Andrew Richford, Birds of Africa
An Interview with Andrew Richford, the Commissioning Editor of the first six volumes of the Birds of Africa published by Academic Press. Seven volumes of The Birds of Africa were published between 1982 and 2004. Originally begun with Academic Press, volume 7 was published by Christopher Helm. The series editors were C. Hilary Fry, Stuart Keith, and Emil K. Urban. The principal artist was Martin Woodcock with key artistic contributions from others including Ian Willis. […]
Richard Sale & Steve Watson, The Peregrine Falcon
An interview with Richard Sale & Steve Watson on their book ‘The Peregrine Falcon’ published by Snowfinch Publishing. [Reproduced with permission from the June 2023 issue of the Quarterly Newsletter (No. 269) of the London Natural History Society] Richard Sale Steve Watson Richard Sale has co-authored several books on raptors including the Poyser ‘The Gyrfalcon’ and ‘The Snowy Owl’. He has also co-authored self-published books on ‘Steller’s Sea Eagle’, and ‘The Eurasian Hobby’. He also […]
Richard Grimmett, Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, Second Edition
An interview with Richard Grimmett, lead author of ‘’Birds of the Indian Subcontinent: Second Edition’, published by Bloomsbury in the Helm Field Guides series. Richard Grimmett is a keen birder who has visited southern Asia many times. He has co-authored numerous identification guides to the Indian Subcontinent and its constituent regions, mainly in collaboration with Carol and Tim Inskipp. Richard has worked for BirdLife International for more than 40 years and was in charge […]
Dale Forbes, Habitats of Europe
An interview with Dale Forbes, lead author of ‘Habitats of Europe’ published by Princeton University Press. Dale Forbes is a lifelong naturalist and conservationist with an MSc in Biogeography. He works in strategy and marketing at Swarovski Optik, is a member of BirdLife International’s Advisory Board, and is the regional coordinator for eBird in Austria. He loves creating soundscapes that capture the essence of being immersed in nature https://soundcloud.com/capepolly Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne interviews Dale […]
Douglas Russell, Interesting Bird Nests & Eggs
An interview with Douglas Russell, author of ‘Interesting Bird Nests & Eggs’, published by the Natural History Museum. Douglas G. D. Russell is the Senior Curator responsible for the internationally renowned birds’ egg and nest collections at the Natural History Museum (NHM). After studying Biological Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University, he began his curatorial career at the Royal Museum of Scotland (now National Museum of Scotland) preparing bird specimens from the 1996 Sea Empress oil […]
Michael Hurben, The Physics of Birds and Birding
An interview with Michael Hurben, author of ‘The Physics of Birds and Birding’, published by Pelagic Publishing. Dr. Michael Hurben received his Ph.D. in Physics in 1996 from Colorado State University, where his work was focused on magnetic resonance. He has managed to compile a life list exceeding 5,050 species despite being legally blind. He and his wife Claire currently live in Bloomington, Minnesota. He blogs at legallyblindbirding.net. How did this book come about? I’ve […]
Robert Cheke, Sunbirds of the World
An interview with Robert Cheke, lead author of ‘Sunbirds of the World’, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, in the Helm Identifications Guides series. Robert Cheke is Professor Emeritus of Tropical Zoology at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich and a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London’s Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology. His work has frequently taken him to sub-Saharan Africa, where he has been able to follow his passion for sunbirds. The book […]
Clive Slater, John Henry Gurney: A Passion for Birds
‘John Henry Gurney: A Passion for Birds’ was published in 2025 by John Beaufoy Publishing in association with the British Ornithologists Club. It was authored by Clive Slater, Peter Munday and Ray Williams. Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne interviews the lead author, Clive Slater. Clive Slater read Zoology at King’s College, University of London (1966-1969). Following a career in environmental and public health as a chartered practitioner and university lecturer in the UK and overseas, he […]
Nils van Duivendijk, ID Handbook of European Birds
An interview with Nils van Duivendijk on his book ‘ID Handbook of European Birds’ published by Princeton University Press. The book is published in 2 volumes. It was Birdwatch magazine’s Book of Year for 2024. Nils van Duivendijk has been involved in birding since his childhood. It was in his younger years when his interest in ID started. Studies of the species of the Western Palearctic (Europe, North Africa and the Middle East) have since […]
Richard and Barbara Mearns, Biographies for Birdwatchers, The Lives of Those Commemorated in Western Palearctic Bird Names
An interview with Richard and Barbara Mearns on their book ‘Biographies for Birdwatchers, The Lives of Those Commemorated in Western Palearctic Bird Names’. Privately published in 2022. 2 softback A4 vols with over 250 portraits (396pp & 266pp). ISBN 978-0-9556739-3-1. £69.99 plus P&P, www.mearnsbooks.com. Reproduced with permission from the Quarterly Newsletter (Issue No. 272, March 2024) of the London Natural History Society. Barbara Mearns was born in Greenock, studied in Edinburgh, and then worked for […]