Books on Birds
Arranged alphabetically by author.


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    Beebe, William:  Pheasants Their Lives and Homes (In Two Volumes).  Garden City: New York Zoological Society and Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1931 c.1926. Reprint. Both volumes of this two volume set are in fine condition in green cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spines and gilt text and emblems on the front boards. Both are small quartos measuring 10 1/2" by 7 1/2". Both are within very good+ off white dust jackets with tanning to the spine areas and both show modest shallow chipping from the upper edges of the spine areas. Volume I contains 257 pages and volume II contains 309 pages including an index to both volumes. Both are illustrated with photographs, and color and black and white plates. Both volumes are contained within a fine, light green, cloth covered clamshell box with marbled paper on the inside boards and with black text stamped on a paper label on the spine end.
    TB25292  $200.00




  • Bevier, Louis R. (Editor):  The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Connecticut.  Hartford: State Geological and Natural History Survey OF Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 1994. First Edition, First printing. Fine in light gray cloth covered boards with metallic blue text on the spine and on the front board. An oblong small octavo measuring 8" by 9 3/4". In a fine unclipped dust jacket with the original price of $45.00 on the front flap. 461 pages including an index, bibliography, appendices and text. Illustrated with maps and line drawings.
    TB25460  $25.00



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    Burk, Bruce:  Complete Waterfowl Studies Vol. 1: Dabbling and Whistling Ducks; Vol.2: Diving Ducks; Vol.3: Geese and Swans.  Exton, Penn.: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, (1984). First Editions, First Printings. All three volumes of this compete set are in fine condition in blue cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spines. All are small quartos of 11 by 8 1/2 inches with handsome marbled end sheets. All three are in fine, priced clipped dust jackets. Volume I: Dabbling And Whistling Ducks contains 234 pages illustrated throughout from photographs in color and black and white. Volume II: Diving Ducks contains 272 pages illustrated throughout from photographs in color and black and white. Volume III: Geese And Swans contains 200 pages and is illustrated throughout from photographs in color and black and white.
    TB30723  $100.00




  • Burton, Robert:  Bird Behavior.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. First Edition, First printing. Fine in dark green cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. In a fine dust jacket. 224 pages containing an index, text and with "nearly 600 striking photographs, all of them in full color...."
    TB14925  $14.00



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    Coues, Elliott:  Birds of the Colorado Valley. A Repository of Scientific and Popular Information concerning North American Ornithology.  Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1878. First Edition, First printing. Recently rebacked with the original text stamped title block reapplied to the spine and with the original publisher's pebbled red cloth covered boards. The end sheets are new. The binding is tight and strong with new headbands in place. The text block is in near fine condition with only early book dealer notations in pencil with no foxing or tanning to the pages. 807 pages including seventy illustrations within the text, an index, an index to bibliography, a bibliographical appendix of faunal publications relating to North American Ornithology from 1612 to 1878. Accordingly, this volume provides an excellent early bibliographical reference to American birds.
    TB20706  $150.00



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    Cusa, Noel:  Tunnicliffe's Birdlife.  London: Clive Holloway Books, 1985. First Edition, First printing. Fine in dark blue cloth covered boards with bold silver colored text stamping on the spine. A quarto measuring 12 1/4" by 10 1/4". In a near fine unclipped dust jacket with a small portion of the lower edge of the rear panel beginning to delaminate. 150 pages illustrated throughout with full color illustrations. With a foreword by Sir Peter Scott.
    TB25852  $40.00



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    Eckert, Allan W.:  The Silent Sky The Incredible Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon.  Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1965. First Edition, First Printing. Fine in light blue cloth covered boards with dark blue text stamping and silver decorations on the spine. A small octavo of 8 by 5 1/2 inches. In a near fine, unclipped dust jacket with only a hint of wear to corners over the tips of the boards. The author's third book and one of his more elusive titles to locate in collectable condition. This one is a gem with no prior ownership markings of any kind. 243 pages of text illustrated with a frontispiece reproduced from Audubon's The Birds of America.
    TB32110  $75.00



