Tag: Top ten

NHBS’s Top 10 bestsellers of 2021

We’ve loved looking back at our bestsellers from each month and now we are very excited to share our Top 10 list for 2021.

This year we’ve had a range of exciting bestsellers, including many popular titles you may recognise from previous Top 10s, such as Seabirds, Secrets of a Devon Wood and A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain & Ireland.

 

Flight Identification of European Passerines and Select Landbirds: An Illustrated and Photographic Guide  | Tomasz Cofta
Flexibound | March 2021

The number one bestseller for 2021 is Flight Identification of European Passerines and Select Landbirds! Tomasz Cofta’s cutting-edge book is the first field guide for identifying European passerines in flight, featuring more than 830 stunning colour illustrations. Covering 206 passerines and 32 near-passerine landbirds, this book combines Cofta’s precise illustrations with a range of photos for each species that show how they appear in flight. In addition, short, sharp and authoritative species accounts with essential information on individual flight manner and flock structure are represented concisely. This guide will appeal to all birders, and its new knowledge on flight identification makes it a must-have for professional ornithologists and scientists too.

 

Britain’s Insects: a Field guide to the Insects of Great Britain and Ireland | Paul D. Brock
Flexibound | May 2021

Britain’s Insects is an innovative, up-to-date, carefully designed and beautifully illustrated field guide to Britain and Ireland’s twenty-five insect orders.  Concentrating on popular groups and species that can be identified in the field, this guide features superb photographs of live insects and covers the key aspects of identification. Providing information on status, distribution, seasonality, habitat, food plants and behaviour, this is the go-to guide for entomologists, naturalists, gardeners and anyone else interested in insects, whatever their level of knowledge.

 

Secrets of a Devon Wood: My Nature Journal | Jo Brown
Hardback | October 2020

The number one bestseller in our June Top 10, Secrets of a Devon Wood has captured hearts and minds across the globe. Artist and illustrator Jo Brown started keeping her nature diary in a bid to document the small wonders of the wood behind her home in Devon. In enchanting, minute detail, she zooms in on a buff-tailed bumblebee, a green dock beetle or a pixie cup lichen. This book is an exact replica of her original black Moleskin journal, a rich illustrated memory of Jo’s discoveries in the order in which she found them.

Read our full interview with Jo Brown. 

 

Heathland | Clive Chatters
Hardback | March 2021

Heathlands are so much more than simply purple carpets of heather. They are ancient landscapes found throughout Britain that support a complex of inter-related species and an immense diversity of habitats. In this latest addition to the British Wildlife Collection, Clive Chatters introduces us to Britain’s heathlands and their anatomy. Heathland takes the reader on a geographical tour – from the maritime sub-arctic of the Shetlands to the mild wetness of the Atlantic coast – with an in memoriam nod to those heaths that have been erased from common memory and understanding.

You can read our interview with Clive Chatters here.

 

Butterflies | Martin Warren
Hardback | April 2021  

Butterflies is a unique take on butterfly behaviour and ecology, written by the former Chief Executive of Butterfly Conservation, Martin Warren. Exploring the secret lives of our British species, this book combines personal anecdotes with the latest discoveries in scientific literature. Butterflies covers everything from why we love these species and their life-cycle from egg to adult, their struggle for survival in a world of predators and parasites and the miracle of migration. Insightful, inspiring and a joy to read, this is the culmination of a lifetime of careful research into what makes these beautiful insects tick and how and why we must conserve them.

 

A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes | Dominic Price
Spiralbound | July 2021  

Featuring in a number of our Top 10 lists, A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes aims to simplify the identification of this fascinating group of plants, using characteristics that are both easy to spot in the field and simple to remember. Over 100 species are described, focusing on the key features of both their genus and species.

Read our interview with Dominic Price.

