... a peerless observer and a person possessed of great charm of manner, he made himself welcome far and wide." Thomas Barbour on ornithologist James Bond, 1948

{HISTORY}

In the 20th century, there were two famous men named James Bond. One was a fictional book and film character created by British writer Ian Fleming. The other was a celebrated American ornithologist and a revered expert on West Indian birds.

It was the latter, real-life man, that became the namesake for Ian Fleming's spy novels and the movies that followed. And it was this book, Field Guide to Birds of the West Indies, that provided Ian Fleming with the inspiration.

An avid birder himself, besotted with the avian life that surrounded his vacation home in Jamaica, Ian Fleming owned a 1947 copy of Field Guide to Birds of the West Indies.  As the legendary story goes, he was hunting around for a character name for his new story,  saw the plain but masculine-sounding James Bond name staring back at him from his bookshelf, and adopted it for what would later become one of the biggest pop culture franchises in history.

Like the fictional character, the real-life James Bond (1900-1989) led a unique and interesting life in the world of ornithology. There may not have been any espionage, fancy cars, or gambling involved in James' work but he did participate in thrilling international expeditions to the Caribbean islands, charmed his way through uneasy political situations in order to gain access to wild lands, and sleuthed his way through the tropics searching for avian life all in order to produce the first field guide on West Indian birds. 

First published in 1936, under the title Birds of the West Indies, James' field guide contained a catalog of 300 different specimens found during his specimen-gathering expeditions for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Navigating a dangerous political climate, tropical weather conditions, disease, and remote locations, James worked with government officials, local citizens, and guides to gain access to all areas of the Caribbean in order to catalogue the most comprehensive collection possible.

With exotic content and informative descriptions, bird enthusiasts for the first time were introduced to such winged wonders as the Palm Crow, the Yellow Kingbird, the Imperial Parrot, the Golden Plover, the Blue-faced Booby, the Roseate Flamingo, and the Cuban Paroquet. Thanks to James' auditory interpretations, they could hear the kuck-ki-ki-ki-ki-ke-ku-kuck of the Antillean Piculet, learn the local name of the Streamer-tail (the Doctor Bird) and visualize the violet blue head, green body and yellow-tipped tail of the St. Lucien Parrot. 

In 1947, James' book was revised and published by The Macmillan Company. Displaying a sense of adventure right from the very beginning, it includes the original map on the front and back inside cover, highlighting all the places James visited and the voyage routes he took to collect specimens. A color plate of the Cuban Tody opposite the title page introduces readers to the exotic appeal of West Indian birding. Detailed illustrations on every page highlight each bird's unique markings, beak size, head shape, and full body portrait in black and white line drawings along with all the traditional hallmarks needed to identify a bird in the wild... physical attributes and measurements, geographical location, habitat, egg identification, bird call, and both the local name and common name.  

Many of the birds listed in this book are now on the Caribbean's threatened or near-threatened bird list. In the 1947 introduction, James warns about this potential... "I wish to point out that many West Indian birds are very rare or of local distribution, and some are actually in grave danger of extinction." This makes his book all the more important in not only understanding tropical bird populations 80-plus years ago but also how their environment has changed in the time frame since this book was published.   

A beautiful book for any bird lover's library, this edition also remains a fun collector's piece for fans of the James Bond books and film series since it was Ian Fleming's original source of inspiration.

Photo of James Bond courtesy of The Patriot-News, May 10, 1965

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• First Printing published in 1947 by Macmillan and Company
• 257 pages including an index of common names and an index of local names
• Illustrated throughout by Earl Poole 
  

{CONDITION}

In beautiful vintage condition, this book is clean and bright throughout. There is a previous owner's name written in pen and dated 1947 on the front endpaper. There are a few random check marks in pencil throughout the book next to bird descriptions, which we assume the previous owner was recording as having seen. There is light foxing along the foredge and on two interior pages (pages 80 and 81) as well as one dog-eared page (page 81). The spine is tight, and all pages are intact. The coverboards are clean, and the corners are not bumped. Please see photos. 

{SIZE}

Measures 7.5" inches (length) x 5.25" inches (width) x .75" inches (thickness) and weighs 12.2 oz