British Warblers

Collins New Naturalist #71

by Eric Simms

To anyone with an awakening interest in ornithology, the warblers may seem a very daunting group. Eric Simms, the author of Woodland Birds and British Thrushes in the New Naturalist series, has a very considerable personal experience of these birds and has produced here a lucid, highly readable, and authoritative study of the group.With an increasing knowledge of this big, successful family, the naturalist will not only appreciate the wide variety that exists among the warblers, but also come closer to getting to terms with their identification.

There are three broad introductory chapters of the warblers of the Old and New World and those of Britain, with several chapters examining, comparing and contrasting members of each genus, and a series of single chapters for each breeding species; these review in detail their characteristics.

The author makes use of the latest field discoveries, his own accumulated research and that of many other distinguished ornithologists (there is a bibliography of over 1000 references) to present a detailed picture of the warblers in Britain today.The most comprehensive and accessible review of the popular and intriguing group is fully illustrated with maps, sonagrams, diagrams and photographs. Major features are Ian Wallace's six superb colour plates of warblers' plumages and his expert line drawings which show aspects of morphology and behaviour. Eric Hosking has provided many of his outstanding photographs of different warbler species for the book.

Genres: Nonfiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Jennifer]

Once again, it has been a case of 'come for the beautiful covers, stay for the content' This is, as it is supposed to be a dense, detailed book, and one 40 years old at that. I am not the target audience. Some of the delights of the book are all down to the charm of its warbler subjects, but Eric Simms' writing makes a difference too. I was not expecting so many smiles and even at least one laugh out loud. He conveys a wonderful sense of remembering (I am sure he had detailed notes) all the individual encounters.