How to be a Birder Series 11: Classic Bird Books
In the latest in his exclusive series for Netvue, our Global Chief Birding Adviser STEPHEN MOSS suggests classic bird books for your library, from both sides of the Atlantic.
If you want to read current books about birds, you have a huge choice. But what about older, classic bird books – are you missing something if you don’t read those as well? I definitely think so!
Whenever I embark on a new title in my bestselling ‘Bird Biographies’ series (see below for the full title list), I always start by browsing through my extensive collection of old bird books – some dating back as far as the eighteenth century – to find out what bird experts and nature writers from previous generations wrote.
Many of the titles I recommend here are now long out of print, but most can be obtained second-hand through websites such as AbeBooks; while for really early titles, where copies are very rare and extremely expensive, there are often facsimile editions available at a fraction of the price. So here are my ten choices: five from the UK and five from North America – but all worth reading, wherever you live!
UK Titles
The Natural History of Selborne, by Gilbert White (1789)
Gilbert White has a good claim to be the original birder. The vicar of Selborne, a small country parish in the county of Hampshire, southwest of London, he published his famous book towards the end of his life. It comes in diary form, as White records the birds and other wildlife in his ‘local patch’ during the four seasons of the year, throughout his lifetime. ‘Selborne’, as it is usually known, became one of the bestselling books of all time, and has been in print ever since – well over 200 years. With recent changes in our weather and climate, the book has gained a new topicality, and is still worth reading for White’s precise and incisive observations.
Adventures Among Birds, by W.H. Hudson (1913)
A crucial supporter of the women who founded the RSPB, W.H. Hudson was also a fine nature writer, whose memoir-cum-travelogue is worth reading even today. Born in South America, Hudson writes about birds there and also in Britain, and as a pioneering conservationist, is strongly against the hunting of birds.
The charm of Birds, by Edward Grey (1927)
Soon to reach its centenary, this collection of stories and observations by Britain’s longest-serving Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey (Viscount Grey of Fallodon), is a minor masterpiece. The book became an unexpected bestseller, and although later in the twentieth century it was considered rather old-fashioned, today’s readers have rediscovered its strengths and, yes, its charms.
The Birds of the British Isles, by David Bannerman (1953 to 1963, 12 volumes)
This huge project was, amazingly, the work of just one man: David Bannerman – an ornithologist and birdwatcher who was also a superb writer. The book marshals facts about each species, and then turns them into a very readable narrative. Much of the detail is now long out-of-date, yet the species accounts – along with the superbly evocative colour plates done by artist George E. Lodge,-are worth seeking out – often for a far lower cost, second-hand, than you might imagine.
Birds Britannica, by Mark Cocker and Richard Mabey (2005)
A huge doorstep of a volume, packed with fascinating stories, facts, history, literary quotations, culture and folklore about Britain’s birds. From skylarks to sparrows, owls to nightingales, and many more – there is something to surprise you on every page. See also Mark Cocker and David Tipling’s global version, Birds and People.
North American Titles
The Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America by Roger Tory Peterson (1934)
Not the first field guide – that was Birds Through an Opera Glass, an 1889 work by Florence Merriam Bailey. But Peterson transformed field birding by producing a simple, practical and pocket-sized book with all the birds found in the eastern half of the USA and Canada – effectively inventing the modern field guide. His clever idea was to use arrows to point out the key identification marks and features for each species. Later, Peterson, Kenn Kaufman, David Sibley and others developed even better guides, notably placing the illustrations opposite the text and maps for each species, which made them even easier to use. In 1954, Peterson joined forces with two Brits – Guy Mountfort and Phil Hollom- to produce the British and European version.
Wild America, by James Fisher and Roger Tory Peterson (1955)
The page-turning tale of two bird enthusiasts – the British author and broadcaster James Fisher and the American artist and field guide author Roger Tory Peterson, as they explore North America in search of birds. Based on a journey taken in the early 1950s, today it reads like a time capsule from the past. Highly entertaining and still very relevant today.
Kingbird Highway, by Kenn Kaufman (1997)
One of the very first birding memoirs-cum-travelogues, this soon became a cult classic on both sides of the Atlantic. It focuses on Kenn’s youthful birding exploits, leaving home in his teens to discover America, and eventually doing a serious ‘Big Year ’, emulating Peterson and Fisher by trying to see as many species as possible in a calendar year. Written a quarter of a century later, the story becomes the very moving and powerful tale written by a man looking back at his younger days.
Mind of the Raven, by Bernd Heinrich (1999)
Subtitled ‘Adventures with Wolf-birds’, this is a superb insight into this highly intelligent and charismatic corvid, by a man who has studied ravens longer than anyone. He focuses on the meaning behind their behaviour, trying – and in many ways succeeding – to get into their minds and understand what drives them. The examples of how ravens play are especially fascinating, and make us question everything we thought we knew about avian intelligence.
Birding on Borrowed Time, by Phoebe Snetsinger (2003).
How one American housewife and mother (and also a very rich heiress) was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but after a miraculous recovery decided to try to see more species of birds than anyone else in the world – and did, with over 8,000 at the time of her death in 1999. Phoebe died in a freak accident while birding in Madagascar, four years before the memoir was published. Life List, by Olivia Gentile, is a biography of Phoebe and also well worth reading.
Conclusion
These are just a small selection of classic bird books – so do check out any others and let me know what you have found! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did.
Note: Stephen Moss’s ‘bird biographies’ series includes volumes on the (European) Robin, (Eurasian) Wren, (Barn) Swallow, (Mute) Swan, all the British Owls, and (European) Starling. The latest, on the (Atlantic) Puffin, will be published in the UK in October 2026, and in North America sometime in 2027.
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