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Books about birdwatching on St. Helena

The books are listed by publication date with the most recent at the top.

 

A Guide to the Birds of St Helena and Ascension Island

Neil McCulloch

RSPB

2004

"The varied origins of the birds on these two Atlantic islands make this guide invaluable for visitors to these excellent birdwatching locations. Contains background on the islands' history and biogeography, and illustrated species accounts."

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St Helena and Ascension Island: A Natural History

Philip and Myrtle Ashmole

Anthony Nelson

2000

"St Helena and Ascension are two of the most isolated islands in the world, the tips of enormous volcanoes rising from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean between southern Africa and Brazil, 800 miles apart. St Helena was formed some 14 million years ago, but Ascension is only a tenth as old. The difference in age confers a special interest. On St Helena, the few succesful colonizing plants and animals evolved and diversified in isolation for millions of years; mature natural communities developed and the landscape was transformed. In contrast, the ecological youth of Ascention leaves it strange and forbidding, but with its own biological surprises and its own austere beauty. Since the arrival of humans 500 years ago, the fauna and flora of these islands have changed irrevocably. The vast seabird colonies have been decimated and many plants and animals have become extinct or are teetering on the brink. There is still an opportunity, however, to appreciate what remains and to understand what has been lost. For any naturalist, questions abound. How did the islands originate? How did their unique species arise? What lessons can we learn from the saga of destruction and how can we care for the remaining wildlife in the face of human activities?"

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The Birds of St. Helena: An Annotated Checklist

Beau W Rowlands et al

British Ornithologists Union

1998

"Like so many of the BOU Checklists, this title for the first time brings together all the known data on the birds, past and present, of St Helena, an intriguing Atlantic Ocean island. Contains a wealth of information on fossil remains unearthed from the island."

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The Status And Ecology Of The St. Helena Wirebird

Neil McCulloch

Research report 97

British Trust for Ornithology

1992

89 page report.

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St. Helena: A Physical, Historical, And Topographical Description Of The Island, Including Its Geology, Fauna, Flora, And Meteorology

John Charles Melliss

Illustrations: J.G. Keulemans (one plate), Vincent Brooks, J.C. Melliss, E.W. Robinson, J.N. Fitch

L. Reeve & Co

1875

From the preface:

"There is perhaps no other spot in the whole world which geographically presents so great an interest to the naturalist as St. Helena. A small Island, distinctly of volcanic origin, bearing no trace whatever of any continental land having existed nearer to it than a thousand miles or more, and yet possessing plants and insects that have not been found elsewhere in the world, at once suggest the inquiry, How did these things get there? The interest attaching to such a question was revealed to me by the late Sir William Hooker, about thirteen years ago, when he led me to see in the peculiar Fauna and Flora of such a spot subjects of the greatest scientific value."
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Last updated November 2011