Barbara Kathleen Snow

David and Barbara Snow

Barbara Kathleen Snow born Whitaker (born February 21, 1921 in Evershot , Dorset , † July 2007 ) was a British ornithologist and geologist .

Life

As the youngest of eight siblings grew in the countryside in the county of Dorset. Her father was a country doctor and died when she was only 8 years old. Her father's death left her family in dire financial straits. All family members tried to cope with the difficult situation together by collecting all imaginable edible products from the great outdoors. This ranged from rabbits, which were preyed by the dog, to mushrooms to berries and fruits. In their distress, the family moved from a large house in Evershot to Maiden Newton to a smaller bungalow . Here Barbara learned to fish for trout on the Hooke River (then River Toller), which flowed directly behind her new home. It was a formative time for the young Barbara, as she became familiar with the local birds such as kingfishers , mountain wagtails and dippers . She left school at the age of 18 and the Second World War began . For six years she served with the Auxiliary Territorial Service , a women's division that was part of the British Army during World War II . There she reached the rank of non-commissioned officer . On various assignments she roamed large parts of England. For example, she was stationed with the air defense in Newcastle and in an air defense training camp on the north of the coast of Cornwall .

In December 1954, she visited the Natural History Museum in London to identify a caught yellow throat , the first recorded specimen of its kind in England. Here she met her future husband, the ornithologist David William Snow (1924–2009). Two more meetings followed at David Lambert Lacks (1910–1973) post-Christmas conferences at the Edward Gray Institute . They got engaged in 1957 and eventually married in Trinidad , where David worked at the research station for the New York Zoological Society . Barbara gave birth to two sons named Stephen (born 1961) and Charles (born 1964).

Snow as a scientist

When she was discharged from the army, her higher education diploma qualified her to attend a state university. Her interest in plants gave her a place to study at Reading University . Here she attended lectures on horticulture . After a year, influenced by the influence of Professor Herbert Leader Hawkins (1887–1968), a geologist and respected paleontologist , she moved to the department of geology. She studied at this faculty for another two years. Even before completing her studies she read by chance in the Dorseter newspaper The News Chronicle an article about the Ornithological Skokholm ( Skokholm Bird Observatory ). She took heart and wrote an unsolicited application. So it came about that she spent some time there in the summer of 1946 and her first long vacation from Reading in 1947. She cooked for the visitors and helped with field research. The Skokholm overseer when he visited in 1946 was Ronald Mathias Lockley (1903-2000), who founded the ornithological station in the 1930s. In 1947, Peter Conder (1919-1993), who made a name for himself in the world of ornithologists as director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), took over.

After Barbara Snow graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in geology, she was eager to get involved in field research. She accepted a position at the National Coal Board , which at the time was exploring potential open pit mining areas. First she worked in Newcastle, then in South Wales . During this time, too, she kept in constant contact with the bird observatories of the world. So she traveled to the Farne Islands and visited the research center of Eric Arnold Roberts Ennion (1900-1981) near Seahouses . In 1954 she took over the supervision of the Lundy Ornithological Center on behalf of the Lundy Field Society for an annual fee of £ 150 . In addition to the daily work of ringing migrants' birds and counting the population, her interest in the breeding behavior of cormorants grew . Through observation, guides, nest observations and with the help of photographs of shags was established in 1960, a remarkable article ( The breeding biology of the Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) on the Iceland of Lundy, Bristol Channel ), which in the journal IBIS was published. Another followed in 1963 in British Birds ( The behavior of the Shag ). Her findings formed the basis for two chapters in The birds of the western palearctic , which was edited by her husband David Snow and Christopher Miles Perrins (1935–) in 1998.

While the Snow couple lived in a valley in northern Trinidad that was surrounded by hills and primary forest, Barbara focused on a few species that were new to her. It was mainly the Bartkotinga ( Procnias averano ), one of four species of the genus Procnias next Einlappenkotinga ( Procnias albus ), Nacktgesichtkotinga ( Procnias nudicollis ) and Dreilappenkotinga ( Procnias tricarunculatus ) that caught her attention. The voice of this genus is believed to be the loudest of all birds, and yet very little was known about their behavior as they were extremely difficult to observe. Her extremely loud, hammer-like scream was widely known and everyone could easily spot her in the treetops. What was new was that their courtship usually takes place in the deeper stratification layers , far below the treetop. Snow later achieved the same feat in Guyana , where she first observed the courtship behavior of the capuchin kotinga ( Perissocephalus tricolor ). At that time she was following an inconspicuous female who was collecting nesting material. So she found a nest that she would probably never have been able to find otherwise. Through this experience, she later found three more nests, each with only one egg. She also found that the diet of both fledglings and adult nasturtiums consisted entirely of nutritious berries. Through this observation, she understood the factors that led to the evolutionary development of specialized fruit-eaters in a neotropical forest with many nest predators, with the males developing impressive plumage and striking courtship behavior and the females building small inconspicuous nests, which in many cases were just big enough to lay an egg.

