Britain's Mammals Updated Edition: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland

Dominic Couzens; Andy Swash; Robert Still; Jon Dunn

Published by Princeton University Press 2021

Britain's Mammals Updated Edition

A Field Guide to the Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland

Dominic Couzens , Andy Swash , Robert Still and Jon Dunn

In the series WILDGuides of Britain & Europe

Volume 43 in the series WILDGuides

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691224862

Overview
Contents

About this book

A comprehensive photographic field guide to the mammals of Great Britain and Ireland

Britain’s Mammals is a comprehensive and beautifully designed photographic field guide to all the mammals recorded in the wild in Great Britain and Ireland in recent times—including marine mammals, bats and introduced species that have bred. The book features 500 stunning photographs and incorporates invaluable tips and suggestions to help you track down and identify even the most difficult species.

This easy-to-use book provides an introduction to the different types of mammal. Concise species accounts focus on identification, and include up-to-date information on sounds, habitat, food, habits, breeding behaviour, and population and status, as well as descriptions of key field signs—including tracks, droppings and nests—that give away the presence of mammals even when they are out of sight. Guidance is also provided on ways of studying and observing mammals—including small-mammal trapping, bat detecting and whale watching. In addition, the book contains sections on mammal conservation, legislation and further sources of useful information. Handy and informative, this guide is the ideal companion for anyone interested in watching mammals in Great Britain and Ireland.

Comprehensive coverage of all 126 mammal species recorded
500 superb colour photographs carefully selected to show key identification features
Up-to-date distribution maps
Detailed illustrations of tracks, dentition and other identification features
Helpful tips for identifying tracks and other signs you may encounter
Latest information on status, population, distribution and conservation designations
Advice on finding and watching mammals

Author / Editor information

Dominic Couzens is one of Britain's best-known wildlife writers. His work appears in numerous magazines, including BBC Wildlife and BBC Countryfile, and his books include Secret Lives of Garden Wildlife. Andy Swash is an ecologist, a wildlife photographer and the managing director of WILDGuides. Robert Still, the cofounder of WILDGuides, is an ecologist and graphic artist and has designed more than thirty of its titles. Jon Dunn lives in Shetland, UK, working there and abroad as a wildlife tour guide and writer. His books include Britain's Sea Mammals (WILDGuides).

Reviews

"A highly impressive book. Although it is the stunning photography that initially catches the eye, the text is equally outstanding. The information provided for each species is clear, authoritative and up-to-date and generally surpasses that available in most other non-specialist texts on the mammals of the British Isles."---Tony Chalcraft, Reference Reviews

"This is a beautifully designed and produced 'coat pocket' sized field guide for the serious naturalist."---Michael Clark, Country-Side

"I love this book and wish we had one like it covering North America. . . .As an American, the things I most enjoy while diving into Britain's Mammals, teeming with color photos, are meeting close relatives of our own species--the pine marten, for example, a skinny but handsome version of our American marten--as well as little furry beasts I know from English literature."---Ed Kanze, Bedford Record-Review

"An intelligent thoroughbred of a book, crammed full of information gleaned from innumerable sources and bang up to date. I recommend it wholeheartedly."---Richard Moores, Birdwatch

"This guide is worthy of a special mention because it's just excellent. If you want to know about mammals in Britain it's unlikely you'll need any other book. This one is the business . . . a truly must-have field guide to all the mammals which inhabit, or have inhabited, the UK."

"This book held the attention of my 6-year-old grandson for every one of its 320+ pages and I was very impressed with it too. It is now my go-to field guide for anything and everything I could ever want to know about British and Irish mammals. I have no hesitation in recommending as an excellent addition to any naturalist's library."---Mike King, Gloster Birder

"This book should hardly hit the book case and be in constant use."---John Miles, Chick Books

"Watching mammals is always a thrill and this new book will help. . . . The team at WILDGuides have produced another excellent field guide, hot on the heels of Britain's Birds, with Britain's Mammals well worth a place on your bookshelf or in your rucksack as you head out to explore the countryside."---The Biggest Twitch

"The winning WILDGuide formula continues throughout this wide‐ranging and attractively designed field guide that follows in the major footsteps of Britain's Birds. . . . Britain’s Mammals is a book for simple enjoyment as well as for learning and I heartily recommend it."---Phil Slade, Another Bird Blog

"The WILDGuides are rapidly becoming the definitive format for UK field guides. . . . Their clear, concise and comprehensive format has set a new bar in the field guide arena."---Peter Smithers, Antenna: Journal of the Royal Entomological Society

"The book is so well written and structured that I think it will appeal equally to the relative novice and to those with a major interest in mammals. . . . It is the standout option for anyone wanting a field guide or basic introduction to Britain's mammals."---Ian Carter, British Birds

"An excellent series of field guides."---Mike Toms, British Trust for Ornithology

"This lavishly illustrated guide crams in a huge amount of information in an accessible format. The stunning photos capture the charisma of our mammal species as well as key identification features and are likely to entice readers out into the field in order to try to catch a glimpse of these often elusive animals. . . . An invaluable guide to take out into the field and also a pleasure to peruse at home."---Philip Briggs, Bat Conservation Trust

"This is not just another field guide, this is the perfect field guide for old hands and newcomers alike. It presents profiles on every mammal you can encounter in Britain and Ireland as well as established introduced and reintroduced species. The tracks and signs chapter is particularly brilliant, with clear drawings of each track and an accurate droppings identification chart. Britain's Mammals also encourages you to go and test your new skills in the field--it has already earned a place in my rucksack."---Hilary Macmillan, BBC Wildlife

"A comprehensive guide to identification, habitats, behaviour, distribution and numbers; it is absolutely brilliant."---Stephen Moss, The Guardian

"One of The Guardian’s Best Nature Books of 2017, chosen by Stephen Moss"

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	3
Foreword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	8
The biology and life-cycle of mammals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
The history of Britain’s and Ireland’s mammals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
Mammals – explaining the names and classification Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
Britain’s and Ireland’s mammals – an overview Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
Watching mammals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	26
The species accounts
Terrestrial Mammals
Squirrels and dormice Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	54
Small mammals (voles, mice and shrews), rats and beavers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
Moles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
Hedgehogs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	112
Rabbit and hares Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
Bats Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
Terrestrial carnivores Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
Pigs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	226
Deer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	228
Semi-domesticated introductions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	252
Marsupials Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	261
Introduced ephemerals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	262
Marine Mammals
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	268
Seals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	270
Cetaceans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	280
Status and legislation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	311
Further reading and sources of useful information Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	317
Acknowledgements and photographic/artwork credits Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	320
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	325