英國自然學家懷特 (Gilbert White, 1720-1793)，畢業於牛津大學 (Oxford University) 的 Oriel學院，1789年發行了一本家鄉的自然史──《塞耳彭自然史與民俗紀事》(Natural History and Antiquites of Selborne, in the County of Southampton)，這是一本他和兩位當時代的自然學家 Thomas Pennant和 Daines Barrington的通信集。這本經典著作影響了 19世紀文學、社會科學與自然科學家。由於他對達爾文 (Charles Darwin, 1809-1882) 有頗大的啟發，因此，未來可進一步研究懷特的加入，是否會使近現代環境史領域的發展譜系往前追溯。 懷特生性兼俱風趣與嚴肅，又充滿好奇心。他主張在鳥類的觀察上，必須具備分辨鳥鳴、顏色與形體的能力，使他成為鳥類學專家。在地方敘事上，懷特主張自然史研究應該以家鄉為基地。在懷特優美的敘事文筆影響之下，他的家鄉塞耳彭 (Selborne) 在工業革命之後，成為英國人對田園鄉愁的想像之地。 懷特著作的特色，可以歸納為：以地方敘事法，長期對家鄉的自然生態不間斷地進行第一手的觀察、研究與記錄，因此留下了「自然史料」；而這樣在單一地方持續探索和紀實的行為，也使他成為 18世紀塞耳彭鄉村的「生態史官」與「生態民族誌人類學家」。

Gilbert White published a natural history of his hometown, titled Natural History and Antiquities of Selbonre, in the County of Southampton in 1789. In the past two hundred years this book has been a classic and very popular in the English world. Since Charles Darwin, a leading figure in the field of environmental history, had been deeply enlightened by Gilbert White, White is an important figure in the chronology of environmental history. Gilbert White graduated from Oriel College at Oxford University. He was serious and full of curiosity and very knowledgeable about ecology. His Natural History of Selborne was a record of correspondence with two naturalists of his time, Thomas Pennant and Daines Barrington. White was an ornithologist and included detailed observatory records of birds in his book. His findings were important and adopted by other naturalists at the time. He argued that a home-based study of natural history was so fundamental that every kingdom, every province should have its own monographer to produce a highly comprehensive natural history. Also he suggested that one who wants to be a successful ornithologist must be able to distinguish birds’ sounds, colors and shapes. This paper tackles the contents of White’s Natural History of Selborne. In conclusion, we argue that based on the study of his work, we have learned that White applied literary words in his writings; and since he had carried out uninterrupted first-hand observations, researches and records in Selborne for 50 years, it made him the local ecological historian and ecological ethnographer of Selborne.