Editor Roger Riddington Frequency Monthly Year founded 1907 | Categories Ornithology Publisher BB 2000 Ltd. Country United Kingdom | |
 | ||
British Birds is a monthly ornithology magazine that was established in 1907. It is now published by BB 2000 Ltd, which is wholly owned by The British Birds Charitable Trust (registered charity number 1089422), established for the benefit of British ornithology. Its circulation in 2000 was 5,250 copies; its circulation peaked at 11,000 in the late 1980s. The current editor is Roger Riddington.
Contents
It is aimed at serious birdwatchers and ornithologists, rather than the more casual birdwatchers catered for by some other magazines on the subject. It publishes the findings of the British Birds Rarities Committee.
Its mascot, and later logo, the Red Grouse, was chosen because at the time it was thought to be an endemic British species (it is now considered a sub-species of the Willow Grouse).
In 1916, it absorbed The Zoologist, due to the latter's shortage of subscribers.
Editors
Numbering
Before 1946, all volumes ran from June to May. Harry Witherby produced Vol.1 No.1 in June 1907 and produced 12 monthly issues per volume. It was finally decided to change with Volume 38, which ran from June 1944 to December 1945. Wartime paper restrictions meant that those issues were all pretty thin so it was possible to bind 19 into one volume.
The Digital Era
In 2007 a DVD-ROM disk containing the first 100 years' worth of content (Vols 1-100) was released in conjunction with BirdGuides Ltd. Subsequent volumes are available as paid-for updates.
In 2010, the magazine launched a blog, Facebook group and a Twitter account.
From October 2011, the magazine's first 100 years' of back issues are available on-line, free. More recent issues are available to subscribers to the print edition.