British Birds: A photographic guide to every common species (Collins Complete Guide)

Product Information

Collins Bird Guide has been our go-to bird book for many years. The book is subtitled “The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe”, and it’s hard to argue with that statement; the book covers a vast number of British and European species.

If you want more information about the birds you see - their habits, food and migration, for example - this is the guide for you. Covers 280 species - everything you are likely to see in Britain - and is written by two lifelong birders who are able to communicate concisely and clearly. Excellent illustrations. For even more birdwatching gear, take a look at our garden bird guide or invest in some of the best kit for wildlife watchers. Alternatively, treat friends and family to some gifts for bird lovers. The best British bird identification books to buy in 2023

There are a lot of different bird identification books available and they do vary in quality and the amount of detail they provide. The very thought of a book on gulls is enough to send some folk running – so the judges were pleased to see that this guide offered a straightforward approach to gull identification. Read BTO's review of Gulls of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: an identification guide by Fionnuala McCully This year, Hazel McCambridge, Maria Farooqi and Jenna Woodford represented BTO on the judging panel, while Paul French, Sarah Harris and Stephen Menzie represented British Birds.

The RSPB guide is a similar size to the Collins, yet covers only British species, meaning that there is more space for information on each species. As well as identification tips, you’ll also find facts on population, nesting season, brood size, and lifespan; all useful for building up a picture of a bird’s lifestyle. List of Common British Birds With Pictures & Facts: 25 Species That You Need To Know! For Children & Adults. The first thing that strikes you about this anthology of fiction and poetry inspired by the work of artist Joseph Cornell is what a beautiful object it is. Cornell, who made boxed assemblages, was a birdwatcher and, for this book, Safran Foer invited noted writers including Joyce Carol Oates, Joanna Scott, Siri Hustvedt and Lydia Davis to respond to Cornell’s Aviary series of boxes. Their pieces appear alongside full-colour plates. Just the thing for parents who want to get their children interested in birds and birding. A well-written, clearly illustrated guide which covers 130 of the birds you are most likely to see on family outings. As a bonus, the authors include some really excellent advice on getting started as a birder: including details of books and binoculars, where and when to go. I wish this guide had been around when I began birding! Primarily a guide to how to attract birds to your garden, but includes a section on identifying garden birds, with 50 different species illustrated and described. I can't recommend the author enough!The text and maps in the Collins Bird Guide are about as small as they could be while still remaining useable, which is something you may want to bear in mind if your eyes aren’t as hawk-like as they once were. Being able to identify the birds visiting your garden will help you know what bird food to put out, where to put it and if they need anything extra depending on the time of year.

As a child, my favourite Ladybird books were Garden Birds, Heath and Woodland Birds and Birds of Prey. The author’s illustrations imprinted themselves on my mind so that when I look at them now I have to make an effort to separate feelings of nostalgia from the impulse to formulate a critical or aesthetic response. There’s something charmingly idealised about the way different species all get along as they stand about on the lawn or perch in a bush, and there’s an extraordinary, almost occult power in the way Leigh-Pemberton renders the quality of twilight. A new lay-flat binding has also been used, creating easier access to the species accounts at home or in the field. Alongside artworks depicting all common plumages, the detailed text describes each bird's behaviour, habitat, voice, breeding biology, longevity and seasonal movements, as well as other useful information. The guide also includes UK population trends and up-to-date distribution maps. Look at him, putting his own book in. Always thought he was the type. Except I’m not. When I edited the anthology Murmurations, I included a new story, Gulls, by Nicholas Royle. Professor of English at the University of Sussex (I teach at Manchester Metropolitan University) and author of numerous works of nonfiction, Royle had published his first novel, Quilt, the year before. Gulls reappears in this, his second.

By Peter Adriaens, Mars Muusse, Philippe J. Dubois and Frédéric Jiguet; Princeton University Press, 2021; reviewed in BBby Brian Small ( Brit. Birds115: 177–178) and for BTO by Fionnuala McCully. If you prefer photographic guides, this is the best on the market. All our regular resident and visiting birds are included, with a fine selection of photographs and a comprehensive text. That said, the photos in Britain’s Birds are consistently excellent and you really are given a good idea of what a bird looks like in ‘real life’.

It is always great to know a little bit more about the birds visiting your garden. Browse a selection of the best British bird identification books to help you recognise the different species in your local area. Britain’s Birds (Second Edition) The RSPB Handbook of British Birds contains information on over 300 species that can be seen in Britain. The bestselling RSPB Handbook of British Birds is the most comprehensive reference for birdwatchers of all levels of interest and experience. Now in its fifth edition, it remains the most accessible field guide to more than 300 bird species likely to be encountered in Britain and Ireland. As Martin Collinson put it in his review of this title, ‘This book makes the case that vagrancy in birds matters.’ Indeed, the judges were impressed by the easily accessible way that this title presented theories on vagrancy – and its importance to a host of ornithological events, from the formation of new migration routes to speciation, as vagrants create new populations on isolated islands that eventually evolve into new species. There is also an impressive amount of research summarised in the family-by-family section, which discusses extralimital records of various species as well as detailing interesting theories and observations on the vagrancy tendencies of birds in the given family. This book offers something for all birders and ornithologists, from rarity hunters to conservationists studying habitat loss, and was, therefore, recognised by the judges as being one of the most useful titles of 2022. An initial vote from each of the judges determined the shortlist. The final vote took place in mid December, with the usual lively discussion and debate between the judges before they cast their votes to determine the winning title.

Average Customer Reviews

Several publications compete for the title ‘best British bird book’; Collins Bird Guide is the preferred choice of many birders, but may be over-comprehensive for some; the RSPB Handbook of British Birds, which features only birds seen in Britain, is another favourite; and for those who prefer photos to illustrations, Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide to the Birds of Great Britain & Ireland is an excellent choice. The definitive guide - not just to the birds of Britain, but also to those of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Stunning illustrations and the most comprehensive text. Not for the beginner, but will appeal to the real enthusiast or anyone travelling farther afield. This mesmerising account of White’s determination to train a goshawk was part of the inspiration behind Helen Macdonald’s enormously popular H Is for Hawk. Indeed, Macdonald wrote a foreword to a recent reissue of The Goshawk. I take away from it a strong impression of obsession, plus the lesson behind this useful remark: “If you saw a bird … it had already seen you.”