The Snowy owl is a large and powerful bird. It is one of the largest species of owl, and in North America, it is on average the heaviest owl species. The adult male is virtually pure white, but females and young birds have some dark spots; the young are heavily barred, and dark spotting may even predominate. Thick plumage, heavily feathered taloned feet, and coloration render the Snowy owl well-adapted for life north of the Arctic Circle. This Snowy Owl example is slightly discoloured and in real life the Snowy Owl displays much more brilliant white feathers. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum in Sydney and the National Museum of Victoria (known as Museums Victoria since 1983), as well as individuals such as amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century.This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century.This Snowy Owl adult male is virtually pure white with brown spot markings and a pale brownish wash. It has thick plumage and heavily feathered taloned feet. This specimen stands upon a wooden platform and has an identification tag tied around its leg.Swing tag: [torn] snowy owl / See catalogue, page 54 / Metal tag: 4054 /taxidermy mount, taxidermy, animalia, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, bird, owl, snowy owl, arctic circle

Dr Lisa ANDERSON (1958- ) Dr Anderson’s research questions environmental issues that impact on the social structures of communities and their mapped or metaphysical borders. She develops projects around ways of understanding the effects of climate change. These include work with folklore, legends and religions that tell stories of coping with weather, forced migration of animals and people and coping with difference. She has undertaken international residency programs and exhibitions in the Arctic, Iceland, Paris, Norway, London and China, and she was the first Artist in Residence at the Australian Museum. These unique opportunities continue an extensive art practice of installation work, video, photography and sculpture. Anderson has an extensive record of exhibitions in Australia and overseas with work included in both private and corporate collections. Her exhibitions include Journeys: Due North, a large installation work that includes work created over a 10-year period of engagement in expedition and science work North of the Arctic Circle. Beneath the Beauty of Architecture, an exhibition at her London Gallery, Bicha, used images created in China, Nunuvut Territory in Canada and the Antarctic while working with the migration stories of survival. Dr Anderson has created many large scale artworks that challenge notions of occupation of the City, including Writing the City, a three-year program of installation works to shift the use of Sydney to being a city of public space in its pre-Olympic development. Singing up Stones celebrated the people who created and use the Opera House and the Quay for performance and ideas. This included the first image projection onto the Sydney Opera House, a projection onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a ballet of cruise liners with the sound simulcast on the local radio station. Two digital prints with acrylic on metal and bullet holes. This work is the result of research on the hidden voice of landscape undertaken by Dr Lisa Anderson while an Honorary Professor at Federation University Australia. lisa anderson, available

Index, ill (b/w plates), p.362.non-fictionAt 11:28 a.m. on Saturday, August 12, 2000, high in the Arctic Circle under the roiling surface of the unforgiving Barents Sea, Captain Gennady Lyachin was taking the Kursk, the pride of Russia's elite Northern Fleet, through the last steps of firing a practice torpedo, part of an elaborate naval exercise. Suddenly, the torpedo exploded in a massive fireball, instantly incinerating all seven men in the submarine's forward compartment. The horror, however, was just beginning. The full, gripping story of the remarkable drama inside the Kursk and of the desperate rescue efforts has never been told - until now.russian submarine kursk explosion, submarine disasters - russia

Index, ill, p.600.non-fictionWorld War II was the most intensively photographed conflict in history. Military adn press photographers, propagandists, camera-wielding soldiers and civilians - all took the opportunity to record the tumultuous events of 1939-45. World War II in Photographs features 900 clearly captioned images selected from a wide variety of sources. Every major theatre of conflict is covered, from the icy seas of the Arctic Circle to the jungles of the South Pacific, from the deserts of North Africa to the steppes of Russia.world war 1939-1945 - history, world war 1939-1945 - pictorial works