Birds Britannia

by Stephen Moss

Birds and bird lore provide a fascinating window onto our social and cultural history, and can tell us much about our changing relationship with the British landscape, our people, and society. In this book, Stephen Moss focusses on some of Britain's most beloved and charismatic birds. He explores their fascinating biology, and their place in the evolving culture and history of the British people. The author delves into the worlds of many birds, weaving their stories together to tell four very different stories about the changing face of Britain.

Genres: Nonfiction, Birds, Natural History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: there is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Stephen Moss is a naturalist, broadcaster, television producer and author. In a distinguished career at the BBC Natural History Unit his credits included Springwatch, Birds Britannia and The Nature of Britain. His books include The Robin: A Biography, A Bird in the Bush, The Bumper Book of Nature, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Kingdom. He is also Senior Lecturer in Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa University. Originally from London, he lives with his family on the Somerset Levels, and is President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian.

Reviews

[Jayne Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a wonderful informative book. I gained a lot of knowledge from this lovely book.
This book informs us of the mistakes of the past and the hope of the future. Highly recommended

[Paulfozz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book (and the tv programmes that it accompanied) a great deal, it was good to see the history of our relationship with birds discussed in this way and the coverage was broad, from the feather trade and subsequent foundation of the RSPB, through to Gilbert White, DDT, the Torrey canyon disaster, the rime of the ancient mariner, cockney sparrows and the bird-feeding habits of the uk.

[Steve Lawless · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some interesting history in this book. And considering the date of publication, it tackles some of the thorny issues of climate change and and the war against nature, industrial farming, insecticides and the biosphere. On the downside I found the book over sentimental with quite a lot of flowery language. If the Waffle were to be edited out it would be a much thinner book. A book that really hits the mark on this subject is Benedict McDonald's "Rebirding". Interestingly McDonald and Moss both have have a BBC natural history programme making background.

[Sophie Drt-Pmllr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly delightful book about the British's relationship with birds - essentially a cyclical pattern of extinction and preservation. Easy to read without being dumbed down, it looks at birds from different habitats (seabirds, garden birds, water birds and country birds), weaving through fun facts and history. An enjoyable read if you're interested in birds.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad but not outstanding either. Split into four sections on garde, sea wetland and country has has an brief history of how the public responded to our feathered friends. Has some details of how the RSPB started, and some of the the parliamentary acts have evolved