This attractively illustrated book reviews the effects of agricultural development on bird populations in Britain. Examining modern farmland as a bird habitat, it explains the changes, both in habitat structure and in available resources, that have occurred as a result of mechanisation and use of agrochemicals. Farmland bird communities are described, and their composition related to farm structure and land use. Based extensively on empirical data extracted from the British Trust for Ornithology's Common Bird Census and from nest histories recorded in the BTO'S Nest Record Scheme, the book presents an important analysis of the position of agricultural bird populations under modern farming systems. Particular examination has been made of the impact of changing methods, rotations and crops, which have been underestimated in the past. Resulting from the co-operation between a professional ornithologist and a working cereal farmer, this book provides an objective and informed view of the impact of British agriculture on bird populations.

Farming and Birds

Science & Math

Shrubb, Michael

O'Connor, Raymond J.

Biological Sciences

Cambridge University Press

<p>Despite the scale of change in agricultural methods in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, farmland birds were little affected, with many benefiting from the appearance of extensive new resources. This book is an historical account of the impact of changes in farming methods on the bird populations of British farmland over the past 250 years. A comparison with modern experience shows significant differences, with the more recent changes in grassland management, herbicide use and harvesting methods leading to a loss of diversity in farmland and, consequently, resulting in steep declines in bird numbers.</p>

Birds, Scythes and Combines: A History of Birds and Agricultural Change

The birds of Sussex: Their present status

Phillimore Co Ltd

Despite the scale of change in agricultural methods in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, farmland birds were little affected, with many benefiting from the appearance of extensive new resources. This book is an historical account of the impact of changes in farming methods on the bird populations of British farmland over the past 250 years. A comparison with modern experience shows significant differences, with the more recent changes in grassland management, herbicide use and harvesting methods leading to a loss of diversity in farmland and, consequently, resulting in steep declines in bird numbers.

The way wild birds have been exploited over the centuries forms the focus of this remarkable new book by Michael Shrubb. It looks at the use of birds as food, for feathers and skins, for eggs, as cage birds, as specimens and for hunting, focusing on Britain, northern Europe and the North Atlantic. Never before has a book brought the huge amount of information on these topics in the academic literature together under one cover.Introductory chapters on what was taken, when, why and its impact are followed by a number of sections looking in detail at important bird groups. Along with discussions of broader themes of exploitation, the book is packed with amazing facts. For example, we learn • why Grey Herons were so important in medieval falconry• why the Black Death was good news for bustards• why Napoleon is to blame for the scarcity of Quail in Britain today• when tame plover stew was all the rageThe book concludes with discussions of the cage bird and plumage trades, both now consigned to the annals of history, in Britain at any rate. As well as summarising and condensing the material into a readable and entertaining account, Shrubb goes back to the original sources. This has allowed him to shed new and surprising light on the biogeography of a number of British birds.

Feasting, Fowling and Feathers: A History of the Exploitation of Wild Birds (Poyser Monographs)

A&C Black

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shrubb, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Shrubb, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shrubb, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Farming and Birds

Birds, Scythes and Combines: A History of Birds and Agricultural Change

The birds of Sussex: Their present status

Birds, Scythes and Combines: A History of Birds and Agricultural Change

Feasting, Fowling and Feathers: A History of the Exploitation of Wild Birds (Poyser Monographs)