Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1

Bent, Arthur Cleveland, 1866-1954Project Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

Rating 4.2
Word count
1.2M words
Chapters
117

Tags

Motivation and Growth North American EcologyNatural HistorySpecies RecordsEcologyScience EnlightenmentNature ObservationCuriosityFieldworkDocumentary NarrativeOrnithology

Summary

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Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2) by Bent

Author: Bent, Arthur Cleveland, 1866-1954,Language: English, Class: QL: Science: Zoology, Release Date: Oct 3, 2014

Editor's review

This is Part 1 of Arthur Cleveland Bent's two-part monograph on the life histories of North American shore birds, a classic reference in zoology. Drawing on firsthand field records, the author details each species' distribution, migration, breeding, feeding, and behavior with dense data and meticulous observation, making it an essential primary source for the study of North American shore birds to this day. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to search and cite, and suits professional reference and desk use rather than cover-to-cover popular reading. Read it as a species archive to dip into at will, and use it alongside modern field guides and distribution databases to appreciate both the value and the era-bound limits of a century-old field observation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Start with the table of contents and locate species or groups; use it as a reference work
  2. Compare with modern field guides and distribution databases, noting changes in observation period and taxonomy
  3. After each species entry, briefly note key behavioral traits for cross-species comparison
  4. With many English technical terms, first familiarize yourself with basic vocabulary of shorebird morphology and behavior

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
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  11. 11
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FAQ

Is this book suitable for general readers without a background in ornithology? Not really. The book consists mainly of species life-history records, written professionally and densely, with no introductory guidance or illustrations. Readers without a foundation in ornithology may lose their way among terminology and taxonomy; it is best to start with a popular birdwatching guide and then use this as a reference.
Is the content the author's original observations, or a compilation? Bent's life-history series was compiled from extensive field records and correspondence, combining his own observations with contributions from contemporary observers. It is not a purely theoretical work but a highly documentary species archive; read it as a historical observational record, not a modern synthesis.
Why is it recommended to read alongside modern field guides? The book was written long ago, and its taxonomy, understanding of distribution, and population status differ from today's. Comparing it with modern field guides and distribution databases helps identify outdated information, avoiding misuse of old data while revealing a century of change in ornithological methods and knowledge.
What should be noted when using this public-domain eBook? The Project Gutenberg edition is free and easy to search, but its layout is mainly plain text, lacking the figures and indexing conveniences of modern publications. When citing, verify the specific edition and page information, and for conclusions on taxonomy and distribution, it is best to check against current authoritative sources.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Bent, Arthur Cleveland, 1866-1954 Author

Arthur Cleveland Bent (1866–1954) was an American ornithologist best known for his series of life histories of North American birds. The library holds two of his works: Life Histories of North American Wood Warblers, Parts One and Two, and Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1, showing that his writing focuses on systematic observation and documentation of particular bird groups. His texts are generally based on detailed field data, describing habits, breeding, migration, and distribution species by species, combining scientific reference value with the appeal of natural-history reading. Such works are often classified under inspirational growth, perhaps because they reflect persistence and careful observation over time. Public information is limited, and details of his life and honors cannot be confirmed, so no speculation is offered here; readers may instead appreciate his rigorous and patient approach through the works themselves.