Natural history books
In response to requests for natural history book recommendations here are some of the titles that we have found useful for birds, moths, butterflies, caterpillars, hoverflies, squash bugs, shield bugs, grasshoppers, crickets and general insects.
Other excellent reference books are available but these are the ones we are familiar with and which have served us well over many years.
Please note that some of the titles may have updated editions.
Moth identification books
The field guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland – Waring, Townsend and Lewington
Concise guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland – Waring, Townsend and Lewington
Moths of the British Isles – Bernard Skinner
British Pyralid Moths – Barry Goater
Moths of Great Britain and Ireland – Sean Clancy – field guide to all macro moth.
Hawkmoths of the Western Palearctic- Pittaway
Bird Dropping Tortrix Moths – Jon Clifton and Jim Wheeler
British and Irish Pug Moths – Adrian Riley and Gaston Prior
Scientific names of British lepidoptera – A Maitland Emmet
Provisional Atlas of the UK’s larger moths – Hill, Randle, Fox and Parsons
Field guide to Micro moths of Great Britain and Ireland – Sterling, Parsons and Lewington
Hawkmoths of the Western Palearctic- Pittaway
Hawk Moths of North America – J.P Tuttle
Butterfly identification guides
A complete guide to British Butterflies – Margaret Brooks and Charles Knight
A Cornwall Butterfly Atlas – Watcher, Worth and Spalding
Butterflies – Pocket Guide to the butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland – Richard Lewington
Caterpillar identification guides
The Colour identification guide to Caterpillars of the British Isles – Jim Porter
Foodplant list for the caterpillars of Britain’s Butterflies and Larger Moths – Tim Crafer
Caterpillars of Eastern North America – David Wagner
Hawkmoths of the Western Palearctic- Pittaway
Hawk Moths of North America – J.P Tuttle
Bird identification books
Large format of Collins Bird Guide – The most complete field guide to the birds of Britain and Europe
Small format of Collins Bird Guide – The most complete field guide to the birds of Britain and Europe
Europe bird identification book
The small format of the Collins Bird Guide served us well for our European trips to Spain, France, Majorca, Minorca, Greece and Gibralter
American bird identification book
North American Bird Guide – John Sibley
Australian bird identification book
revised edition of the Field Guide to the Birds of Australia – Simpson and Day
South Africa bird identification guide
Birds of Southern Africa- Sinclair, Hockey and Tarboton
South Africa Australian bird site guide – Essential Birding Western South Africa – Cohen and Spottiswoode
South African birding holiday account
Related pages: Bird posts | British birds gallery
New Zealand bird identification book
Hand Guide to Birds of New Zealand Robertson, Heather and Onley
Hoverflies
Britain’s Hoverflies Stuart Ball and Roger Morris
Shieldbugs and Squashbugs
A photographic guide to the Shieldbugs and Squashbugs of the British Isles – Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson
Grasshoppers and Crickets
Grasshoppers and Crickets of Britain and Ireland – Martin Evans and Roger Edmonson
Dragonflies and Damselflies
Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland – Steve Brooks and Richard Lewington.
Insects
Collins complete guide to British Insects