The initial list, below, is of books and other publications that refer specifically, or in part, to birds, birding sites and other matters of interest to birders in Co Mayo or Ireland.
Further down the page, we also list some general field guides and birding publications, not specific to Mayo or Ireland. You can skip to that list by clicking here.
Please note that this list comprises publications dating from the 19th Century to current times. Many of these may no longer be in print, while others will have more recent editions than the original publication date given below.
We would encourage you to support local, County Mayo based bookshops when seeking to acquire any of these books.
Our local libraries may also hold copies of some of these publications.
Italics are employed where the “Title” is a book; otherwise, where the title is an article within a publication (e.g. journal), the italics are employed in the “Publisher” column.
Related Specifically to County Mayo or Ireland
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Anderson G (2008) | Birds of Ireland: Facts, Folklore & History | The Collins Press ISBN 978-1905172726 |
| Barlee J & Ruttledge RF (1945) | Notes on the present status of birds on Clare Island | Irish Naturalists’ Journal VIII : 311-313 |
| BirdWatch Ireland | Irish Bird Report | Annual Report |
| Boland H, Crowe O & Walsh A (2008) | Irish Wetland Bird Survey: Results of waterbirds monitoring in Ireland in 2006/2007 | Irish Birds Vol 8 No 3: 341-350 |
| Crowe O (2005) | Ireland’s Wetlands and their Waterbirds: Status and Distribution | BirdWatch Ireland ISBN 1-899204-17-2 |
| Cabot D (2008) | Complete Irish Birds | Collins ISBN 13 978 0 00 781486 2 |
| Cabot D (1963) | The breeding birds of Inishkea Island, Co Mayo | Irish Naturalists’ Journal XIV : 113-115 |
| Cabot D (1967) | The birds of Duvillaun More Island, Co Mayo | Irish Naturalists’ Journal 15 : 357-359 |
| Cabot D (1967) | The birds of Bill’s Rock, Co Mayo | Irish Naturalists’ Journal 15 : 359-361 |
| Cabot D & West B (1983) | Studies on the population of Barnacle Geese wintering on the Inishkea Islands, Co Mayo – population dynamics 1961-1983 | Irish Birds 2: 318-337 |
| D’Arcy, G (1981) | The Guide to the Birds of Ireland | Irish Wildlife Publications ISBN 0 9507842 06 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| D’Arcy, G (1999) | Ireland’s Lost Birds | Four Courts Press ISBN 1 85182 529 0 |
| Dempsey E (2008) | Birdwatching in Ireland with Eric Dempsey | Gill & Macmillan |
| Dempsey E (2015) | Don’t Die in the Autumn (Autobiography) | Gill & Macmillan ISBN 97807-17165-797 |
| Dempsey E & M O’Clery (2002) | The Complete Guide to Ireland’s Birds, 2nd Ed | Gill & Macmillan ISBN 0 7171 3401 6 |
| Dempsey E & M O’Clery (2014) | Finding Bird in Ireland – The Complete Guide, 2nd Ed. | Gill & Macmillan ISBN 978 07171 59253 |
| Dúchas (2002) | Special Protection Areas for Birds in Ireland | Dúchas, The Heritage Service ISBN 07 557 128 11 |
| Fitter RSR (1942) | Notes on the birds of Achill Island and Bill’s Rock, Co Mayo | British Birds 34 : 133-134 |
| Fitter RSR (1942) | Notes on the breeding birds of Achill Island, Co Mayo | Irish Naturalists’ Journal VIII : 1-7 |
| Hutchinson C (1989) | Birds in Ireland | T & AD Poyser ISBN 978 140813701 7 |
| Hutchinson C (1994) | Where to Watch Birds in Ireland | Christopher Helm Ltd. ISBN 0 7136 3827 3 |
| Huxley, C & L (2015) | Lough Carra | Carra Books ISBN 978 0 9931621 0 7 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Lloyd, CS (1982) | The Birds of Clare Island, Co Mayo | Irish Naturalists’ Journal 21: 212-216, 1984 |
