Birds Britannica
Encyclopedia
Birds Britannica is book by Mark Cocker
and Richard Mabey
, about the bird
s of the United Kingdom
, and a sister volume to Mabey's 1996 Flora Britannica, about British plants. It was published in 2005 by Chatto & Windus.
According to the project's official website:
Over 1,000 members of the public provided details of their observations and experiences, during the book's eight-year research period. Mabey's contribution was limited by his depression, leading to Cocker having a leading role, doing the bulk of the work and this more prominent credit.
described the book as "a glorious encyclopedia" and Cocker as "British bird life's perfect encyclopedist". The Times
said "The entries for every species are a fascinating distillation of expert knowledge, personal account, reminiscence, literary reference and folk belief".
Mark Cocker
Mark Cocker is a British author and naturalist. He lives and works deep in the Norfolk countryside with his wife Mary Muir and two daughters in claxton...
and Richard Mabey
Richard Mabey
Richard Mabey is a naturalist and author.He has been called by The Times 'Britain's greatest living nature writer'. Among his acclaimed publications are Food for Free, The Unofficial Countryside and The Common Ground, as well as his study of the nightingale, Whistling in the Dark...
, about the bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and a sister volume to Mabey's 1996 Flora Britannica, about British plants. It was published in 2005 by Chatto & Windus.
According to the project's official website:
It covers cultural links; social history; birds as food; ecology; the lore and language of birds; myths, art, literature and music; anecdotes, birdsong and rare facts; modern developments; migration, the seasons and our sense of place.
Over 1,000 members of the public provided details of their observations and experiences, during the book's eight-year research period. Mabey's contribution was limited by his depression, leading to Cocker having a leading role, doing the bulk of the work and this more prominent credit.
Reviews
The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described the book as "a glorious encyclopedia" and Cocker as "British bird life's perfect encyclopedist". The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said "The entries for every species are a fascinating distillation of expert knowledge, personal account, reminiscence, literary reference and folk belief".