Citizen Bird
Scenes From Bird-life in Plain English for Beginners, a Critical Edition
Rutgers University Press · Print & ebook · May 13, 2025
In the late nineteenth century, American bird lovers faced a crisis.
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- Who it’s for
- This 1897 children's birding guide includes original drawings, footnotes, and historical context.
- Themes
- Birding and wild birds, Bird conservation, American conservation history
- Genres
- Birds, Birdwatching, Bird Biology
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Start with this bookAbout 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.
Continue reading
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 contextualize 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.
Birding for Beginners
This 1897 children's birding guide includes original drawings, footnotes, and historical context.
Come here for
- The original 111 drawings
- Footnotes and supplemental historical material
Expect
- Birding presented alongside the protection of wild birds
- Context on the authors and illustrator in birding history
Where it sits
| Bird Biology | 53% |
|---|---|
| Birdwatching | 40% |
| Birds | 30% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Birdwatching
- Birds
- Authors
- Mabel Osgood Wright, Elliott Coues, Elizabeth Cherry
- Publisher
- Rutgers University Press
- Published
- May 13, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Birding and wild birds · Bird conservation · American conservation history
- Reading lane
- Birdwatching