“Mateship with Birds,” the title of Alec Chisholm’s first book, epitomizes his approach to conservation. He wanted his fellow Australians to bond emotionally with the birds, animals, and plants around them, and he framed his advocacy in the nationalist idioms of that country. Nationalism was central to his conservation, as he tried to foster a robust sense of belonging to place for the benefit of both the Australian people and their non-human compatriots.
