Miles McMullan


Miles McMullan is an author, illustrator, conservationist and naturalist from Northern Ireland, who has made innovative books on neotropical wildlife.

Early life

McMullan studied at Our Lady and [St Patrick's College, Knock|Our Lady and St. Patrick's College], Belfast [College of Art and Design|Ulster University] and Trinity College, Dublin. He worked as a prize-winning landscape and portrait painter in his early years. He qualified as an editor and worked for several years writing academic texts before concentrating in the wildlife field guides that he has made since 2008.

Career as an Author

McMullan has specialised in making nature guidebooks for the most diverse countries of tropical South American countries including Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, where he has also worked as a naturalist guide, birding tourguide and author. His influential guide to the birds of Colombia was named second best bird book of 2010, second only to the acclaimed Collins Birds of Europe, and Neotropical Bird Club named his guides among the 25 best books of the past 25 years, noting their concise treatment of very large avifaunas.
His Colombia book, with over 5000 illustrations and 2000 range distribution maps has been described as among the largest books ever made by a single author/illustrator. His books marked a divergence from the style used in previous national guidebooks. His North America book also has over 6000 illustrations and 2000 maps.

Titles

His titles include Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia , Fieldbook of the Birds of Ecuador , Field Guide to the Hummingbirds, Field Guide to the Galapagos Islands , Birds of the Colombian Andes, Birds of Meta and the Colombian Llanos, Birds of the Western Cordillera, Birds and Common Mammals of Ecuadorian Amazon , Birds of Northwest Ecuador and many other titles such as regional and reserve guides. He has published many smaller guidebooks and has spoken of the importance of smaller local guidebooks and pamphlets in developing a strong rural economy that supports conservation and ecology.
Additionally, he has been author or co-author of several research papers, magazine and journal articles. His illustrations have appeared in several other books, articles, publications, including forming part of the natural history collection of the Luis Angel Arango Library of the National Bank of Colombia.
In March 2025, his compact and innovative Field Guide to the Birds of North America was published, with contributors Derek and Ryan Sallmann. It is a pocket bird field guide book describing 1,100 species and featuring 6,000 original illustrations and nearly 2,000 maps. It has been described as more visual than previous guides. It was well received by reviewers and won a prestigious Kirkus Star and was selected by Kirkus Reviews as the best indie book for April 2025.

Conservation and Other Work

McMullan has worked with a number of conservation organizations and foundations, especially in bird conservation in the tropical Americas. He is a devoted environmentalist and advocate of low-impact wildlife-watching – he has spoken in favor of more local birding as a more sustainable alternative, and voiced concerns about the impacts of the travel involved in global birding. He is involved with indigenous communities such as the Awá of southwestern Colombia and the conservation of their lands and is an active campaigner and donor in the battle to combat climate change.
In August 2022 he received a special recognition of his work with women's groups in rural Colombia from the Ministry of Science of Colombia. He has also been recognised for his work with rural development programs.
He is a regular speaker at birding and conservation fairs and conferences, occasional exhibitor of his paintings and has appeared on television programs broadcast in UK, Spain, Australia and Colombia, where programs have been made exclusively about his work.
He currently lives in Pasto, Colombia.

Books by Miles McMullan

  • Field Guide to the Birds of North America
  • Arte de Pajaros, Pablo Neruda and Miles McMullan
  • Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia
  • Aves de Cundinamarca
  • Birds of Nariño – Aves de Nariño
  • Guia de Campo de Las Aves de Colombia
  • Fieldbook of the Birds of Ecuador
  • Field Guide to the Hummingbirds
  • Field Guide to the Galapagos Islands
  • Birds of the Colombian Andes
  • Birds of Meta and the Colombian Llanos
  • Guía de las Aves de la Reserva Natural Mesenia-Paramillo
  • Birds of the Western Cordillera
  • Birds and Common Mammals of Ecuadorian Amazon
  • Birds of Northwest Ecuador
  • Terrestrial Life of the Galapagos Islands
  • Marine Life of the Galapagos Islands