Birds: An Anthology

Will open new avenues for every lover of good writing about birds … The more you read, the more avenues for your own exploration you will spot. That’s what makes a good anthology, and this is a very good, very individual one. - Cage & Aviary Birds

One of the lasting memories of the past few months will be the amplified presence of birds in our daily lives, so this book could hardly be more timely … and is illustrated with exquisite woodcuts by the engraver/author Eric Fitch Daglish. - Country Life

Woodcuts by Eric Fitch Daglish enhance the writing and create an anthology that is a delight to dip into. - The Field

Testimony to our ongoing love affair with birds. - BBC Wildlife Magazine

This rich anthology is a celebration of birds chaptered with themes ranging from ‘river, coast, sea, shore’ to the changing seasons, documenting the behaviour, flights, songs and migrations of birds in stirring prose and poetry. - Coast Magazine

Thomas Hardy notes the thrush’s ‘full-hearted evensong of joy illimited’, Gilbert White observes how swallows sweep through the air but swifts ‘dash round in circles’ and Rachel Carson watches sanderlings at the ocean’s edge, scurrying ‘across the beach like little ghosts’. From early times, we have been entranced by the bird life around us.

This anthology brings together poetry and prose in celebration of birds, records their behaviour, flight, song and migration, the changes across the seasons and in different habitats – in woodland and pasture, on river, shoreline and at sea – and our own interaction with them. From India to America, from China to Rwanda, writers marvel at birds – the building of a long-tailed tit’s nest, the soaring eagle, the extraordinary feats of migration and the pleasures to be found in our own gardens.

Including extracts by Geoffrey Chaucer, Dorothy Wordsworth, Richard Jefferies, Charles Darwin, James Joyce, John Keats, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Anton Chekhov, Kathleen Jamie, Jonathan Franzen and Barbara Kingsolver among many others, this rich anthology will be welcomed by bird-lovers, country ramblers and anyone who has taken comfort or joy in a bird in flight.

Jaqueline Mitchell is a writer and compiler of anthologies, specialising in social and cultural history, and an editor of non-fiction.

Eric Fitch Daglish (1892–1966) was a wood engraver and illustrator. His book Woodcuts of British Birds was published in 1925.

• Hardback
• 272 pages, 198 x 129 mm
• 25 black and white illustrations
• ISBN: 9781851245291
• Publication May 2020

IMPORTANT UPDATE REGARDING USA ORDERS:

We have resumed shipments to the USA. Parcels will be sent DDP (delivered duty paid), duties and taxes will be calculated at checkout and added to the value of your order.

GENERAL

We aim to dispatch your purchases within 3-5 working days. Your order will, wherever possible, be sent to you in one delivery. Occasionally we may have to send your order in separate shipments. If this is the case, you will only be charged the delivery amount quoted to you at the time you placed your order.

Delivery in the UK is made by first class post via Royal Mail or DHL. International delivery is made either by first class post or via courier (DHL), some international locations will take up to 4-6 weeks for delivery.

All delivery prices include handling, packing and insurance where appropriate. All prices quoted are for delivery to one address only.

Prices shown include all applicable UK taxes. Please note that international orders (including the EU) may be subject to local customs duties, taxes and delivery charges, which are levied once a shipment reaches your country. The customer is responsible for any additional duty, taxes or fees applicable in their country. Customs policies vary widely from country to country and we advise you to contact your local customs office for further information.

PICKUP

Our Pickup service is a convenient way for you to order online and collect your purchase in person at the Library. We aim to have your order ready for collection within 72 hours. You will be notified when your order is ready for collection. Please don't come to the library to collect until you have received the email notification. 

Our standard delivery charges (exclusions apply*) are:

*excluding alcohol, artist work, furniture, heavy items and custom prints that will be courier delivered. Please see below and item pages for more details.

Age Restricted Items

Please note that age restricted products are available to be shipped in the UK only and will incur an additional shipping fee.

Heavy Items - Standard delivery charges do not apply to the following heavy items due to weight and volume:

• The Bodleian Curators' Chair
• The 'Baby Bod' Curators' Chair
• Bodleian Readers' Chair
• Radcliffe Camera Model
• Radcliffe Camera Bookends

These items will be shipped via courier and the shipping charges include relevant insurance. Please contact customerservice@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for more information and for a shipping quote.

Custom Prints

Please note that a separate, additional delivery charge applies for Custom Print orders. Custom Prints are made and dispatched by a third party (Museoteca) on behalf of the Bodleian Libraries. Custom prints are dispatched separately from other products from the Bodleian Libraries Shop.

How to Cancel 

To cancel an order with us, please contact us as soon as possible after placing the order. If your order has already been dispatched, you will need to await its receipt and then return the goods to us (should you still wish to cancel) unopened and in a re-saleable condition in order to receive a full refund of the purchase price. We will refund the standard cost of outbound delivery, but please note that you must arrange for and pay the costs of returning the goods to us. 

For more information about cancelling your order, including your statutory right to cancel and what to do if your goods are damaged or faulty, see: https://www.bodleianshop.co.uk/pages/terms-conditions

Our "Goodwill" Refund Policy 

In addition to your statutory right to cancel, we offer a "goodwill" refund policy. This does not affect your legal rights.

Under our "goodwill" refund policy, we will refund or exchange any goods purchased from us when they are returned in a re-saleable condition and accompanied by proof of purchase within 28 days of purchase. We will also refund the standard cost of outbound delivery. Return delivery charges are non-refundable unless your order is faulty or incorrect. Please note that pierced earrings, personalised items including bespoke prints, artist works and any item with a security seal where the seal has been broken, are excluded from our "goodwill" refund policy. The refund will be paid as soon as possible, but in any event within 14 days, following receipt of the returned goods. We recommend that you use a recorded delivery service to return any goods to us, as we will not be able to refund any goods that have been lost or damaged in transit.

If you wish to discuss returning an item please email customerservice@bodleian.ox.ac.uk with your order number and item details and we will respond as soon as possible. 

Our returns address is: