Animals

Explore the animal kingdom with our books on bats, big cats, birds and much more. Go to the Insects and arachnids category for more animal books.

Find out more about our animal books below.

A Guide to the Reptiles of Belize

A complete guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Belize, this book provides detailed information about local variations, distribution and ecology.
Animal Close-ups: Cats

From huge, roaring tigers to small, purring pet cats, this book explores these sleek and beautiful animals.
Animal Close-ups: Frogs and Snakes and their Relatives

Find out about frogs and toads, snakes and lizards with this fun children's book.
Animal Close-ups: Hunters

Explore the hunting skills of predators large and small, and take a close look at how they trap, chase and catch their prey.
Animal Close-ups: Birds and Other Flying Animals

Explore the wings and flying skills of birds, bats and insects, in incredible close-up.
Animal Migration

Explore the mysteries of animal migration over land, through oceans and by air. Lavishly illustrated with more than 300 colour photos, maps, and illustrations, the book traces the routes of 50 remarkable migrations.
Animal Records

Animal Records is the definitive guide to the most exceptional creatures on Earth, from the strongest and shortest to the longest and laziest. This paperback edition has been fully revised and updated with new records and all the latest facts from the animal kingdom.
Arachnids

This comprehensive guide to the world of arachnids dispels common myths and misconceptions to reveal the truth about these weird, wonderful and often beautiful creatures.
Bats

In this book expert Phil Richardson takes you on a guided tour of the nocturnal world of bats, exploring all aspects of their lives.
Bats

In this fully revised and reformatted edition bat expert Phil Richardson takes you on a guided tour of the nocturnal world of bats, exploring all aspects of their lives.
Big Bugs Life-size

Big Bugs Life-size is the first book to feature life-size photographs of all the world’s largest and most spectacular bugs.
Butterflies

This fully illustrated book is written by a leading lepidopterist and provides a complete and absorbing natural history of butterflies.
Chameleons

The first popular guide to these instantly recognisable creatures, Chameleons is a colourful guide to their biology and natural history with stunning close-up photography throughout.
Close-up

See animals, plants and crystals in a whole new light in this stunning book, full of amazing images created by scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Coral Fish

Including over 100 of her award-winning colour photographs, Linda Pitkin, a respected biologist and celebrated underwater photographer, gives a unique insight into the diversity of these fascinating fish.
Creatures of the Deep

With the use of pop-ups, fold-out landscapes and stunning illustrations, this interactive book reveals the strange but wondrous residents of this dark and inhospitable world.
Deep Ocean

Tony Rice's lively, informative book tells how oceanography has developed as a science, and summarizes what is now known about deep ocean environments and the organisms that populate them.
Deep-Sea Demersal Fish and Fisheries

This book deals with the bottom-living fishes of the world's largest ecosystem, the deep-sea. After a brief review of the oceanographic setting, the diversity and ecology of this unique ichthyofauna are considered in detail.
Dino-Birds

Explore the ever-growing evidence supporting the evolution of dinosaurs to birds.
Dragonflies

Dragonflies is fully illustrated with colour photographs that reveal the beauty and hidden complexity of these intriguing insects.
Dragonflies of the World

In Dragonflies of the World, Jill Silsby presents a comprehensive and accessible overview of one of the world's most popular insect groups, the Odonata.
Encyclopedia of Nature

What is life like underground? Where can you find the world's ugliest fish? Why are fungi so fantastic? Take an amazing look at the natural world with this comprehensive guide to the world of plants and animals.
Eyewitness: Bird

Everything you ever wanted to know about our feathered friends; from the moment a chick hatches and grows in the nest, to how birds camouflage themselves, fly, hunt and feed.
Eyewitness: Fish

This reference book gives detailed information on fish. It has been structured so that the individual themes of each spread make up a complete visual story and a self-contained module of information.
Eyewitness: Mammal

See how new born mice develop, find out how to recognise mammal footprints and discover why a wallaby has a pouch. Eyewitness: Mammal combines visual brilliance with informative text to provide everything a child needs for projects, reference or just plain old discovery.
Frogs and Toads

Explore every aspect of the lives of frogs and toads with this comprehensive and stunningly illustrated reference book.
Frozen Oceans

This is the first book to offer the general reader access to a remote frozen habitat that has for so long fascinated explorers, writers and scientists.
Hermit Crabs of the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

This guide is the first of its kind to provide taxonomic keys to all known species inhabiting the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean sea.
History of the Coelacanth Fishes

This book evaluates the reputation of the coelacanth and suggests a family history to show that there have been subtle but significant changes in coelacanth history.
Keys to the Trematoda

Written by a team of international experts, this is the first volume in an acclaimed series on the systematics and identification of the Class Trematoda.
Keys to the Trematoda

This is the second volume in an acclaimed series on the systematics and identification of the Class Trematoda.
Keys to the Trematoda

