Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds.

£125 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

First US edition, originally published in the UK in the same year, of this key work by one of the world's leading specialists on the birds of New Guinea. An attractive copy. Galliard 'was known internationally as an ornithologist, photographer, explorer and as an authority on birds of New Guinea. He had contributed to the discovery and naming of 55 sub-species of birds and one genus... In the course of his eight expeditions to the Pacific he was reported to have been the first naturalist to observe and photograph the courtship dance of the King of Saxony Bird of Paradise. He later made what was believed to have been the first photograph of a species of plumed bird of paradise, the so-called 12-wired bird of paradise, on its nest. He was also credited with having made the first study of the courtship behavior of one of the rarest of the bowerbirds, Sanford's goldern-crested bowerbird, as well as films of the courtship dance of the fawn-breasted bowerbird' (New York Times obituary, January 28th, 1965). The present text was presented to the publisher shortly before Galliard died. First US edition; 8vo; 24 pages of illustrations from monochrome photographs and 4 from colour photos, illustrations within the text, contents clean; original green cloth, titles to spine gilt, map endpapers, cloth lightly rubbed at the extremities, a very good copy in the price-clipped and lightly rubbed and toned jacket; 485pp.

• Binding: Hardcover

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