Astred Hicks with Holly Parsons, This Bird: Noticing Our Urban Birds, CSIRO Publishing, August 2025, 64 pp. RRP $32.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781486318452
This Bird is a vibrantly coloured guide to some Australian birds commonly found in urban environments. It is written and illustrated in collaboration between bird-loving scientist, Holly Parsons, and author illustrator, Astred Hicks, who has won awards for her books Evie and Rhino and A Hollow is a Home.
This book showcases a range of bird species that inhabit urban parks, local bushland, coastal environments and waterways and are described with fascinating details about their features and habitats, along with lively sounding descriptions of the bird’s typical behaviour. I loved the focus on each bird’s special qualities – from birds that have extraordinary physical strength, to birds with remarkable balance, to those with distinctive bird calls, a species that exhibits sociable behaviours, others that have unusual physical features and more.
Whilst the brightly coloured images are lovely to look at and also informative, with detailed and anatomically accurate depictions of birds and their attractive features, the written text is also highly engaging. Strong descriptors, metaphors and active verbs achieve lively descriptions of bird activity. Just two of my favourite examples are – Galahs described as wheeling and diving together like daredevils or of a kestrel catching its prey – Sharp talons grab the target.
The text is also accessible and easy to understand, being written in mostly everyday language and, for ornithological terms used, at the beginning of the book there are helpful definitions, accompanied by clear illustrations and diagrams. The double spread pages, which are dedicated to each specific bird species featured, are clearly organised to also aid comprehension. They have a repeated pattern, with the first paragraph written in narrative style about the bird’s typical behaviour, a second paragraph describing its physical features and a third paragraph explaining its habitat.
This Bird is another beautifully illustrated and engaging non-fiction title designed to pique the curiosity of readers aged 7 to 12-years-old. Its clear and attractive layout and vivid language make it ideal for leisurely browsing, allowing readers to dip in and out at their own pace, making it particularly suitable for older reluctant readers.
With topics and features relevant to Science, English and Visual Arts school curriculum, the publisher has provided useful teacher notes which include activity sheets.
Reviewed by Barbara Swartz
