Two nature books came across the Tasmanian Times review desk this week, one on bird-watching for beginners, and one on spiders – Silk and Venom.
The author of Silk and Venom, James O’Hanlon, is on a mission to save us from one of our deepest fears – spiders. This book assures readers that spiders aren’t going to crawl into our mouths at night to drink our saliva, aren’t going to breed, nest and have legions of spider babies in our beards and dreadlocks, and aren’t – should we fall deeply asleep for long enough – going to wrap us in silk sheets with tensile strength greater than steel, inject us with digestive enzymes, let our insides turn to mush, then suck up our remains for dinner.
Having busted some myths, O’Hanlon takes us on a journey into space and around the world, including Tasmania, where the cave spiders are fascinating, diverse and capable of astonishing behaviours. Jones has a genuine affection for, and curiosity about, the crawly ones, and insists most aren’t venomous, and that bites won’t result in flesh-eating bacteria turning us into deformed and gangrenous caricatures of our former healthy selves.
James O’Hanlon has befriended myriads of tiny critters, in the wildest corners of the planet, and brings together tales and details of spiders’ bizarre, amazing and unexpected abilities. Spiders can thrive almost anywhere – even the smoking ruins of exploded volcanoes, in part because they can fly vast distances to get to new ground. Who knew?
Spiders are incredible, and the benefits they offer to us, and to current and future tech advances, are potentially brilliant. In the case of small, wide-eyed jumping spiders they’re even adorably cute. I found the whole book fascinating, though Jones didn’t really answer his own question: ‘why don’t people like spiders?’
I think I have the answer, Professor.
It’s not the legginess, it’s not the way spiders appear out of nowhere, or how they move around in unpredictable ways, or the sharp bitey bits up front – it’s what’s missing! A tail.
If they had a tail, and they could wag it, we’d know what they were thinking. If we don’t know how they’re feeling, we can’t relate. So, Professor Jones, all you need to do is create a spider-dog hybrid. Problem solved. You’re welcome.
Silk and Venom, by James O’Hanlon is available from NewSouth Publishing – UNSW, from October 2023, ISBN: 9781742237817 $32.99
Now, to birds! Darryl Jones is a Professor of Ecology at Griffith University, spent much of his career focused on why some wildlife thrive in urban environments, and wanted to share the ‘life-affirming, heart-filling, wonder-appreciating’ joy of bird-watching.
Getting to Know the Birds In Your Neighbourhood, Jones’ slim, beautifully produced field guide is for the absolute beginner, someone with a small urban garden, or near a local park, or any age and just interested in birds and wildlife in general. It provides a Birding 101 style introduction, then lists a sample of the 900+ birds to be found Australia-wide – 139 species most commonly found in our cities – to get you started. Jones is encouraging and gently enthusiastic, and reminds us of our species biophilia – our need to be connected to nature, and how readily and happily we can do that by taking note of the birds around us.
Each page allows enough, easy-to-read information about a species to have a good shot at identifying it, and learning more about it. The back section provides insight and tips into safely encouraging more birds into an area – clean water, shelter, and flowering shrubs and trees.
We’re in a biodiversity crisis, so the right kinds of support for urban birds is a positive and useful local strategy. According to studies, birding is also likely to make you a happier person, producing those small moments of calm pleasure at observing a wild bird as they interact with their world. By leaving our mad world to briefly enter theirs, to marvel at their song or plumage or social behaviours, is to engage a part of our brains that yearns for connection and peace.
Jones has kept it simple, and done a lovely job. It’s an obvious recommend for gifting to anyone who pauses to look and wonder about our avian neighbours.
Getting To Know The Birds In Your Neighbourhood – A Field Guide, by Darryl Jones, NewSouthBooks, $34.99, ISBN: 9781742238050
B.P. Marshall is a scriptwriter and author.