| Lysaght, S (2018) | Eagle Country | Little Toller Books ISBN 978 1908213 549 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Lysaght, S (2020) | Wild Nephin | Stonechat Editions ISBN 978 0 9568918 4 6 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| McGeehan A (2018) | To the Ends of the Earth : Ireland’s Place in Bird Migration | The Collins Press ISBN 978 1 84889 352 8 |
| McLoughlin D & Cotton D (2008) | The status of Twite Cardeulis flavirostris in Ireland 2008 | Irish Birds Vol 8 No 3, 323-330 |
| Mullarney, K (1980) | Ring-billed Gulls in Co Mayo – a species new to Ireland | Irish Birds 1: 517-525 |
| Nairn, RGW, Herbert IJ & Heery S (1988) | Breeding Waders of sand dune machair in Northwest Ireland | Irish Birds 3 : 53-70 |
| O Deargain C (2009) | Irish Birds their Nests and Eggs | Carraig Print Inc ISBN 978 1 871121 55 1 |
| O’Sullivan O & Wilson J (2008) | Ireland’s Garden Birds – How to Identify, Attract & Garden for Birds | The Collins Press, Cork ISBN 978-1905172733 |
| Phillips, JH & Lee, SLB (1966) | Movements of Manx Shearwaters off Erris Head, Western Ireland in the autumn | Bird Study 13 : 284-296 |
| Ruttledge, RF (1916) | The Birds of Lough Carra | Irish Naturalists’ Journal XXV : 96-97 |
| Ruttledge, RF (1929) | The breeding Laridae of Loughs Mask and Carra, County Mayo | Irish Naturalists’ Journal II : 158-160 |
| Ruttledge, RF (1929) | The Birds of Lough Mask and Carra and surrounding district | Irish Naturalists’ Journal II : 218-224 : 237-240 |
| Ruttledge, RF (1942) | Remarkable numbers of Herring Gulls inland, and probable breeding on Lough Mask | Irish Naturalists’ Journal VIII : 42-43 |
| Ruttledge, RF (1950) | A list of birds of the counties of Galway and Mayo, showing their status and distribution | Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 52B : 315-381 |
| Ruttledge, FR (1951) | Some notes on Achill birds | Irish Naturalists’ Journal X : 205-207 |
| Ruttledge, RF (1994) | Birds in Counties Galway and Mayo | Irish Wildbird Conservancy ISBN 1 899204 05 9 |
| Ruttledge, RF (1980) | A List of the Birds of Ireland | The Natural Museum of Ireland |
| Sterry, P (2004) | Complete Irish Wildlife | Harper Collins ISBN 0 00 717629 5 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Ticehurst, CB (1940) | Further notes on the birds of Achill Island | British Birds 34 : 161-162 |
| Ussher, RJ & Warren, R (1900) | Birds of Ireland | Gurney and Jackson, London |
| Ussher, RJ (1912) | Clare Island Survey, Aves | Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy XXXI : 1-54 |
| Viney, M (2003) | Ireland – A Smithsonian Natural History | The Blackstaff Press ISBN 0 85640 744 5 |
| Viney, M (2009) | Wild Mayo | Mayo County Council ISBN 978 0 9555429 0 9 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Walsh, A & Merne, OJ (1988) | Barnacle Geese in Ireland | Irish Birds 3 (spring 1988) : 539-551 |
| Warren, R (1895) | The breeding birds of Loughs Conn, Carra and Mask | Irish Naturalist IV : 117 |
| Warren, R (1898) | The Long-tailed Duck at Killala Bay and the Estuary of the Moy | Irish Naturalist VII : 121 |
| Whilde, A (1977) | Birds of Galway and Mayo | Irish Wildbird Conservancy |
| Whilde A, Cotton DCF & Sheppard JR (1993) | A repeat survey of the gulls breeding inland in counties Donegal, Sligo, Mayo and Galway, with recent counts from Leitrin and Fermanagh | Irish Birds 5 : 67-72 |
| Wilson, J & Carmody, M (2015) | The Birds of Ireland – A Field Guide | Collins Press ISBN 978 18488 91791 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Wilson J & Carmody, M (2011) | Fresh-Water Birds of Ireland | Collins Press ISBN 978 184 889 1326 |
| Wilson J & Carmody M (2009) | Shore-Birds of Ireland | Collins Press ISBN 978 184 889 0176 |
General Field Guides & Birding Publications
Note that, among the publications listed here, numerous would cover both Britain and Ireland, but not specifically Ireland.
