All readers of Arthur Ransome's books are aware of the importance of sailing to the stories, and most are also familiar with the prominent part fishing plays. But the role of birds in the books has been commented on far less. However, birds play an important part in several of the stories and are key to the plots of Coot Club and Great Northern?.

Contents 1 Swallows and Amazons 2 Swallowdale 3 Peter Duck 4 Winter Holiday 5 Coot Club 6 Pigeon Post 7 We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea 8 Secret Water 9 The Big Six 10 Missee Lee 11 The Picts and the Martyrs 12 Great Northern? 13 Mainly about Fishing

Swallows and Amazons Edit

• Geese on Dixons'Farm
• Cormorants (on Cormorant Island)
• Jays (savage parrots)
• The dipper (at the Secret Harbour)
• Tawny Owl (which Titty mistook for John's owl call)
• Kingfisher (on Cormorant Island)

• Polly? (Okay not a wild bird!)

Swallowdale Edit

• Swans (flying to another lake to the west)

Peter Duck Edit

• Parrots
• Spotted flycatcher (well - like one, only with green on its wings)

Winter Holiday Edit

• Buzzards

Coot Club Edit

• Herons
• Coots
• Spoonbills
• Great Crested Grebe
• Marsh Harriers (in a food pass)
• Swans
• Bittern
• Bearded Tits

Pigeon Post Edit

• Pigeons
• Peregrine Falcon
• Red Grouse

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea Edit

They sail down the river in Goblin: Cormorants were on the edge of the mud, like black sentinels. A grey heron was wading. A flock of gulls swung up into the air and round to settle again in almost the same place (WD4). There are pictures at the end of chapters of a gull on a buoy (WD3) and a cormorant with a worm in its beak (WD4,26).

Secret Water Edit

• Curlews
• Herons
• oxbird (SW17)
• tern (SW17)
• shelduck (SW30)

The Big Six Edit

• Coots
• Great Crested Grebes
• Joe Bill and Pete ask the Ds about the birds of The Lake: Buzzard, kestrel, water-hens, and plenty of herons and kingfishers, but no harriers. And no beardies (bearded tits). So Pete reckons that they were better off where they are (BS22).

Missee Lee Edit

• Cormorants
• Larks
• Canaries

The Picts and the Martyrs Edit

• Tawny Owl
• Great Spotted Woodpecker
• Goldcrest
• Barn Owl

Great Northern? Edit

• Black Throated Diver
• Great Northern Divers in winter plumage
• Red Grouse

Mainly about FishingEdit

• Vulturine Guineafowl

Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series

Swallows and Amazons | 'Their Own Story' | Swallowdale | Peter Duck | Winter Holiday | Coot Club | Pigeon Post | We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea | The Big Six | Secret Water | Missee Lee | The Picts and the Martyrs | 'Coots in the North' | Great Northern?