Great Texas Birds

by Dr. John P. O'Neill, Suzanne Winckler (Editor)

What makes any bird a "great" bird? For some birders, it's the rarity of a species that they've finally added to their life list after years of patient watching. Others will tell you that the great birds are the most beautiful ones. But most people know that the great birds are simply the ones we like the best, rare or common-the ones that have imprinted themselves indelibly on our lives. This beautiful book presents exquisite paintings of forty-eight Texas birds chosen by John O'Neill and Suzanne Winckler as their own personal "greats." Some of the birds are as common as they are beloved. Others are definitely life-list birds-rare, beautiful, exotic-sounding, or all three at once. The authors have also gathered a flock of well-known Texas birders and nature writers to offer personal, scientific, or literary observations about each bird. In all, forty-eight writers, one to a bird, are included here. These beautifully detailed paintings and the observations that accompany them make a convincing case that these are, indeed, the great Texas birds. Whether you're a serious birder or simply a backyard bird watcher, you'll find in this book a "lovely edifice" where people who care about birds can be together.

120 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Dr. John Patton O'Neill, is known for his ornithological paintings and authored the 1999 book Great Texas Birds.

O'Neill, is the former director of the LSU Museum of Natural Science (MNS), earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in Zoology at Louisiana State University. O’Neill was the founder and leader of the MNS field research program in Peru. He pioneered “expedition style” LSU fieldwork in which a large group of LSU ornithologists would head off into the wilds, for many weeks or months, carrying everything with them, often on mules or by canoe. His explorations of South America in the 1960’s helped solidify the museum’s reputation as one of the most prestigious institutions of ornithology across the country. He was also instrumental in establishing what is now the world’s most prominent graduate program in Neotropical ornithology.


O’Neill held a number of positions in the MNS, including director, coordinator of field studies, curator of birds, and artist-in-residence. He discovered and described 14 new bird species, including three new genera. He has contributed over 7,000 bird specimens to the MNS and Peruvian research collections. He has published dozens of scientific papers, mainly on the taxonomy of birds, but his milestone publication was The Birds of Peru, published by Princeton University Press in 2007, which was initiated, co-authored, and co-illustrated by O’Neill. Widely recognized as the most authoritative field guide for birdwatchers and ornithologists traveling to Peru and Bolivia, the text represents the culmination of his more than 40 years of fieldwork and research.


O’Neill raised money to construct a new wing to house the Peruvian ornithology collection at the Javier Prado Museum in Lima, Peru, and has served as a mentor to countless students at LSU, the Javier Prado Museum and the new Center for Ornithology and Biodiversity in Lima. In 2008, Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez presented O’Neill with the Distinguished Service Merit Award in recognition of his contributions to ornithological studies, particularly the study of Peruvian birds. Dr. O'Neill's career was one of the main focuses of Don Stap's award-winning book A Parrot Without a Name. He has a bird species (Nephalornis oneilli) and a bird genus (Oneillornis) named in his honor.


O’Neill is also a well-known scientific illustrator. His artwork has appeared in more than 100 publications, including the covers of Science, the New York Times, Audubon Magazine. He was art director for the first edition of the very popular National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous bird paintings by John P. O'Reilly accompanied by personal memoirs of each bird from different contributors.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book with art work by Mr. O'Neill and species profiles done by several prominent naturalists and ornithologists. It combines quality of art with pertinent and useful information about the illustrated species. It can serve both as a "coffee table" book because of its beauty and a valuable reference because of the factual and relevant writing.