Ornithology in Special Collections

Josselyn's account of the wildlife of New England is both a natural history book and an anecdotal repository of medicines. It is a good source for people interested in Ospreys and their therapeutic benefits. Josselyn discusses approximately thirteen bird species, including Chimney Swift ("The Troculus"), Bald Eagle ("The Gripe and Vulture"), and Great Auk ("The Wobble"). Most interesting is his description of "The Pilhannaw," which he describes as a giant hawk with a head "as big as a Childs of a year old." This seems to be the Library's oldest work on New England birds. Special Collections also owns two later editions, printed in 1865 and 1972.

Working primarily from his specimen collection, Linsley lists the birds of Connecticut. There is a particularly fascinating personal account of Audubon's mysterious Washington Eagle.

This small book has the distinguished feature of an artificial key for the identification of birds in the hand. It is part of the Dickinson Family Library.

Here is an excellent example of the unique depth of New England's ornithological record. This list includes the enigmatic Brewster's Linnet, which is speculated to have been a hybrid Pine Siskin x Redpoll. Morse often provides multiple English names for species. The name "Fire Hang-bird" for Baltimore Oriole is a particular highlight.

Howe's book of essays narrates some of his ornithological outings, including a chapter about birding in Ipswich. The book features landscape photos, an appendix of locality-specific species lists, and a plate by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Mearns published this list of Rhode Island birds as a teenager. It appeared in the journal "Notes on Rhode Island ornithology."

This brief text on bird identification for school-age children includes illustrated plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and poetry and quotations from the "Bird-lore" magazine.

Published by the Rhode Island government's Commissioners of Birds, this list documents the state's breeding species. Each species entry includes a well-documented nesting record as proof of breeding status. The records were compiled between 1890 and 1908.

A small, illustrated guide to common New England species by the prolific Chester Reed of Worcester, MA.

Forbush provides an authoritative account of New England birdlife in the first-half of the 20th century. The work is composed of three volumes: I. water birds, marsh birds, and shore birds; II. land birds from bobwhites to grackles; III. land birds from sparrows to thrushes. The set includes color plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Allan Brooks and written by Edward Howe Forbush, this work includes more unusual New England species such as the now-extinct Eskimo Curlew and the mysterious "Cory's" Least Bittern.

A significant figure in the history of North American ornithology, Brewster spent much of his free time observing wildlife, particularly birds, in the area of Massachusetts' Concord River. This book is a sequel to October Farm, from the Concord journals and diaries of William Brewster (1936), which can be requested from Brown's Rockefeller Library.

This classic work looks at avian biodiversity in Concord, Massachusetts. Ludlow Griscom was a pivotal figure in the shift away from the so-called "shotgun school" of ornithology in favor of the observational identification of birds.

Appearing in the October 1913 issues of the Auk (v. 30, no. 4, p. 545-558), Hathaway's article reviews some of the rare species discovered in Rhode Island, as well as populational trends and unusual nesting records. People familiar with the state's current avian biodiversity will find this article especially striking. Hathaway mentions the arrival of Starlings in 1906 and the increasing numbers of Laughing Gulls and Carolina Wrens. He examines the extant proof of Passenger Pigeons having bred in Rhode Island, and speculates about the underappreciated abundance of Yellow Rails.

In this Brown University master's thesis, Childs investigates the biodiversity of breeding birds in Rumford neighborhood of East Providence, Rhode Island. Along with the results of the survey, he discusses methodologies and local changes in bird population.

This noteworthy collection includes annotated volumes from Thoreau's personal library and fragments from his journals. While the collection is not primarily focused on ornithology, it does contain a couple editions of "Notes on New England birds," a compilation of Thoreau's writings on birds, and "Faith in a seed," in which Thoreau examines the avian dispersal of seeds. At the bottom of the collection's webpage, there is a link to an archival finding aid with an inventory of the papers.

The John Hay (1915-2011) papers contains a portion of the legendary poet-naturalist's journals, research, and letters. Hay, the grandson of the John Hay Library's namesake, spent many decades watching and writing about the wildlife of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Included in the collection are papers recording Hay's observations of local birds. At the bottom of the collection's webpage, there is a link to an archival finding aid with an inventory of the papers.

Volumes 6-18 of this amateur ornithological journal were published in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Special Collections has v.9:no.1-2 1884.