A Concise History of Ornithology - Softcover

Walters, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300111134 ISBN 13: 9780300111132

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2005

Synopsis

Who are the pioneering scientists who have contributed to our knowledge about birds? How has the science of ornithology developed over the past centuries? This educational and entertaining book explores the history of ornithology from the earliest times to the present day, vividly describing the ornithologists who have been most influential in their field and the discoveries they have made. The book begins by surveying writings on birds by the ancient Chinese, Greeks, and Romans and by individuals writing during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Age of Exploration. It then assesses such ornithological pioneers as Linnaeus, Brisson, and Buffon, whose contributions to the foundations of ornithological systematics and collecting are seminal. Subsequent chapters discuss the expeditions of the eighteenth century; the work of the Germans and the Dutch; the beginnings of ornithology in America; the development of nineteenth-century systems of classification; the new theories that emerged from the Far East; and the great advances made in the twentieth century. Attractively illustrated and engagingly written, the book will be of great interest to all birders and naturalists.

About this title

Review:

"[A book] that birdwatchers and naturalists will find absorbing."

About the Author:

Michael Walters is Emeritus Fellow, Bird Group, The Natural History Museum at Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Tring, United Kingdom.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0300111134
• ISBN 13: 9780300111132
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 255