Eagles are awe-inspiring birds that have influenced much human endeavour. Australia is home to threeeagle species, and in Melanesia there are four additional endemic species. A further three large Australianhawks are eagle-like. Eagles, being at the top of the food chain, are sensitive ecological barometers ofhuman impact on the Earth's ecosystem services, and all of the six Australian species covered in this bookare threatened in at least some states (one also nationally).
In Australasian Eagles and Eagle-like Birds, Dr Stephen Debus provides a 25-year update of knowledge onthese 10 species as a supplement to the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB)and recent global treatises, based partly on his own field studies. This book places the Australasian species in their regional and global context,reviews their population status and threats, provides new information on on their ecology, and suggests whatneeds to be done in order to ensure the future of these magnificent birds.
Australasian Eagles and Eagle-like Birds is an invaluable resource for raptor biologists, birdwatchers, wildliferescuers and carers, raptor rehabilitators and zookeepers.
Table of Contents:
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Part I – Sea-eagles
White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
Sanford’s Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus sanfordi
Part II – Harpy eagles
New Guinea Harpy Eagle Harpyopsis novaeguineae
Part III – Booted eagles
Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax
Gurney’s Eagle Aquila gurneyi
Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides
Pygmy Eagle Hieraaetus weiskei
Part IV – Australian eagle-like hawks
Black-breasted Buzzard Hamirostra melanosternon
Square-tailed Kite Lophoictinia isura
Red Goshawk Erythrotriochis radiatus
Epilogue
Bibliography
Other sources of information
Appendix: Scientific names of other Australian raptors
Index
About the Author :
Stephen Debus has undertaken research on and written about raptors for nearly 35 years. He completed a PhD and postdoctoral research in Zoology, on declining woodland birds. He now works as an ecological consultant and is an honorary research associate at the University of New England. In 2015, he was awarded BirdLife Australia's D.L. Serventy Medal for ornithological publication, recognising his role as Australia's longest serving ornithological editor and contributions to the field, including over 130 papers, the Whitley Award-winning Birds of Prey of Australia: A Field Guide, 2nd edition (CSIRO Publishing 2012), and work on the raptor sections of the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 2.
Review :
"Australasian Eagles and Eagle-like Birds is a fascinating summary of our understanding of these charismatic species and collects the up-to-date publications describing their lives in one reference... It is a simultaneously highly readable, thoroughly enjoyable and authoritative monograph of some of the most captivating animals in Australasian skies. It's the first such comprehensive book on these fauna since HANZAB in 1993 and features arresting colour photographs portraying some rarely seen behaviours. I commend it to every reader who is interested in furthering their understanding of our large birds of prey."
Chris Watson, The Grip (blog), 2/8/17 "reading this was a voyage of discovery and it is fair to say that I learned something new on practically every page. Indeed, in reading the species accounts many questions were raised in my mind and it is fair to say that every one of them was subsequently answered in this comprehensive text."
Norman McCanch, KOS News: The Newsletter of the Kent Ornithological Society #510, September 2017
"This book is a very valuable resource for those who are interested in research or are keen observers of these raptors... as [a complementary resource] to HANZAB, this is a "must have" volume."
Gil Porter, Warbler 6(3), September 2017
"The text is not only easy to read, but it also enables the reader to extract key information quickly. The book will be a delight to specialists, ornithological book collectors, trivia hunters and anyone in need a quick fact check."
Greg Czechura, Corella 42, 2018
"The text is highly recommended for those with an interest in the species covered, providing a timely and comprehensive update on the research that has been undertaken since the previous summaries conducted at least a decade ago. It provides a highly convenient single location for this material that will particularly appeal to researchers in this field."
Paul McDonald, Australian Field Ornithology 34, 2017
"Stephen Debus is to be congratulated on bringing together so much information and presenting it in a very accessible form."
Merilyn Browne, South Australian Ornithologist 42(2), February 2018
"The perfect manual for those willing to contribute something useful to the knowledge of Australasian raptors."
Rob G. Bijlsma, IBIS - international journal of avian science, June 2018
"[This book is] an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in birds, including biologists, birdwatchers, wildlife rescuers and carers, raptor rehabilitators and zookeepers."
Rhianna King, Landscope magazine, 2019
