A History of British Birds is the magnum opus of the Scottish ornithologist William MacGillivray. Inspired to explore the natural world from long walks in the Highlands during childhood, in 1819, he walked from his home in Aberdeen to London where he intended to view the ornithological collection in the British Museum. After this epic journey, totalling 837 miles (he took a circuitous route through Scotland, so that he could explore parts of the country he had not seen), MacGillivray settled in Edinburgh where he catalogued the specimens owned by the naturalist Robert Jameson.

In 1830, MacGillivray made the acquaintance of the American ornithologist John James Audubon. While Audubon had begun publishing the plates for his magnificent Birds of America, no accompanying letterpress was forthcoming and MacGillivray was suggested to be the person to take on the task. MacGillivray agreed, writing five companion volumes of scientific text, and the two men soon became friends.

Probably inspired by Audubon’s great work, from 1837, MacGillivray set about painting life-size illustrations of British birds in preparation for a British equivalent of The Birds of America. The first three letterpress volumes were published between 1837 and 1840, however, they were not a commercial success. A lack of funds and few subscribers meant that the life-size plates were soon abandoned and MacGillivray was forced to use woodcuts instead.

MacGillivray intended to use his History to demonstrate an innovative, if unpleasant, method of classifying birds that identified different species by their digestive organs. This system was unpalatable to the general public and amateur naturalists who were content to determine species using more conventional methods. The publication of William Yarrell’s own History of British Birds over the same period, coupled with MacGillivray’s attacks on the conclusions of his fellow naturalists ensured that his History was unpopular with both the amateur reader and the professional ornithologist and many sets were left unsold.

The final two volumes of the work were eventually published in 1852, shortly before MacGillivray’s death. It would be many years before their importance to the study of British birdlife would be recognised.