Published today by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO),
Into the Red brings together 70 artists and 70 writers to help
secure a future for the 70 birds on the UK Red List
Contributors include David Gray, Isabella Tree, Mackenzie Crook, Richard Mabey, Megan McCubbin, Jim Moir (Vic Reeves)
and Dr Amir Kahn
There are now 70 species of bird on the UK Red List – more than ever before and almost twice as many as just 25 years ago. Into the Red, published today by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), brings together 70 artists and 70 writers to raise awareness of these birds’ plight and raise money for conservation work that will help to secure their future. The superbly illustrated book follows the success of 2019’s Red Sixty Seven, released when the Red List featured three fewer birds than it does today.
Contributors to Into the Red include the likes of David Gray, Isabella Tree, Mackenzie Crook, Richard Mabey, Megan McCubbin, Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) and Dr Amir Khan, as well as a host of other from a wide variety of backgrounds. Each brings a unique creative perspective to a species special to them, forming a compendium of text and images about the birds we are at risk of losing for good.
While it’s no surprise that Curlew and Turtle Dove, whose struggles are well known, remain on the Red List, the addition of relatively common birds like Swift, House Martin and Greenfinch is new cause for alarm. The list contains the species of highest concern as identified by Birds of Conservation Concern assessments, which are produced by a partnership of conservation and research organisations every six years. These assessments use data from a range of sources including BTO and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, both of which will receive funds raised from the sale of Into the Red.
Kit Jewitt, Into the Red editor, says: Birds enrich our lives, but almost a third of UK bird species are now in population freefall. For the 70 species on the UK Red List their voices are no longer simply calls and birdsong, but SOS messages and clarion calls to take action. And we must listen to them, before it is too late.
Mark Eaton, Secretary of RBBP, says: ‘We monitor the UK populations of many of the species featured in Into the Red, informing research and conservation action to prevent extinction and enable species recovery. Funds received from sales of this amazing book will allow us to improve current monitoring of Red-listed species, revise our database and undertake new analyses using our 50 years of data.’