 

 

seabirds: the new identification guide | Peter harrison et al.
Hardback | June 2021

Seabirds: The New Identification Guide, a 600-page treatment to all known seabird species, including recently rediscovered and rarely seen species.  It is the first comprehensive guide to the world’s seabirds to be published since Harrison’s Seabirds in 1983. This guide contains 239 brilliant, full-colour plates, along with detailed text covering status, conservation, breeding biology and feeding habits, latest taxonomic treatments, geographic range and more. Containing more than 3,800 full-colour figures with illustrations of distinct subspecies, sexes, ages and morphs, seabirders worldwide will find this to be an authoritative, one-of-a-kind publication for use around the globe.

 

Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide | Rob Hume et al.
Flexibound | October 2021

 

From the highly acclaimed WILDGuides team comes Europe’s Birds, the most comprehensive, authoritative and ambitious single-volume photographic guide to Europe’s birds ever produced.  Birdwatchers of any ability will benefit from the clear text, details on range, status and habitat and an unrivalled selection of photographs. Chosen to be as naturalistic and informative as possible, the images are also stunning to look at, making this a beautiful book to enjoy, as well as an up-to-date and essential source of identification knowledge.

 

Britain’s Hoverflies: A Field Guide | Stuart Ball and Roger Morris
Flexibound | April 2015

Britain’s Hoverflies is a beautifully illustrated photographic field guide to the hoverflies of Britain, focusing on the species that can be most readily identified. It is the perfect companion for wildlife enthusiasts, professional ecologists and anyone else with an interest in this fascinating group of insects, and is designed to appeal to beginners and experts alike. Accessible, authoritative and easy to use, this book contains hundreds of remarkable photographs of the various life stages of those species that can be identified by eye or with a magnifying glass, with coverage of at least one representative from each of the British genera.

 

A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain & Ireland | Paul D. Brock
Flexibound |  October 2019

This expanded edition covers over 2,300 species with updated maps and over 2,900 colour photographs throughout, with fully comprehensive sections on all insect groups, including beetles, flies, ants, bees and wasps. The concise text gives information on behaviour as well as their present-day conservation status; pointers are given to help avoid misidentification with species of similar appearance.

With its wide species coverage and emphasis on not only popular but somewhat neglected insect orders, A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain & Ireland will be of interest to naturalists throughout Britain and Ireland.

 

NHBS’s Top 10 bestsellers October 2021

We love looking back at our bestsellers from the month before and are very excited to share our Top 10 list for October.

This month we have a range of exciting new bestsellers to share with you, including Wild Mull and the recently published Nests, as well as several popular titles you may recognise from previous Top 10s, such as Seabirds and Silent Earth.

 

Wild Mull: A Natural History of the Island and its people  | stephen littlewood
Paperback | October 2021

In top place this month is Wild Mull, Stephen Littlewood’s stunning portrayal of the island’s natural history. Now a resident of the Isle of Mull, Littlewood takes the reader on a journey, exploring every facet of the island’s natural history, rich biodiversity and stories of past, present and future. With superb illustrations and illuminating text, Wild Mull is testimony to the power of wild places and the duty we have to protect and learn from them.

Read our interview with Stephen Littlewood

 

Europe’s Birds: an identification guide | rob hume et al.
Flexibound | October 2021

From the highly acclaimed WILDGuides team comes Europe’s Birds, the most comprehensive, authoritative and ambitious single-volume photographic guide to Europe’s birds ever produced.  Birdwatchers of any ability will benefit from the clear text, details on range, status and habitat and an unrivalled selection of photographs. Chosen to be as naturalistic and informative as possible, the images are also stunning to look at, making this a beautiful book to enjoy, as well as an up-to-date and essential source of identification knowledge.

 

NESTS| susan ogilvy
Hardback | October 2021

Nests by Susan Ogilvy is an exquisite collection of live-size watercolour paintings that gives one a renewed appreciation of the humble bird’s nest. Her life-size paintings brings to life the various common materials used, including twigs, roots, grasses, reeds, leaves, moss, lichen, hair, feathers and even cobwebs.  Few modern books exist specifically on the subject of bird nests, making Ogilvy’s work all the more precious.

 

Entangled life: how fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures | merlin sheldrake
Paperback | September 2021

Winner of the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation, Entangled Life is a truly mind-altering and perspective-shifting book on fungi. In this insightful book, biologist and writer Merlin Sheldrake introduces the spectacular world of fungi and how it has shaped and continues to influence the world we live in.

