THE BIRDS OF BRITISH SOMALILAND AND THE GULF OF ADEN

Their Life Histories, Breeding Habits and Eggs.

4 volumes: 1570 pages continuously paginated, photogravure portrait of Archer, 34 colour plates (28 by Thorburn and 6 by Gronvold), 23 black & white illustrations, 4 folding maps - 2 coloured, green cloth gilt - top edges of volumes 1 & 2 gilt, other edges uncut, with gilt vignettes on the upper covers. The corners of volumes 1 & 2 are bumped and there is some light foxing in these volumes mainly restricted to the endpapers and the backs of a few of the plates, overall the contents are good, volumes 3 & 4 are in the dust jackets which have some minor nicks along the edges, the plates and contents in these volumes are bright. Overall a good set.

Volumes 1 & 2 were issued in 1937 by Guerney and Jackson. Volumes 3 & 4 did not appear until 1961, published by Oliver and Boyd.

‘These volumes complete the series of which the first two volumes appeared in 1937, The aim of the work is to give details of the life histories, breeding habits and eggs of the birds of the whole of the Red Sea area and the Horn of Africa - an area of great ornithological interest because of its situation at the crossroads of north-south and east-west migration routes. The coasts of the Red Sea are followed by many hundreds of thousands of Palaearctic birds ranging in size from tiny warblers to great Steppe-Eagles in their migration from Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The east-west route across the area is followed by migratory birds from Southern Asia to Northern Somaliland.’ Editor’s note.