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Handbooks and Guides for Great Britain and Europe:

1900 to 1949

The guides and handbooks on this page were published between 1900 and 1949 and cover the birds of Great Britain and often the wider European or Western Palearctic region. The most recent books are at the top of the page.



British bird handbooks/guides have been split over a number of pages by publication year as follows:

- h/books & guides: 2000-2013
- h/books & guides: 1950-1999
- h/books & guides: 1900-1949
- h/books & guides: 1850-1899
- h/books & guides: 1800-1849
- h/books & guides: 1700-1799

 

British Birds In Their Haunts

Rev C.A. Johns

Editor: W. B. Alexander

Illustrations: William Foster, Roland Green

Routledge & Kegan Paul

25th edition

1948

A revised edition of a work first published in 1862. Includes colour plates by Foster and black and white plates by Green.

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Bird Recognition, Volume 1: Seabirds And Waders

James Fisher

Pelican Books

1947

(Revised edition: 1954)

192 pages with 86 black and white illustrations, 77 maps and 72 charts.

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Our Bird Book

Sidney Rogerson & Charles F. Tunnicliffe

Collins

1947

128 pages with 32 colour plates and many black and white illustrations.

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British Sea Birds

C.A. Gibson-Hill

Witherby

1947

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The Observer's Book Of British Birds

S. Vere Benson

Frederick Warne and Co

1946

Describes 226 species with 200 colour and black and white illustrations. The number of species was increased in 236 in 1952.

The firecrest cover was used, with minor variations, between 1946 and, probably, 1955.

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Garden Birds

Phyllis Barclay-Smith

King Penguin 19

1945

Illustrated with colour plates after John Gould's Birds Of Great Britain.

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Uncle Dan's Bird Bbook

Helen Calcraft

Illustrations: C.F. Tunnicliffe, F. C. Holleyman and W. Sawyer

Harper

1944?

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British Birds on Lake, River & Stream

Phyllis Barclay-Smith

King Penguin 1

1939

Illustrated with colour plates after John Gould's Birds Of Great Britain.

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The Handbook Of British Birds

H.F. Witherby, Rev. F.C.R. Jourdain, Norman F. Ticehurst, and Bernard W. Tucker

Illustrations: M.A.Koekkock, R. Green, H. Grönvold, G.E. Lodge, P. Rickman, P. Scott

H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd

1938-1941

Published in 5 volumes:

  • Volume One: Crows to Flycatchers
  • Volume Two: Warblers to Owls
  • Volume Three: Hawks to Ducks
  • Volume Four: Cormorants to Cranes
  • Volume Five: Terns to Game-Birds
"The Handbook" is a much expanded and revised version of the Practical Handbook Of British Birds which was published between 1919 and 1924.

A number of editions of this five volume set were subsequently published. A concise edition The Popular Handbook Of British Birds was first published in 1952.

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The Observer's Book Of British Birds

S. Vere Benson

Frederick Warne and Co

1938

Describes 226 species with 100 colour illustrations and 100 black and white illustrations.

The song thrush cover was used, with minor variations, between 1938 and 1945.

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The Observer's Book Of British Birds

S. Vere Benson

Frederick Warne and Co

1937

Describes 226 species with 100 colour illustrations and 100 black and white illustrations.

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A Book of Birds

Mary Priestley

Illustrations: C.F. Tunnicliffe

Gollancz

1937

With 82 wood engravings by Tunnicliffe.

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Gollancz 1937

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British Birds

Wilfred Willett

Illustrations: Roland Green

The Ruskin Studio: 1937

Ward, Lock & Co: 1950s?

A set of 12 booklet. Uncertain about publishing history. Each booklet is approximately 20 pages with four colour plates and line drawings. The booklets are:

  • British Birds No. 1: Thrushes and Blackbirds
  • British Birds No. 2: The Titmice
  • British Birds No. 3: Meadow Birds
  • British Birds No. 4: Hedgerow Birds
  • British Birds No. 5: Water Birds
  • British Birds No. 6: Shore Birds
  • British Birds No. 7: Homestead Birds
  • British Birds No. 8: Woodland Birds
  • British Birds No. 9: Finches
  • British Birds No. 10: Flycatchers
  • British Birds No. 11: Marsh Birds
  • British Birds No. 12: Small Wading Birds
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Ruskin Studio No. 6

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Ward Lock No. 3

Name This Bird

Eric Fitch Daglish

J.M. Dent & Son

1934

64 colour plates. 2nd edition published in 1950.

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British Birds

F.B. Kirkman and F.C.R. Jourdain

Illustrations: A.W. Seaby, W. Austen, G.E. Lodge and possibly others

T C & E. C. Jack

1930

A concise edition of a multi-volume work published earlier in the century and including some of the same plates.

