10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2024

In what might nowadays be regarded as a slightly weird scientific practice, after meeting naturalist Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt, he married Messerschmidt’s widow after his death and got notes from Messerschmidt’s Siberia travels from her that had not been handed over to the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

Eagles 131

Eagles Sea Lions Bears Russia 131

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

Though it was well-known to the Native American populations that shared its space, the black-footed ferret was overlooked by Lewis and Clark and all subsequent Euro-American expeditions, remaining officially unknown to science until John James Audubon, his sons, and the Rev.

Ferrets 189

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2019

From the earliest days of European colonization in the Americas, attempts to make wine with native grapes proved unsuccessful; compared to the imported Vitis vinifera used for thousands of years of Old World winemaking, native grapes were fairly tart but lacking in sugars.

Ohio 136

Ohio Philadelphia Fox Blackbirds 136

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2018

Each fly has a name and a ‘recipe’ to follow for its creation, a complicated procedure utilizing a hook, sometimes fur, sometimes wool, but always brightly colored feathers from rare birds. This is also where Johnson starts talking about the cost of the theft to the Museum and to science. Kelson, published in 1895.

Collecting 104

Collecting Iraq Ostriches Science 104

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2012

The National Audubon Society tells the story best: Prior to the turn of the century, people engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas “Side Hunt”: They would choose sides and go afield with their guns; whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.

North America 127

North America Birds America South America 127