The Birds of Cambridge - 1875
5/28/2023 A cool book about birding in Cambridge for my colleague and birder Collin Smith (@collinsmith). Amazing that this "niche" of bird-watching was so popular so long ago!Tom Paper 5/21/2023"The Birds of the Cambridge Region of Massachusetts" is a book about birds in the Cambridge region of Massachusetts, written by William Brewster and published in 190612. The book is part of the "Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club" series34. The Nuttall Ornithological Club was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest ornithological societies in North America3. The book contains information about the birds found in the Cambridge region, including their habitats, behaviors, and physical characteristics12. It also includes illustrations of the birds by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, a well-known bird artist15. The book was well-received and is considered an important contribution to the field of ornithology6.William Brewster was an American ornithologist who was born on July 5, 1851, in South Reading (now Wakefield), Massachusetts1. He was the youngest of four children born to John Brewster, a successful Boston banker, and Rebecca Parker (Noyes) 1. Brewster was educated in the Cambridge public school system and spent his childhood observing birds2. At about the age of 10, he became close friends with a boy his age, Daniel French. French's father was a hunter and amateur taxidermist who displayed his skill in cases in his home. Brewster's father gave him a gun and taught him to shoot, providing a means of collecting birds to study1. He co-founded the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and was an early naturalist and conservationist13. He was also the first president of the Massachusetts Audubon Society4.The Nuttall Ornithological Club is the oldest ornithology organization in the United States, founded in 1873123. The club was named after Thomas Nuttall, a botanist and zoologist who published the first field guide for North American birds3. The club was established by a group of young fellows in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, who were enthusiastic about birds2. The founding members included William Brewster, Henry Augustus Purdie, William Earl Dodge Scott, Francis P. Atkinson, Harry Balch Bailey, Ernest Ingersoll, and Walter Woodman3. The club's mission is to promote the scientific study of birds and their habitats4. The club has been influential in the field of ornithology and has published several journals including the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club3. The club also co-founded the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) with other ornithological societies in North America53.keywords: 19thCentury, memorabilia
