Peter Hayman

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Peter Hayman (born 1930 in Taunton) is a British ornithologist and illustrator.

After his education in Taunton school he studied architecture. He worked as an architect for several years in London but in 1969 he became an artist. His main interest were water-colour paintings of the British birds. In 1976 the British ornithologist Mitchell Beazley published the book "The Birdlife of Britain" which were illustrated by Hayman. Thanks to Hayman's extraordinary water colors this book became a bestseller and it shows in a very good way the direction which made Hayman to one of the most demanded bird illustrators in the world. In the 1980s he illustrated some books which where published as Helm Identification Guides. Especially his book "Shorebirds" was critically acclaimed and received a book award by a British birds magazine. In 1991 he published "The Complete Guide to the Birdlife of Britain & Europe".This richly illustrated book with 3500 water colour paintings which was published in collaboration with Rob Hume became one of the most comprehensive bird guides in Europe. It was translated in several languages and became a bestseller too. Hayman is also a photographer and his photographs are used in books of the Eyewitness Book Series, like "Mummy", "Ancient Egypt", or "Pyramids".