Where Song Began : Yale University Press : 9780300221664 : 0300221665 : 01 Nov 2016 : An authoritative and entertaining exploration of Australia's distinctive birds and their unheralded role in global evolution Renowned for its gallery of unusual mammals, Australia is also a land of extraordinary birds. But unlike the mammals, the birds of Australia flew beyond the continent's boundaries and around the globe many millions of years ago. This eye-opening book tells the dynamic but little-known story of how Australia provided the world with songbirds and parrots, among other bird groups, why Australian birds wield surprising ecological power, how Australia became a major evolutionary center, and why scientific biases have hindered recognition of these discoveries.   From violent, swooping magpies to tool-making cockatoos, Australia's birds are strikingly different from birds of other lands?often more intelligent and aggressive, often larger and longer-lived. Tim Low, a renowned biologist