Read reviews of the books we hold in the Chris Mead Library, written by our in-house experts. A selection of book reviews also features in our members’ magazine, BTO News.
All the Birds of the World
Featured review
Lynx have had a long-term project to produce an exhaustive guide to the birds of the world. It started out with the 17 volumes of the Handbook of the Birds of the World (1992-2013) which has family and species accounts for all birds. This was followed by the two volumes of the Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World (2014-16). They have now published the third and final stage of this avian odyssey with this current book.
Gulls of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: An Identification Guide
Author:
Peter Adriaens, Mars Muusse, Philippe J. Dubois & Frédéric Jiguet
Publisher: Princeton University Press, Princeton & Oxford
Published: 2021
Although I do not condone it, I (somewhat) understand why non-birdy people often refer to all gulls as ‘seagulls’. Until you get your eye in, some species do look similar to one another. This statement may be controversial, but it is safer to say that even for more experienced birders, gulls can be tricky. This is especially true when identifying juveniles. The authors of Gulls of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: An Identification Guide aimed to tackle this problem by creating an updated resource which allows learners to hone their skills.The result is a beautiful book that will both satisfy and create gull-lovers. Containing 45 species (including some hybrids) from across the ‘wider Western Palearctic’ the book is remarkably comprehensive. Each species is afforded multiple pages, divided by adult, first, second and third cycle forms. This maximises your chances of identifying a bird, no matter when in its life you happen to spot it. Through the use of 1,400 high-quality images, the book provides guidance on how to delve deeper into minutiae of species identification. The labelling focuses on subtle characteristics such as fine-scale plumage detail and eye colour, which may be key indicators when distinguishing between look-alikes. One particularly handy tool is the ‘similar species’ box, which directly compares each species with an illustrated list of similar gulls, thereby helping learners avoid common mistakes.I would not gift this book to a beginner. Its technicality might be unhelpful or intimidating for those just starting out. It is, however, perfect for two groups of people: those who are interested in becoming an expert in bird identification and those who love gulls. The former group will find a book crammed with good advice, while the latter will rejoice to see their favourite birds displayed in such a rich format. Book reviewed by Fionnuala McCully
Author:
Roy Brown, John Ferguson, Michael Lawrence & David Lees
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, London
Published: 2021
I suspect that the vast majority of naturalists and birdwatchers have a few feathers, skulls and general bird detritus somewhere in their possession. These can serve as a souvenir from a trip, a useful reference, or worth having simply to appreciate their beauty or structure. Knowing where these objects come from adds a lot to their meaning. This is where Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe steps in.This is the third edition of this book, with this latest version seeing a large amount of content added compared to the first edition (that I own). The page count has nearly doubled, with each topic receiving expansions, fresh illustrations (19 new colour plates and hundreds of photographs) and new knowledge. Footprints, feathers, pellets, droppings and bones are a few topics covered.The book is approached from the perspective of a field naturalist, with details on how you will find these objects and signs while on a walk, making it particularly useful for how most of us will discover footprints or pellets. Some signs are contrasted with those left by mammals, helping avoid embarrassing mix-ups.Around half of the book is dedicated to feathers and skulls, with the overwhelming majority of species covered, with a range of feathers for each bird. This may be the limit of the book, as there is always a good chance the feather you have found won’t be covered. However, it remains a great jumping-off point for the feather enthusiast. The skulls are wonderfully illustrated, and with a small amount of care, you would likely get to a species-level ID even with very similar species.Those who only birdwatch in the UK may find frustration in the number of pages covering species they are unlikely to encounter, but I took great pleasure in seeing the footprints of a Great White Pelican or Crane replicated in life-size. For those whose shelves are already crammed with field guides of birds, this is a must-own, adding extra depth to the knowledge and enjoyment we get from watching birds and making sure that wing feather on your mantelpiece is properly identified! Book reviewed by Rob Jaques
