Viking Press/Penguin, Auckland, 1997. Good second-hand condition.

We may think of them as pests and weeds which wreak havoc with our natural environment, but the animals and plants that abound in our cities all have a story to tell. This is a user-friendly, beautifully illustrated guide to the animals, birds and vegetation to be found in New Zealand cities.

Aucklanders, for instance, live alongside at least 1500 kinds of beetle and 600 kinds of foreign weed. In his preface, Brockie writes that a walk down Queen St will reveal 50 different wild plants and at least 10 animal species.