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12 December: Short-eared snow owl in a snowy landscape

This drawing of a short-eared owl is held in the Porter Collection and is from a time when specimens were shot and collected to provide knowledge of different species. Drawn by artist E Neale, the image features in ET Booth’s volume Rough notes on the birds observed during twenty-five years’ shooting and collecting in the …

2 December: Robin red-breast

This beautiful illustration of a robin features in one of about 650 ornithological books that form part of the University’s Porter Collection. Out of all the birds in the extensive collection, the robin is by far the most heavily associated with the festive period – but why is that? And why exactly do we put …