Rob Hume

Rob Hume

Robert 'Rob' Hume is an English ornithologist, author and journalist specialising in avian and natural history subjects. From Spring 1989 (vol. 12 no. 5), until Summer 2009 (vol. 22 no. 6), he was editor of the RSPB's Birds magazine, having previously edited the young people's version, Bird Life, at the RSPB's headquarters, The Lodge.

Hume did his early birdwatching at Chasewater, Staffordshire, and was a member of the West Midland Bird Club. He spent several years studying at Swansea University, during which time he birdwatched at Blackpill and on the Gower Peninsula.

He is a past member (and the fifth chairman) of the British Birds Rarities Committee; and a past member of the editorial board of British Birds magazine, but resigned both posts in 1997. His autobiography, Life With Birds, was published in September 2005.

His drawings of birds often appeared in West Midland Bird Club reports and a number of books and journals. He wrote and illustrated articles in the short-lived Midlands Birdwatcher quarterly magazine, five issues of which were published in late 1976 and 1977.

Bibliography

• Britain's Birds: an identification guide to the birds of Britain and Ireland (Princeton up/WildGuides), 2016 ()
• British Birds A Pocket Guide (Princeton UP/WildGuides), 2019 ()
• RSPB What's That Bird? (RSPB/Dorling Kindersley), 2012 ()
• The Observer's Book of Birds (Penguin), 1987 ()
• An Afternoon Out, 2019 ()
• The Adventures of Riggle Tiggle Spider, 2019 ()
• Father Christmas, the early years, 2019 ()
• A Birdwatcher's Miscellany, Blandford Press, 1984
• A Year of Bird Life, RSPB, 1985
• Birds of Britain, AA Publishing, 1988
• Birds by Character – Britain & Europe: A Fieldguide to Jizz, Macmillan, 1990
• Owls of the World Dragon's World, 1991
• Focus on Birdwatching Heinemann, 1992
• Discovering Birds, A & C Black, 1993
• The Common Tern, Hamlyn, 1993
• Seabirds (Hamlyn Bird Behaviour Guides) Hamlyn, 1993 (with illustrations by Bruce Pearson)
• Collins Gem Photoguide Birdwatching, Collins, 1995,
• The Shell Easy Bird Guide, (illustrated by Peter Hayman) Macmillan 1997,
  • 2002 edition
• The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds, T & A D Poyser, 1997 (contributor)
• Birds: An Artist's View, Courage Books, 1998,
• Macmillan Bird Guide, Macmillan, 1998
• RSPB Birds of Britain and Europe, Dorling Kindersley, 2002
• RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe, Dorling Kindersley, 2002,
  • RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (revised and updated), Dorling Kindersley, 2007, (includes CD of birdsong)
• RSPB Birdwatching, Dorling Kindersley, 2003,
• English Birds and Green Places: Selected Writings: A Selection from the Writings of W.H. Hudson (Introduction), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004,
• Rob Hume, Guilhem Lesaffre and Marc Duquet, 2004, Oiseaux de France et d'Europe, Larousse (in French)
• Life With Birds (autobiography), David & Charles, 2005,