There were not as many birds as I expected in this history of birdwatching in Australia, which despite chapters linked to various species, does keep it's focus firmly on the watchers (and shooters and feeders). As an overview of how ornithology, recreational birdwatching and twitching have evolved and morphed back and forward into each other, it is clear and apparently thorough. McGregor does decline to get involved in contentious issues too much - for example, while he notes that many modern birdwatchers believe that "collection" of skins contributed to declining numbers, he doesn't venture an opinion on that. He also covers the declining support for backyard bird feeding without really mentioning the main arguments against it, or at least not at all whether it has led to the elimination of less easy to feed species. There is also only occasional mention of Aboriginal cultural knowledge - McGregor mentions that many species changes in fortune has been attributed to the decline of traditional burning practice, but that is mostly where it ceases. The avoidance of these topics might have been intended to make the book more accessible, but for me it felt more like a book talking around the main topics, and meant it lacked an ability to grapple with the deeper meaning of it all, beyond simply that birds are delightful, which is, of course, undeniable, but maybe not enough of a premise to sustain a history book.