Richard Broughton is a research ecologist with expertise in birds, mammals, forests and farmland in Great Britain and Europe. He completed a Masters degree in GIS at the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Marsh Tit ecology at Bournemouth University, joining the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology at Monks Wood in Cambridgeshire before relocating to Oxfordshire. Richard has studied Marsh Tits, Willow Tits and their habitats in detail for more than 25 years.
A fascinating mixture of the results of detailed studies and occasional charming anecdotes; I learnt something from almost every page … this title is not an academic treatise, but an eminently readable book, well up to the standard of the famous Poyser series and one that will appeal to everyone interested in birds. * British Birds * A significant and important addition to the acclaimed Poyser catalogue … This superb book is an eminently worthy culmination of Richard Broughton’s painstaking work to date. It is a very comprehensively researched study that will not only thoroughly enlighten the reader but also throws considerable light on the effects our continuous exploitation of the landscape is having on woodland birds. * Ibis * A superb account of the ecology and behaviour of two declining bird species whose lives are intimately shaped by their woodland habitats. The information contained in this thoroughly researched book will surely help in developing strategies to conserve these and other woodland species. -- Rob Fuller There can surely be nobody else as richly qualified as Richard Broughton to write this definitive work on the natural history of these two fascinating species of birds. -- Professor Ben Sheldon This is a very readable, attractive and clear account. A strength of the book appears to be a very thorough knowledge of non-UK studies of the two species and of other titmice. -- Mark Avery