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A Bird Book For The Pocket

Edmund Sandars

Oxford University Press

1927

246 pages with some colour plates. Subsequently reprinted a number of times.

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The Birds Of The British Isles And Their Eggs

Third series: Migration And Habits, With Observations On Our Rarer Visitants

T.A. Coward

Frederick Warne & Co

1926

This is the third of three volumes. The original two volumes were published in 1919 and 1920. New editions of set of three were subsequently published on a number of occasions.

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The British Bird Book

Rev Canon Theodore Wood and W.P. Pycraft

Illustrations: Roland Green

A. & C. Black

1921

30 tipped in colour plates and many black & white illustrations.

Preface: "My object in the following pages is merely to give a very brief account of some of those birds which are useful, or the reverse, to farmers and gardeners. It is seldom possible, of course, to give an exact estimate of their value. In many cases they are useful in some ways, but mischievous in others. But it must be remembered that while the damage which they do is generally evident enough, their services are very easily overlooked. It should also be noted that, while a gooseberry stolen or a grain of com devoured is a gooseberry or a grain of com lost, and no more, an insect devoured would probably have been the progenitor of a very large number of gmbs or caterpillars. Not more than two or three of our birds are wholly injurious; many are entirely beneficial. And most of the remainder, if not neutral, do a great deal more good than harm."

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Birds One Should Know

Rev Canon Theodore Wood

Illustrations: Roland Green

Gay & Hancock

1921

A popular edition was published in 1925.

Includes 8 colour plates and 16 black and white plates by Roland Green.

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The Practical Handbook Of British Birds

Editor: H.F. Witherby

Authors include: E. Hartert, Annie C. Jackson, Rev. F.C.R. Jourdain, C. Oldham, Norman F. Ticehurst, and the editor

Witherby & Co

1920-1924

Originally published in 18 instalments which were then published in 2 volumes:

Preface to Volume 1: "That this volume has been completed in a shorter time than was considered probable when we commenced publication will, we believe, be appreciated by our readers. In order to avoid the inconvenience of having to consult two lists of addenda and corrigenda it has been thought best to leave these over until the end of the work, when a complete list will be given. We gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity to thank all those who have given us assistance, which shall be more particularized when our task is finished, and to state that we should greatly welcome criticisms and information which would lead to greater accuracy and completeness in the detail of the work."

The Handbook Of British Birds published between 1938 and 1941 is a greatly enlarged and revised version of this Practical Handbook.

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The Birds Of The British Isles And Their Eggs

Second series: Anatidae to Tetraonidae

T.A. Coward

213 coloured illustrations by Archibald Thorburn and others reproduced from Lord Lilford's Coloured Figures Of The Birds Of The British Islands

69 photographs by E.L. Turner, R. Kearton and others

Frederick Warne & Co

1920

This is the first of two volumes published in 1919/1920. A third volume was added in 1926.

From the preface:

The reception of the previous series justifies the continuation of a work which provides accurate coloured figures of all but the very rare birds; the ornithological draughtsmanship of Archibald Thorburn, by whom most of the pictures were drawn, speaks for itself. In a book of this size it is not possible to figure a sufficient number of eggs to represent the great range of variation, but a type of egg of most birds which nest in Britain has been included, drawn to average size; in the present series white or very light self coloured eggs have been omitted, size being stated in the text. To figure all variations of eggs of certain species would fill every plate and still the range would be incomplete; the book is not intended solely for the egg collector. All birds on the British list are dealt with in this and the previous series, but more space has intentionally been devoted to those which are likely to be met with than to rare stragglers and lost wanderers whose accidental occurrence on our shores entitles them to a place as birds which have occurred in Britain rather than as British birds. The list of reputed species might be swelled by the inclusion of many erroneous records; it is far too long as it is. Classification and nomenclature are, in the main, as in the B.O,U. List of 1915, but after consideration the Committee engaged upon revision has decided to adhere to the International rules, and a few alterations appear in the present volume. I have, moreover, slightly deviated from the list, including some species and excluding others, stating my reason for this change.
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The Birds Of The British Isles And Their Eggs

First series: Corvidae to Sulidae

T.A. Coward

242 coloured illustrations by Archibald Thorburn and others reproduced from Lord Lilford's Coloured Figures Of The Birds Of The British Islands

65 photographs by Richard Kearton and others

Frederick Warne & Co

1919

This is the first of two volumes published in 1919/1920. A third volume was added in 1926.

