Interested in First Edition of "The Birds of North America: Life Histories for the 21st Century"?

[John Shenot]

Fort Collins Audubon Society recently received a First Edition of The Birds of North America: Life Histories for the 21^st Century as a donation, and we are considering whether to sell or auction it as a fundraiser. Step 1 is to get a sense of how much interest there might be, if any, among Colorado birders. If anyone on this listserve might be interested, please reply and let me know.

Background: From 1992-2003, the AOU published life histories for 718 North American bird species. The life histories come in the form of glossy 8.5x11 booklets, typically 16 pages each, encased in 18 slip cases. SEE PHOTOS BELOW. There were only 2400 copies of the first edition and we have a certificate of authenticity for our copy. But... full disclosure... of the 718 accounts, 2 were unfortunately missing from what we were donated so I will be obtaining reprints to make the set complete.

I realize nobody reads paper any more and some of the information is now out of date, but this is more of a collector's item or a showcase for someone with an in-home library. At one time, this was the definitive reference on North American birds.

Regards,

John Shenot, FCAS President

Fort Collins, CO