Fauna of Australia group of endemic parrots, order Psittaciformes. Australian parrots comprise a sixth of the world's parrots, including many cockatoos and galahs. The kookaburra is the largest species of the kingfisher family, known for its call, which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter. The passerines of Australia, also known as songbirds or perching birds, include wrens, robins, the magpie group, thornbills, pardalotes, the huge honeyeater family, treecreepers, lyrebirds, birds of paradise and bowerbirds. The satin bowerbird has attracted the interest of evolutionary psychologists; it has a complex courtship ritual in which the male creates a bower filled with blue, shiny items
The Australian Bird Guide and that the details of species and sub-species is a first for Australian birds. It also describes how the maps are derived from data collected by thousands of people over many decades to give some of the best distribution maps seen in Australian Guides. Booktopia sees the "Australian Bird Guide" as "the most comprehensive field guide to Australian birds ever seen", and is effusive about its colour plates and comprehensive species accounts. A review of the guide by Chris Watson, Bafta-winning wildlife sound recordist was predominantly positive and includes an interview with Rohan Clark, one of the authors, which helps