From the preface:

The task of producing and condensing a history of British birds leads to two discoveries - first that the writer is ignorant about certain facts, and secondly, that when the information is sought elsewhere it is often not to be found, or the 'doctors disagree.' Indeed, there is still a wide field open for workers on the habits, plumages and domestic economy of versatile birds. It is my hope that these pages will help and guide those who are interested in birds but have not taken up ornithology as a systematic study. Space forbids full details of plumage, structure and habits ; fuller descriptions must be sought in longer treatises, perhaps the most up-to-date of which is the 'Practical Handbook of British Birds' edited by H. F. Witherby. Further particulars of distribution may be found in the 'Hand-List,' in which Mr. Witherby was assisted by the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain and Drs. E. Hartert and N. F. Ticehurst. Much useful information on habits is to be found in the 'British Bird-Book,' edited by F. B. Kirkman, in the standard works of Dresser, Macgillivray, Newton, Saunders, Seebohm, Sharpe and Yarrell, and in the pages of the Zoologist and the magazine British Birds. As, however, conflicting statements repeatedly appear in these works, it is necessary for the student to make copious notes of his observations and check the statements, whenever possible, by personal experience. To all the living ornithologists quoted and to the past masters of the study I am grateful. My main sources of information, however, are my own experiences and note-books, carefully kept and indexed for nearly forty years, and constant close observation of British bird life.
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Common British Birds: How To Identify Them

R.H. Wilfrid Hodges

Epworth Press

Third edition

1919

64 pages with 100, 2 colour and 12 black and white, full page plates.

From the introduction:

An attempt has been made in the following pages to provide a simple guide to the identification of some of the more common inland British Birds. The aim has been to place as clearly as possible before the reader just those features of size, plumage, note, &c., which will enable him to distinguish the different species of our common birds when seen in their wild state in the fields and woods. The size being probably the first feature to be observed, a list will be found following this Note of the species grouped under different sizes as compared with four well-known common birds, viz. the Sparrow, Blackbird, Pigeon, and Rook. A brief note is appended of some striking peculiarity of each species, and initial letters .showing whether a resident or a summer or winter visitor to the British Isles. The same plan of stating the size as compared with, one or other of the four standards is followed in the account of each species, as being preferable to giving the length in inches in a work intended mainly for reference in the field. I should recommend all bird-lovers to obtain if possible a pair of field-glasses, as these, even if only moderate in power, will prove of the greatest service.
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The Birds Of The Britain: Their Distribution And Habits

A.H. Evans

University Press, Cambridge

1916

Aproximately 100 pages with black and white photographic plates.

From the preface:

It is hoped that this little work, though primarily intended for schools, may be found useful by those who require a short hand-book which includes the results of recent observations, and is adapted to modern nomenclature.
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British Birds

Archibald Thorburn

Longmans, Green & Co

1915-1918

Four volumes with 80 colour plates representing around 400 species.

From the preface: "This work has been designed mainly with the purpose of providing, as far as I have been able, sketches in colour from life of our British birds, including not only the resident species but also in most cases those which have more or less regularly or even rarely visited us from abroad. Having for many years past been making studies from life with this object in view, the present seemed a fitting time for carrying out the project, and where it was not possible to obtain living birds for the drawings, I have filled in the gaps from the best preserved specimens I could procure. I have endeavoured, where space permitted, to represent as many species as possible of the same family, on the same plate, and drawn to the same scale. This not only enables me to make the volumes of a convenient size but also gives the reader an opportunity of comparing the various proportions and divergence of colour in closely related birds. Being more familiar with the brush than with the pen, it was at first my intention that this book should be simply a sketch-book of British Birds, practically without letterpress; but as the work proceeded, I was induced to write a short description of each of the various species represented, giving rough notes, as far as possible, of the distribution, nest and eggs, food, song, and habits of the different birds. This letterpress is admittedly and of necessity largely a compilation; for at the present day it is not easy to supply much original matter, and I have inserted, in addition to that which has already appeared in print, such notes as I have been able to add from my own observations and those of my friends. For full and more scientific accounts of the birds included in this book, I would refer my readers to some of the standard literature on the subject, which has been freely used by me in preparing the letterpress - viz. the fourth edition of Yarrell's British Birds; Macgillivray's British Birds; Lord Lilford's Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands, and his Birds of Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood; Mr. Dresser's Birds of Europe, and his Manual of Palcsarctic Birds; Mr. J. G. Millais' The Natural History of British Surface-feeding Ducks; British Diving Ducks; and The Natural History of British Game Birds; Howard Saunders' Manual of British Birds (2nd edition); Seebohm's British Birds; also A Hand-list of British Birds, by Hartert, Jourdain, Ticehurst, and Witherby; Witherby's British Birds, and others. The task, otherwise so difficult, of noting the occurrence of rare stragglers, has been made much easier by the accurate records of rare visitants in the two last mentioned works."

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A List Of British Birds

Compiled by a committee of the British Ornithogists' Union

Second and revised edition

British Ornithogists' Union

William Wesley & Son

1915

420 page annotated list of British birds. This publication is a revised version of the first edition published in 1883. This second edition describes 475 species which are classified in 7 groups: residents; summer visitors; winter visitors; birds of passage; occasional visitors; rare visitors; and extinct.

