''Birds In Britain'' was a

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

series, broadcast from 1951 to 1963 on the Home Service, about wild

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

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, with guest speakers John Gibb ( Edward Grey Institute),

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' horror series, beginning with the short movie '' Within the Woods'' (1978). He has also f ...

(

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 William, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginning In 1931 Max Nicholson ...

), Hilda Quick ( Cornwall Birdwatching Society) and Ludwig Koch. Other presenters and guests included notable ornithologists, such as Arnold Boyd, William Condry, Eric Ennion,

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

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, conservation movement, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and Sportsperson, sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Fal ...

, 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 the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

' 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 writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

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

References

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