British Larks, Pipits and Wagtails : 78

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There is something especially attractive about the larks, pipits and wagtails. All have a somewhat insubstantial quality about them and many a degree of elegance and ethereal magic. The larks and pipits are on the whole cryptically coloured, yet they are able to draw your attention with their display flights and a range of songs from the simple repetition of notes to utterances of the greatest complexity, variety and mood. Wagtails have a unique attraction, which is shared with the areas they inhabit.

The aim of this book is to review the British larks, pipits and wagtails. There are three broad introductory chapters on their emergence and range and on the chief characteristics of the genera. Single chapters are devoted to eleven separate species, while two cover the rarer migrants or vagrants on the British list. The last two chapters deal with the movements of the major species and the author's personal view of the current future status of these birds in Britain.

This book is in the classic mould of New Naturalist volumes, giving a comprehensive description of the biology of an important part of Britain's birdlife.