Ask any birder or naturalist that lives in Norfolk if they know the name Moss Taylor and invariably, they will say "yes", and I suspect the majority will have met him too, and of these many know him as a friend. He is a man, on first meeting, you are unlikely to forget!Moss has been a keen birder since 1953 and a Norfolk resident from 1969 to the present day. He has also been a qualified ringer for over 50 years, only recently surrendering his permit after some of the most pioneering ringing endeavours seen in Norfolk in the 1970s and 80s.He is perhaps best known though through his prolific publishing efforts – some 10 book titles to date not to mention 850 other articles for magazines and newspaper columns. It would be a mistake to think that his latest offering My Birding Life is no more than a birder reminiscing about the past and the good old days! Having said that it is very obvious from his accounts of birding in Norfolk in the 1970s that they were indeed glorious, good old days. The history of Norfolk birding on the North Norfolk coast is rich and extraordinary as illustrated in Moss’s accounts and I defy even the hardest nosed young birder not to be amazed by the birds recorded in that decade but also by the events and personalities involved in establishing what we now take for granted as the mainstream channels for our birding news.What is important in these historic accounts (chapters 4,5 and 6) is that they are now documented for posterity’s sake, rather than lost and forgotten, thanks to Moss’s detective work and his obsessive interest in finding and obtaining historic documents, photographs and artefacts – everything from notebooks from Nancy’s Café (Cley) and Richard Richardson illustrations and paintings to old and rare Norfolk natural history books.Moss is also a much-travelled birder to many parts of the world. His early excursions were to remote parts of North Africa as part of ringing expeditions to study migration, where members, on one expedition, came perilously close to losing their lives due to flash flooding, His later travels were tame and more measured by comparison, either on organised birding tours or as a lecturer on cruise ships. Even if organised tour trips and cruise ships aren’t your thing you will still find these accounts fascinating and full of incidents and humour!Although I have known Moss for nearly 50 years, what I had not appreciated about him is his phenomenal ability to recall detail of a story or event, as witnessed throughout the book. It must surely be a result of extensive note taking (though I have never seen him write a dot of a note when I have been birding with him!), which, if true, must take up more time than his birding! It’s almost as if he decided in his early birding career that "one day I will write a book on My Birding Life!"In the unlikely event that you have never heard of Moss Taylor I guarantee that you will find this a fascinating read.Book reviewed by Jeff Baker
The Gull Next Door: A Portrait of a Misunderstood Bird
Author:
Marianne Taylor
Publisher: Princeton University Press, Princeton
Published: 2020
Early on in The Gull Next Door, author Marianne Taylor declares that she is “not a true, hardcore larophile”. Don’t be deceived though – she clearly knows her stuff about gulls, and her deep affection for these birds is apparent throughout this entertaining and expansive book. The Gull Next Door uses the author’s own experiences as jumping off points to cover everything from gull evolution and physiology to the biodiversity crisis. We begin in Hastings, with the author rescuing rooftop-nesting Herring Gulls in her childhood home. Later on, we find out about the gulls she’s encountered at many other stages of her life. These accounts give the book a deeply personal feel, which is amplified by the author’s own illustrations found throughout the chapters. These really capture the character the species concerned and convey the extent to which the author must have watched and studied each.The book is made up of a prologue, followed by eight chapters. It kicks off with a look at ‘Britain’s Gulls’, where we are given a brief introduction to each of the species that breed in Britain, apart from the Herring Gull. As the author’s favourite gull, this species later has a chapter devoted to it alone. The other chapters mostly consider the relationships between people and gulls, with a look at gulls in global folklore and modern culture, how gulls have been persecuted across the years and the threats they face now, and tips for living alongside them.Although the author is clearly enamoured by gulls, she doesn’t shy away from their less becoming characteristics. However, any unpleasant details are balanced by the comprehensive information she gives on the more redeeming and fascinating aspects of gull behaviour, ecology and physiology, and overall, the author’s love and admiration for gulls is infectious, as is her fear for them. The general style of the book is conversational and humorous. There is the occasional