Book 1: (May 8, 1909 to July 17, 1909) Book 2: (July 18, 1909 to Oct. 31, 1909) Book 3: (Nov. 1, 1909 to Feb. 5, 1910) Book 4: (April 8, 1910 to April 18, 1910) Book 5: (July 21, 1912 to Nov. 28, 1912) Book 6: (Dec. 10, 1914 to March 6, 1915)

At age 19, in 1909, James Chapin left New York for northeastern Congo where he served as Herbert Lang's assistant for the next five years. Chapin was interested in many aspects of Africa's natural history. Birds, however, were his passion, a fact borne out by these diaries. The early entries are largely a log of birds seen, heard, and considered. As the months and years pass, however, Chapin's story telling deepens and the subjects for his description diversify.