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Field Studies Of Some Rarer British Birds

John Walpole-Bond

Witherby & Co

1914

303 pages with no illustrations. The chapters are: Dartford Warblers; The Pied Flycatcher; Sussex Crossbills; Cirl Buntings in Sussex; Choughs; Ravens; Concerning the Wood-Lark; The " Woodcock "Owl; Hen-Harriers; The Once-Common Buzzard; In the Highland Haunts of Eagles; Irish Golden Eagles; The Once-Common Red Kite; Peregrine Falcons; The Habits of the Hobby; The Merlin on the Moors; The Haunts of the Gadwall; The Habits of the Black Guillemot.

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British Birds: Descriptions of all the commoner species, their nests and eggs

F.B. Kirkman

Illustrations: A.W. Seaby

T.C. & E.C. Jack, London

1913

94 pages with with a black and white illustration for most of the species described.

From the preface:

THE object of this book is to make as easy as limits of space permit the recognition of all the British species, their nests and eggs, except the rarest, The descriptions have been written with an eye to the requirements of the non-specialist observer, and, if the instructions on p. viii are followed, they should prove adequate for practical purposes. Descriptions of the female bird and of the young are given only when these differ markedly from the adult male. Likewise seasonal changes of plumage are ignored unless marked enough to make a description necessary for identification. The descriptions and measurements of eggs follow for the most part those of the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain in the British Bird Book. Complete descriptions of nests have yet to be written, the range of material used by particular species being much greater than the standard works would lead one to suppose. The descriptions here given will, however, suffice for purposes of identification..
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The Ready Guide To British Birds

B.A. Carter

Sidgwick & Jackson

1912

118 pages with no illustrations. The main part of the book comprises look-up tables.

From the preface:

As the result of long experience the author has come to the conclusion that there is a need for a guide to British Birds at once more simple and more ready than any yet published. After various experiments the plan adopted in this book was decided upon, viz. first to arrange the descriptions so that in the case of each bird the same characteristics (colour, flight, haunts, &c.) always follow one another in the same order ; and then to divide the descriptions into vertical columns, so that the observer can, by looking down any one column, run through the different descriptions of any particular feature until he comes to one which corresponds to what he has observed. In practice, therefore, the book has two uses. In the first place it presents in a compact and orderly form a brief description of each bird, by means of which the inquirer can readily ascertain what features to look for when endeavouring to see any particular species. In the second place and this is the special feature of the book an observer who has seen a bird he does not know has only to make a mental note of its most pronounced characteristic (e.g. a black cap), and then to look down the corresponding vertical column of the guide (in this instance column Colour head) until he comes to a bird which possesses such a feature. If then, by reading horizontally, he finds that the descriptions of the other characteristics of the bird in question its upper parts, movements, haunts, &c. also agree with his observations, his search is ended ; if they do not, it must be carried a little further. To meet cases of general resemblance, there is a column giving distinguishing features..
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A Hand-List Of British Birds: with an account of the distribution of each species in the British Isles and abroad

Ernst Hartert, F.C.R. Jourdain, N.F. Ticehurst and H.F. Witherby

Witherby & Co

1912

220 pages with no illustrations.

From the introduction:

In preparing this Hand-list our chief aims have been (1) to give an up-to-date and useful account of the distribution at home and abroad of all those birds which in our opinion are entitled to a place on the British list, and (2) to give each bird its correct scientific name in conformity with the Rules of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.
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British Nesting Birds: A Complete Record Of Every Species Which Nests In The British Isles

W. Percival Westell

Illustrations: A.W. Seaby

T.C. & E.C. Jack, London

1910

130 pages with 8 colour and 70 black and white illustrations.

From the preface:

The great interest taken in birds to-day, and the many inquiries which have reached me for a cheap, popular, and handy British Bird book, has resulted in the preparation of this little volume. At best, the short account of each species is limited, but it is hoped that nevertheless many points will be found of interest and service to the student of our wild birds, and it is my fervent wish that many young people especially will be encouraged to observe the feathered population around us as a result of the publication of this book. I find there are many people interested in birds who rarely have an opportunity or the necessary knowledge or enthusiasm for studying them. On occasions, however, they do observe birds whose names they would like to know, and of whose life and habits they are desirous of acquiring some information. Primarily it is for these, and young people generally, that this book has been prepared. It will be found quite simple and understandable. Long scientific words have been omitted whenever possible, and when they have of necessity been used, they are included in a Glossary given on page 15, where their meaning is made clear. Every species of wild bird at present known to nest in our country has been accorded a place, and whilst it affords satisfaction to be able to include the Little Owl, and to note the increase in a number of our smaller birds, such as the Goldfinch, Lesser Whitethroat, and others, there are several species included which are on the verge of extinction as British Nesting Birds, and need immediate protection. Any book on birds, worthy of the name, should prove most valuable as a work of reference. This it is hoped will be accomplished by the present volume, but it should be emphasised that the keenest and best enjoyment to be derived from birds, and the best way to study them, is having personal contact with them. This having been achieved, intelligent observation is bound to follow, and this in itself is sure to prove of inestimable value to those species which are threatened with extinction unless efforts are at once made to save them.
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The British Bird Book: A Complete Work On The Birds, Nests And Eggs Of Great Britain

