First use of the term "birding"

The first written use of the word "birding" appears in Scene 5, Act 3 of the play The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602) by William Shakespeare (UK). The word appears in the following extract:

MISTRESS QUICKLY to FALSTAFF: “Well, she laments, sir, for it, that it would yearn your heart to see it. Her husband goes this morning a-birding; she desires you once more to come to her 45 between eight and nine: I must carry her word quickly: she'll make you amends, I warrant you.”

Most likely the first time "birding" is used in publication to refer to the sport of birdwatching (as opposed to hunting) is in the 1896 nature book A-Birding on a Bronco (Houghton, Mifflin and Company) by American naturalist Florence A Merriam, often referred to as the "First Lady of Ornithology". The book recounts Merriam's encounters with birds in the wild while riding a horse through California in the late 19th century.

In Shakespeare’s era the term referred to “fowling,” or hunting wild birds for table food.

The first use of “birding” and “to bird” as a shorthand verb to mean "birdwatching" (rather than hunting) emerged in the early 20th century as the hobby took off in popularity. For instance, the first reference to "bird-study" as a competitive sport was in the 1905 book The Sport of Bird Study (A. L. Burt Co., New York), by Herbert K Job.

Foreword: “…The key, in fact, of the situation seems to be the discovery by the youth of our country that our wild birds are tremendously interesting, and that the making of their acquaintance in their wild haunts is one of the most fascinating of sports. To help bring this about more and more, is the hope and purpose in putting forth this book.”

p. 3: “A great many people nowadays are interested in birds, and many schools have taken it up as a study and recreation combined….the teachers take parties of their pupils out on excursions or ‘bird walks,’ noticing the flowers and trees as well….Several members of a party have field or opera glasses to see shier birds more plainly, and so tell what they are.”