Rare Birds, Where and When: An analysis of Status and Distribution in Britain and Ireland. Volume 1 Sandgrouse to New World Orioles

An incredibly authoritative book, perfect if you are a fan of the rarity-hunting part of birdwatching. Russell has self-published to allow himself the room to treat each species and race in detail, and the task proved so large that ultimately 2 volumes will be published. Each species starts with a brief description and notes on their status in the UK. Then, for species with few records, each record is presented individually. For more frequent vagrants charts showing numbers in each year are given. The text is frequently filled out with first hand accounts by finders and attractive black and white vignettes decorate the accounts. Many people like to find out more about rare birds that they have seen, and this is the book to give them that extra information. With individual records published, there could well be some ‘I was there’ moments as well.

Book reviewed by Su Gough