Tim Low

Here is my list of 5 books that open eyes to Australian birds. Flight Lines by Andrew Darby, The Bird Way by Jennifer Ackerman, The Big Twitch by Sean Dooley, Birdland by Leila Jeffreys and John Gould’s Handbook of the Birds of Australia. shepherd.com/best-books/that…

A long conversation with Caiyu about what nature means to me youtu.be/TG86gqANlx8 via @YouTube

This is a great read, strongly recommended (I appear in it)

Chile with its Araucarias & other Gondwanan species shows us what Australia could have become if it had not stayed so flat and geologically quiescent. I learnt much about Australia from my 4 week visit.

Upland geese are the dominant birds of pastures in the south of Chile. The most important waterbird I saw was coscoroba swan, because it is the nearest relative of our Cape Barren goose - a Gondwanan relationship

Guanacos can produce grazing lawns reminding me of Tasmanian marsupial lawns.

This Australian seasquirt (Pyura praeputialis) is an invasive species on the Chile coast in the bay of Antofagasta. It reached Chile long ago probably on the hulls of wooden ships.

Embothrium is Chile’s answer to our waratahs, and one genetic paper placed them as their closest relative. Fossil pollen identified as this has been found in Victoria

South America’s seedsnipe are the closest kin of Australia’s endangered plains-wanderer, telling of a rare Gondwanan relationship in birds. Saw this one in Lauca National Park (Photo Doug Laing)

One of the key Gondwanan plant genera shared by Australia and South America is Lomatia, shown here (L. hirsuta) growing on volcanic soil in Conguillilio National Park. I could see another classic Gondwanan genus, Araucaria, on distant hills.

Viscachas are big rodents of the high Andes that look and move like a cross between a rabbit and bettong.

Chile's Araucaria has evolved amazingly thick, fire-resistant bark. Australia is supposed to be the land with a fire-adapted flora, but our Bunya and hoop pines lack this level of fire protection. Much to wonder about.

Chile's Araucaria tree trunks are often festooned with lichens, unlike ours. These are in the coastal ranges rather than the Andes (in Nahuelbuta National Park)

The high Andes have Araucaria trees growing at the upper treeline, still surrounded by snow in November. Our species are not this cold tolerant. Doesn't fit theories about biome conservatism

A highlight of Chile was seeing her Araucaria trees, so like our Bunya pines but so far away. The ultimate Gondwanan experience.

Falcons are most diverse in South America, with its ground-feeding caracaras. They are part of the Gondwanan story, with falcons related to 2 other Gondwanan groups, parrots and perching birds.