Bush rich with scents and songs
A hundred years ago Australia was described by the great English naturalist John Gould as a place of "songless, bright birds and scentless bright flowers".
As a scientist, I am interested in the truth.
In my life, I have visited most countries in the world and realise from experience how environmentally stupid was the comment.
I will now give some facts on the matter from other experts.
I agree we have many bright birds and bright flowers.
As a child in Western Australia, I remember street sellers each spring with their cry "sweet scented boronia".
Victoria grew Western Australian boronia for their market so with time the flower was believed to be a native of that state.
Some years ago in a home garden in Pearl Beach, I saw a boronia shrub.
In modern times, the University of Western Australia has a profitable sideline by distilling the scent for sale to perfume makers at hundreds of dollars a millilitre.
Our forest country is the most heavily-scented of any in the world while a walk in any of our woodlands is an olfactory delight.
Our rainforests even have a native frangipanni.
We have one growing in our garden.
Enough of plants. What of our birds?
Many years ago, a music professor of Chicago University published the results of a long study of bird songs in America, England and Australia.
His conclusions were that about 3000 world birds sing with 40 percent reasonably musical to human ears.
Of the world's superior singers, England has nine or 10; about three times the world's average, while Australia has 17 species; also well above the world average.
Of superlative singers, England has two or three; though she should for her size have only one.
Australia has six, double the number we would expect.
These are the magpie, the grey thrush, two species of lyrebird, the pied and black butcherbirds.
Why do birds sing?
That is another story.
From a musical point of view, the song of the dawn chorus of the western magpie is a memory I can never forget.
Vincent Serventy, Pearl Beach