Our Bird Comrades

A bird flashes through the leaves—and the real chase begins: can you name it before it vanishes? Leander S. Keyser says it is better to “run a bird down” with a manual than to shoot it down.

In the early twentieth-century United States, bird study begins close to home: in the neighborhood, with alert eyes, nimble feet, and a reliable guide. Keyser turns the search for each feathered stranger into a lively pursuit, showing how to notice its markings and habits and use a bird key to identify it. But even with a field glass and the best manual, some birds remain elusive, offering only teasing glimpses for months. What might patience reveal about the bird you almost missed?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.