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.
The updated edition features minor amendments to the 2017 version.
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).
"A comprehensive guide to identification, habitats, behaviour, distribution and numbers; it is absolutely brilliant."
– Stephen Moss, The Guardian
"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
"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
"Britain's Mammals is another new volume in the rapidly expanding WILDGuides series, combining high-quality photographs, innovative design and a succinct but informative text. For those familiar with Britain's Birds, it invites immediate comparison, [...] Each of the species accounts includes up to information-packed and lavishly illustrated pages. The coverage is comprehensive: all terrestrial and marine species in Britain and Ireland are dealt with, including rare vagrants, exotics (which have bred in the wild at least once in recent years) and feral species that live semi-wild [...] 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. [...] The clever use of keys, charts and tables for the more complex information means that it is there for those who want it but need not trouble those who don't. Britain's Birds is an excellent field guide but represents just one option in an already (over)crowded market. In contrast, this book provides something that has not previously been available in a single concise volume. It is the standout option for anyone wanting a field guide or basic introduction to Britain's mammals."
– Ian Carter, British Birds, Volume 110, November 2017
"This is a very good book and the best of what is proving to be an excellent series of field guides."
– Mike Toms, British Trust for Ornithology
"An outstanding example of what a modern field guide can and should be [...] This is a must-have volume for any field biologist [...] 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 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
"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
"This book should hardly hit the book case and be in constant use."
– John Miles, Chick Books
"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 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."
– UK Safari
"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
"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
"This is a beautifully designed and produced 'coat pocket' sized field guide for the serious naturalist."
– Michael Clark, Country-Side
"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