Booby dazzler makes debut
HAROLDWILSON’S remark about a week being a long time in politics works well for those keeping au courant with the dynamic world of birdwatching.
Hardly a day goes by without the frontiers of our knowledge being pushed back as species expand and contract their ranges, genetic research shows evolution at work and experts delve deeper into the complexities of field identification.
Luckily, all British birdwatching’s latest exciting developments have been condensed to produce the most up-to-date guide in four years.
I can be precise on the timing as it was at the 2016 Birdfair when I first sang the praises of the bestselling Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide To The Birds Of Britain And Ireland, predicting it would become “an indispensable aid to help solve the riddles and complexities that makes birding so compulsive”.
This summer sees the advent of its superlative second edition, which not only records the changes in the birding landscape in the intervening years but has 400 new photographs plus a comprehensive revision and update of all the species described.
What better way to illustrate these advances than first highlighting the inclusion of those birds added to the Irish and British lists since the first guide was published, so reaching
631 species by the end of 2019.
The 12 making their debuts highlight the geographical draw of our welcoming shores to vagrant species from all directions of the compass. From the east have come a Chinese pond heron, Dalmatian pelican, eastern orphean warbler and Siberian accentors aplenty, while least bittern and red-winged blackbird arrived from the Americas.
A western swamphen and whiterumped swift were added to Britain’s avifauna after wandering from Southern Europe.there have also been four new seabirds: red-footed and brown boobies along with Bulwer’s and Bermuda petrels.
As birdwatchers make discoveries in the field, ornithologists break new ground in taxonomic complexities, resulting in the “splitting and lumping” of certain species.
The same intervening period has seen six so-called splits with such birds as the eastern yellow wagtail, Turkestan shrike and West African crested tern being split from nominate forms to form species in their own right. Two striking variants of well-known birds, the American horned lark and
Central Asia’s masked wagtail – respective subspecies of the shore lark and pied wagtail – also make an appearance in the new edition. Besides recognising the changes in the scientific aspects of British birds, the new edition sees a substantial revision, with 400 new and 400 improved photographs, redesigned pages and updated text to provide the latest identification details and geographical status of each species.
All those who were delighted when Britain’s Birds was first rolled out would be well advised in investing in this encyclopaedic but easy to use and handle work.
With 3,500 photographs spread across 576 pages, some may find the new edition is a little heavy to take in the field. Don’t despair, there is the lighter “Pocket Guide” to take out as a companion. Invest in both.
● Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide to the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland (Wildguides, £20)