About this book
In the late nineteenth century, American bird lovers faced a crisis. Bird species were becoming endangered or even extinct at an alarming rate, and old methods of hunting and collecting specimens accelerated the process. A new conservationist approach to birding was necessary, and it needed to be taught to the next generation of Americans. Thus, 1897's Citizen Bird, the first birding guide for children, was born. A tremendously influential text in the Progressive-era United States, it inspired in a generation of schoolchildren a love of wild birds and the desire to protect them.
Born of a collaboration between naturalist Mabel Osgood Wright, ornithologist Elliott Coues, and bird artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes, the book is vital to the history of birding and the broader study of nineteenth-century American culture and literature. This new edition of Citizen Bird preserves the original book's 111 drawings and adds explanatory footnotes, supplemental historical material, and a new introduction. More than a century and a quarter after its original publication, Elizabeth Cherry and Meghan Freeman contextualise the book in the tradition and history of birding and discuss the roles of its authors and illustrator in birding history. A landmark text in the history of American conservationism, Citizen Bird is a timeless classic that will bring joy to birdwatchers of all ages.
Contents
Chapter 1. Overture by the Birds
Chapter 2. The Doctor's Wonder Room
Chapter 3. A Sparrow Settles the Question
Chapter 4. The Building of a Bird
Chapter 5. Citizen Bird
Chapter 6. The Bird as a Traveller
Chapter 7. The Bird's Nest
Chapter 8. Beginning of the Bird Stories
Chapter 9. A Silver-Tongued Family
Bluebird—Robin— Wood Thrush—Wilson’s Thrush—Hermit Thrush—Olive-backed Thrush
Chapter 10. Peepers and Creepers
Golden-crowned Kinglet—White-breasted Nuthatch—Chickadee—Brown Creeper
Chapter 11. Mockers and Scolders
Sage Thrasher—Mockingbird—Catbird—Brown Thrasher—Rock Wren—House Wren—Long-billed Marsh Wren
Chapter 12. Woodland Warblers
Black-and-white Warbler—Yellow Warbler—Yellow-rumped Warbler—Ovenbird—Maryland Yellow-throat—Yellow-breasted Chat—American Redstart
Chapter 13. Around the Old Barn
Red-eyed Vireo—Great Northern Shrike—Cedar Waxwing
Chapter 14. The Swallows
Purple Martin—Barn Swallow—Tree Swallow—Bank Swallow
Chapter 15. A Brilliant Pair
Scarlet Tanager—Louisiana Tanager
Chapter 16. A Tribe of Weed Warriors
Pine Grosbeak—American Crossbill—American Goldfinch—Snowflake—Vesper Sparrow—White-throated Sparrow—Chipping Sparrow—Slate-colored Junco—Song Sparrow—Towhee—Cardinal—Rose-breasted Grosbeak—Indigo Bird
Chapter 17. A Midsummer Excursion
Bobolink—Orchard Oriole—Baltimore Oriole—Cowbird—Red-winged Blackbird—Purple Grackle—Meadowlark
Chapter 18. Crows and Their Cousins
American Crow—Blue Jay
Chapter 19. A Feathered Fisherman
The Osprey
Chapter 20. Some Sky Sweepers
Kingbird—Phoebe—Wood Pewee
Chapter 21. Hummers and Chimney Sweeps
Ruby-throated Hummingbird—Chimney Swift
Chapter 22. Two Winged Mysteries
Nighthawk—Whip-poor-will
Chapter 23. A Laughing Family
Downy Woodpecker—Red-headed Woodpecker—Flicker—Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Chapter 24. Two Odd Fellows
Kingfisher—Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chapter 25. Cannibals in Court
Bald Eagle—Golden Eagle—Screech Owl—Long-eared Owl—Snowy Owl—Great Horned Owl—Marsh Hawk—Sharp-shinned Hawk—Red-shouldered Hawk—Sparrow Hawk
Chapter 26. A Cooing Pair
Passenger Pigeon—Mourning Dove
Chapter 27. Three Famous Game Birds
Bob White—Ruffed Grouse—Woodcock
Chapter 28. On the Shore
A Long-necked Family: Black-crowned Night Heron—American Bittern—A Bonnet Martyr and a Blue Giant—Snowy Egret—Great Blue Heron
Chapter 29. Up the River
Turnstone—Golden Plover—Wilson’s Snipe—Spotted Sandpiper—Least Sandpiper—Virginia Rail
Chapter 30. Ducks and Drakes
Wood Duck—Black Duck—Mallard—Pintail—Green-winged Teal—Blue-winged Teal—Redhead—Old Squaw—Hooded Merganser
Chapter 31. Gulls and Terns at Home
Canada Goose—American Herring Gull—Common Tern—Loon—Pied-billed Grebe
Chapter 32. Chorus by the Birds
Chapter 33. Procession of Bird Families
Index of English Names
Appendix 1: Supplementary Material on Citizen Bird
Appendix 2: Historical Materials on Nineteenth-Century Birding and Audubon
Appendix 3: Other Works of Nineteenth-Century Nature Writing and Children’s Literature
Appendix 4: Further Reading
Acknowledgments
About the Contributors
Index
Customer Reviews
Biography
Mabel Osgood Wright (1859-1934) founded the Connecticut Audubon Society and the Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary in Connecticut, published several books on birds and birding, and helped revive and reestablish the National Audubon Society through her work as editor and writer for Bird-Lore, the precursor to Audubon Magazine. Her book Birdcraft: A Field Book of Two Hundred Song, Game, and Water Birds (1895) is widely regarded as the first true field guide for birds, and her book Citizen Bird: Scenes from Bird-Life in Plain English for Beginners (1897) is cited by the Library of Congress as a milestone in the conservation movement.
Elliott Coues (1842-1899) was one of the founders, and later the president, of the American Ornithologists' Union (now the American Ornithological Society), published numerous books and scientific papers on ornithological topics, and edited the AOU's publication The Auk. His Key to North American Birds (1872), a highly regarded scientific bird identification manual, was revised and reprinted in six editions. One of the American Ornithological Society's most prestigious annual awards is named after Elliott Coues.
Elizabeth Cherry is a professor of sociology at Manhattanville University in Purchase, New York. She is the author of Culture and Activism: Animal Rights in France and the United States and For the Birds: Protecting Wildlife Through the Naturalist Gaze (Rutgers University Press).
Meghan Freeman is the fellowship and internship librarian at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and she has taught and published on nineteenth-century literature, art, and culture.
Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927) was a highly sought-after American bird illustrator, second in prominence today only to John James Audubon. He produced thousands of illustrations for many important works, including Merriam Bailey's Handbook of Birds of the Western United States (1902), Keyser's Birds of the Rockies (1902), Coues's Key to North American Birds (1903), Eaton's Birds of New York (1910-1914), and Forbush's Birds of Massachusetts (1925-1929). The Wilson Ornithological Society has named its most prestigious award after Louis Agassiz Fuertes.
