BIRDWATCHING

HOORAY for bird migration! Twice a year, thanks to this behavior, we get a glimpse of birds not usually seen at our backyard feeders or on area hiking trails.

The sight of these visitors may send us fumbling through our worn copies of Peterson's field guide. With only the basics, however, we may have difficulty deciding whether we've spotted a Northern Woodpecker or his black-back, three-toed cousin. Fortunately, there are more extensive sources of bird information right here in the Bullis Room that can help us identify these winged friends.

William T. Hornaday, author of THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY (published by Charles Scribner in 1914) dedicated part of Volume II and all of Volume III to birds. Both these volumes (along with Volumes I and IV) are on the shelves, waiting for you to stop by and take a look. Besides a wealth of information on birds, these volumes are filled with illustrations which include some striking color plates of the Passenger Pigeon, Roseate Spoonbill, Emperor Penguin, White-Headed Eagle, and Bobolink. Also included is a full-page "Landscape Chart Of The Orders of North American Birds." There is detailed information on families, orders, and species of birds and also information about the cause of decreasing bird population, which was a concern to bird lovers in 1914 and continues to be today.

Those of us into literature as well as birds might want to spend some time with John Burrough's book, BIRDS AND POETS WITH OTHER PAPERS (Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1877). This volume includes poetry by Wordsworth praising the nightingale and the lark and Burroughs describing the wonder of a pine warbler along with some of the poetical bird references of Coleridge, Emerson, and Cowper.

On the other hand, those of us who are detail-oriented will get a full serving in Samuel Lockwood's ANIMAL MEMOIRS, PART II, BIRDS (published by Ivison, Blakeman and Company, 1888). We can learn about the anatomy of a feather, the mechanism of a wing, and lots of other fascinating facts about birds in general.

The book that has a little bit of "all of the above" is OUR BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS, A POPULAR TREATISE ON THE BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN (published by S. E.
Cassino & Company, 1884). The Rev. J. Hibbert Langille chose this poem to grace his title page:

How pleasant the life of a bird must be,
Flitting about in each leafy tree;
In the leafy trees, so broad and tall,
Like a green and beautiful palace hall,
With its airy chambers, light and boon,
That open to sun and stars and moon,
That open into the bright blue sky,
And the frolicsome winds as they wander by.
Mary Howitt.

In his preface, Rev. Langille stated: "I have tried to meet a wide demand never yet met in this country--to have a book on birds for everybody. I write almost entirely from personal observation, incorporating in my work a full report for Western New York and the adjoining regions of the Great Lakes, and a pretty full report for Nova Scotia; also a good deal of direct information from Hudson's Bay, by means of an excellent correspondent." A cursory look at this book confirms that indeed it is a bird book for everyone, everywhere, anytime.

If one or more of these books interest you, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and take a look at them. And may we wish you an enjoyable birdwatching season.