A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of New Zealand
Oscar Thomas
John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd
Pub. 2020

 

June 18, 2021

Oscar Thomas’ first book is A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. This book’s goal is to inform the readers about the birds of New Zealand. Thomas is an author and wildlife photographer specialising in New Zealand birds, and has achieved his goal through use of fantastic photos and descriptions.

Thomas gives a description of what each bird looks like, and talks about their habits and habitats. The physical size of the book is great, as it is small enough to not take up much space in your bag, yet big enough to read easily.

There are lots of bird guide books, but I like this one the best. The way that it is worded is quite different to the majority of bird books and I really like that! For example, the author uses fun and interesting language which makes learning about the birds really enjoyable.

It is quite different to other bird books, in that it is a lot easier for me to understand and read, and his descriptions are very clear.

The book is divided up into categories of the different types of birds, such as plovers, cuckoos, penguins and gulls & terns. The introduction tells the reader how to understand the information in each bird’s description. The book also tells you how you can submit your own sighting of an unusual bird.

The index is extremely helpful as you can look up a bird that you like and find out lots of information about it. There is also a checklist at the back of the book so you can mark off when you see each bird. The checklist has the bird common name, scientific name, status and its conservation status.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves birds and enjoys this type of book. It would make a great gift for someone who is learning about birds or enjoys birdwatching.

• Charlotte Hudson is 14 years old and lives in Hamilton.