The Atlas of Wintering Birds in Britain and Ireland British Trust for Ornithology, Irish Wildbird Conservancy

Calton: T & A D Poyser, 1986. First edition, 1986. Hardback. 448pp. Dust jacket. This companion volume to 'The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland' is derived from surveys during the three winters, 1981/82, 1982/83 and 1983/84. The surveys were organised by the BTO and the Irish Wildbird Conservancy, as were the earlier breeding surveys. There are other than seasonal differences between the breeding birds and wintering birds surveys. The breeding birds surveys were selective and concerned only with a species' presence or absence within a 10km square. The winter surveys set out to include all species seen throughout the three winters and to assess their abundance for each square. Furthermore, unlike breeding birds, which are largely confined to breeding territories, wintering birds may move considerable distances in response to weather, supply of food, or other factors. This book maps 200 species, 192 of which have full-page two-colour maps faced by a page of text. The texts, written by over 100 specialists, comment on the survey results, the species generally and the distribution and abundance as mapped. In addition there are introductory chapters by Dr Lack on the maps, the weather in the three winters, bird patterns and movements; and appendices describing the planning, organisation, field methods and the processing of the data. A team of 23 artists has provided the line drawings which head the species accounts. Book in very good condition. Dust jacket very good. Price clipped. Only very slight edge wear. A large and heavy book but no additional shipping costs to UK post codes.