You can read our Q&A with Merlin Sheldrake here.

 

British moths: a gateway guide | James Lowen
Spiralbound| September 2021  

British Moths: A Gateway Guide is a wonderful introduction to 350 species of the most common and eye-catching adult moths that you may encounter in the UK. Rather than being grouped in taxonomic order, species are organised by season, and similar-looking moths are placed alongside one another for ease of identification. This is the perfect companion for anyone wanting to learn more about these beautiful and remarkable insects.

 

A Field Guide to the plants of armenia | tamar galstyan
Hardback | July 2021  

A Field Guide to the Plants of Armenia is a remarkable and significant contribution to the literature of the region. After travelling the length and breadth of her diverse native country, Tamar Galstyan brings together more than 1000 plants in this essential companion. Spectacular photos bring the plants vividly to life, and each entry includes a full plant description to aid identification and an accompanying distribution map.

 

 

seabirds: the new identification guide | Peter harrison et al.
Hardback | June 2021

Seabirds: The New Identification Guide, a 600-page treatment to all known seabird species, including recently rediscovered and rarely seen species.  It is the first comprehensive guide to the world’s seabirds to be published since Harrison’s Seabirds in 1983. This guide contains 239 brilliant, full-colour plates, along with detailed text covering status, conservation, geographic range and more.

 

 

Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse | Dave Goulson
Hardback | August 2021

Silent Earth is part love letter to the insect world, part elegy, and part rousing manifesto for a greener planet. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime of study, Silent Earth reveals the shocking decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Read our extended review.

 

 

British Craneflies | alan stubbs
Hardback| July 2021

British Craneflies is a guide to the identification and natural history of 250 species in six families of cranefly. It describes the distribution and habitat of each one, with 128 pages of identification keys illustrated with thumbnail drawings and colour plates showing the markings and wing venation of 180 species. This guide also contains photographic examples of some distinctive and common craneflies, illustrations of the male genitalia for all species of Tipulidae and for most genera of other families, as well as introductory chapters including a full account of the enemies of craneflies.

 

Secrets of a devon wood: my nature journal | jo brown
Hardback |  October 2021

Secrets of a Devon Wood is a hymn to the intricate beauty of the natural world. Artist and illustrator Jo Brown started keeping her nature diary in a bid to document the small wonders of the wood behind her home in Devon. This book is an exact replica of her original black Moleskin journal, a rich illustrated memory of Jo’s discoveries in the order in which she found them.

Jo very kindly agreed to answer some of our questions for a Q&A. Read the full interview here.

 

NHBS’s Top 10 bestsellers September 2021

We love looking back at our bestsellers from the month before and are very excited to share our Top 10 list for September.

This month, our bestsellers include exciting new works such as Europe’s Birds and Habitats of the World, as well as several ever-popular titles you may recognise from previous Top 10s, such as Secrets of a Devon Wood and Britain’s Insects.

 

Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide | Andy Swash et al
Hardback | August 2021

In top place this month is WILDGuides latest book Europe’s Birds. Covering more than 900 species and illustrated with over 4,700 photographs, this is the most comprehensive, authoritative and ambitious single-volume photographic guide to Europe’s birds ever produced. Birdwatchers of any ability will benefit from the clear text; details on range, status and habitat; and an unrivalled selection of photographs.

 

Collins Birds of the World: All 10,711 Species Illustrated | Norman Arlott et al
Hardback | September 2021

Collins Birds of the World is the complete collection of the Collins Field Guide‘s incredibly detailed, accurate and beautiful bird paintings, brought together for the first time in one comprehensive volume. All 10,711 of the world’s bird species are covered – this is the ultimate reference book for birdwatchers and bird enthusiasts.

Read our interview with Norman Arlott.