Editor: F.B. Kirkman

Authors: J. L. Bonhote, William Farren, F. B. Kirkman, W. P. Pycraft, Edmund Selous, A. Landsborough Thomson, Emma L. Turner

Illustrations: Winifred Austen, G. E. Collins, G. E. Lodge, H. Grönvold, A. W. Seaby

Photographs: F. E. Daniel, W. Farren, Riley Fortune, C. J. King, Seton P. Gordon, Charles Reid, E. L. Turner, the Editor and other

T.C. & E.C. Jack

1910

Published in four volumes, each of which was divided into three sections. Includes 200 colour plates and many black and white photographs.

From the preface:

One result of the growing interest taken during recent years in the study of ornithology is a considerable addition to our knowledge of the habits of British Birds. As no important comprehensive British work on the subject has appeared since the well-known Histories of Yarrell (revised and partly rewritten by Newton and Saunders, 1871-85) and Seebohm (1883-85), this knowledge remains inaccessible to those of us who are not prepared to search through a large and scattered literature, periodical and other. The sources of information available, moreover, before the above Histories appeared, have yet to be exhausted. Superior to both of them, in its account of a number of our species, is the monumental German work of the Naumanns, father and son, a new edition of which, revised by several prominent European ornithologists under the editorship of Dr. Carl Hennicke, was issued in 1897-1905 under the title of the Naturgeschichte der Vogel Mitteleuropas. But this edition, while giving very complete treatment to the description and distribution of most of the species, still leaves unrecorded many of the observations on their habits that have been made in our own and other countries. There is, therefore, place for a work that will bring together from every source, foreign and native, all the available information of any importance concerning the habits of British Birds. To do this, and to do it in a form interesting alike to the student of animal life and the general reader, is the chief object of the present undertaking.
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Britain's Birds And Their Nests

A. Landsborough Thomson

Illustrations: George Rankin

W. & R. Chambers Limited

1910

334 pages with 130 full page, colour illustrations of species.

From the preface:

The main reason for the publication of this book is Mr Rankin's magnificent series of 130 coloured plates of British-nesting birds. The series includes nearly all the species which nest in the British Isles in appreciable numbers, and a few rarer birds of special interest. No rigid rule has been followed in the selection, and the reasons for inclusion or exclusion vary from case to case. Where numerical importance was not a decisive factor, the question was usually determined by the presence or absence of points of special interest. Somewhat uncommon birds are thus often excluded because near relatives more frequently met with have already found places, while much rarer species are included because they are the sole representatives of their respective groups. Each plate shows the adult male in full plumage. Important differences in this respect between the sexes are briefly indicated in the text; if very marked, the female is also shown in the plate. The characteristic variations in plumage caused by age and change of season are also referred to. In addition to the bird, the nest is portrayed; if it is of such a nature that the eggs are not visible in situ, an egg, drawn on the same scale, is given as an inset. As nestlings could not be shown as well as eggs, two special plates have been added to make good the deficiency (see pp. 89, 225). Convenience has in several cases necessitated the portrayal of birds under somewhat unusual circumstances; the most important cases are those of the various Ducks, where the male is shown beside the nest (see p. 134).
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Birds of the Country Side: A Handbook Of British Birds

Frank Finn

Hutchinson

2nd edition

1910

190 pages.

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British Birds & Their Eggs : With A New Method Of Identification

J. Maclair Boraston

W. & R. Chambers

1909

300 pages with 136, colour illustrations.

From the preface:

This book has been written with the exclusively practical object of enabling persons unacquainted with British birds to identify them by their most obvious characteristics. Handbooks hitherto designed for tins purpose have, by classifying the birds according to genera and species, or by arranging them merely in alphabetical order, failed to meet this need. For it is obvious that a beginner who wishes to identify a bird he has observed for the first time, and therefore one of which he does not know the name, cannot turn up the description of it by the aid of an alphabetical list. Nor can he be expected to know where to turn to find it in a book Wherein birds are grouped according to generic distinctions, about which as yet he knows nothing ! The observations of beginners relate to broad distinctions of colour and markings, then to peculiarities in the gestures and notes of birds, and so on, and it is only by seeking to see birds with the eye of a beginner that one can assist him to the knowledge of what he does not know, as a natural development from what he himself may observe with no other equipment than his own eyes. Any other method involves an attempt to explain the unknown by what is equally unknown. The grouping of birds under such headings as 'Black-and-White Birds,' 'Ruddy-Breasted Birds,' 'Trunk-Climbing Birds,' &c., as are here used, has the obvious merit of presenting birds to the beginner as he himself sees them. When, as in the case of the Bullfinch, a bird might be sought under two headings - in this case 'Black-Capped Birds' and 'Ruddy-Breasted Birds' - cross-references direct the student to that group in which it has been deemed best that the description of it should appear..
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English Bird Life

H. Knight Horsfield

Photographs: T.A. Metcalfe and others

Everett & Co

1908

406 pages with over 100 black and white photographs.

