One of two genuine classics of American nature writing now in paperback; the other is A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America.

    

    It is the chronicle of a six months collecting trip to the West African colony of British Cameroon - now Cameroon - (Dec 1947 - Aug 1948) - that Durrell made with the highly regarded aviculturist and ornithologist John Yealland.Their reasons for going on the trip were twofold: "to collect and bring back alive some of the fascinating animals, birds, and reptiles that inhabit the region," and secondly, for both men to realise a long cherished dream to see Africa.Its combination of comic exaggeration and environmental accuracy, portrayed in Durrell's light, clever prose, made it a great success. It launched Durrell's career as a writer of both non-fiction and fiction, which in turn financed his work as a zookeeper and conservationist.The Bafut Beagles and A Zoo in My Luggage are sequels of sorts, telling of his later returns to the region.

    Tinbergen's investigation into the life history and habits of the herring gull is already established as a classic work of modern animal behaviour studies.A charmingly written and exciting monograph, it tells us about the mind of a gull established on practically all the coasts of the northern half of the world; but it tells us also more than a little about the workings of our own minds.

    The small villages of Devon, set between the Severn Estuary to the north and the rivers of Dartmoor to the south, provide the well known setting for this collection of tales about birds, animals, fish and the country people who lived there. Written throughout the period when Williamson was at work on TARKA THE OTTER, the tales are harsh, often highlighting the difficulties of rural life. Yet their truth of detail gives an astonishing indication of Williamson’s remarkable attunement with the English countryside and wild life. He can truly be said to have achieved his ‘ambition to bring the sight of water, tree, fish, sky and other life onto paper.’