LibGuides: Ornithology in Special Collections: North American Ornithology

Books relating to North American birdlife

The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands: : containing the figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects, and plants by Catesby, Mark, 1683-1749
Call Number: Albert E. Lownes Collection ; RARE 3-SIZE QH41 .C4x

Publication Date: 1729-1747

In this two-volume work, Catesby produced one of the earliest and most significant accounts of American bird species. Catesby roamed the southeastern states and the Bahamas, observing and illustrating the region's plants and wildlife. Special Collections also owns a 1771 reprinting with a Linnaean index and translations in German (1749) and Dutch (1772).
American ornithology; or, The natural history of the birds of the United States by Wilson, Alexander, 1766-1813
Call Number: Albert E. Lownes Collection ; 2-SIZE QL674 .W5x 1808a

Publication Date: 1809-1814

A monumental contribution to the study of American birds, Wilson's nine-volume work describes and illustrates 268 species (many of them new to science) with a particular focus on the birds of the Eastern deciduous forests. This is the first work of American ornithology based on the Linnaean system of names. Special Collections owns two first-edition sets, as well 1828 and 1871 reprintings and several biographies about Wilson.
American ornithology, or, The natural history of birds inhabiting the United States, not given by Wilson. : With figures drawn, engraved, and coloured, from nature by Bonaparte, Charles Lucian, 1803-1857
Call Number: Albert E. Lownes Collection / Starred Book Collection ; 2-SIZE QL674 .B6;

Publication Date: 1825-1833

Bonaparte's four-volume sequel to "American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States" by Alexander Wilson. Special Collections owns to copies of this work.
A monograph of the Odontophorinæ, or partridges of America. by Gould, John, 1804-1881
Call Number: Rare Books Collection ; 3-SIZE QL674 .G57

Publication Date: 1850

A large, beautiful volume describing the quails of the Americas. John Gould created this book in Europe, where he had access to specimens and living birds in zoos. The illustrations represent the species in their natural sizes.
Transactions of the Linnaean Society of New York. by Linnaean Society of New York
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QH1 .L87 1882

Publication Date: 1882

Along with a variety of other articles, this series includes a discussion on the summer range of the Fish Crow by William Dutcher and a list of the birds of Dutchess County, New York by Ludlow Griscom.
Illustrations of the nests and eggs of birds of Ohio : with text by Jones, Howard, 1853-1945; Jones, Nelson Edward, 1821-1901; Jones, Genevieve Estelle, 1847-1879; Jones, Virginia Smith, 1827-1906; Shulze, Eliza Jane, 1847-
Call Number: Albert E. Lownes Collection ; 3-SIZE QL674 .J77

Publication Date: 1886

This two-volume work was begun by Genevieve Jones and Eliza Shulze, and completed by Jones' parents and brother after her death. Inspired by Audubon's "Birds of America," Jones set out to illustrate the nests and eggs of 130 species of birds that breed in Ohio. Though rare and little known today, the work was celebrated by the country's foremost contemporary ornithologists during its publication. The Jones family printed their lithograph plates by subscription and numbered Rutherford B. Hayes and Theodore Roosevelt among their subscribers.
The myology of the raven (Corvus corax sinuatus.) A guide to the study of the muscular system in birds by Shufeldt, Robert W., 1850-1934
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QL697 .S56

Publication Date: 1890

This book guides the reader through the muscular system of a raven. Shufeldt recommends that the reader follow along with their own raven specimen.
The complete nature writings of John Burroughs by Burroughs, John, 1837-1921
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QH81 .B9x 1904

Publication Date: 1904-1921

John Burroughs was a New York naturalist and writer. He achieved great prominence during his life and counted among his friends figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Walt Whitman, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford. This collection includes his book "Wake-Robin" (1871), which Burroughs describes in the preface as "an invitation to the study of Ornithology."
Camera studies of wild birds in their homes by Reed, Chester A. (Chester Albert), 1876-1912
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QL676 .R24 1911

Publication Date: 1911
Color key to North American birds : with bibliographical appendix by Chapman, Frank M. (Frank Michler), 1864-1945
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QL681 .C47 1912

Publication Date: 1912

This book is illustrated by Chester A. Reed and, as discussed in the introduction, is intended to aid in the visual identification of birds. However, many of the identification features described by the author seem more useful for a shotgun ornithologist.
The bird book : illustrating in natural colors more than seven hundred North American birds, also several hundred photographs of their nests and eggs by Reed, Chester A. (Chester Albert), 1876-1912
Call Number: Starred Book Collection ; PE R25

Publication Date: 1912
Handbook of birds of the western United States : including the Great Plains, Great Basin, Pacific Slope, and lower Rio Grande Valley by Bailey, Florence Merriam, 1863-1948
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QL682 .B33 1917

