Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States

Thomas George GentryProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3
Word count
623K words
Chapters
63

Tags

English Originals Natural Sciences Natural HistoryScience EnlightenmentAmerican NatureNature ObservationAvian EcologyCuriositySlow ReadingGeography ScienceAcademic StudyIllustrated Guide

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States by Thomas G. GentryAuthor: Gentry, Thomas G. (Thomas George), 1843-1905,Language: English, Class: QL: Science: Zoology, Release Date: Mar 7, 2014

Editor's review

This is a natural-history, illustrated-guide-style work on the nests and eggs of American birds, an observational record within the field of zoology. Thomas G. Gentry introduces by group the shape, siting, and construction of nests, as well as the number, color, and markings of eggs; the content emphasizes description and comparison, reflecting the nineteenth-century natural-history practice of field observation and specimen comparison. Its reading value lies in providing a systematic observational framework: readers can learn how to describe nest materials, nest sites, and the appearance of eggs, and understand the questions and modes of expression of early ornithology. As a public-domain electronic text, it is better suited to reference and to natural-history writing than to continuous reading as popular science. It is advisable to read it alongside modern bird guides, noting that the classification and names in old literature may differ from contemporary ones and require careful conversion.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Use it as a reference book: first check the table of contents to locate a group, then consult the relevant entries as needed.
  2. Keep a modern bird guide at hand to compare names and classification changes, and avoid applying old names directly.
  3. While reading, note key descriptive points such as nest material, nest site, and egg color to form your own observation checklist.
  4. If using it for writing, excerpt typical descriptive sentences, but cite the source and verify against modern knowledge.

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
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
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  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
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  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63

FAQ

Can the bird classification and names in the book still be used directly today? They should not be applied directly. The nineteenth-century classification system and names have undergone long revision, and genus and species divisions and English common names may differ from contemporary ones. When reading, treat old names as clues, compare them with modern guides or taxonomic databases, and confirm the referent before citing; otherwise different bird species may easily be confused.
Without color plates, how can one understand the descriptions of egg color and markings? The text relies on words to describe color, the distribution of spots, and relative size, so readers need imagination and comparison with modern color guides. You can look up modern photos of the corresponding species as you read, establishing a correspondence between the verbal description and the real image; this both helps you understand the old literature's mode of expression and reveals the limitations of verbal description.
Is this book suitable as the first book for a beginning birdwatcher? It is not suitable as the only introductory book. It lacks a modern classification framework, explanations of ecological behavior, and practical identification points, and reading it directly can easily leave one lost in old-style descriptions. A better path is first to master a modern guide to common local birds and observation methods, then use this book as supplementary material to learn how early natural history recorded nests and eggs.

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

Thomas George Gentry Author · American · 1843–1905

Thomas George Gentry (1843–1905) was an American naturalist; public information on the details of his life is limited. He focused on the breeding biology of North American birds, and his representative work, Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States, systematically describes the nesting sites, egg forms, and breeding habits of North American birds, combining scientific recording with the careful style of natural history writing. Beyond birds, he also collected and studied plants and insects, his interests spanning several groups and reflecting the nineteenth-century naturalist tradition that valued both field observation and specimen collection. His work remains a reference for early records of North American bird life history.