FEASTING, FOWLING AND FEATHERS: A HISTORY OF THE EXPLOITATION OF WILD BIRDS. By Michael Shrubb.

2013 1st edition. Large 8vo (159 x 240mm). Pp256,viii[plates]. Colour photograph plates and illustrations, b/w illustrations from old engravings, bibliography. Blue boards.

A history of hunting and trapping birds in Britain - wildfowling, falconry, bird-trapping, egg-collecting, punt-gunning, duck decoys, game shooting. Chapters include: Uses of wild birds; Fowling methods; Regulations and seasons; Herons, spoonbills and cranes; Wildfowl; gamebirds; Waders; Seabirds; Passerines; Cagebirds and collecting; The plumage trade; Some conclusions. Appendices give: Status of some Grey Heronries in England and Wales; Duck decoys in England and Wales; Introductions and releases of Red-legged Partridges in Britain; Ancient colonies of the Black-headed Gull in England and Wales; Currency, weights and measures; Scientific names of species mentioned in the text.