stress. It is also a cultural concept, capturing the patterns of change wrought by humans in Australia.