As an undergraduate student in 1964 I waited impatiently for the arrival of my copy of the first edition Handbook of British Mammals , a small friendly book the size of a New Naturalist. Half its length was devoted to how to study mammals in the field and the rest to species accounts summarizing everything then known about the biology, ecology and distribution of each species. That superb book became the bible of the many mammal enthusiasts who then went on to produce new editions of the book at roughly 15-year intervals.

The latest edition is more of a two-hand book (it’s almost too heavy to pick-up with one) and is devoted almost entirely to detailed species accounts of all the species known in Britain since Roman times. The species list is longer than in the first edition as a shrew and several bat species have been recognized as distinct from their commoner relatives and several new bat and whale species have been detected as rare visitors to the British Isles. The big change is in the amount of knowledge to be summarised: the reference lists alone in this book would have completely filled the original edition. The reference lists are sensibly given for each group of mammals, so it is still possible to skim through the lists looking for papers that appear relevant to your interests. Sadly, in my view, the system of giving references has been changed to using numbers rather that the author, date system, which makes it essential to cross check every reference rather than recognising those with which you are already familiar.

The new handbook can be used to help identify British mammals. It has some lovely colour plates of all species, text descriptions and illustrations of skulls, teeth etc but I suspect that most people will find a more compact field guide (combined with the specialist booklets on identifying from owl pellets, fur, tracks and ultrasound) more generally useful.

The distribution maps are not conventional dot-maps but redrawn with shading that indicates status levels: there is no key on most maps and you need to cross check with the introductory chapter to find out what the shading is supposed to mean. The map for the Chinese water deer, showing it as present in the north-western third of Essex, worried me as there are no reports of the species in Essex known to me or the Essex mammal recorder. I hope this is an isolated slip but have not tried to check all the maps.

The introductory chapters are mainly concerned with the history of the British mammal fauna with some fascinating information on overall population and biomass now and in the past. There is also a detailed and very useful chapter on legislation affecting British mammals.

Unlike previous editions of the book, this one is published by the Mammal Society itself rather than by a commercial scientiNovember 19, 2011 9:03ed in the book’s being difficult to get hold of and to spotted. For example: the first two Tables in the book state that Ireland has no native insectivores but the pygmy shrew is an Irish native (as is stated elsewhere in the book). The population estimates for mammals in the Mesolithic are, absurdly, given precise to the last individual viz 17,492,348 pygmy shrews existed in the Mesolithic era (until an aurochs trod on one?) down to a more sensible roughly 8.6 million today.

Despite such criticisms, this is a book well worth buying and using. It would be worth its price just for the reference lists and is a beautiful book to browse as well as an important reference.

The cheapest and easiest way to obtain this book is to post your order and cheque to: The Mammal Society, 3 Carronades, New Road, Southampton, SO14 0AA (01 278 641 747).

The RRP is £70 and postage is normally £9.00 but the Mammal Society offers you the chance to order post-free provided your order arrives within two months of the publication of this review.

David Corke
Wimbish, Essex

David is a wildlife biologist who, retired from a university career, now runs a small wildlife book publishing company , Lopinga Books www.lopinga.com