Her second main study in Trinidad dealt with two species of hummingbird, the green shadow hummingbird ( Phaethornis guy ) and the copper shadow hummingbird ( Glaucis hirsutus ). Since both species move mainly in the vicinity of river currents, their evolutionary development has led to a completely different social behavior than was the case with the Kotingas. Snow found out that the males behave in an extremely territorial manner and stubbornly defend certain sections of the river with more than two females. They often build their nests directly above the running waters .

After the time in Trinidad, Snow first wrote down her results for a year near Oxford before she and her husband spent a year on the Galápagos Islands at the Charles Darwin Research Station . Despite her two-year-old son, she made interesting observations about two endemic species of seagulls . She was the first to recognize the 9 to 10 month breeding cycle of the fork-tailed gull ( Creagrus furcatus ), a nocturnal forager and colony breeder. The same cycle also applied to the lava gull ( Leucophaeus fuliginosus ), a highly endangered single breeder with widely spaced territories.

When she returned to England, she and David worked on a joint project. In a five-year study, they examined the social organization of a small population of dunnock ( Prunella modularis ) that no one had properly studied before. They found that either one or two males, one of which is always dominant, occupy a large territory , which in turn includes the territory of up to three smaller female territories. Later, the research of Nicholas Barry Davies (1952-) in his book Dunnock behavior and social evolution went much deeper than was the case in the Snow study. Another co-production by David and Barbara was made in a five-year study of fruit eaters in the Vale of Aylesbury and the surrounding area. The result was the standard work Birds and Berries , which outlined the relationship between birds and berries.

Honor

In 1972 she and her husband received the William Brewster Medal in recognition of their studies in the biology of Neotropical birds. The American Ornithologists' Union justified this with the following arguments:

“ The 1972 William Brewster Award winners deserved this award for a number of reasons. You are part of a handful of ornithologists who have produced a monographic study of the biology of various Neotropical land birds. Her contributions on the evolutionary consequences of nutrition from fruits by tropical birds (e.g. "Birds and Berries") stand out. To this end, they compared the courtship behavior of different purrbirds ("Pipridae") and put forward evolutionary theories on lek and courtship behavior. They also studied the breeding and moulting cycles of many birds in the American tropics in relation to their environment. David and Barbara Snow collected the data for this work during their stay in Trinidad and the Galapagos Archipelago . Both have worked closely together and acted as co-authors on various topics. Regardless of their multitude of interests, they have always sought to combine their detailed studies of diet, breeding biology, and behavior into a unified fabric of interactive adaptations. By doing this, they have not only presented us with a classic study of swallows ("Steatornis caripensis"), ornamental birds ("Cotingidae"), or purrbirds, but have set the theoretical framework for future successful research in the neotropics. "