slip in the accuracy of some of the details, but such mistakes are only minor and shouldn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the book or the author’s accomplishment in bringing so much information together in such an appealing way.The book ends with a rallying cry to protect the natural world. The author draws parallels between human attitudes towards gulls and those towards other species that have become locally extinct thanks to their tendency to impinge on human spaces and lifestyles. She suggests that familiarity (with gulls living in urban spaces) can breed admiration, and help keep humans in touch with the natural world on which we depend, giving us cause to protect it. The book’s postscript, written just as the Covid-19 pandemic was taking hold, and heavily referencing the climate crisis, says “we are going to need our wildlife to help get us out of this mess”. As a larophile myself, I hope Marianne Taylor’s book challenges and changes the perceptions of some readers to gulls and other ‘undesirable animals’, and if that is part of a broader shift towards improving the lot of gulls and seabirds in general, then I’d be delighted. Either way, I admire the author’s ambition, and recommend her book.Book reviewed by Viola Ross-Smith
Raptor Prey Remains: A Guide to Identifying What’s Been Eaten by a Bird of Prey
Author:
Ed Drewitt
Publisher: Pelagic Publishing, Exeter
Published: 2020
Upon receiving this book, I showed it to my non-birding partner, who saw the front cover and described it as “traumatic”. This is not a book for the squeamish, as the graphic front cover featuring the final moments of a Starling’s life makes abundantly clear. Rather, this is a book that may appeal to raptor workers or other ecologists as a reference tool in the exciting whodunnit mysteries that prey remains present to those of us with a fascination for such things.Much of this book is made up of close-up images of prey remains, with other images showing raptor hunting and feeding behaviour. Most of the images are clear and show prey remains in situ, though sadly a few of these images are quite poor quality. The book starts with the basics of how to recognise the signs of a bird kill versus a mammal kill, with some brief summaries of the usual situations in which different raptor and owl species leave the remains of their prey. The book then helpfully signposts resources for further research into the identification of prey remains and gives a basic introduction to bird feathers and anatomy. The main part of the book is devoted to the most frequently encountered prey remains by species in taxonomic order, starting with mangled Mallard, right through to ripped-up Reed Buntings. Mammal prey are briefly covered, and I must say I especially enjoyed the images of Goshawk nests laden with the corpses of Grey Squirrels.I took the opportunity to test this guide in the field with my long-suffering partner, by visiting our local Peregrines which frequent the grand steeple of Galashiels’ Old Parish Church, the surrounding grounds of which are littered with bones, feathers and pellets. We very quickly found our first identifiable skull by using the book; that of a long-departed Woodcock (which now has pride of place on our shelves). We had difficulty with some of the more decomposed parts, and though the main focus of the book is about identification using feathers, feet and skulls, a brief description or plate showing major bone types or a skeleton would have added some extra value, especially for beginners. A source of frustration for both of us was the lack of an index, requiring that the taxonomic order be known to quickly find a species by using the contents page. There were several skulls that we suspected were ex-Starlings, but they did not match the images provided in the book, so we collected them to check using the online resources flagged up in the introduction. A Whimbrel feather initially left us stumped as we could not outright say it was from that species using the limited images in the book, but again used other resources mentioned in the text to confirm it later.This book serves as an introduction to raptor prey remains, and I found it useful for making initial guesses at species identification in the field, but in practice I used other, more detailed and clearer books and online resources referenced in the text to confirm the species I found. It is likely to be of limited value to experienced raptor workers but would appeal to enthusiastic beginners, general ecologists and those who are simply interested to learn what the local raptors are feasting on.Book reviewed by Anthony Wetherhill