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    Forbush, Edward Howe:  Birds of Massachusetts And Other New England States (3 volume set).  Boston: Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, 1925, 1927 and 1929. All first editions. All three volumes are in very good+ condition in dark green cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spines and on the front boards. Each is a small quarto of 9 3/4 by 7 3/8 inches with light rubbing to the cloth at the heads and heels of the spines. There is a prior owner's name and address on the front free end page of Volume I. Volume II shows a faint 4 inch, circular water (?) stain on the front board. Volume I contains 481 pages; volume II contains 461 pages; and volume III contains 466 pages including an index for all three volumes and a biographical sketch of Edward Howe Forbush by John Bichard May. All volumes are illustrated from photographs and colored plates from drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and others. Due to the extra size and weight of this three volume set special arrangements must be made with Town's End Books to cover the cost of shipping.
    TB32413  $100.00




  • Forbush, Edward Howe:  A History of the Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds of Massachusetts and Adjacent States.  Boston: The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, 1916. Second Edition. Very good+ in green cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine. The cloth at the head and heel of the spine is mildly rubbed and worn. Without a dust jacket. 636 pages including an index "Including those used for food which have disappeared since the settlement of the country, and those which are now hunted for food or sport, with observations on their former abundance and recent decrease in numbers: also the means for conserving those still in existence." Illustrated with drawings and with photographs.
    TB20411  $28.00




  • Ford, Alice (Editor):  The Bird Biographies of John James Audubon.  New York: The Macmillan Company, 1957. First Edition, First printing. Very good+ in 1/4 black and light green cloth covered boards with silver colored text on the spine. A small quarto measuring 10" by 7" with light rubbing at the head and heel of the spine and with a gift inscription on the first free end page. Missing its issued dust jacket. 282 pages of text including a bibliography. Illustrated with twelve color plates reproduced from from Harvard University Library's collection of Audubon's original paintings. The editor selected 80 of Audubon's "most interesting and characteristic of the bird biographies."
    TB25423  $20.00




  • Janovy, John:  Yellowlegs.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. First Ltd. Edition. Fine in cloth and paper covered boards. In a near fine unclipped dust jacket.
    TB18544  $20.00



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    Kaplan, Eugene H.:  Coral Reefs.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985. First American Edition. Fine in full light brown leather covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and on the front board with all edges of the text block gilt and a silk placement ribbon sewn-in at the head of the spine. Without a dust jacket as issued. One of the volumes in The Easton Press' collection of Roger Tory Peterson Field Guides. A 12mo measuring 7 1/4" by 4 1/2" containing 289 pages including an index. Illustrated with black and white and color photographs as well as line drawings by Susan L. Kaplan. Subtitled: "A guide to the common invertebrates and fishes of Bermuda, The Bahamas, southern Florida, The West Indies, and The Caribbean Coast of Central and South America."
    TB23416  $20.00



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    Kricher, John C.:  Southeastern And Caribbean Seshores.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988. First American Edition. Fine in full dark blue leather covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and on the front board with all edges of the text block gilt and a silk placement ribbon sewn-in at the head of the spine. Without a dust jacket as issued. One of the volumes in The Easton Press' collection of Roger Tory Peterson Field Guides. A 12mo measuring 7 1/4" tall by 4 1/2" deep containing 368 pages including an index. Illustrated with color photographs the author and with drawings by Gordon Morrison.
    TB23405  $25.00



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    Long, William J.:  Fowls Of The Air.  Boston: Ginn & Company Publishers, c1901. Reprint of 1903. Near fine in its original dark green covered boards with elaborate gilt text and decorations on the spine and with the same on the front board. The top edge of the text block is gilt. A small octavo of 7 3/4 by 5 1/2 inches with a small amount of mouse nibbling on the fore edges of both boards and with the cloth on the spine tanned a light brown. 310 pages of text illustrated with a frontispiece and nine plates, vignettes and chapter headings by Charles Copeland. The cover art is by Theodore Brown Hapgood in an extremely gilt decorative art nouveau style
    TB32272  $45.00



