Birds Britannica

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Birds Britannica is a lavishly illustrated, comprehensive cultural study, species by species, of all the birds in Britain. Neither an identification guide nor a behavioral study (though both of these subjects enter its field), it concentrates on the cultural links and social history of birds and humans, and captures the essence of why birds matter. The product of years of research, it is based in part on contributions from the public who sent in their memories and experiences of birds, making this a rich trove of stories and observations.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Never mind its British accent, this charmingly eccentric book, a companion volume to Flora Britannica, transcends mere national interest and captures, as the jacket blurb correctly claims, "the essence of why birds matter." How this was achieved is remarkable: nature writers Cocker (Birders: Tales of a Tribe) and Mabey (Flora Britannica) not only assembled and interpreted pertinent scientific research but, more important, edited the responses of more than 1000 citizens eager to share their memories and observations relating to some 350 bird species. The result, eight years in the making, is a happy, seamless mixture of avian science and lore, formal literature and popular public response. There are 58 entries (corresponding to bird families) averaging three or four pages in length. The chapter on starlings is especially intriguing. While many bird books today are primarily concerned with identification, this work is neither a field volume nor a behavioral guide but rather a cultural history of humans and birds. Readers will be edified reading snippets from Chaucer, Shakespeare, and other luminaries. But there is poetry of a more homespun sort in the stories submitted by the public as well as in the vernacular names of the birds, which the authors have wisely included. The 400-plus color illustrations throughout are superlative. Bottom Line This book's "foreign" subject matter might make it, in some eyes, a marginal purchase, which is a pity-it would make a stellar addition to any large collection, and many readers will want to see its floral companion. For both reference and natural history collections.Robert Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Neither a coffee-table book full of pictures with the usual fluffy text, nor a classic scientific treatment of the life history and status of British birds, this work is a solid scholarly treatment of more than 350 species. Cocker and Mabey, both well-published writers, have organized this delightful, highly readable text along taxonomic lines, with just enough material on basic life history, status, and habitat use to make the subject real. The book simultaneously examines the cultural relationships between bird and man in the British Isles from the dawn of written history to the present. Obviously intended for a general readership, this book succeeds by skillfully blending the authors' experiences with citations from the literature and with anecdotes submitted by more than 1,000 contemporary contributors. The result is a book that at first leaves one wondering what the point is, but quickly captures the reader's rapt attention. It is, in short, one that even a hardcore scientist will learn from and find difficult to put down. It is intended as a companion to Flora Britannica (CH, Sep'98, 36-0314). ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All levels. S. W. Harris emeritus, Humboldt State University