 

Bat Calls of Britain and Europe: A Guide to Species Identification| Jon Ross et al
Hardback | August 2021

Bat Calls of Britain and Europe is a comprehensive guide to the calls of the 44 species of bat currently known to occur in Europe, drawing on the expertise of more than 40 specialist authors. Aimed at volunteers and professionals alike, topics include the basics of sound, echolocation in bats, an introduction to acoustic communication and call analysis. Detailed information is provided for each species on their distribution, emergence, flight and foraging behaviour, habitat, echolocation calls – including parameters of common measurements – and social calls.

 

Secrets of a Devon Wood: My Nature Journal | Jo Brown
Hardback | October 2020

Secrets of a Devon Wood is a hymn to the intricate beauty of the natural world. Artist and illustrator Jo Brown started keeping her nature diary in a bid to document the small wonders of the wood behind her home in Devon. This book is an exact replica of her original black Moleskin journal, a rich illustrated memory of Jo’s discoveries in the order in which she found them.

Jo very kindly agreed to answer some of our questions for a Q&A. Read the full interview here.

 

The Handbook of Acoustic Bat Detection | Volker Runkel 
Paperback | September 2021  

A recent release, The Handbook of Acoustic Bat Detection provides an in-depth understanding of acoustic detection principles, study planning, data handling, properties of bat calls, manual identification of species, automatic species recognition, analysis of results, quality assurance and the background physics of sound.

Read our interview with the authors.

 

 

British Craneflies | Alan Stubbs
Hardback | July 2021  

British Craneflies is a guide to the identification and natural history of 250 species in six families of cranefly. It describes the distribution and habitat of each one, with 128 pages of identification keys illustrated with thumbnail drawings and colour plates showing the wing venation and markings of 180 species. This guide also contains photograph examples of some distinctive and common craneflies, illustrations of the male genitalia for all species of Tipulidae and for most genera of other families, and introductory chapters including a full account of the enemies of craneflies.

 

Britain’s insects: A Field guide to the insects of Great Britain and Ireland | Paul D. brock
Flexibound | May 2021

Britain’s Insects makes the Top 10 list again this month! This field guide is an innovative, up-to-date, carefully designed and beautifully-illustrated field guide to Britain and Ireland’s 25 insect orders, concentrating on popular groups and species that can be identified in the field.

Featuring superb photographs of live insects, Britain’s Insects covers the key aspects of identification and provides information on status, distribution, seasonality, habitat, food plants and behaviour.

 

Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse | Dave Goulson
Hardback | August 2021

Silent Earth is part love letter to the insect world, part elegy, and part rousing manifesto for a greener planet. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime of study, Silent Earth reveals the shocking decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Read our extended review.

 

 

British Moths: A Gateway Guide | James Lowen
Spiralbound | September 2021

British Moths is a wonderful introduction to 350 species of the most common and eye-catching adult moths that you may encounter in the UK. Concise species accounts include information on key features, seasonality, and when and where to see them. Each account is also placed alongside photos that have been carefully chosen to aid identification with clearly marked top tips.

 

 

Habitats of the World: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists | Iain D Campbell Et al
Flexibound |  September 2021

Habitats of the World is the first field guide to the world’s major land habitats – 189 in all. Using the format of a natural history field guide, this comprehensive book features concise identification descriptions and is richly illustrated, including more than 650 colour photographs of habitats and their wildlife, 150 distribution maps, 200 diagrams and 150 silhouettes depicting each habitat alongside a human figure, providing an immediate grasp of its look and scale.

 

NHBS’s Top 10 bestsellers August 2021

We love looking back at our bestsellers from the month before and are very excited to share our Top 10 list, featuring the best of August.

This month, highlights include recent works such as Silent Earth and Collins Birds of the World, as well as several you may recognise from last month’s Top 10, such as All the Birds of the World and the consistently popular Britain’s Insects.

 

Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse | Dave Goulson
Hardback | August 2021

In top place this month is Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse, part love letter to the insect world, part elegy, and part rousing manifesto for a greener planet. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime of study, Silent Earth reveals the shocking decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Read our extended review.

