Our Members’ Magazine: for many years we have published a magazine especially for our members, most recently as Wingspan and The Bird Observer. BirdLife Australia has united these popular publications to create Australian Birdlife, a lavish, full-colour magazine brimming with interesting articles and all the latest news and views on birds, birdwatching, conservation and the people behind it all — a must-read for anyone with an interest in native birds.
Our Scientific Journals: our earliest publication was The Emu, which began life as a ‘means of intercommunication between all interested in ornithology’, featuring articles of both scientific and general interest, as well as bird news from Australia and abroad, discussions and the Union’s business. Over the years it has grown in stature from these humble beginnings and is now widely regarded as a world-class scientific journal, Emu — Austral Ornithology.
It is complemented by a second peer-reviewed journal Australian Field Ornithology, published since 1959, which contains material on Australasian ornithology that will be of interest to all members and anyone interested in birds in the Australasian region.
State of Australia's Birds: the State of Australia's Birds (SOAB) draws on information generated by BirdLife Australia's research and conservation projects, incorporating prevailing scientific knowledge to focus attention on one of a variety of major conservation issues.
Newsletters: less serious, but just as important, many of our projects produce their own newsletters, such as Atlas News, Volunteer, Painted Snippets, Word About the Hood and The Bittern Chronicle, to keep participants and other interested people informed about their progress and achievements. Most of our branches, groups and facilities also produce their own newsletters to keep supporters up to date with goings on.
Books, Reports and Monographs: the results of many years hard work are showcased in our award-winning books. The Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB) is a seven-volume encyclopaedia which contains details of everything that is known about the birds in our vast region, and The New Atlas of Australian Birds showcases the results of our biggest ever member-based project, with distribution maps of all of our birds, compiled from records from thousands of birdwatchers.
Our large collection of research-based reports results from our many conservation and research projects and activities, and covers an eclectic variety of bird-related topics ranging from the conservation of threatened species to effective land management, and from monitoring methods to Indigenous bird names. We have also published an authoritative collection of monographs, lengthy scientific publications that deal with a single topic in ornithology in great detail, usually referring to studies of a single species, a particular suite of species or a specific region.