A History of Ornithology

A complete history of birdwatching in Britain: a classic for every nature lover's bookshelf.

Today the RSPB has over one million members, reflecting the huge interest in birdwatching as a hobby.

Over the years the growth in amateur birdwatchers has contributed enormously to our understanding of bird life, behaviour and populations.

But what did we know about birds a thousand years ago and how has our understanding developed?

Which species did we recognise, and when did people begin to record their sightings?

Peter Bircham looks at the history of British ornithology from 1066 to the mid-1970s, exploring along the way the first bird book written, the compilation of the original British lists, various notable collectors, the first studies of migration, significant changes to the classification of species, through to the birth of the British Ornithologists' Union in 1858 and what our current understanding of ornithology in Britain means to us today.

This extremely authoritative and engrossing account packed full of fascinating stories, journal notations and poem extracts should hold great appeal to the wider birding community as well as the established New Naturalist audience.