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    Mansell, William, and Gary Low:  North American Birds of Prey.  New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1980. First Edition, First printing. Fine in light blue cloth covered boards with silver text and decorations on the spine and on the front board with the pages of the text slightly waved from humidity. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. 176 pages including a bibliography. A quarto measuring 11 3/4" tall by 9 7/8" deep. Illustrated with 27 full color plates and numerous color drawings within the text.
    TB22232  $25.00



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    Mathewson, Worth:  Reflections On Snipe.  Amity, Oregon: Sand Lake Press, 1995. Limited First Edition. Fine in full dark blue leather-like, textured cloth, covered boards with gilt text on the spine and gilt text and decorations on the front board. Without a dust jacket as issued. Illustrated by Eldridge Hardie with line drawings and a frontispiece etching. Signed "Best Wishes" by the author on the first free end page underneath of which he has taped a small feather from a snipe. This copy is numbered "56" of only 600 copies printed. 130 pages of text and illustrations. The book also comes with a fine, signed and numbered (56) etching by Eldgridge Hardie which matches the frontispiece in the book. This original etching is only one of one hundred copies produced. The image measures 6 3/4" tall by 4 7/8" wide on laid paper measuring 11" by 9".
    TB20912  $250.00




  • Page & Eugene S. Morton, Jake:  Lords of the Air.  Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 1989. First Edition, First printing. Fine in purple cloth covered boards with silver colored text stamping on the spine. In a fine dust jacket. 288 pages containing picture credits, an index, text and hundreds of color photographs of birds through-out.
    TB14447  $10.50



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    Peterson, Roger Tory:  The Bird Watcher's Anthology.  New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1957. First Edition, First printing. Fine in illustrated cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. Without a dust jacket as issued; however, the book is contained within a near fine paper covered slip case. One of only 750 limited edition copies printed on all rag paper. This copy is identified as copy number 4 on the special limitation page. Additionally, this copy is specially signed and warmly inscribed to the previous owner by the author on the fly title page. 401 pages of text illustrated with a color frontispiece and throughout the text with black and white reproductions of the author's art work.
    TB25433  $150.00




  • Peterson, Roger Tory:  The World of Roger Tory Peterson.  New York: NY Times Books, 1977. First Edition, First printing. Near fine in royal blue cloth covered boards with just a hint of fading around the edges. In a near fine unclipped dust jacket with several short closed tears to the ends of the spine area. An authorized biography of Roger Tory Peterson co-authored by John Devlin and Grace Naismith with a forward by Elliot Richardson. 266 pages containing an index.
    TB20437  $8.00



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    Peterson, Roger Tory and Virginia Marie Peterson (Editors):  Audubon's Birds of America (The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio).  New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990 (1981). Third Printing of the Revised Edition. Fine in white linen covered boards with black text and borders on the spine. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. Both the book and its dust jacket are contained within a fine illustrated, paper covered slip case. A folio measuring 15 by 11 1/2 inches. Unpaginated. Illustrated with 435 beautiful, full color plates followed by concordance index between this edition and Audubon's original edition, and a general index of bird names. Each plate is "captioned with each bird's currently accepted vernacular name, followed by Audubon's identification...." (from the preface). The plates are organized according to modern scientific classification rather than in the way Audubon originally organized the plates; hence, the need for the concordance index. The book contains a comprehensive survey by Peterson of the American bird artists who preceded Audubon and the many who followed him which includes numerous color examples of their art. A stunningly beautiful volume in pristine condition! With packing and shipping materials this volume will weigh in excess of 18 pounds therefore extra shipping charges will have to be applied. Please contact Town's End Books to determine the shipping cost in advance of ordering.
    TB24872  $200.00



