It was shortly followed by guides authored by Graham Pizzey in 1980 and by Ken Simpson and Nicolas Day in 1984.

In a review in the ornithological journal Emu Ian Taylor said: ”Peter Slater, in conjunction with his wife Pat and their son Raoul, has produced a one volume field guide for the whole of Australia which looks like being serious competition for Graham Pizzey's popular field guide.

Unlike earlier multi-volume or large format guides, Slater will fit in a trouser or jacket pocket.

At last we have a field guide with the text and distribution maps opposite the illustrations.”[2]A second updated and reorganised 360-page edition was issued by New Holland Publishers in 2009.

It has 64 new or revised colour plates, incorporating all the new birds recorded in Australia since 1986.