A History of Birdwatching in 100 Objects
David Callahan, "A History of Birdwatching in 100 Objects"
ISBN: 1408186187 | 2014 | EPUB | 224 pages | 54 MB
This book looks at 100 items that have profoundly shaped how people watched, studied and engaged with the avian world. Each item contains around 500 words on a double-page spread and include an illustration of the object in question. The book includes the objects listed below as well as many more.The range of items is international and cross-cultural. Subjects include:
An Egyptian 'field guide' [early tomb decorations of birds, identifiable as species]
Ornithologiae libri tres: the first British bird guide [a 1676 publication that attempted to itemise all British birds known at the time]
The Dodo specimen held at the Horniman museum
Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus [the first-ever system of scientific names in 1758, and still the international standard today]
The shotgun
The book, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne by Gilbert White [1789]
HMS Beagle [the ship on which Darwin made his ground-breaking discoveries]
Aluminium bird rings [used to record movement and longevity of individuals and species]
along with many more modern innovations including walkie talkies, pagers, radio tags and apps.