Five Kingdoms: an illustrated guide to the phyla of life on earth by Lynn Margulis, c1982. An emerging classic on classification. 3rd edition in 1998 location and in 2009 this author published Kingdoms & Domains: an illustrated guide to the phyla of life on Earth (considered a revision) location 

Systema Naturae (1735) by Carolus Linnaeus. Linnaeus' key work, Systema Naturae is considered by some to be the bible of natural history, covering animals, plants, and minerals. 1735 ed. published in 1964 location Its 10th edition no longer treated minerals.  facsimile of 1st volume of 10th ed. location 

Animal Species and Evolution by Ernst Mayr, 1963 This 1963 book has been cited according to Thomson's Web of Science database in over 3400 different publications since its publication. The author's essay, commenting on his work having been designated a citation classic by Thomson , appears in Contemporary Classics in Plant, Animal, and Environmental Sciences, ISI Press, 1986 location His 2001 What Evolution Is location is said to be derived from a number of his earlier works and geared toward a more general audience. (see Science Jan 4, 2002) 

Origins of Life: from the birth of life to the origin of language by John Maynard Smith and Eors Szathmary, 1999 location 

Check-list of Birds of the World by James Lee Peters and Melvin A. Traylor, 1931 16 volumes, Harvard University Press location 2nd ed.1979 location 

Field Guide to the Birds by Roger Tory Peterson, 1934 location 1939 location 

Birds through an Opera Glass by Florence Merriam Bailey, 1889 location 1 location 2 

Birds of the New York City Region by Ludlow Griscom, 1923 location 

Genius of Birds, 2016 location

Most Perfect Thing Inside (and Outside) a Bird's Egg, 2016 location