From the authors note:

In these pages I have tried to picture something of the Bird Life in England today. At times I have followed the travellers far afield: to the Scottish Highlands, to Norway, and even to the tundras of Siberia. But my chief aim has been to show in their haunts and homes: in the woodlands, fields and moorlands: by river, lake and sea, something of the life of the birds of our own country: the birds in England now.
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Birds Of Britain

J. Lewis Bonhote

Illustrations selected by H.E. Dresser from his "Birds Of Europe"

Illustrations by J.G. Keulemans, Joseph Wolf, E. Neale, and others

Adam and Charles Black

1907

400 pages with 100, many full page, colour illustrations.

Preface:

The study of Nature has of late years enormously increased, and there is probably no branch of its varied and inexhaustible interests which appeals more strongly to young and old than the fascinating study of Birds. Everyone feels more or less interested in Birds, whether it be from pure affection for the Robins and Tits which beg our hospitality during the winter months, or joy at the coming of the Swallow and Cuckoo as heralds of spring. For some the interest is perhaps merely a passing regret at the shooting of one of our rare and beautiful migrants, while with others the real love of bird life makes it a moment of intensest pleasure when, for instance, the melodious note of the Nightingale makes us dimly realise something of the innate beauty of Nature herself. In the following pages will be found not only descriptions and plates of the birds themselves, but, wherever possible, notes on their ways and habits have also been given. These notes having been taken at first hand straight from Nature, it is hoped that they may give a small insight Birds of Britain into some of those beautiful mysteries which it is our ambition to unravel, and that, at the same time, they may awaken and stimulate a further desire to know still more of the workings of the great laws of the Universe and the part they play in the lives of even the least of the feathered creatures. It has been thought best to include in this book every species which has been known to occur in Great Britain, with a description of their leading characteristics and true habitat, so that any bird met with may be easily identified ; and the plates have been carefully selected so as to give examples of the most typical species. For facts relative to geographical distribution and other technical details the author has freely consulted Mr. Howard Saunders' Manual of British Birds. In conclusion, the author hopes most sincerely that this book may^ often prove to be of help and service to the genuine seeker after reliable information on British Birds, and also that it may encourage observation and further research in a branch of Natural History where discovery ever stimulates to fresh discovery and where interest never fails.
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Birds Of Great Britain And Ireland: Order Passeres

Volume I

Arthur G. Butler

Illustrations: H. Grönvold and F.W. Frohawk

Brumby & Clarke Limited

1907

Published in two volumes

From the introduction:

This group of Birds has always been a favourite with me, as with most students of the feathered race. I have taken and preserved both nests and eggs of most of the British species, and have studied the habits of many of them in captivity, as well as in a wild state. The Order Passeres (following the classification adopted by Howard Saunders in his admirable Illustrated Manual) includes seventeen families, the members of which are mostly suitable for aviary or cage-life; of these the Turdida (Thrush-like birds), the Fringillida (Finches), and Alaudidce (Lark-like birds) find favour with the larger number of Aviculturists."
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Birds Of Great Britain And Ireland: Order Passeres

Volume II

Arthur G. Butler

Illustrations: H. Grönvold and F.W. Frohawk

Brumby & Clarke Limited

1907

Published in two volumes

Opening lines:

FAMILY ORIOLIDAE. This family consists of a tropical group of brightly coloured birds in which yellow and black, or scarlet and black, are the prevailing hues. Although in the general form of their heads they somewhat remind one of Starlings, they must not be confounded with the so-called "Orioles" of the New World, which belong to the family Icteridae or Hang-nests and Troupials, a group of birds linking the Finches and the Starlings, and feeding largely upon seeds and insects. The late Henry Seebohm was of opinion that the Orioles were nearly related to the Crows; he, therefore, placed the genus Oriolus in his Subfamily Corvinae, from which he said that they chiefly differed in their exposed nostrils, although he admitted that the tarsus might perhaps be slightly shorter, and the prevailing colours different; whilst the sexes also were dissimilar."
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The Aquatic Birds Of Great Britain And Ireland

Charles J. Patten

Illustrations: G.E. Lodge and others

R.H. Porter

1907

From the preface:

