''Birds In Britain'' was a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

series, broadcast from 1951 to 1963 on the

Home Service Home Service is a British folk rock group, formed in late 1980 from a nucleus of musicians who had been playing in Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band. Their career is generally agreed to have peaked with the album ''Alright Jack'', and has had an ...

, about wild

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s. Its lead presenter was James Fisher. It was created as an offshoot from a programme called ''The Naturalist'', in order to avoid overwhelming the content of the latter with ornithological material. The first episode was broadcast on 19 March 1951 and was presented by Fisher and produced by

Desmond Hawkins Desmond Hawkins, OBE (20 October 1908 – 6 May 1999), born in East Sheen, Surrey, was an author, editor and radio personality. Career The political and artistic upheavals of the 1930s meant a proliferation of serious magazines. Desmond w ...

, with guest speakers John Gibb (

Edward Grey Institute The Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology (EGI), at Oxford University in England, is an academic body that conducts research in ornithology and the general field of evolutionary ecology and conservation biology, with an emphasis on understa ...

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film ''Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low ...

(

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginnings In 1931 Max Nicholson wrote: In the United State ...

), Hilda Quick ( Cornwall Birdwatching Society) and Ludwig Koch. Other presenters and guests included notable ornithologists, such as

Arnold Boyd Arnold Whitworth Boyd MC, MA, FZS, FRES, MBOU (20 January 1885 – 16 October 1959) was an ornithologist and naturalist from Altrincham, Cheshire, England. Boyd was born on 20 January 1885. He was a long-time contributor to ''The Guardian'' ' ...

, William Condry,

Eric Ennion The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

Tony Norris Cuthbert Antony Norris (9 January 1917 in Cradley, Worcestershire – 25 February 2005 in Worcester) was an English ornithologist. He was a member of the RSPB's council in the 1950s and 1960s, chairing its finance and general purposes committee. ...

Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest in ...

, and Tony Soper. Soper was also the producer of some episodes. The show was first broadcast quarterly, and eventually monthly, alternating every fortnight with ''The Naturalist''. It ran until March 1963. A biographical note on Fisher, accompanying

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

' record for their collection of his papers, says the programme was "enormously popular in tsday".

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

has said of ''The Naturalist'' and ''Birds of Britain'':Alt URL

References

{{Reflist BBC Home Service programmes 1951 radio programme debuts 1963 radio programme endings 1950s in the United Kingdom 1960s in the United Kingdom Natural history of the United Kingdom British talk radio programmes Ornithology in the United Kingdom