What makes birds so compelling? Birding can be a matter of fanticism, with competitive list making, and expensive and arduous travels. They are both beautiful and talented, endowed with the magic of flight, which humans have only learned laboriously over the last century. They are cheerful and communicative, singing and chattering in notes we can relate to, if not understand. And they are extremely diverse, and turn out to be the successors of some of the charismatic animals of all time- the dinosaurs.
But in colonial times, birds were more appreciated for food than for watching. Countless wild birds ended up sold at market, one fate that sealed the doom of the passenger pigeon. Alexander Wilson (1766-1813) was no slouch in the hunting department, as a crack marksman who shot countless specimens, and dined on many of them. But for his time, he was also a pioneer in sensitivity towards birds, perhaps not surprising as ornothology was his second career choice, after poetry. A recent biography, though rather disorganized, is an excellent introduction to his work and times.
Wilson was a weaver and poet in Ireland, and then a schoolmaster in America, but finally found his calling when he came in contact with William Bartram, the leading naturalist of the newly minted US. Bartram was just the gentle, dedicated, and respected lover of nature that Wilson needed as a mentor. His gardens were extensive and his travels through much of the Southern countryside a model for Wilson's future years of tramping through all areas east of the Mississippi in search of birds ... and also customers.
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| One plate from Wilson's work. Note the phenomenal detail and realistic poses. |
For publishing in Wilson's time was on the kickstarter model. The 9-volume American Ornithology was accepted by the publisher only on condition of Wilson collecting sufficient subscriptions to fund its production, which was lavish. Each volume had about nine plates, engraved and over-painted with color, in addition to Wilson's text describing the features and habits of the pictured birds. Wilson therefore went on long trips to drum up interest and subscriptions, focusing on the wealthy elite of each region, who would be most likely to have the means to buy his expensive production. The subscribers would then receive copies of Wilson's columes as they came off the press in subsequent years.
Notably, Wilson had very little luck with the tight-fisted New Englanders. But he had much better luck at the President's House, paying a visit to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had himself published a guide to the birds of Virginia, and was keenly interested in Wilson's work and book. Indeed, he made his cabinet officers take out subscriptions as well! It was in a related vein that Jefferson later ordered the Lewis and Clark expedition to study the geography and biology of the vast Louisiana Purchase territory and points west to the Pacific. Imagine such intellectual depth and engagement in our current age!
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| Wilson's portrayal the the Pileated, Red-headed, and Ivory-billed woodpeckers. |
Wilson studied as many of his specimens in their natural habitat as he could, and took many captive for further study. His detailed descriptions and paintings were, at their best, far more realistic and accurate than anything that had come before. He asked penetrating questions and resolved mysteries with detailed investigation, creating new species or uniting badly named and split species as needed. In his intense curiosity and willingness to pursue evidence and experiments he is reminiscent of that great naturalist to come, Charles Darwin. In one episode, Wilson wounded and captured an ivory-billed woodpecker, the largest woodpecker of all and a species now sadly extinct.
"Not far from Wilmington [North Carolina], he shot and killed two Ivory-billed woodpeckers and slightly wounded a third. With the two specimens in his pack, he wrapped the injured bird in his coat, placed it in front of him on the saddle where he could keep hold of it, and rode into Wilmington where he planned to spend the night. As he rode through the streets and up to the hotel, the piteous cries of the woodpecker attracted a worried crowd. They joined the landlord in a relieved laugh when Wilson dismounted and unfolded his coat, revealing the furious woodpecker.
After he registered, Wilson took his pack and his woodpecker to his room, then left to tend his horse. Upon his return, ho could hear chopping sounds as he ascended the stairs to his room. He opened the door and the woodpecker cried out, possibly in frustration at being discovered in its effort to escape. It had climbed the window frame and cleared a fifteen inch square section of plaster that now lay in chunks on the bed. It had also cut a hole larger than a man's fist through the lathing and begun chiseling on the back side of the exterior weatherboards. In less than an hour it would have escaped."
Some birds are not the cheerful songsters around the yard, but ferocious and spirited. But whatever their temperament, between habitat destruction, rampant pesticide use and other pollution, light pollution, the introduction of invasive species, and now global warming, we have fewer species and individuals now than Wilson experienced, in a steady rain of ecological destruction.
- A culture of complete white collar impunity.
- Whatever happened to freedom of religion?
- Optimists are at fault!
- Why the east side is the bad side.
- Treason? Yes, it is obvious.
- Vietnam all over again.. a delusional military.
- Taxes affect income. They do not affect propensity to work.
- Do sleazy people make better capitalists and capitalism? No.
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