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An Introduction to the Birds of Pennsylvania — Reading Companion

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In Category - Birds

Authors: Sutton, George Miksch, 1898-1982 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2021 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Birds -- Pennsylvania Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 71,646

Reading time 312 min

Text sections 13

The source record for An Introduction to the Birds of Pennsylvania — Reading Companion measures this digital text at 71,646 words, 5 hr 12 min estimated reading time, and 13 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 15.5 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Birds -- Pennsylvania,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #65440

George Miksch Sutton's 1928 field manual for Pennsylvania birders emphasizes practical identification through call notes, habitat, and seasonal timing, with pen-and-ink drawings chosen over color plates to avoid misleading beginners.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
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EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg65440

Read the Text

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA

BY GEORGE MIKSCH SUTTON

STATE ORNITHOLOGIST OF PENNSYLVANIA CHIEF OF BUREAU OF RESEARCH AND INFORMATION PENNSYLVANIA STATE GAME COMMISSION MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, ETC.

_With a frontispiece in color and numerous pen-and-ink text-drawings by the author_

1928 PUBLISHED BY J. HORACE McFARLAND COMPANY HARRISBURG, PENNA.

MY MOTHER THINKS SHE DOES NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT BIRDS; BUT SHE KNEW ENOUGH ABOUT THEM TO LET ME BRING THEM, ALIVE, DEAD, OR WORSE THAN DEAD, INTO HER BUSY HOUSEHOLD, AND I THINK SHE IS A GOOD ORNITHOLOGIST.

I have written this book for those who are beginning a study of birds in Pennsylvania; or for those who, after some study in a certain region, wish to know more about the birds in other sections of the Commonwealth.

This book is not intended to be a complete reference work. The descriptions of the birds and statements of their status are as brief as I felt I could make them under the circumstances. Many species of birds which have been recorded in Pennsylvania are not even mentioned. These are omitted so as to simplify the list for the beginner, who is confronted with a sufficiently formidable array of new and strange names as it is. All important species are, however, included.

Colored illustrations throughout this hand manual would, of course, have been desirable, but their cost is great, and the pen drawings are adequate for field-work; perhaps, in fact, even better than fully colored drawings which often lead the beginner to expect too much from the glimpses he may have of birds in the field.

Throughout the manual I have attempted to stress the points which are of importance to the field student, and have tried to eliminate material which might lead to confusion.

Thorough, detailed works on Pennsylvania birds are needed. Such volumes, one on western Pennsylvania, by W. E. Clyde Todd, of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, and one on eastern Pennsylvania, by Dr. Witmer Stone, of the Philadelphia Academy of Arts and Sciences, are in the making now. But it may be years before these completed volumes are ready for distribution, and in the meantime our budding ornithologists are carrying on their studies handicapped by a lack of any sort of reference work which is up-to-date, understandable, simple and local in its treatment, and within reach of those of average means. This volume has been prepared to meet this need.

It is hoped that the ornithological notes of those who use this manual may be so conscientiously written and so carefully kept that they will be of value in the final preparation of the larger, more exhaustive works which are to follow.

I have a suggestion to make to those who would like to make this volume more attractive and somewhat personal in character. Why not, as certain birds are identified, color in the pen-and-ink drawings with water-color or crayon so that they will greet the eye in color as the pages are turned? The paper used is such that colors may be applied with safety, if care be exercised. Children, in particular, will greatly enjoy this feature of their bird-study work. Teachers who like to combine elementary art work with nature study will welcome such a suggestion. A book which has, in a sense, been thus personally illustrated, becomes invaluable to the owner.

I should like to extend a word of gratitude to the following people who have helped me in the preparation of this volume: Captain George Finlay Simmons, of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; Mr. Wharton Huber, of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences; Mr. Robert McFarland, of the Mount Pleasant Press, Harrisburg; Miss Evangel Sutton, my sister; Mr. Leo A. Luttringer, Jr., my assistant; and Miss Effie Riemensnyder, of Harrisburg.

