Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe

About this book

Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe contains a wealth of fascinating material for any field naturalist.

This unique guide enables the reader to find, interpret and understand field marks left by a variety of birds throughout Britain and Europe, and to use these to identify the species in question. It covers subjects including tracks and trails, feeding and other behavioural signs, nests, pellets, droppings, feathers and skulls, habitat types and field analysis methods. All European bird families are featured, with numerous individual species being described in detail.

Fully revised and updated, this third edition contains a great deal of new material, including 19 new colour plates and hundreds of new photographs, line drawings and diagrams.

Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe is an indispensable addition to any feather-finder or track-watcher's backpack – the ultimate resource for anyone wanting to identify a bird species from the sometimes subtle clues they leave behind.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction

Chapter 1. Habitat
Chapter 2. Tracks and Trails
Chapter 3. Nests and Roosts
Chapter 4. Feeding Signs, Pellets and Droppings
Chapter 5. Skulls
Chapter 6. Feathers

European Bird Protection and Study Organisations
Bibliography
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

The author team of Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain and Europe is Roy Brown, Michael Lawrence, John Ferguson and the late David Lees. Experienced field ornithologists specialising in track identification and fieldwork skills, they worked together on the first two editions of this book in the 1990s and early 2000s, with Roy, Michael and John reprising this role for the third edition.

Professor Roy Brown studied Earth Sciences at University, graduating from Leeds University in 1968, before completing an MSc in Conservation and a PhD in Soil Zoology. He then went on to hold a number of academic and research posts, prior to serving as the Deputy National Park Officer at the North York Moors National Park between 1974 and 1989. Since then, he has held multiple University Chairs in Biological Sciences and Rural Resource Management, as well as publishing many books and papers on Natural History and Resource Conservation. He is currently a Visiting Professor in Epidemiology and Invasive Species Control.

John Ferguson began his career as a junior laboratory technician in the Zoology Department of University College London, where museum preparation and attending lectures as a projectionist was a good grounding in animal biology, anatomy and taxonomy. He then moved on to Imperial College London, where he worked as Chief Technician, before spending time in Kuwait, and also working as a Technical Service Representative back in the UK. He is the co-author of the first and second editions of this book.

Michael Lawrence has been interested in natural history from an early age and worked at the Zoology Department of University College London, where he became friends with co-author John Ferguson. Michael has travelled to study and record material that has helped inform multiple books, including The Country Life Guide to the Animals of Britain and Europe and the first and second editions of this book. Michael retains his special interest in foreign travel to study evidence of rare and unusual species.

David Lees began training as a gardener at Hampton Court before deciding to join the Royal Marines. When he returned home, he had time to explore his fascination for wildlife and started surveying for the BTO nest recording programme. Through this work, he became part of a team studying Kestrel and Owl breeding and carried out the ringing of many species throughout the UK. A keen ornithologist, David spent time abroad, gathering evidence for the first and second editions of this book, and providing much of the biometrical data. David sadly passed away in 2010.