Mateship With Birds

With the original introduction by C.J. Dennis and a new foreword by Sean Dooley.

Ninety years on, A.H. ChisholmOCOs classic "Mateship with Birds" is still as fresh and inspirational as an early-morning walk in the bush, the air resounding with birdsong. His account of the secret lives of birds OCo their seasonal doings and their complex relationships OCo reflects his patient and detailed observations, and his deep enjoyment of the Australian bush and all its inhabitants.

This is not just a book for bird-lovers. ChisholmOCOs charming and often humorous prose reveals a man who loves words as well as birds. His style of writing and the historical photographs accompanying his text provide a gentle record of a period that already feels like OCythe old daysOCO.

But Chisholm wrote with an urgent message to the future. He could clearly see the threat that OCythe moving finger of CivilisationOCO posed to birdlife, and his account of the tragic demise of the Paradise Parrot ends with this passionate exhortation: OCyWhat are the bird-lovers of Australia going to do about this matter of vanishing Parrots? Surely it is a subject worthy of the closest attention of all good Australians.OCO

With the reissuing of this book, we honour these words, and offer his delight in OCythe loveliest and the best of NatureOCOs childrenOCO to a new generation."