The first-ever field guide to American birds, Florence A. Merriam’s classic Birds Through an Opera-Glass remains a highly influential book for modern birdwatching more than 130 years since its initial release. Before Birds Through an Opera-Glass, it was commonplace to shoot birds to observe them. It was also fashionable in the 1880s for women to adorn their hats with feathers or birds’ lifeless bodies. In this groundbreaking work, Merriam fights against these inhumane practices and advocates, instead, for studying birds quietly in the wild—through an opera glass rather than a riflescope—to ensure their preservation. Merriam’s work formed the foundation of modern birdwatching. With line drawings and detailed descriptions of seventy common species, this lovingly crafted facsimile of Birds Through an Opera-Glass is a beautiful tribute to this legacy. Paperback | 5 X 7 | 240 pages