The Goldfinch

detail and text from "birds of the countryside" (1925)

this book arrived in the post from ebay yesterday.

i've been a birder since i was 10 and so i'm familiar with modern field guides....
which makes this one so refreshing. The illustrations are fantastic (in both senses of the word)....there weren't any telephoto lenses in 1925, and so the photos are either of caged, stuffed, or dead birds !..... the text "reviews" the bird and gives it human characteristics (as above)....

"when it comes to actual singing he is but a moderate performer, cheerful enough to listen to."