[obol] Birding History

[Andy Frank]

I'm finally getting around to reading "Wild America" by Roger Tory Peterson 
and James Fisher.  Pages 106 and 107 talks about the first Cattle Egret 
found in North America.

"Rushing to the nearest telephone, they called Ludlow Griscom, urging him to 
come quickly to corroborate the find.  Griscom advised them to take no 
chances.  'Do not wait,' he said.  'Collect the bird.'  Scientific 
ornitholigical tradition demands that the first record of a new species for 
a region by substantiated by a specimen.  This was a 'first for the 
continent."

He then goes on to talk about the long chase after the bird which was 
finally "collected" when they aroused a sleeping friend who owned a small 
plane.  With this air support they located the bird again which was shot 
after those in the plane shouted instructions to those in a jeep below.

With recent talk about state "firsts," I'm glad that "collecting" the bird 
is no longer required.

Andy Frank
Portland