A chronological sequence of drafts of various articles and books, published and unpublished, by Nicholson. Review articles and obituaries are included. Some drafts of ornithological articles are accompanied by bird lists and notes which can cover several studies carried out over a number of decades. Sometimes in these cases not all the lists or notes can be clearly identified as relating to a particular publication.

For a number of the drafts, particularly the earlier ones, details of publication could not be found. Many drafts have inscriptions, added later in Nicholson's hand, giving dates or approximate dates and sometimes publication details. In the following descriptions these later inscribed details have been reproduced where information regarding date and publication is otherwise absent.