 

Collins Birds of the World: All 10,711 Species Illustrated | Norman Arlott et al
Hardback | September 2021

Collins Birds of the World: All 10,711 Species Illustrated is the complete collection of the Collins Field Guide’s incredibly detailed, accurate and beautiful bird paintings brought together for the first time in one comprehensive volume. All 10,711 of the world’s bird species are covered – this is the ultimate reference book for birdwatchers and bird enthusiasts.

Read our interview with Norman Arlott.

 

Britain’s insects: A Field guide to the insects of Great Britain and Ireland | Paul D. brock
Flexibound | May 2021

Britain’s Insects is even more popular this month! This field guide is an innovative, up-to-date, carefully designed and beautifully illustrated field guide to Britain and Ireland’s 25 insect orders, concentrating on popular groups and species that can be identified in the field.

 

Featuring superb photographs of live insects, Britain’s Insects covers the key aspects of identification and provides information on status, distribution, seasonality, habitat, food plants and behaviour.

 

 

A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain & Ireland | Paul  D. Brock
Flexibound | October 2019

A Comprehensive Guide to Insects of Britain & Ireland has moved up from the 9th spot on last month’s list. It is a complete, photographic field guide to over 2,300 species of insects in Britain and Ireland – including beetles, flies, ants, bees and wasps. The clear photographs will assist in the identification of the majority of insects likely to be encountered.

This guide also contains concise text on behaviour, present-day conservation status and pointers on species of similar appearance. Serious naturalists will welcome notes on areas to look for rarities and further resources that provide additional information on particular insect groups.

 

British Craneflies | Alan Stubbs
Hardback | July 2021  

British Craneflies is a guide to the identification and natural history of 250 species in six families of cranefly. It describes the distribution and habitat of each one, with 128 pages of identification keys illustrated with thumbnail drawings and colour plates showing markings and venation of the wings of 180 species. This guide also contains photograph examples of some distinctive and some common craneflies, illustrations of the male genitalia for all species of Tipulidae and for most genera of other families, and introductory chapters including a full account of the enemies of craneflies.

 

All the Birds of the World | Josep Del Hoyo          
Hardback | August 2020

This all-encompassing new guide lists all the birds of the world, allowing readers to browse and compare Earth’s amazing avian diversity between the covers of one volume. All the Birds of the World presents over 11,524 species, accompanied by 11,558 distribution maps and 20,865 illustrations detailing sexual dimorphism, morphs and distinctive subspecies.

 

Britain’s Butterflies: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland | David Newland et al.
Flexibound | August 2020

This photographic field guide to all of Britain’s butterflies returns in a fourth edition, produced in association with Butterfly Conservation. Britain’s Butterflies is a comprehensive and beautifully designed photographic guide, containing hundreds of stunning colour photographs and providing the latest information on every species ever recorded. It covers all 59 butterfly species that breed regularly, four former breeders, 10 rare migrants and one species of unknown status.

 

Plants and Habitats: An Introduction to Common Plants and Their Habitats in Britain and Ireland |Ben Averis
Paperback | June 2013

Plants and Habitats combines the species and habitat approaches to plants and vegetation. It is an identification guide to 700 of the most common, conspicuous or useful ecological indicator plant species that make up most of Britain and Ireland’s vegetation. It also contains a separate habitats section describing the flora, ecology and management of habitats. This illustrated guide aims to help people understand our vegetation at all scales, from individual plants to whole landscapes.

 

A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes | Dominic Price
Hardback | September 2021

A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes is another repeat occurrence from last month’s Top 10 and is a consistent bestseller for NHBS. This guide aims to simplify the identification of this fascinating group of plants, using characters that are both easy to spot in the field and simple to remember. Over 100 species are described, focusing on key features of both their genus and species.

Read our interview with Dominic Price.

 

Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland | Paul Waring Et al.
Paperback |  November 2018

Still popular this month, the third edition of the Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland is a fully revised and updated version.

This field guide includes beautiful illustrations displaying key features to help with identification. It covers flight season, life cycle, larval foodplants, habitat and more, along with maps presenting distribution information.

The revised edition also contains an introduction explaining how the methods of identifying and recording moths have evolved over recent years.