BOOK REVIEW Cite asfollows: Madden, B.2013 Book review: Bird Habitats in Ireland. Biology andEnvironment : Proceedings ofthe Royal Irish Academy 113B, 135-136. DOI:10.3318/ BIOE. 2013.1 1. Bird Habitats in Ireland RichardNairnandJohn O'Halloran (CollinsPress2012;320pp;€34.99hardback) ISBN: 9781848891388 The publication ofBird Habitats inIreland endsa 30-year waitbyIrish ornithologists for anequivalenttoRob Fuller's standard reference workBird Habitats inBritain (1982). The editors, Richard Nairn andJohnO'Halloran, supported by 25 eminent authors, haveproduced a well-researched and highqualityvolumethatbrings together a wealthofinformation onbirds andtheir habitats throughout theislandofIreland. In all,thereareeightpagesofpreliminaries (including profiles ofcontributing authors anda succinct foreword), eighteen chapters, twoappendices ,a verycomprehensive bibliography andan indexofplacenamesandEnglish species names. The book is profusely illustrated withgenerally highquality andwell-reproduced colourimages, andvarious mapsandtables. The bookis quarto insizeandcomeswithanattractive dust wrapper. Followinga briefintroduction by the editors ,Chapter2 dealswiththedifficult topicof habitatclassification and birds.Here Richard Nairnexplainsthebasisfortheclassification or grouping ofhabitats usedin thetwelvehabitat chapters whichform thecoreofthebook. The hierarchical classification system usedfor habitats in Irelanddevelopedby theHeritageCouncil, commonly knownas the'Fossitt system' (Fossitt 2000) is discussed, and it is concludedthat'It makes practical sensetousethemost widely applied habitat classification (Fossitt 2000) allowing integration with surveys of other organisms'. Brief reference is madetotheclassification system usedfor AnnexI habitats intheEU Habitats Directive (European Commission 2007). In Table2.2 (p. 12) a useful linkageisgivenbetweenthehabitats usedinthe bookandthenearest Fossitt category. However, fewofthespecialist authors subsequently make anyreference to theFossitt classification in the habitat chapters, whichappearsto be a missed opportunity to encourage birdsurveyors to use, oratleast beawareof,this system. Chapter 3,Bird Habitats: structure and complexity (O'Halloran andKelly),provides a general overview on why certain birdspeciesarefound inparticular habitatsorevenspecific niches within a habitat. As expectedwitha multi-authored volume, thetwelvehabitat chapters differ somewhat in style andpresentation and,indeed,length (varying from13 to 20 pages). However,a loose format followed,with an introduction to the habitat (s), a description of the characteristic species(dividedinto resident birds,breeding, wintering and/or migratory speciesas relevant), and a summaryor concludingsectionoften witha conservation slant.To someextentthe approach takenbytheauthors reflects theavailable information on the habitats theyaddress, withsomeauthors having largeamounts ofdata availableforreview(see Chapter13, Estuaries and Coastal Lagoons, by Oscar Merne and JamesRobinson),while othersrelylargelyon datafrom a fewspecific studies (seeChapter10, LowlandFarmland, byAlex CoplandandJohn Lusby).Wheretherearefewbirdspeciesassociatedwitha habitat, theauthors tendto adopt a speciesby speciesapproach.An exampleis Chapter4, Riverand Canals (Pat Smiddyand RichardNairn) wheredetailedbiologicaland ecologicalaccounts aregivenforthekingfisher, grey wagtailanddipper (overthree pageson the latter species alone). Forme,Chapter14,Open Sea (MarkJessop andTomKelly)istheonethat provided themost 'new'information on a habitat that relatively few peoplehave directexperience of. The authors notethatIreland's marine jurisdictional zone is nearly tentimesthatofitslandareaatapproximately 900,000km2, andthattheimmense scale, expense of surveying, and other constraints suchas bad weather, meansthattheopensea is probably the leastunderstood of Ireland's bird habitats. The authors refer to exciting advances in seabirdresearch on the open sea with the growing useoftelemetry technology toremotely monitor individual birdswhen theyleave the breeding colonies andalsotheuseofstable isotope analysis (SIA)asa tooltoinvestigate dietandhabitat selection. Whilefew studies ofthese kinds have been conducted in Irishwaters, future research willundoubtedly leadto a great increase in our understanding ofseabird ecology inthese waters. Overall, thehabitat chapters arewellbalanced in theamountofdetailpresented andallowfor easyreading. However, I thought that morediscussion (thanone page) couldhavebeen given DOI:10.3318/BIOE.2013.11 Biology andEnvironment: Proceedings oftheRoyalIrish Academy, Vol.113B, No.1,135-136 (2013). ©RoyalIrish Academy 135 Book Review tocutover andcutaway peatlands (p. 80) asthese habitats accountfora verylarge,and increasing ,landareainboththemidlands andwestern Ireland andcansupport important birdcommunities . Also,surely reservoirs (p. 58) merit more than justtwoparagraphs. I found theresearch on whichthechapters arebasedtobe mostly recent (majority sincethe1990s),though thereference onpage50 toa largeinlandcolonyofgreat cormorants at Lough Cutra,Co. Galway,is very datedas thecolonyhasbeen deserted sincethe early 2000s.I wasdisappointed withthescarcity ofmaps - those included merely showplacelocationsmentioned in thetext.I wouldhavefound ituseful toinclude somephysical mapsofIreland (geology, climate,etc.) and habitat distribution mapswheresuchinformation exists(forpeatlands ,estuaries, lakes,etc.). Chapter16, HabitatManagement forBirds (RichardNairnand Alan Lauder),is an interesting discussionon various practicalissues relating to habitat management and is supported bytwelvecase studies.Chapter17,Climate Change,Habitats andBirds(AlisonDonnellyet al.) is a fascinating synthesis ofthecurrent scientific literature on thisall-important issueand highlights theconsequences for future birdconservation in Ireland, including theexisting SPA network (will some SPAslose theirqualifying species and/or perhaps gainothers?). Chapter 18, BirdHabitats - a synthesis and future perspectives ,is a summary typechapter andincludes a tablethat attempts toassign allofthebirdspecies regularly occurring in Irelandto one or more...