In the old days, it was easy. The eagle was a large bird with sharp talons for gripping and a hooked beak for tearing prey; the swallow was a fast-flying bird that left our shores each winter to seek warmer climes. But since Charles Darwin, we can’t say that anymore, because the very language of such descriptions implies purpose – either will (the swallow somehow knowing, planning, its migration) or design.
Australian Magpie: Biology and behaviour of an unusual songbird by Gisela Kaplan
CSIRO Publishing, $39.95pb, 152pp, 0 643 09068 1
Kookaburra: King of the bus by Sarah Legge
CSIRO Publishing, $34.95pb, 144pp, 0 643 09063 0
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