The present volume deals with that large class of birds which, owing to the difficulty of approach occasioned by their aquatic habits, are in many ways not familiar. Field-work on the Irish coast, carried out during more than twenty years, has been supplemented more recently by investigations into the avifauna of many other districts of the British sea-board, thus enabling descriptions from personal observation to be given of many aspects of bird-life upon which much information is still wanting. To make the accounts given as complete as possible, those sources have been gleaned from which are believed to be trustworthy, and the valuable works and papers of Barrington, Buckley, Evans, Eagle Clarke, Gray, Gurney, Harting, Harvie-Brown, Newton, Salvin, Saunders, Seebohm, Stevenson, Ussher, and Warren, and of many other writers whose names appear in the text, have been laid under contribution. In the case of nearly every bird reference has been made to coloured figures in standard works. Descriptive Characters have been given under a separate paragraph; the headings Flight, Voice, Food, Nest, and Geographical Distribution, have been italicised to facilitate reference; while at the end of each- article Allied Species and Repre- sentative Forms are mentioned. The eggs of most species are described with the nests and surroundings; in articles dealing with very rare birds, where the habits are not described and only the occurrences recorded, the colour and number of eggs in the clutch are mentioned under Descriptive Characters. In all cases the size is given under Average Measurements.
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Birds of the Country Side: A Handbook Of British Birds

Frank Finn

Hutchinson

1907

With colour and b/w plates.

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The Birds Of The British Isles

Volumes I - V

Charles Stonham

Illustrations: Lilian Medland

E. Grant Richards

1906-1911

Originally published in 20 parts then collected in five volumes which were published between 1906 and 1911. The species accounts cover description, characteristics, habits and etymology.

The work includes 318 monochrome photogravure plates of drawings by Lilian Medland.

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A Pocket-Book Of British Birds

E.F.M. Elms

West, Newman & Co

1906

150 pages with no illustrations.

From the preface:

As introductory to this little book, I think it is desirable that its object should, in the first place, be explained. It is intended solely for the purposes of reference in the field, and has been very carefully compiled by the combined aid of well known ornithological works, coupled with practical observations and notes made by myself from time to time in various parts of the British Isles. The book is of small size, and should be carried in the pocket where it would always be handy.
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Bird Life Glimpses

Edmund Selous

12 heading and 6 full page illustrations by G.E. Lodge

George Allen

1905

From the preface: "In the autumn of 1899 I came to live at Icklingham in Suffolk, and remained there, with occasional intervals of absence, for the next three years. During the greater part of that period I kept a day-to-day journal of field observation and reflection, and the following pages represent, for the most part, a portion of this. They are the work of one who professes nothing except to have used his eyes and ears to the best of his ability, and to give only, both in regard to fact and theory, the result of this method combined, of course, in the latter case, with such illustrations and fortifications as his reading may have allowed him to make use of, and without taking into account some passing reference or allusion. That my notes relate almost entirely to birds, is not because I am less interested in other animals, but because, with the exception of rabbits, there are, practically, no wild quadrupeds in England. I am quite aware that a list can be made out, but let any one sit for a morning or afternoon in a wood, field, marsh, swamp, or pond, and he will then understand what I mean. In fact, to be a field naturalist in England, is to be a field ornithologist, and more often than not I speak from experience a waster of one's time altogether. Unless you are prepared to be always unnaturally interested in the commonest matters, and not ashamed to pass as a genius by a never-ending barren allusion to them, be assured that you will often feel immensely dissatisfied with the way in which you have spent your day. Many a weary wandering, many an hour's waiting and waiting to see, and seeing nothing, will be yours if you aim at more than this and to read a book is fatal. But there is the per contra, and what that is I know very well. Of a few such per contras they were to me, and I can only hope that some may be so to the reader these Bird Life Glimpses are made up."

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The Bird Book

A.J.R. Roberts

John Lane, The Bodley Head

1903

140 pages with 23 black and white photographs.

From the preface:

THE fact that this little volume is one of a series of practical country hand-books proclaims its object. Its endeavour is to enable the reader to recognise some of the common birds of the country-side, and if it succeeds in this, it will have achieved much. Knowledge of a few species is sure to kindle a love of birdkind, and after that a more extensive knowledge is but a question of time. The writer would rather direct the reader from the book to the birds themselves, for he knows that the lessons learned at first hand from Nature are of far more worth than quantities of book knowledge. It is no small thing to have the senses of seeing and hearing quickened and the powers of observation increased, yet this is what Nature is ever ready to do for those who love and study her.
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A Handbook Of British Birds: Showing The Distribution Of The Resident And Migratory Species In The British Islands

J.E. Harting

Illustrations: Professor Schlegel

John C. Nimmo

New and revised edition

1901

Approximately 500 pages with 35 colour illustrations each showing heads, and sometimes feet, of multiple species.