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    Pough, Richard H.:  Audubon Guides: All The Birds of Eastern and Central North America.  Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., n.d. [1953]. Book Club Edition. Very good+ in light green cloth covered boards with black and silver colored text on the spine and front board. A 12mo of 7 1/4 by 4 1/2 inches with a prior owner's name on the upper fore corner of the fly title page and with light rubbing to the head and heel of the spine and to the tips of the boards. In a good dust jacket with numerous chips and small closed tears around the extremities of the spine and panels. This title originally appeared in two books: Audubon Bird Guide: Small Land Birds and Audubon Water Bird Guide: Water, Game and Large Land Birds. As a result this title contains 312 pages plus 352 pages each with their own indexes. Illustrated with two sections of color plates and numerous line art images of birds within the text.
    TB31590  $25.00



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    Pough, Richard H.:  Audubon Water Bird Guide: Water, game and large land birds of Eastern and Central North America.  Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., n.d. (c1951). Reprint. Fine in light tan cloth covered boards with red text and silver colored designs on the spine and front board. A 112mo of 7 3/8 by 4 1/2 inches. In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with light wear and rubbing to the ends of the spine area and several short closed tears to the panels. 352 pages including an index and text. Illustrated with a large section of colored plates and line drawings throughout the text.
    TB31589  $20.00



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    Rhodes, Richard:  John James Audubon The Making Of An American.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. First Edition, First printing. Near fine in 1/4 brown cloth and red-orange paper covered boards with gilt text on the spine. A small quarto measuring 9" by 6 1/4" with a 1/2" scuff to the 1/4 cloth binding which appears to be a binder's mistake. In a near fine, unclipped dust jacket with hints of rubbing to the ends of the spine area and to the upper fore corners of the panels. 511 pages including an index, bibliography, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with full color plates, maps, photographs and recreations of contemporary works of art.
    TB25291  $15.00



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    Samuels, Edward A.:  Ornithology And Oology Of New England.  Boston: Nichols and Noyes, 1867. First Edition, First printing. Very good- in the publisher's original red-brown cloth covered boards with beveled edges, gilt text on the spine, a gilt embossed bird over a nest on the front board with clay end sheets. A small quarto measuring 9 1/4" by 5 3/4" with a crease to the lower outside corner of the front board and with the cloth at the head and the heel of the spine worn and beginning to fray at the heel. There are a number of early prior owner's names and locations written on the front end pages. One plate was loose which has been professionally reinserted. Nonetheless, the fore edge of that plate became worn during its "free period". 583 pages including an index Illustrated with drawings in the text and with lithographic plates, those of which illustrate eggs are in color. Many of the plates show some spots of foxing. The full title reads: Ornithology And Oology Of New England: containing Full Descriptions of the Birds Of New England, and Adjoining states and Provinces, Arranged By a Long-Approved Classification and Nomenclature; together with a complete History of Their Habits, Times of Arrival and Departure, Their Distribution, Food, Song, Time of Breeding, and A Careful and Accurate Description of Their nests and Eggs; with Illustrations of many Species of the Birds, and accurate figures of their Eggs.
    TB24226  $200.00



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    Small, Anne:  Masters of Decorative Bird Carving.  Tulsa, Okla.: Winchester Press, 1981. First Edition, First printing. Fine in blue-green cloth covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine and with a gilt decoration on the front board. In a fine unclipped dust jacket. 147 pages including an index, bibliography, text and illustrated wtih hundreds of black and white and full color photographs. As stated on the jacket flap this "is the first book ever published on an important new art form...with brief biographical and critical accounts of more than sixty of America's very finest carvers, together with an unprecedented pictorial collection of their sculptures - more than 150 photos and sixteen pages in color."
    TB20433  $16.00




  • Tinbergen, Niko:  The Herring Gull's World. A Study of the Social Behavior of Birds.  New York: Basic Books, Inc., (1961). Revised Edition. Fine in 1/4 white cloth and blue-gray paper covered boards with dark blue text stamped on the spine. A small octavo measuring 7 3/4" by 5 1/4". In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with two shallow chips of 1/8" at the upper edge of the spine area. 255 pages including and index. Illustrated with line drawings and black and white photographs.
    TB25449  $25.00






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