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Under The Microscope

NEW ZEALAND'S INTRODUCED BIRDS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY, by Ralph Powlesland; Penguin Pocket Guide, 1997; 64 pp; $9.95

Reviewed by Vicki Hyde, NZSM

Here's another one of the handy pocket guides by Penguin that is so aptly named. It's nice to see one on introduced birds -- those things that sit in the trees in the backyard -- instead of the sadly all-too-rare natives which usually take up the greater part of bird identification books. Few of us are fortunate enough to encounter a kakapo (would it were not so!), but it's gratifying to be able to spot the difference between a goldfinch and a chaffinch.

The photos will certainly help in identification, though the alphabetical listing under common name is not quite so helpful: song thrush next to wild turkey? Fortunately the book is small enough to be able to flick through rapidly. There is a goodly amount of information in the boxes under each photo, enough to give you a welcome sense of knowledge about that visitor to the backyard.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.