Birds through an opera-glass

by Florence Merriam Bailey

Birds through an opera-glass

Genres: Birds, Nature, Nonfiction

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1889

Reviews

[Jim Tucker]

The author was a recent discovery, and her focused writing about the birds that she observed back in the late 1800s represent an amazing and quite different form of ornithological literature. This was in the days before binoculars, as we know them, but the author at least had an opera glass. Birds were typically studied by shooting them and then examining them. Florence Merriam Bailey was decades before her time and yet she was setting a standard for observing birds and recording the details.

[Diane]

Florence Merriman Bailey, thank you for your curiosity! In an era (late 1800s) where birds were shot for sport, collecting, fly fishing, and fancy hats, Ms. Bailey chose to enjoy watching birds in situ. Radical idea! In Birds Through an Opera Glass (written in 1890), she takes us on walks through fields and forests, along river banks and hedgerows. She describes what she sees—colors, calls, nests, eggs, behaviors. She compares birds in ways now common in bird guides, with the robin as the standard by which other birds are measured. Ms. Bailey set the standard for modern birdwatchers, a classification in which I happily find myself.

[Ellen]

This book, written in 1889, is a charmingly written but remarkably complete guide to birds that can be observed in an urban setting. Although I am not an expert, it seemed to me that most of the information has aged well, with the possible exception of changes in habitat due to changes in urban living over the last 135 years. Ms. Bailey is not only an educated birder, she is a dedicated watcher, sometimes following a bird for three or four hours or getting down on hands and knees to observe a ground nest. There are several hand-drawn pictures, but they may not be as useful as those in more modern guides because they are not in color.

I’m surprised that Ms. Bailey is not more well known. Her observations would have been very helpful at the time they were written. The only problem I found with the book was that it appeared to be printed from the original with an optical reader, and there were several difficulties including random characters, misspellings, and page layouts.

[John Coutanche]

Love ly

Helen Macdonald quoted from it somewhat cutely as an example of florid last century writing. It is that and is cgarming , informative and inspiring.

[Hunter]

Very cute Victorian guide to birding without shooting / eating them

[Ariana]

Not as strong or cohesive as “A-Birding on a Bronco” (which was excellent), but still a must-read by one of the foremost inventors of modern birding.

A little cutesy at times for my tastes, but as a historical work, even that becomes charming. And anyway, who amongst us birders hasn’t been charmed by some of our itty-bitty friends’ antics and delights? ;-)