The Bondi Twitch whimsically investigates perceptions and prejudices within the framework of birdwatching and associated field guides. A collaboration between Anne Zahalka, Sue Saxon, and Jane Becker: it draws upon a set of unique skills and sensibilities, documenting their rich inquiry into the world of amateur ornithology, or “twitching”, in the Waverley District.

The advent of photography had a significant impact on ornithology, making possible the accurate documentation of birds in the field. Minute morphological differences, previously apparent only by examination of the specimen in the hand, could now be caught on film. Saxon and Zahalka invited Waverley residents to a series of photographic sessions in which their profile silhouette was recorded. The participants’ birthplaces were documented and each was invited to record their own unique “call”, or to mimic that of a favoured bird. Experienced twitchers will confirm the importance of “voice” recognition to bird identification. A further connection was to physiognomy, the 18th-century pseudo-science which claimed a person’s character and intelligence were inscribed on their profile.