From the authors introduction:

Following upon the daily exigencies of official work, the preparation of this volume has occupied the leisure hours of many years, and as an attempt to show in one volume the precise status of every so-called British bird, distinguishing the rare and accidental visitors from the residents and annual migrants, it conveys information of a kind which is not to be found in any other work ou British birds. Divided into two parts, the first portion deals with "British Birds properly so called, being residents, periodical migrants, and annual visitants; " the second portion includes the "Rare and accidental visitants," and a special feature of the book is that in the case of every rare bird a list of occurrences is given, from the publication of the earliest records (so far as has been ascertained) down to the end of the year 1900. The reader is thereby enabled to estimate at a glance the precise nature of the claim which any given species has to be considered "British." Some notion of the labour entailed may be formed when it is stated that the number of references in Part I. amounts to 1500; in Part II. to 2325, and in the whole work to 3825, or thereabouts.
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Bird Watching

Edmund Selous

Illustrations: J. Smit

J.M. Dent

1901

Opening lines of chapter one:

"If life is, as some hold it to be, a vast melancholy ocean over which ships more or less sorrow-laden continually pass and ply, yet there lie here and there upon it isles of consolation on to which we may step out and for a time forget the winds and waves. One of these we may call Bird-isle - the island of watching and being entertained by the habits and humours of birds - and upon this one, for with the others I have here nothing to do, I will straightway land, inviting such as may care to, to follow me. I will speak of birds only, or almost only, as I have seen them, and I must hope that this plan, which is the only one I have found myself able to follow, will be accepted as an apology for the absence of much which, not having seen but only read of, I therefore say nothing about. Also, if I sometimes here record what has long been known and noted as though I were making a discovery, I trust that this, too, will be forgiven me, for, in fact, whenever I have watched a bird and seen it do anything at all - anything, that is, at all salient - that is just how I have felt. Perhaps, indeed, the best way to make discoveries of this sort is to have the idea that one is doing so. One looks with the soul in the eyes then, and so may sometimes pick up some trifle or other that has not been noted before."
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Among The Birds In Northern Shires

Charles Dixon

Blackie & Sons Limited

New and revised edition

1901

Preface: "The present volume must be regarded more as a popular introduction to the bird -life of our northern shires than in any way as an exhaustive faunal treatise, although at the same time we believe almost every indigenous species has been included. For twenty years we lived surrounded by these northern birds, so that we may fairly claim to have served our ornithological apprenticeship amongst them. With the birds of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire we are specially familiar; whilst repeated visits not only to the Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Northumbrian littoral, but farther afield into Lancashire, and various parts of the Lowlands and the Highlands of Scotland, have enabled us to acquire much personal information relating to the avifauna of many a northern shire. The difference between the avifaunae of the northern and southern shires is strongly marked in many respects. Their study makes a record of avine comparisons of the most intense interest. The important effects produced by latitude and climate upon the bird-life of these widely separated areas make material for fascinating investigation, and have been fully dwelt upon as opportunities were presented. This variation in avine phenomena is not only far too often entirely ignored, but is apt to lead the student of bird-lore astray; due allowance has to be made in many cases for this difference in latitude, and all that it involves. The present volume, then, to a great extent a study of ornithological comparisons, will, we trust, be of some service to the bird lover or the bird student in his task of making allowances. Unquestionably these northern shires from an ornithological point of view are much more interesting than the southern, and especially the south-western counties. Their avifauna is richer, and presents far greater variety, notably during the breeding season; whilst the marvellous phenomenon of Migration there unfolds itself each season in a manner that is never remarked elsewhere."

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Our Country's Birds And How To Know Them: A Guide To All The Birds Of Great Britain

W.J. Gordon

Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co

1900

From the introduction: "The object of this book is to enable anyone to recognise and readily distinguish the birds on the British list; and this it does by a system of elimination somewhat similar to that adopted in 'Our Country's Flowers.' To the beginner it is assuredly of the first importance that he should know the name of the thing with which lie is dealing. Until he knows that, he is unable to ascertain what is already known about it, for the existing books invariably assume that he possesses this preliminary knowledge. And when he knows more of his subject a handy method of separating family from family, genus from genus, and species from species, by a few prominent characteristics, must have its advantages, if only in the saving of labour and time. Although our book necessarily touches on the general subject, its examples are strictly limited to our country's avifauna, concerning which an awkward question presents itself, which may fitly be answered in this introduction. What is a British bird? Strictly speaking, there is but one British bird, and that is the one the state of whose health is invariably chronicled in the newspapers on or about the 12th of August. The Red Grouse is the only bird peculiar to this island, and found native nowhere else. The rest of the birds we see around us are mostly characteristic of the whole Palaearctic region, stretching right away to Japan, while some go as far south as the Victoria Nyanza, and further to the Transvaal, and others even breed as far to the north as Grinnell Land, within eight degrees of the Pole."

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Last updated August 2017