James Bolton, Harmonia ruralis: Or, an essay towards a natural history of British song birds, vol 1, London, Henry G Bohn, 1845, Rare Books collection

Human interest in birds and their behaviour is ancient, but ornithology emerged as a scientific discipline only in the 18th century, part of a wider European desire to record and categorise the world. English naturalist and artist James Bolton's work on songbirds was first published in 1794–96, but was republished twice posthumously (1830 and this edition, 1845) due to the popularity of the subject and the accuracy and joyful realism of his illustrations.