Birds in England
Almost nine years in the making, Birds in England completes Poyser’s series of the birds of Britain and Ireland, adding impressively to Birds in Scotland, Birds in Ireland and Birds in Wales. The English tome is by far the most substantial of the four and comprises a review of 543 species, though these include the contentious Red-necked Nightjar of 1856, a record which remains under review by the Records Committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union.
According to the literature, the book aims to be a ‘one-stop shop’ on the current and historical status of England’s birds, and features what is claimed to be the first ever checklist of England’s birds. An impressive 47 pages of references back up the species accounts, and the 125-page introductory chapters on the composition of the English avifauna, bird habitats in England and the introduction to the species account are thorough and well researched and written, in particular those which look at some of the pressures on birds in one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, and the changes this pressure has had on England’s breeding birds.
I especially enjoyed the table which recorded unusual avian events in England during the 20th century. Did you know, for example, that Blue Tits officially learned to open milk bottle tops in 1921? One very minor criticism here is that where there is a Common Crossbill irruption in 1953, there are Bearded Tit ‘eruptions’ in 1972 and 1973.
Every species on the English list, past and present, is considered here, including vagrants. Every record is listed for the most irregular visitors and any patterns which emerge from their appearances are discussed.
The authors have tackled the considerable problem of shoehorning all the available information into the species accounts by prioritising the level of detail given for species according to their conservation status. The greatest emphasis is placed on birds of conservation concern. Red List birds receive the fullest treatment, birds on the Amber List and birds whose populations have increased markedly have texts of intermediate length, while species whose status has changed the least over the last 200 years receive the shortest accounts.
The authors also reveal their human side by admitting that they have deviated from their rulebook whenever they have found particularly interesting information, or even simply where a favourite species is concerned. All the accounts, however short, are well researched and revealing. Take, for example, some of the information featured for the Blue Tit, the most numerous and widely distributed tit species in England. In 1957, there was an irruption of Blue Tits which resulted in large numbers of brighter, northern birds reaching our shores. The behaviour of these visitors temporarily threatened the reputation of the Blue Tit as one of the nation’s favourite birds, as some were found to be fond of entering houses and stripping wallpaper! English populations of each species are placed in context with their British and European counterparts, and any changes which have occurred are outlined, along with probable reasons and the conservation measures that would aid the recovery of each species, making this much more than simply a book on the birds of England.
All in all, this is a fascinating record, and a credit to the two authors – both professional ornithologists at English Nature – who put it together so painstakingly.
Tech spec
- Birds in England by Andy Brown and Phil Grice (English Nature) (T & A D Poyser, London, 2005).
- 694 pages, 50 colour photographs, 155 black-and-white line drawings, numerous maps, graphs and tables.
- ISBN 0713665300. Hbk, £40.
