In the decades following the Civil War--as industrialization,
urbanization, and economic expansion increasingly reshaped the
landscape--many Americans began seeking adventure and aesthetic
gratification through avian pursuits. By the turn of the century,
hundreds of thousands of middle-and upper-class devotees were rushing to
join Audubon societies, purchase field guides, and keep records of the
species they encountered in the wild. Mark Barrow vividly reconstructs
this story not only through the experiences of birdwatchers, collectors,
conservationists, and taxidermists, but also through those of a
relatively new breed of bird enthusiast: the technically oriented
ornithologist. In exploring how ornithologists struggled to forge a
discipline and profession amidst an explosion of popular interest in
natural history, A Passion for Birds provides the first book-length
history of American ornithology from the death of John James Audubon to
the Second World War.
Barrow shows how efforts to form a scientific community distinct from
popular birders met with only partial success. The founding of the
American Ornithologists' Union in 1883 and the subsequent expansion of
formal educational and employment opportunities in ornithology marked
important milestones in this campaign. Yet by the middle of the
twentieth century, when ornithology had finally achieved the status of a
modern profession, its practitioners remained dependent on the services
of birdwatchers and other amateur enthusiasts. Environmental issues also
loom large in Barrow's account as he traces areas of both cooperation
and conflict between ornithologists and wildlife conservationists.
Recounting a colorful story based on the interactions among a wide
variety of bird-lovers, this book will interest historians of science,
environmental historians, ornithologists, birdwatchers, and anyone
curious about the historical roots of today's birding boom.
