The Birds of Groote Eylandt
Description:... Groote Eylandt is Australias fourth largest island, nestled in the Gulf of Carpentaria, some 45 kilometres from the coast of Arnhem Land in the remote tropical north of Australia. Arguably the most pristine island off the Northern Territory coast, Groote Eylandt is a refuge for birds and other wildlife from the introduced livestock and predators, and frequent fires, that have so altered the natural environment of the mainland.The authors have combined thorough research with extensive fieldwork to produce a comprehensive reference describing th relative abundance, habitats and regional distribution of each of the 228 bird species that have been reported for the island over 80 years of visitation by ornithologists.Whilst the land avifauna of Groote Eylandt is predictably similar to that of north-eastern Arnhem Land, many open forest and woodland species that occur on the adjacent mainland have not succeeded in colonising the island. On the other hand, the island supports several monsoon rainforest and mangrove-specialised species that are not yet known to occur on the adjacent mainland, or are rare further south in the West Gulf.Richard Noske has been birdwatching since he was 10 years old, and has written or co-written over 60 publications on birds. After gaining his doctorate in New South Wales, he took up a lecturing position at the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) in 1985. He was President of the NT Field Naturalists Club during 1988-1991, then editor of its journal, NT Naturalist, for five years. His main interest is the ecology and conservation of wildlife in tropical Australia and South-east Asia, and he currently edits Kukila, the journal of the Indonesian Ornithological Society.Graham Brennan was a wandering jack-of-all-trades until he arrived on Groote Eylandt in 1985 and settled down as a mining operator for he Groote Eylandt Mining Company. An abiding amateur interest in natural history and a critical inspection of the literature soon led to the realisation that very little was known about the birds of this region. So he started recording his observations of birds on the island, particularly the months in which species were seen. After 17 years on the Eylandt, Graham has retired to a secluded pocket of forest in south-east Queensland, where he hopes to become self-sufficient.
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