AMAZING ANNOYING BIRDS
Living with Australian Brush Turkeys
December 4th, 2023
“What a delightful book! So very cheerful about a bird that is sending plenty of gardeners crazy with its energy and determination… There are many things to like about this book. The first is that Ann is a genuine expert on the species, having studied megapodes for years, and she manages to convey the joy in discovering aspects of its biology that are completely new to science… So, I thoroughly recommend this book, especially for those trying to understand why their garden is in such disarray.” – Professor Stephen Garnett, Charles Darwin University.
“Ann is the ideal person to write the story of these amazing, annoying birds. A scientist with a long and accomplished history of detailed research on brush-turkeys and related megapodes… this book is scientifically sound as well as understandable by anyone. Whether you have experienced the impact of these birds or are simply interested in finding out what on earth is going on, this book will not disappoint.” – Emeritus Professor Darryl Jones, Author
“This is a comprehensive, informative, instructive, attractive, and at times amusing, well-balanced introduction to, and account of, one of the world’s most intriguing and potentially (to gardeners) annoying bird species. Anyone and everyone sharing their habitat with the Australian brush-turkey should have this delightfully illustrated volume to hand. An appreciation of the bird’s remarkable life history should alleviate much frustration caused by it.” – Dr. Clifford B. Frith, OAM
Are they remarkable birds admired for their bravery and
uniqueness, or an evil invasion wreaking havoc in gardens and destroying our backyards?
Not many Australian birds are as controversial as brush-turkeys. Sick and tired garden owners who find them no good, obnoxious, or a catastrophe stand against those who view them as uplifting and full of jaw-dropping surprises.
Read about all of it: the human-wildlife conflict and the uniqueness of an Australian icon bird!
Here is what you’ll discover in this first-ever comprehensive summary of all things brush-turkey:
- · Reasons behind their relentless and daring move into our suburbs
- · How the media portrays them as fearless invaders and other things
- · Little-known secrets about an unusual incubation method and approach to child-rearing
- · Promiscuous and mischievous happenings on the incubation mounds
- · Devoted parents who invest in their young so differently from other birds
- · Indigenous and other knowledge about these native birds
- · Methods for deterring them
- · Insider confessions from managers dealing with Brush Turkey conflicts
- · How you can help them in the city
- · Fun illustrations to highlight the results of many years of research on these birds.
No matter which side you stand on, this book contains something for everyone: those who worry and want to find out how to deter them those who’d love to lern more about the surprising behaviours and adaptations of brush-turkeys, and those who need to manage the conflict in urban areas.
BUSH-TURKEY NEEDS A FRIEND
November 2023
A picture book that takes children on an uplifting animal adventure.
Watch the book trailer here
Have a sneek-peak read here
Discover the joy of friendship and self-acceptance with Tom Turkey in ‘Bush Turkey Needs a Friend”. Written by Science teacher and Brush Turkey researcher Dr Ann Göth, this charming children’s book will take readers on an uplifting animal adventure. Follow Tom’s quest to find
friends, all while learning valuable life lessons about being different and gaining a newfound understanding of the Brush Turkey. With captivating illustrations and a delightful storyline, this children’s book will leave young readers feeling inspired to be themselves.
Benefits of reading “Bush Turkey Needs a Friend”:
– Uplifting animal adventure with valuable life lessons about friendships and the power of self-acceptance.
– Creating an emotional connection to a young bird that initially struggles to find a friend.
– A newfound understanding of the Brush (Bush) Turkey, a remarkable Australian native bird found in bush and backyards.
Reading level varies from child to child, but we recommend this book for ages 3 to 8.
VOLCANIC ADVENTURES IN TONGA
March 2023
"Volcanic Adventures in Tonga is an enthralling travel memoir that blurs the lines between fact and fiction, taking readers on a captivating journey to the remote Kingdom of Tonga alongside scientist Ann Göth." - Literary Titan 5-star review, July 2023
Cover for second edition, released September 2024
The wonder of the South Pacific comes alive in this real-life adventure story. A travel memoir based on the experiences of a young conservation scientist in Tonga. The delights and harsh realities of life on tropical islands are revealed in detail.
Are you a traveller with a wanderlust for faraway islands, an enthusiast for Tongan culture, an explorer wanting to learn about a mysterious part of the world, or a lover of exotic birds? This thrilling adventure takes you to far-away places – volcanoes overdue to erupt and coral cays rarely visited by most people.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live a simple existence on a remote Pacific Island? To leave the world behind and live in ‘Tongan Time’? Are you intrigued to learn about the mysterious ‘volcano bird’ that buries its eggs and abandons it’s chicks completely?
Join Ann and her boyfriend on an 17-month escapade on the isolated Tongan islands, where they try to save an endangered bird from extinction while living in a very different culture to their own. Guided by a youthful passion for conservation and authentic cultures, Ann tests her physical and mental stamina when confronted with cyclones, stifling humidity, stinging bugs, little fresh food, illness and the imminent danger of volcanic eruptions.
This book is likely to leave you grateful for home comforts of electricity, showers, the internet and books to read, or perhaps it will entice you to consider a life changing adventure of your own. You can achieve far more than you ever imagine!
Credential by Prof. Darryl Jones on front cover: A book that has all the adventure, intrigue, romance, discovery and danger you would expect from one of those breathless traveller’s tales from the past. This time, however, the story is true and the adventure real.
MOUND-BUILDERS
2008
Darryl Jones & Ann Göth
Mound-builders are unique in being the only birds that do not incubate their eggs using body hear; rather, a variety of naturally occurring sources of heat is exploited such as solar energy and the heat generated by decomposing organic matter. This book shows how this remarkable adaptation influences every part of these birds’ lives, inlcuding the development of the embryo, the parentless life of the hatchlings, their social organisation and their survival.
Twenty-two species of mound-builders exist within the Megapode family. Mound-builders examines the three occurring in Australia: The Scrubfowl in the humd tropics; the Brush turkey in dense forested areas from Cape York ot Sydney, and most remarkable of all, the Malleefowl in the arid interior.