Looking for a unique Christmas gift this year? Go no further than the just-released Australian Wildlife Roadkill calendar, from Wild Discovery Guides.

Sure to be a talking point around the Christmas tree, the calendar features 12 colour images of roadkill around Australia.

"It's quirky, but not too gruesome," says Australian naturalist Len Zell, who wrote the popular glove-box guide book Australian Wildlife Roadkill, on which the calendar is based.

"Here's a chance to hang something really different on the back of your toilet door, in the shed, or wherever you choose - we expect that the kitchen won't be the most favoured choice for most people."

While the calendar is a novelty, the issue of roadkill is a serious one, especially as many Australians prepare for holiday road-trips over the summer. Zell's book outlines how to avoid, deal with, and identify roadkill.

The calendar features images collected over many years travelling throughout Australia, from a Wedge-tailed Eagle in Western Australia to a wombat in New South Wales, a Tasmanian Devil, and the cover shot of a Red Kangaroo on the Birdsville Development Road.

Images can be viewed, and calendars ordered online at www.wilddiscoveryguides.com. The calendar is priced at $14.95 (plus $2 postage in Australia, or $5 overseas). It is A4 size, spiral bound, with a large square format.

The book retails for $19.95, and a book/calendar package is available for $30 including postage.

Wild Discovery Guides is a small, independent Australian publishing company founded in 2000 by Len Zell to publish quality travel guides aimed at travellers with a keen interest in learning more about the natural world in the destinations they visit. It also has an online magazine dedicated to nature-based travel and wildlife and environmental issues, www.wilddiscoveryguides.com