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Ackerman J (2016) | The Genius of Birds | Corsair ISBN 978 1 4721 1436 5 |
| Barnes, S (2016) | The Meaning of Birds | Head of Zeus ISBN 978 1788 542 814 |
| BirdLife International (2004) | Birds in Europe – Population estimates, trends and conservation status | Cambridge, UK. (BirdLife International Conservation Series No. 12) |
| Brooke, M (2018) | Far From Land | Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0 691 21032 2 |
| BTO (2002) | The Migration Atlas: Movements of the Birds of Britain and Ireland | T&AD Poyser |
| Colwell M (2018) | Curlew Moon | William Collins ISBN 978 0 00 824107 0 |
| Cromack D (2018) | Nestboxes : Your Complete Guide | BTO ISBN 978 1 908581 84 6 |
| Davies N (2015) | Cuckoo : Cheating by Nature | Bloomsbury ISBN 978 1 4088 5658 1 |
| Flegg T (2004) | Time to Fly – Exploring Bird Migration | BTO |
| Gibbons DW, Reid JB & Chapman RA (1993) | The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland : 1988-1991 | T & AD Poyser |
| Green G (2020) | British Birds : their fascinating stories | Self Published Also available on Amazon Kindle |
| Hume R, Still R, Swash A, Harrop H & Tipling D (2020) | Britain’s Birds An Identification Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland | Princeton University Press ISBN 978 069 1199 795 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Huntley B, Green RE, Collingham YC & Willis SG (2007) | A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds | Durham University, The RSPB and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona ISBN 978 84 96553 14 9 |
| Jonsson, L (1992) | Birds of Europe | Christopher Helm Ltd. ISBN 0 7136 7600 0 |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Lindo D (2011) | The Urban Birder | New Holland Publishers ISBN 978 1 84773 950 6 |
| Mitchell PI, Newton S, Ratcliffe N & Dunn TE (2004) | Seabird Populations of Britain and Ireland | T & AD Poyser ISBN 0 7136 6901 2 |
| Moss S & Cottridge D | Attracting Birds to your Garden | New Holland Publishers ISBN 978 1 84773 982 7 |
| Newton I (2010) | Bird Migration | William Collins ISBN 978 0 00 839854 5 |
| Nicholson, A (2018) | The Seabird’s Cry | Williams Collins ISBN 978 000 8165703 |
| Sharrock, JTR (ed) (1976) | The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland | Poyser, Calton |
| Soper T (2006) | The Bird Table Book | David & Charles ISBN 978 0715324134 |
| Sterry P & Stancliffe P (2015) | Collins BTO Guide to British Birds | Collins BTO ISBN 978 000 755151 4 (HB) 978 0 00 755152 1 (PB) |
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
| Sterry P & Stancliffe P (2015) | Guide to Rare British Birds | Collins BTO ISBN 978 000 755154 5 (HB) 978 0 00 755156 9 (PB) |
| Svensson, L & Mullarney, K (2010) | Collins Bird Guide | Collins ISBN 978 000 726 8146 |
| Unwin M & Tipling D (2020) | Flights of Passage : AN Illustrated Natural History of Bird Migration | Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 300 24744 2 |
| Westwood B & Moss S (2014) | Tweet of the Day : A Year of Britain’s Birds | Saltyard Books ISBN 978 1 473 63 930 0 |
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