This is a beautifully illustrated and very enjoyable book by well-known author and naturalist Dominic Couzens. The title says it all - the book goes through a calendar year showcasing 366 (it accounts for a Leap Year) species of birds from all across the world representing a dazzling array of birds from a similar range of habitats.Birds are featured at a relevant time of year - Snowy Owls are discussed in the depths of January, perhaps more familiar species like Great-crested Grebes and their courtship rituals feature in late March, and on the very day the book arrived I opened it to that date to find an account about the Redwing - birds I could see on the holly berries in the garden! I found this mix of the familiar and the exotic a nice touch. It’s always nice to get to know your local bird life a little better but also to think, as I sit looking out at a dark November evening, that on the other side of the world King Penguins are just settling down to breed. There are cultural references galore - the year starts discussing the mythology surrounding Red-crowned Cranes in Japan and approaching the year end the book celebrates that most festive of birds - the European Robin on Christmas Day. The illustrations are eye-catching and a really nice mix of razor sharp photos, beautiful illustrations from centuries-old books, images of nests or eggs, and even some amusing modern day references to ‘Woody Woodpecker’ (Acorn Woodpecker) and of course the Greater Roadrunner (meep meep!). It’s not all whimsical and pleasant though - modern conservation concerns are covered and dealt with, as is Man’s exploitation of birds. Just look to 9th September and the account of Ortolan Bunting. The image used says it all…Species account are short, but for me this adds to the appeal. This is a book you’ll find yourself dipping in and out of, rather than necessarily sitting down and reading. As such it is a perfect book to have close to hand somewhere about the house, so you could grab it and find out about the current day’s bird and almost certainly be drawn into a couple of other accounts. This is a book that will appeal to birders and non-birders alike, and I’ve really enjoyed leafing through it, getting to know a little bit more about birds from sub-Saharan Africa, soaring over high Andean peaks, or lurking in the bottom of the garden. I’m hoping I’ll find this in my stocking on Christmas (or European Robin?) Day.Book reviewed by Steve Willis
The acclaimed Scottish photographer Colin Prior is more usually associated with stunningly evocative panoramic landscapes of his homeland and further afield, but for his latest project the artist has returned to one of his first loves, birds; a passion nurtured while growing up on the edge of a Glasgow suburb. Like many however, Colin is acutely aware of the staggering decline of many species and the loss of the habitats they depend upon. Fragile is both inspired by and acts as a metaphor highlighting such demise.Fragile presents exquisite images of the eggs of a diverse range of bird species found throughout Scotland, paired with carefully chosen photographs of the landscapes in which they may be found. With incredibly detailed photographs of mostly a single egg for each species, prominently displayed on a white page uncluttered with extensive text, opposite the earthy hues of the Scottish landscape, the result really is eye-catching and quite unique.As a work of art Fragile represents a meticulous labour of love, with Colin’s passion for the natural world clearly evidenced in the colours of the landscapes, captured at just the right time of year to perfectly complement the markings of the eggs themselves. The maroon speckling overlaying the pale blue of a Bullfinch egg for example, pleasingly matches the purple and silver hues of winter birch and ash trees on the hillside of Glen Shira, Inveraray. Amazingly, every egg photograph is a focus stack of between 40 and 80 individual shots, combined using specialist software to produce images that are breathtakingly sharp throughout. The diptychs of eggs and their landscapes are organised into chapters according to habitat, ranging from mountain to rocky coast.For most, it is likely that Fragile would be considered a 'coffee table' book, making a worthy addition to any collection; yet this beautifully presented work is, in many ways, so much more than that. Instead, Fragile not only documents a remarkable project ten years in the making, but also that of the delicate connections between the implicitly fragile eggs featured therein, the vulnerability of so many of our bird populations, and the threatened habitats within which they are found.These connections are ably examined in an introductory essay by Professor Des Thompson, principal advisor on Science and Biodiversity with NatureScot, in which he considers the fascinating form and vital function of birds’ eggs, the rapidly changing landscapes that our birds inhabit, and the damage that humanity has caused to those environments as evidenced through eggs themselves.The eggs photographed for the book are sourced from the collection held by National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh and the scientific value of such collections is discussed by Bob McGowan, a Senior Curator in the Department of Natural Sciences. He sensitively reviews the history of egg collecting and the unquestionable ethics outlawing what was once a