Bird Guide: Water Birds, Game Birds, and Birds of Prey East of the Rockies — Background and Themes

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In Category - Birds

Authors: Reed, Chester A. (Chester Albert), 1876-1912 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2014 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

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

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 40,953

Reading time 179 min

Text sections 9

The catalog record for Bird Guide: Water Birds, Game Birds, and Birds of Prey East of the Rockies — Background and Themes provides practical reading context through 40,953 words, 2 hr 59 min estimated reading time, and 9 detected text sections.

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

Source: Project Gutenberg record #46516

Chester A. Reed's 1906 pocket guide uses precise field marks, habitat cues, and behavioral notes to identify water birds, game birds, and raptors east of the Rockies, emphasizing observation over collection.

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File: pg46516

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BIRD GUIDE Water Birds, Game Birds and Birds of Prey

BY CHESTER A. REED Author of North American Birds’ Eggs, and, with Frank M. Chapman, of Color Key to North American Birds. Curator in Ornithology, Worcester Natural History Society

GARDEN CITY NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1921

Copyrighted 1906. Copyrighted, 1910, CHAS. K. REED, Worcester, Mass.

While strolling through a piece of woodland, or perhaps along the marsh or seashore, we see a bird, a strange bird—one we never saw before. Instantly, our curiosity is aroused, and the question arises, “What is it?” There is the bird! How can we find out what kind it is? The Ornithologist of a few years ago had but one course open to him, that is to shoot the bird, take it home, then pore through pages of descriptions, until one was found to correspond with the specimen. Obviously, such methods cannot be pursued today, both humane and economical reasons prohibiting. We have but one alternative left us: We must make copious notes of all the peculiarities and markings of the bird that is before us. On our return home, we get down our bird books, and there are many excellent ones. After carefully looking through the whole library, we find that, although many of our books are well illustrated, none of them has the picture of what we seek, so we adopt the tactics of the “Old-time” Ornithologist, before mentioned, and pore over pages of text, until finally we know what our bird was. It is for just such emergencies as this—to identify a bird when you see it, and where you see it, that this little pocket “Bird Guide” is prepared. May it be the medium for saving many of today’s seekers for “bird truths” from the many trials and tribulations willingly encountered, and hard and thorny roads gladly traveled by the author in his quest for knowledge of bird ways.

Worcester, Mass. 1906.

The study of the birds included in this book is much more difficult than that of the small land birds. Many of the birds are large; some are very rare; all are usually shy and have keen eyesight, trained to see at a distance; in fact, many of them have to depend upon their vigilance for their very existence. Therefore, you will find that the majority of these birds will have to be studied at long range. Sometimes, by exercising care and forethought, you may be able to approach within a few feet of the bird you seek, or induce him to come to you. It is this pitting your wits against the cunning of the birds that furnishes one-half of the interest in their study. Remember that a quick motion will always cause a bird to fly. If you seek a flock of plover on the shore, or a heron in the marsh, try to sneak up behind cover if possible; if not, walk very slowly, and with as little motion as possible, directly towards them; by so doing you often will get near, for a bird is a poor judge of distance, while a single step sideways would cause him to fly. Shore birds can usually be best observed from a small “blind,” near the water’s edge, where they feed. Your powers of observation will be increased about tenfold if you are equipped with a good pair of field glasses; they are practically indispensable to the serious student and add greatly to the pleasures of anyone. Any good glass, that has a wide field of vision and magnifies three or four diameters, is suitable; we can recommend the ones described in the back of this book.

WHAT TO MAKE NOTE OF.—What is the nature of the locality where seen; marsh, shore, woods, etc? If in trees does it sit upright or horizontal? If on the ground, does it run or walk, easily or with difficulty? If in the water, can it swim well, can it dive, does it swim under water, can it fly from the water easily, or does it have to patter over the surface before flying? What does it seem to be eating? Does it have any notes? Does it fly rapidly; with rapid wing beats or not; in a straight line or otherwise? Does it sail, or soar? In flocks or singly? These and hundreds of other questions that may suggest themselves, are of great interest and importance.

