Beautiful Birds

Selous, Edmund, 1857-1934Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 270K words
Chapters: 27

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.Beautiful Birds by Edmund SelousAuthor: Selous, Edmund, 1857-1934,Language: English, Class: QL: Science: Zoology, Release Date: Dec 28, 2015

Editor's review

Beautiful Birds is a collection of birdwatching essays by the British natural history writer Edmund Selous, falling under the Zoology (QL) category of free public-domain eBooks from Project Gutenberg. Selous was known for his meticulous field observation, and this book continues his approach of turning bird behavior into vivid stories, giving readers an introductory sense of the appearance, habits, and habitats of common birds. Its value lies not in the checklist-style presentation of a field guide but in a way of watching birds with patience and curiosity, making it a light reading sample of nature writing. Because it was written long ago, the English carries a period flavor, and proper names and descriptions may take some getting used to for today's readers; it is also not a reference tool in the modern taxonomic sense, lacking systematic indexing and the latest research. As a public-domain eBook, it is easy to dip into on screen or in print, suitable for commuting, bedtime, or reading after outdoor observation, building an intuitive sense of birds in spare moments, and also usable as extensive reading material for English nature texts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in birds and nature observation who want light natural history essays
Learners hoping to build nature vocabulary through English extensive reading
People who enjoy finding details in daily life and prefer essay-style popular science
Readers who need free public-domain eBook resources for reading across devices

Not a good fit for

Researchers or birders seeking modern taxonomy and distribution data
Field-guide readers expecting abundant high-resolution plates and identification points
Readers with weak English who find old-fashioned expressions hard to handle

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to get a feel for the style, then pick familiar bird species to compare with your own observations
Jot down unfamiliar bird names and terms, then look them up together after finishing
Read alongside walks or park birdwatching, one or two pieces at a time, to keep it fresh
For English extensive reading, avoid looking up every word; grasp the paragraph's gist first, then revisit details

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.

FAQ

Is this book a bird field guide or popular science essays?

It is closer to natural history essays, focusing on the author's observations and narratives of bird behavior and scenes of life rather than field-guide species entries, measurements, and identification keys. Readers who want to identify birds systematically need a modern field guide; this book is better read as nature writing.

There is a lot of old-fashioned English—will it be hard to read?

It was written long ago, so sentence patterns and word choices bear the marks of their time, but overall it is narrative writing for general readers, not an academic paper. Intermediate English reading ability is enough to make progress; unfamiliar bird names can be skipped at first, as long as you grasp the paragraph's meaning.

As a public-domain eBook, how is it best read?

Its length and structure suit fragmented reading—one or two pieces at a time on a phone or e-reader, and it is easy to print and carry. Reading the corresponding passages after outdoor observation and combining reading with actual birdwatching experience works even better.

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About the author

Selous, Edmund, 1857-1934 Author

Edmund Selous (1857–1934) was a British author of nature writing and bird-watching literature. Public information about him is limited, and many details of his life are unknown. Five of his works are held in the collection, including The Bird Watcher in the Shetlands, with Some Notes on Seals—and Digressions, Bird Life Glimpses, Bird Watching, Tommy Smith's Animals, and Beautiful Birds. These works are grounded in careful, patient field observation, written in a warm and unhurried style that moves from the forms, songs, and habits of birds to island scenery and everyday reflections, combining scientific record with the pleasure of the essay. He was skilled at turning long hours of watching into readable narrative, making bird watching an accessible pastime for ordinary readers and leaving a modest mark on the English tradition of bird-watching writing.