Reviewed by Ian Carter
This is another book in the burgeoning RSPB Spotlight series, this time dealing with a duo of well-known and superficially similar species. I can see the merits of covering both birds in the same book but it seems odd that the House Martin misses out. It shares the association with our buildings as well as a diet based on aerial invertebrates, and is a close relative of the Swallow. Perhaps it will get a future volume all to itself, or paired with its close relative, the Sand Martin.
The book follows the now tried and tested format. There are precisely 128 pages (as with all the other books I’ve seen in this series), photos on every page, and a light, yet informative, text, liberally sprinkled with sub-headings, summarising what we know about these birds.
As always, there is a strong focus on conservation and the things we can do to secure the long-term future of Swift and Swallow populations. The provision of high-quality nest sites will help and should be easy enough to achieve if enough of us can be persuaded to get involved. Less tractable is the problem of ensuring birds can find sufficient food to rear their young and to keep themselves going for the rest of the year.
It’s easy to forget that these are as much African birds as they are British (or European). The Swift is with us for little more than three months of the year, something that makes its appearance in late spring all the more welcome – some birders start to feel a little queasy if they’ve not seen one by 1 May.
There are more detailed books available for both these birds but this one crams in the most images and has enough information to satisfy all but the most curious and demanding of readers.
Swifts and Swallows by Mike Unwin is published by Bloomsbury.
Remarkable Birds by Mark Avery is published by Thames and Hudson – for reviews see here.
Inglorious: conflict in the uplands by Mark Avery is published by Bloomsbury – for reviews see here.
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