By Dominic Couzens, Andy Swash, Robert Still and Jon Dunn

Princeton University Press, 2017; pbk, 328pp; many colour photographs; ISBN 978-0-691-15697-2

Ј17.95 – buy it from the BB Bookshop

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. The overall feel of the book is subtly different, with fewer of the complex composite images that make up the birds volume, more individual half- and full-page photographs, and a more comprehensive text.

The dual aims of this book are to facilitate the identification of mammals and to foster an increased interest in this somewhat neglected (at least in comparison with birds) group. To help meet the second aim, there are several lively and well-crafted short chapters introducing mammals, including summaries of basic biology, history in Britain, naming/classification, and an overview of the different families. Then follows a longer section on mammal watching, providing a useful overview of fieldcraft, recognition of mammal signs, and the use of basic equipment such as bat detectors and small-mammal traps. These chapters take up the first 50 pages or so before the start of the species accounts.

Each of the species accounts includes up to four 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. There are 122 species in all, though many of these are rarely recorded and receive a single page or less. Since Britain has far fewer mammals than birds, there is space to include a lot more information on behaviour and ecology for the regularly occurring species. Perhaps even more so for mammals, ecology and identification are closely intertwined so the more in-depth approach does not seem out of place in what is essentially a field guide. There is a distribution map for each species and also a population estimate for most, although both come with health warnings for the less well-known species due to a lack of reliable data. The emphasis on watching and enjoying mammals carries through from the introductory chapters into the species accounts and there is a short ‘observation tips’ feature offering helpful hints on how best to track each animal down.

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 most basic facts about the ecology and appearance of each species are easily accessible, but so too is the detailed technical information required to identify species from the most challenging groups. 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