Published by the National Library of Australia. Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest for the Beautiful Parrakeet follows the story of the Paradise Parrot, beginning in 1844, when John Gilbert spotted it on the Condamine River in Queensland. Gilbert wrote to his employer John Gould, in London, describing his find as "without exception the most beautiful of the whole tribe I have ever seen in Australia". Gould named it the Beautiful Parrakeet. But squatters had already begun to claim the parrot's country and by the 1890s the parakeet had disappeared from the record.Ornithologist and journalist Alec Chisholm believed that the bird, then known as the Paradise Parrot, still survived. In 1918, he launched a search. In 1922, the first and last photographs of the parrot were taken and the last confirmed observation was in 1928 - yet claims of sightings continue.In this highly illustrated and informative book, author Penny Olsen takes us on a journey of discovery. The story of the Beautiful Parrakeet - the jewel of the parrot family - is one that combines elements of natural history, human curiosity for the rare and unobtainable, and the true facts of the mystery surrounding the bird"s fate.

Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest for the Beautiful Parrakeet

Penny Olsen

Antipodes Books and Beyond, Ltd.

In Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia's Curious Animals, author Penny Olsen describes how this 'miscellany of the curious' fuelled the rage for Australian natural history amongst the upper classes of Europe, bringing income and, occasionally, fame to its collectors and documenters. In the colony itself, however, it contributed to wholesale destruction of animals and their habitats and, in some cases, led to their extinction. Upside Down World is lavishly illustrated with early European images, most held in the National Library of Australia collection and some of which have never before been reproduced. Scattered throughout are fascinating and colourful descriptions of species from collectors' and naturalists' journals, showing us how the scientific knowledge of Australian fauna evolved.

Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia's Curious Animals

National Library of Australia

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Books by Penny Olsen

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Penny Olsen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest for the Beautiful Parrakeet

Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia's Curious Animals