Written by a team of international experts, this is the final volume in an acclaimed series on the systematics and identification of the Class Trematoda.
Land Snail Diversity in Sri Lanka

A species list of the known snail fauna of Sri Lanka, complete with CD-ROM. There are 402 coloured images of 227 species and additional subspecies, with four views of each specimen.
Larval Stages of Northeastern Atlantic Crabs

This identification guide will enable specialists and non-specialists to identify the larval stages of the majority of true crab species (brachyurans) that occur in the waters of the North East Atlantic Ocean.
Manuscripts and Drawings in the Ornithology and Rothschild Libraries of the Natural History Museum at Tring

A unique collection of published and unpublished books, papers, drawings, watercolours and photographs from the Library of the Natural History Museum at Tring.
Marine Interstitial Ciliates

All species of interstitial ciliates inhabiting marine sands are included in this comprehensive identification guide.
Natural History Museum Animal Records

Which animal swims the fastest? What is the smallest mammal? Who lays the largest egg? The Natural History Museum sets the record straight with this definitive guide to the most exceptional creatures on Earth.
Natural History Museum Atlas of Bird Migration

How far can birds fly? Where do they go? And why? This comprehensive atlas reveals the world migration routes of over 600 species from both north and south of the Equator.
Natural History Museum Diary 2010

This week-to-view diary features remarkable images from past Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions.
Ocean Sticker Book

This colourful activity book is a fun and informative introduction to life in the world’s oceans.
Sharks

This comprehensive introduction to sharks and their biology and behaviour is illustrated with over 100 of the best shark photographs from around the world.
Sharks

Presenting the latest findings from international shark researchers, Sharks is an engaging introduction to these near-perfect predators.
Snakes

Illustrated with stunning colour images, this book gives a comprehensive biology and natural history of snakes while also highlighting the case for snakes as a valuable and ecologically important group.
Snakes

Illustrated with stunning new colour images, this revised and re-formatted edition gives a comprehensive guide to the biology and natural history of snakes.
Specimens

Take a glimpse behind the scenes of the Natural History Museum at some of the millions of specimens held in its collections, and find out why they are still so important to scientists today.
Sri Lankan Snails

Sri Lanka has a rich diversity of land snail species, most of which are unique to the island. This colourful fold-out chart is an illustrated guide to the major land snail groups.
Tasmanian Devil

This is the first book published on the animal that has the distinction of being the world's largest marsupial carnivore, and it is packed with information that has never before been accessible to the general reader.
The Birds of America

A complete edition of Audubon’s classic work, Birds of America, one of the best known natural history books ever produced.
The Birds of America eBook

An eBook version of Audubon’s nineteenth-century masterpiece, created by photographing a rare, original copy using the latest digital technology.
The British Museum Book of Cats

This beautifully illustrated book looks at the different roles cats have played in human life and also describes the various modern pedigree breeds – from short-haired tabby to long-haired Persian – which have evolved from the original wild cat.
The Natural History Museum Book of Predators

Witness the intriguing, exciting, awesome and often terrifying battles between predators and prey, in this eye-opening book.
Troubled Waters

This book explores the fates of whales and dolphins and how they became intertwined with human history. The story begins over 1000 years ago when hunters first took up harpoons and went to sea in search of the rich rewards of meat, oil and whalebone.
Voyages of Discovery

Voyages of Discovery is a mesmerising visual record of ten of the most significant natural history expeditions.
Whale Watcher

This sumptuously illustrated book brings the exhilarating experience of whale watching to life for the whale and dolphin enthusiast.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 20

This is the latest memorable collection of images from the prestigious annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition featuring all winning and highly commended photographs from the 2010 competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 21

Presenting the very best wildlife images of 2011, Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 21 is the latest memorable collection of photographs from this hugely popular series.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 22

This powerful collection of photographs comprises all the winning images in the prestigious Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012 competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Desk Diary 2011

The Museum’s 2011 week-to-view diary features stunning photographs of the natural world from past years of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Desk Diary 2012

The Museum’s 2012 week-to-view diary features stunning photographs of the natural world from past years of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Desk Diary 2013

The Museum’s 2013 week-to-view diary features striking photographs of the natural world from past years of the world-famous Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Desk Diary 2014

The Museum’s 2014 week-to-view desk diary features striking photographs of the natural world from past years of the world-famous Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Pocket Diary 2011

The Museum’s 2011 week-to-view pocket diary features stunning photographs of the natural world from past years of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Pocket Diary 2012

The Museum’s 2012 week-to-view pocket diary features stunning photographs of the natural world from past years of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Pocket Diary 2013

The Museum’s 2013 week-to-view pocket diary features striking photographs of the natural world from past years of the world-famous Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Pocket Diary 2013

The Museum’s 2013 week-to-view pocket diary features striking photographs of the natural world from past years of the world-famous Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Pocket Diary 2014

The Museum’s 2014 week-to-view pocket diary features striking photographs of the natural world from past years of the world-famous Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.