Alfred Beesley published his mammoth volume on the history of Banbury in 1842. In the rear of the book is a list of the birds of the area, along with mammals and plants. This systematic list is one of the first published in the area and is of ornithological interest for the status comments and for the local names in use at the time.

Beesley was not an ornithologist and did not seek out expert opinion to verify the list he published. However, most of these species have been recorded in subsequent years by more authorative sources. The following document is an extract of the species list found on pages 600-604 of his book.

Bird List in The History of Banbury, Beesley, 1842