Birds from Around the World
The first stop on our tour of holdings on birds at the Lloyd Library takes a look at books about, or including, birds from around the world across several centuries, beginning in the late 16th century and ending in the mid-20th century. This includes Europe, as well as locales such as Central and South America and beyond. The volumes are presented in date order, from earliest to latest.
Click on the bird image thumbnails to view a larger image.
Konrad Gesner. Historiae Animalium. Frankfurt-am-Main: Bibliopolio Camberieriano, 1585-1604.
Volume 3, page 395 - Chicken.
Europe.
Ulisse Aldrovandi. Ornithologiae, hoc est, De Avibus Historiae Libri XII-XX. Bologna: Nicolaum Tebaldinum, 1637-1646.
Volume 1, page 464 - Falcon Peregrino.
Europe.
Joannes Jonstonus. Naeukeurige Beschryving van de Natuur der Viervoetige Dieren. Amsterdam: I. I. Schipper, 1660.
Plate 49 - ducks.
Europe.
Eleazar Albin. A Natural History of Birds. London: Printed for the author and sold by W. Innys, John Clarke, and John Brindley, 1731-1738.
Volume 2, plate 59 - green wren.
Europe/Britain.
Arnout Vosmaer. Naturrkundige Beschryving eener Uitmuntende Verzameling van Zeldsaame Gedierten. Amsterdam: J. B. Elwe, 1804.
Plate 4 - East Indian "Ysvogeltjes."
East India.
O. Finsch. "On a Very Rare Parrot from the Solomon Islands," from Zoological Society of London. Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1861-1890.
No. 8 (February 11, 1869).
Plate XI - Domicella cardinalis.
Solomon Islands.
Early scientific journals are full of first-time reports of new species. For example, Finsch says of the bird pictured here, "Now we will give for the first time a full description of the excellent Domicella cardinalis..."
Charles B. Cory. Birds of the Bahama Islands. Boston: Published by the author, 1880.
Page 180 - Flamingo
Bahama Islands
Charles Barney Cory (1857-1921), the son of a wealthy Boston importer, was able to turn his childhood interest in birds into a lifelong career. He was one of the original 48 ornithologists invited to become a founder of the American Ornithologists' Union in 1883. When his personal collection of 19,000 bird specimens became too large, he donated them to the Field Museum in Chicago, where he took the position of Curator of Ornithology.
Osbert Salvin and F. DuCane Godman. "Notes from British Guiana," part 2, from The Ibis. London: J. Van Voorst, 1859-. 5th Series, v.1, no. 2 (April 1883).
Volume 1, plate 9 - Brotoglerys panychlorus.
South America.
Brotogerys panychlorus and Microerculus ustulatus are two birds described in this article concerning an expedition in the Roraima Mountains by Henry Whitely in 1881-1882. In reference to Brotogerys panychlorus, the authors and several others "agree in considering it undescribed."
Société Linnéene de Bordeaux. Actes de la Société Linnéene de Bordeaux. Bordeaux: Lafarque, 1830-1970. Vol. 38 (1884)
Volume 38, plate 8 - falcon.
France.
Richard Bowdler Sharpe. "On the Birds Collected by Professor J. B. Steere in the Philippine Archipelago," from Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 2nd Series: Zoology. London: The Linnean Society of London, 1877.
Plate 47 - Halcyon winchelli
Philippines.
All of the plates in this slim volume by Sharpe (left) are very beautiful, but the Halcyon winchelli is particularly vivid due to its deep blue color. The common name for this bird is the Rufous-lored kingfisher, and it lives in the forests of Biliran, Bohol, Calicoan, Cebu, Leyte, Negros, Samar, and Siquijor, in the Philippines. "This species is named, by Dr. Steere's request, after his friend and old tutor, Mr. Winchell."
Biologia Centrali-Americana. Aves. Edited by Osbert Salvin and Frederick DuCane Godman. London: Published for the editors by R. H. Porter, 1879-1904.
Volume 4, plate 56 - hummingbirds.
Central America
Osbert Salvin (1835-1898, left) was a Cambridge-educated naturalist who became 
editor of The Ibis in 1871. Salvin met Frederick DuCane Godman (1834-1919, right) at Cambridge and their ornithological discussions led to the foundation of the British Ornithologists' Union. The Godman-Salvin Medal, a prestigious award given by the Union, is named for them.
Archibald Thorburn. British Birds. London; New York: Longmans, Green, 1916.
Frontispiece - raven, magpie, and other related birds.
Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) was a Scottish bird illustrator whose work is included in numerous sporting and natural history books. His father, Robert Thorburn, was a portrait miniaturist to Queen Victoria.