legitimate pursuit in the UK. This narrative is framed by the opportunity museum collections provide for conservation research, most notably that describing the precipitous decline of raptor populations resulting from widespread organochlorine pesticide use in agriculture during the previous century.Fragile is first and foremost a book of photography, and devotees of Colin’s Scottish landscapes will not be disappointed. On the other hand, readers hoping to gain further insight into the nesting ecology of the included species will find themselves left wanting. The essays are insightful, and along with Colin’s account of his lifelong inspiration for the project and the creative process, add the necessary scientific context to the work.Sadly, there are one or two issues with the book, not least of which is the thickness of the paper stock used throughout, the lack of any FSC certification, and the printing outsourced to China; this disappoints and grates slightly with the intended environmental message. Concerning the contents, it would perhaps have been useful to have included, for each egg, an indication of their life-size, perhaps by including a scale bar below the caption; and whilst the duplication of some species within the same habitat chapter may serve to highlight the bewildering variety of colouration and marking, this comes at the expense of excluding others.Book reviewed by Justin Walker
The Kestrel: Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation of an Open-land Predator
Author:
David Costantini & Giacomo Dell'Omo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Published: 2020
The Kestrel is probably not a book for those with a passing interest in kestrels, but would be a useful addition to the library of anyone who has a keen research interest in this widespread but declining falcon. The book, published by Cambridge University Press, looks at some of the not-inconsiderable volume of research that has been published on kestrels over the past 30 years in particular, since the publication of the Poyser monograph of the same title by Andrew Village in 1990. It focusses on aspects of the ecology, behaviour, and biology of kestrels but also explores the latest research on movement and conservation. I should say too that this book does not aim to be a complete update to Village’s Monograph, which it definitely isn’t, but more of a companion piece focussing on synthesising updates on specific aspect of kestrel research. Focussing primarily on the Common Kestrel, the book also provides insights into some of the other kestrel species currently recognised, comparing and contrasting research findings, although the coverage of these other species is uneven with most reference made to the American Kestrel and Lesser Kestrel.The book itself contains a good number of maps, photographs, graphs and tables; these are all in black and white, although a small number are replicated in colour plates. The distribution maps were very difficult to read due to colour choices but that’s a small criticism. Each of the 10 chapters provides a short introduction to the subjects covered and then summarises the main findings and gaps in knowledge at the end. Chapter contents include evolution, feeding ecology, habitat use, breeding ecology, physiology, immunology, toxicology, movement ecology, conservation and population dynamics.The scope of the book can mean it is sometimes challenging to pull out information most relevant to kestrels in the UK (if that’s your interest!) as although most of the research comes from Europe, there can be large variations in the ecology of kestrels in southern Europe and those in the north or north-west, let alone in the rest of the Common Kestrels range... I don’t think this is a failing necessarily, as in a book of this length it is probably inevitable when synthesising research across so many different ecological regions, but it may be worth noting. The authors also acknowledge that many of the studies only cover quite discreet areas, but hope that the results from these studies might stimulate others to conduct similar studies in other parts of the Common Kestrel's range. If I had to find fault it would be that at times I would get to the end of a section or chapter and feel like the main conclusion was that there was no conclusion and that more work needed to be done. This is the reality of research, but I think more in the way of a discussion on some of the findings would have made some sections more absorbing.Overall this would seem like a expansive summary of published kestrel research bringing us right up to date. It might not be the most accessible book on kestrels out there, but this is not its purpose. The book does a commendable job of synthesising the latest information and providing plenty of references to follow up on if more detail is required. It should prove useful in helping identify research topics for any budding researchers out there or for anyone with a deep interest in these fantastic birds.Book reviewed by Peadar O’Connell
