Many scientific bird names describe a bird's habits, habitat, distribution or plumage, while other birds are named after their discoverers or in honour of prominent ornithologists. This extraordinary work of reference lists the genus and species name for almost every species of bird in the world as well as information about its meaning and derivation. In the case of eponyms brief biographical details are provided for each of the personalities commemorated in the scientific names. This fascinating book is an outstanding information resource which will both educate and inform, and may even help ... View More...
When Silvester Diggles arrived in 1855 there was little artistic or scientific talent in the small frontier town of Brisbane. By the time of his death in 1880, his paramount legacy was a large book on Australian birds, profusely illustrated with hand-coloured lithographs. Acting as his own publisher from 1865 onwards, Diggles produced the first substantial zoological work to commence publication in Australia. The compilation and content of this rare work of art and natural history is examined here in the light of Diggles' life and times, as well as his ornithological predecessors and contempor... View More...
