by Tim Birkhead
Red-backed shrike showing the tomial tooth (notch) towards the tip of the upper mandible, noticed by Willughby (top); nestling woodpigeons (bottom) – Willughby speculated on whether pigeon broods (always two) comprised one of each sex
European roller. Willughby identified several ‘distinguishing marks’: the tongue (top); the wart-like region behind the eye (middle); and the structure of the toes
Eurasian bittern. Willughby and colleagues dissected one while he was an undergraduate at Cambridge: head (top); pectinated middle claw (bottom left and centre) and the power-down feathers on the breast
The ‘pigo’, a roach-like fish whose spiky breeding-season scales captured Willughby’s imagination
Plate from the hand-coloured edition of The Ornithology of Francis Willughby, owned by Samuel Pepys. Clockwise from top left: hawfinch, northern cardinal (a North American import), bullfinch, house sparrow, crossbill and greenfinch
Title page of Leonard Baldner’s unpublished book, purchased by Francis Willughby while in Strasbourg; note the portrait of Balder (right)
The snap-apple, as the common crossbill was known in Willughby’s day: male (top) and female (bottom)
John Ray by William Faithorne, around 1690 (top left); John Wilkins (top right); and Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, built by Francis Willughby’s great-grandfather, Sir Francis Willoughby
BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK
BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain 2018
Copyright © Tim Birkhead, 2018
Maps by Martin Lubikowski
Family tree and diagrams by Phillip Beresford
Tim Birkhead has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work
For legal purposes the Acknowledgements constitute an extension of this copyright page
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data has been applied for
ISBN: HB: 978-1-4088-7848-4; EPUB: 978-1-4088-7850-7
To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.