Chansigaud's 'All About Birds, a Short Illustrated History of Ornithology'

Valerie Chansigaud’s All About Birds, A Short Illustrated History of Ornithology is not a bird field guide, but is nevertheless and indispensable addition to the library of anyone who is passionate about bird watching. Originally published in 2007 in the French language, then translated to English in 2009 by a publishing house in the United Kingdom, All about Birds, a Short Illustrated History of Ornithology has just been released in the United States by Princeton University Press.

Researching the Researchers

All about Birds, is more correctly, all about the people who have studied and advanced our knowledge of birds throughout history. In the introduction, Chansigaud quotes Sir Alexander Fleming; “A researcher’s work is never complete. The mark of a good work is when it opens the doors to even better work, and quickly becomes eclipsed by it.” All about Birds, is the tale of those whose work in cataloguing and studying birds was good enough to be eclipsed.

From Aristotle to Peterson

All about Birds, takes the reader on a journey of discovery that follows mankind’s knowledge of birds from the absolutely remarkable works of Aristotle who, almost prophetically, drew comparisons between the feathers of birds and the scales of reptiles long before modern science discovered the close evolutionary link between the two, to the modern field guides of Roger Tory Peterson and the popular societies devoted to the preservation of bird species. The journey has been a wild one, with researchers, by necessity relying on third party descriptions by travelers for their source material, occasionally including fantastic stories of gryphons and other beasts of legend alongside accurate descriptions of real birds.

Bird Watching Field Guides Almost Didn't Happen

Today, we know that bird watching is a $36 billion industry in the United States, and birders voraciously seek out the latest bird field guide, but few know that when Peterson sought to publish his first field guide, he was only able to overcome publishers’ doubts about the popularity of the subject by offering to waive his royalties for the first 1000 copies sold. Chansigaud tells us that Peterson’s A field Guide to the Birds. Giving Field Marks of All Species found in Eastern North America sold 2000 copies in just 15 days and was reprinted 47 times and became the archetype for popular field guides in many other disciplines. This is just one of hundreds of stories recounted in Chansigaud's All about Birds. 

Thumbs up for All About Birds, a Short illustrated History of Ornithology

Chansigaud’s All about Birds, A Short Illustrated History of Ornithology may not be as wildly popular as Peterson’s field guides, but for the serious birder it is a very enjoyable read for those rainy days when getting out into the field isn’t an option. It reads easily and makes very frequent use of period illustrations and photographs to give us a real taste of the evolution of man’s understanding of birds. From the days when the preferred tool of devoted birders like John James Audubon was a hunting rifle to the advent of modern bird photography, Chansigaud’s All about Birds is an eye-opener and a page turner.

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Brad Sylvester is also the Maritime Headlines Examiner and writes on Space Matters and other topics for Associated Content.