Birds in Counties: an Ornithological Bibliography for the Counties of England, Wales & Scotland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Northern Ireland & the Republic of Ireland: Third Supplement

This updates the original book (published by Imperial College Press in 2000) and 2 previous supplements.  It includes entries up to November 2014 with reports up to the 2012 recording year.  The bulk of this supplement (ca 100 pages) is a comprehensive update with corrections and additions arranged by county, and the remainder (ca 40 pages) is a comprehensive author index for articles noted in the book and the supplements.

David Ballance is to be hugely applauded for the production of this labour of love.  For anyone wanting to know anything about the birds which have occurred in different counties of Britain and Ireland and where to find relevant literature this is the vital first port of call.  Sadly he notes in his first sentence that this will be the last supplement presumably as he feels he cannot now keep up with the multiplicity of literature, often hidden in obscure reports and which often do not get to any of the libraries and other places where ornithologists are likely to find them.

Book reviewed by Peter Lack