Harrisburg, Pa. _July 29, 1928._

PAGE Introductory vii A Word to the Beginner 1 Bird-Songs 2 Note-Books 3 Specimens 3 Field-Glasses 3 Books 4 Magazines 4 Bird Hikes 5 In the Field 5 Value of Pennsylvania Birds 6 Helping Our Bird Friends 7 Life-Zones in Pennsylvania 8 Bird-Migration in Pennsylvania 9 List of Species 11 Index of Bird Names 163

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA

A WORD TO THE BEGINNER

As you glance over the pages of this book you may say to yourself, “I can never learn all of these birds.” This is a natural attitude of mind upon the part of one to whom many bird-names are new and who feels that he doesn’t know much about birds.

It may be reassuring to you to learn that most people know more about birds than they realize. Already your mind is full of common bird-names. You wouldn’t be reading this book had you not already learned a good deal about some birds.

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George Miksch Sutton, writing as State Ornithologist of Pennsylvania in 1928, designed this manual explicitly for beginners and field students. The prefatory note states it is not a complete reference work; many recorded species are omitted to simplify the list. Sutton stresses points important to the field student and eliminates material that might cause confusion. He deliberately chose pen-and-ink drawings over color illustrations, arguing that colored plates often lead beginners to expect too much from brief glimpses of birds in the field.

The catalog subject is simply "Birds -- Pennsylvania," but the excerpts reveal a work deeply concerned with identification methods—especially call notes, habitat, and seasonal timing—rather than exhaustive description. Sutton's dedication to his mother, who "let me bring them, alive, dead, or worse than dead, into her busy household," hints at a personal, practical ethos underlying the scientific content.

Call Notes as Primary Identification Tools

Sutton repeatedly emphasizes that the small flycatchers—dull olive-green birds with wing-bars and eye-rings—are "reasonably easy to identify in the field, chiefly from their call-notes." He provides phonetic renderings for each species: the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher's tsek or chuh-bec, the Acadian's explosive pit-i-yuk or wee-zee-eep, the Alder's becky-weer, and the Least Flycatcher's energetic che-bec delivered with a violent toss of the head. He even warns that the Eastern Wood Pewee's song is "often almost perfectly imitated by the Starling," so that pewee songs heard in winter or unlikely places should be investigated. This reliance on vocalizations reflects the practical challenge of identifying visually similar species in the field.

Habitat and Seasonal Specificity

Each species account ties the bird to a precise habitat and seasonal window. The Acadian Flycatcher lives "in shadowy woodlands along ravines" where beech, maple, or hemlock overhang a stream; Sutton warns not to look for it in swamps or orchards. The Alder Flycatcher is found "in low growth along streams or in swamps, often actually among alders." The Least Flycatcher prefers "open aspen copses or orchards." Seasonal occurrence is given with care: the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is a migrant in mid-spring and early autumn, nesting only at one or two high altitudes; the Acadian comes in early May and stays until mid-September. These details allow the reader to narrow possibilities by place and date.

Deliberate Omissions and the Beginner's Focus

Sutton's prefatory note explains that many species recorded in Pennsylvania are not mentioned, so as "to simplify the list for the beginner, who is confronted with a sufficiently formidable array of new and strange names as it is." He acknowledges that thorough works are needed—citing volumes by W. E. Clyde Todd and Witmer Stone then in preparation—but offers this manual as an interim guide. The excerpts show that even within included species, descriptions are brief: the Horned Lark entry, for instance, is a single paragraph contrasting the northern relative with the Prairie Horned Lark. Sutton's approach is to equip the beginner with enough to identify common birds without overwhelming detail, a strategy evident in the concise, field-oriented accounts.

Sutton's manual is best used as a companion in the field, not a desk reference. Readers should pay close attention to the phonetic call notes and habitat descriptions, which are the book's core identification tools. The pen-and-ink drawings, while simple, are intended to be adequate for field work; Sutton believed they avoid the misleading perfection of color plates. For those who keep ornithological notes, Sutton hopes their records will contribute to the larger, more exhaustive works he knew were needed.

Sometimes I think of Sutton’s quiet insistence that a bird is known best by its call and its place, and I remember another old volume on my shelf, Big Game Shooting, volume 1 (of 2) — Context and Discussion, with its patient attention to terrain and habit. Both felt less like manuals, more like someone sharing what they’d learned by simply watching.