Placing Birds in Place: Reading Habitat in Beilby’s and Bewick’s History of British Birds

Abstract

While the focus in readings of Thomas Bewick’s illustrations centre on his masterful skill as a wood engraver and observer of animals and birds, this chapter looks at how his bird habitats—the context in which his ‘portraits’ are situated—are rendered in plates from the History of British Birds. The balance between a static focus on the species-in-question and the dynamic bioregion that supports species life is often compromised in the ‘field guide’ genre. There is an inherent contradiction in the idea that ‘knowing’ birds better means limiting the context in which we ‘know’ them. This is particularly apt considering Bewick’s contemporary popularity in the context of improvements in print technologies and distribution of print materials. The implications for habitat preservation are serious: in order for species to survive, appropriate habitats must also be maintained and protected.