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Chester A. Reed designed this pocket guide for a specific predicament: you see a bird you do not recognize, and you want to name it without shooting it. In the preface, he contrasts the “old-time” ornithologist—who shot the bird, took it home, and pored through pages of description—with the modern observer, who must rely on copious notes of markings and behavior. Reed’s solution is a compact reference built around visible traits, habitat, and voice, not museum specimens. The introduction warns that water birds, game birds, and raptors are large, shy, and keen-eyed; studying them demands patience and stealth. “It is this pitting your wits against the cunning of the birds that furnishes one-half of the interest,” he writes, framing field identification as a contest of observation.

Diction of the Field: Precise, Plain, and Practical

Reed’s language is deliberately unadorned, favoring concrete nouns and verbs over literary flourish. A bird’s plumage is described with simple color terms—“white, with black primaries,” “grayish with a few brownish feathers”—and measurements in inches. He uses active verbs: the Limpkin “can run rapidly, having a peculiar mincing gait.” The prose mirrors the act of looking: it points, measures, and compares. For the King Rail, he writes “back handsomely patterned with black, olive-brown and gray; wing coverts reddish-brown; neck and breast, rich cinnamon-brown.” The adjectives are visual, not evaluative. This diction trains the reader to see pattern and hue, not to feel wonder. Reed’s voice is that of a patient instructor, never a poet.

Voice as a Diagnostic Tool

Reed consistently includes a “Notes” section for each species, where he transcribes calls in onomatopoeic strings: the Whooping Crane’s “loud whooping scream,” the Limpkin’s “peculiar wailing ‘whee-ee-eu,’” the Night Heron’s “quark.” These are not literary descriptions but phonetic approximations meant to be recognized in the field. He also notes when a bird is silent or when its voice resembles another species—the Yellow-crowned Night Heron’s notes are “like those of the Black-crowned Night Heron.” By treating voice as a field mark equivalent to plumage or size, Reed gives the reader an auditory handle on identification, especially for secretive or crepuscular birds like rails and herons.

Structure: The Entry as a Checklist

Each species account follows a rigid template: common name, scientific name, length in inches, then a paragraph on plumage, habitat, and behavior. A “Notes” line gives call; a “Nest” line gives site, materials, egg color and size, and season; a “Range” line gives breeding and wintering distribution. This structure is designed for quick scanning in the field. Reed prioritizes the most visible features first—size and color—then moves to context (where and how the bird lives). The repetition of this format across 200+ species creates a consistent mental grid. The reader learns to expect the same categories of information, which speeds comparison between similar birds, such as the Little Brown Crane and the Sandhill Crane.

Setting as Clue: Marsh, Prairie, and Shore

Reed embeds habitat in nearly every entry, often in the first sentence. The Whooping Crane “frequent[s] the edges of marshes and sloughs” on the prairies; the Limpkin lives “a secluded life in pairs” in Southern Florida swamps; the King Rail is found in freshwater marshes. He notes how habitat affects behavior: cranes are wary because their height lets them see over marsh grass; rails are “excellent runners and are very difficult to start from” cover. These details are not decorative—they are identification cues. A bird seen wading in a coastal marsh is more likely a heron than a crane; a bird skulking in reeds is probably a rail. Reed’s setting descriptions teach the reader to read the landscape as part of the bird’s identity.

Reed’s guide is best used as he intended: carried in the field, consulted while the bird is still in view. Read the entry for a suspected species aloud, checking each claim against what you see. Pay special attention to the Notes and Range lines, which are often the quickest way to eliminate look-alikes. The book rewards patience—the same patience Reed recommends for approaching a wary heron. Let the bird’s own behavior, voice, and surroundings be your primary text; this guide is a key, not a substitute.

I still recall how Chester Reed’s guide taught me to watch a heron’s stillness rather than reach for a net—observation as quiet friendship. Somewhere nearby, on another shelf, sits My pets — Themes and Context, a book that understands the same patient tenderness. Both simply ask us to look, and wait, and let the creature reveal itself.