Ornithology in Special Collections

In this beautiful and underappreciated book, Baldner describes the birds, fish, mammals, insects, and worms found around the rivers and lakes of Strasbourg, France. A fisher and hunter by trade, Baldner took a particular interest in waterbirds and wrote accounts of 56 bird species, which he hired local artists to paint. This book is written in German and consists of four volumes. Albert E. Lownes, the donor, speculated that the set belonging to Special Collections was previously owned and augmented by the English naturalist Francis Willughby and used by Willughby and John Ray as a source for their book "Ornithologiae Libri Tres" (1676). Special Collections also has two later versions of Baldner's work from 1903 and 1973.

A collaboration between Francis Willughby and John Ray, who completed the work after Willughby's death, this richly illustrated book describes many species of European birds. The text is written in Latin. Also in the collection is an English translation (1678) and a companion work on fishes: "Francisci Willughbeii Armig. De historia piscium : libri quatuor" (1678).

English naturalist George Edwards describes and illustrates a wide variety of non-native species, including many North American birds. Edwards published his work in four volumes. Subsequently, he wrote three additional volumes under the title "Gleanings of natural history" (1758-1764). The latter work is also available in Special Collections.

Special Collections has several versions of this classic book by the English naturalist Gilbert White. This copy from 1789 is a first edition. The book consists of a collection of White's personal letters and contains his detailed observations of local wildlife, in addition to reflections on the history of Selborne, England. (Several additional copies can be found in the Library's catalog. Try searching for "White, Gilbert" in the advanced search "Author/Creator" field. Use the catalog's sidebar to filter your search to display only materials in the John Hay Library.)

Printed two years after Gilbert White's death in 1793, this book consists of selections from his nature journals. It is structured like a calendar, emphasizing the seasonal changes.

The second volume of this two-volume set formerly belonged to John James Audubon.

This illustrated five-volume set documents the wildlife observed by Darwin and his colleagues during their famous second survey expedition on the H.M.S Beagle. Volume III is devoted to birds and is authored primarily by the ornithologist John Gould, with information about habits and ranges by Charles Darwin and an anatomical appendix by T.C. Eyton. Special Collections has many books by Darwin, as well as several other ornithological works by John Gould. You can find these in the Brown University Library catalog. Use the "Author/Creator" field in the advanced search and filter your results to display only materials in the John Hay Library.

The majority of this general ornithology textbook consists of species and family accounts of birds from across the world, though the special focus is British species. The text is entertaining with plenty of amusing anecdotes, and the many engravings are gorgeous.

This book on German birdlife is illustrated with 26 chromolithograph plates, depicting assortments of species in natural settings. Two plates focus on the identification of eggs.

This translation of Descourtilz's "Oiseaux brillants et remarquables du Brésil" includes reproductions of the original 60 hand-colored lithographs and a commentary by the Brazilian zoologist João Moojen.