Life in the Cape York Rainforest

The remote, beautiful and poorly known rainforests of Cape York Peninsula tell a special story about Australia’s historic and present-day connections to New Guinea. This book highlights the connections by examining the fascinating biology of some of the most spectacular birds and other animals shared between the two regions.

The author recounts his own ground-breaking research on cross-dressing eclectus parrots, musical palm cockatoos and multi-colored pythons, together with the exotic lifestyles of other animals, while painting the bigger picture of the past when Australia and New Guinea were joined by extensive landbridges.

Australia’s disconnection from New Guinea is probably only temporary, and even today many bird species continue to fly the short distance between the two landmasses. The book uses the beautiful photographs of Michael Cermak and others to draw the reader in, and lively informative text to describe the remarkable behavior of many of the rainforest creatures, and to emphasize the shallow and transient nature of Torres Strait as a barrier between Cape York and New Guinea.

Whether just browsing the beautiful photos and informative captions or reading it in its entirety, this book will provide a useful guide for a greater understanding of the unique attributes of the Cape York rainforests.