Publication Date: 1917

This comprehensive handbook is richly and diversely illustrated, including thirty-three full-page plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Bailey provides identification keys, species accounts, and several region-specific species lists. The lengthy introduction covers a variety of topics, such as keeping field notes and collecting data for economic ornithologists.
American birds : 10 photographs in color by Porter, Eliot, 1901-1990
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; 3-SIZE TR729.B5 P67 1953

Publication Date: 1953

This portfolio contains ten color photographs by the nature photographer Eliot Porter.
Ornithology collections in the Libraries at Cornell University : a descriptive guide by White, Jeanne A.
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; Z5335 .C67 1988

Publication Date: 1988

This descriptive guide to Cornell University's vast ornithology collection is a useful reference for those in search of a hard-to-find work.
Birdwatching with American women : a selection of nature writings by Deborah Strom, editor
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QL673 .B58

Publication Date: 1989

Through this diverse selection of writings, Strom spotlights the work of American women ornithologists and birders in the 19th and early-20th centuries. New England authors include Florence Merriam Bailey, Margaret Morse Nice, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Celia Thaxter.
Bird life : a guide to the behavior and biology of birds by Kress, Stephen W.
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; QL676 .K773 1991b

Publication Date: 1991

Part of St. Martin's Press' Golden Guide series, this book lays out the basics of ornithology for the general reader.
America's other Audubon by Kiser, Joy M., 1947-
Call Number: Offsite Storage ; 2-SIZE QL31.J59 K57 2012

Publication Date: 2012

This book contains a reproduction of the Jones family's "Illustrations of the nests and eggs of birds of Ohio" (1886). Joy Kiser's biography of Genevieve Jones contextualizes the creation of this masterpiece of 19th-century amatuer ornithology. The Hay also owns a copy of "Illustrations of the nests and eggs of birds of Ohio."

Primary sources relating to North American birdlife

List of birds and flowers made in the field at Pine Knot, Virginia, May 1908 by Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Call Number: Albert E. Lownes Collection ; RARE 1-SIZE QL684.N7 R66x 1877

Publication Date: 1908

This brief handwritten list records the birds and flowers that former US President Theodore Roosevelt observed while in the field at Pine Knot, Virginia with naturalist John Burroughs.
The summer birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y. by Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Call Number: Albert E. Lownes Collection ; RARE 1-SIZE QL684.N7 R66x 1877

Publication Date: 1877

Theodore Roosevelt lists the summer birds of the Adirondacks based on his time in the area in the 1870s. This printed leaflet is grouped in an album with Roosevelt's notes on some of the birds of Oyster Bay, Long Island (1879) and a list of birds seen around the White House during his administration (1908).

Collections relating to North American birdlife

The centerpiece of this collection is a complete double-elephant folio edition of John James Audubon's Birds of America (published between 1827 and 1838). The work consists of 435 hand-colored plates and contains some of the most influential bird illustrations ever created. Special Collections also owns many later editions of Birds of America and Audubon's other books, including the companion work Ornithological biography (1831-1839). Additionally, this collection contains an original printing plate, several uncolored proofs, and some of Audubon's letters. In the Brown University Library catalog, type "Audubon, John James" in the advanced search "Author/Creator" field. You can use the catalog's sidebar to filter your search to display only materials in the John Hay Library.

Magazines and journals relating to North American birdlife

The Wilson bulletin (v. 6-117; 1894-2005)

The Wilson Ornithological Society's quarterly magazine is an outstanding and highly reputable publication on American birds. Notwithstanding a few gaps and the first five issues, the series in Special Collections is almost complete. There is also one issue of the earlier, short-lived publication Wilson quarterly.

National Audubon Society magazines

Special Collections owns an extensive collection of magazines published by the National Audubon Society between 1887 and 1994, including:

The Audubon magazine (v.1-v.2 1887-1889)
Bird-lore (v.12-v.42 1910-1940)
Audubon magazine (v.43-v.63 1941-1961)
Audubon field notes (v.1-v.24 1947-1970)
American birds (v.25-v.48,60 1971-1994, 2005/2006)
National Audubon Society field notes (v.48-v.52 1994-1998)

This entry is linked to the Library's online catalog, with the search set to bring up just the above magazines. Together, the National Audubon Society's magazines record over one hundred years of nature observation, and reflect changing approaches to the ways that people have watched and thought about birds.

The Condor (v. 17-91; 1915-1989)

Published by the Cooper Ornithological Society, this journal was the primary publication for western North American ornithologists for more than half a century. In the 1950s, The Condor shifted away from its original regional focus and became a peer-reviewed scientific publication. Ten-year indexes to the journal are printed in Pacific Coast Avifauna, which can be accessed online through the Library's catalog.