Works

• The breeding biology of the Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) on the island of Lundy, Bristol Channel , Ibis, Vol. 102, no. 4, 1960, pp. 554-575
• with David William Snow: Northern Waterthrush Returning to Same Winter Quarters in Successive Winters , The Auk, Vol. 77, No. 3, 1960, pp. 351-352
• Notes on the Behavior of Three Cotingidae , The Auk, Vol. 78, No. 2, 1961, pp. 150-161
• The behavior of the Shag , British Birds, Vol. 56, No. 3, 1963, pp. 77-103 and pp. 164-188
• Breeding and the Annual Cycle in Three Trinidad Thrushes , The Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 75, No. 1, 1963, pp. 27-41
• together with David William Snow: Weights and wing-lengths of some Trinidad birds Zoologica (New York), Vol. 48, 1963, pp. 1-12
• together with David William Snow: Breeding seasons and annual cycles of Trinidad land-birds , Zoologica (New York), Vol 49, 1964, pp. 1–39.
• with David William Snow: The breeding cycle of the Swallow-tailed Gull (Creagrus furcatus) , Ibis, Vol 109, No. 1, 1965, pp. 14-24
• together with David William Snow: The breeding season of the Madeiran Storm-petrel (Oceanodromo castro) in the Galapagos , Ibis, Vol. 108, No. 2, 1966, pp. 283-284
• with David William Snow: Behavior of the Swallow-tailed Gull of the Galápagos , Condor, Vol 70, No. 3, 1968, pp. 252-264
• with David William Snow: Observations on the Lava Gull (Larus fuliginosus) , Ibis, Vol 111, No. 1, 1969, pp. 30-35
• A field study of the Bearded Bellbird in Trinidad , Ibis, Vol. 112, No 3, 1970, pp. 299-329
• together with David William Snow: The feeding ecology of tanagers and honeycreepers in Trinidad , The Auk, Vol 88, No. 2, 1971, pp. 291-322
• together with David William Snow: Feeding niches of hummingbirds in a Trinidad valley , Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 41, No. 2, 1972, pp. 471-485
• Notes on the Behavior of the White Bellbird , The Auk, Vol. 90, No. 4, 1973, pp. 743-751
• The behavior and ecology of hermit hummingbirds in the Kanaku Mountains, Guyana Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 85, no. 2, 1973, pp. 163-177
• Lek behavior and breeding of Guy's. Hermit hummingbird (Phaethornis guy) , Ibis, Vol 116, No. 3, 1974, pp. 278-297
• Social organization in the Hairy Hermit (Glaucis hirsute) , Ardea, Vol 61, No. 1-2, 1973, pp. 94-105
• together with David William Snow: The breeding of the Hairy Hermit (Glaucis hirsuta) in Trinidad , Ardea, Vol. 61, No. 1-2, 1973, pp. 106-122
• Vocal Mimicry in the Violaceous Euphonia, Euphonia Violacea , Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 86, No. 2, 1974, pp. 179-180
• with David William Snow: Breeding of the Green-bellied Hummingbird , The Auk, Vol. 91, No. 3, 1974, p. 626
• The Plumbeous Heron of the Galapagos , Living Bird, Vol. 13, 1975, pp. 51-72
• Feeding Behavior of Two Hummingbirds in a Costa Rican Montane Forest , Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 89, No. 4, 1977, pp. 613-616
• Territorial behavior and courtship of the male Three-wattled Bellbird , The Auk, Vol. 94, no. 4, 1977, pp. 623-645
• Comparison of the leks of Guy's hermit hummingbird (Phaethornis guy) in Costa Rica and Trinidad. Ibis, Vol 119, No. 2, 1977, pp. 211-214
• together with Michael Gochfeld: Field notes on the nests of the Green-fronted Lancebill (Doryfera ludoviciae) and the Blue-fronted Lancebill (Doryfera johannae) , Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. 97, No. 4, 1977, pp. 121-125
• The Oilbirds of Los Tayos , Vol. 91, No. 3, 1979, pp. 457-461
• with David William Snow: The Ocher-bellied Flycatcher and the Evolution of Lek Behavior , Condor, vol 81, No. 3, 1979, pp. 286-292
• The Nest and Territoriality of a Female Tyrian Metaltail , Wilson Bulletin: Vol. 92, No. 4, 1980, pp. 508-509
• with David William Snow: Relationships between hummingbirds and flowers in the Andes of Colombia . In: Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History . tape 38 , no. 2 , 1980, p. 105–139 ( online [PDF; 13.8 MB ; accessed on March 30, 2014]).
• Relationships between hermit hummingbirds and their food plants in eastern Ecuador , Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. 101, No. 4, 1981, pp. 387-396
• together with David William Snow: Long-term defense of fruit by Mistle Thrushes Turdus viscivorus , Ibis, Vol 126, No. 1, 1984, pp. 39-49
• with David William Snow: Display and related behavior of male Pin-tailed Manakins , Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 97, No. 3, 1985, pp. 273-282
• together with David William Snow: Feeding ecology of hummingbirds in the Serra do Mar, southeastern Brazil , El Hornero, Vol. 12, 1986, pp. 286-296
• together with David William Snow: Birds and berries: a study of an ecological interaction , Poyser, 1988, ISBN 978-0-85661-049-3

literature

• David William Snow: Obituary: Barbara Snow, 1921-2007 , IBIS, Vol 150, No. 3, 2008, pp. 662-663
• Frank D. Steinheimer: David Snow (1924–2009) , Vogelwarte, Volume 47, Issue 2, 2009, pp. 144–145

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Vogelwarte, Volume 47, Issue 2, 2009 David Snow (1924–2009) (German; PDF; 1.8 MB)
2. ↑ The Auk, Vol 90, No. 1, 1974 Proceedings of the Ninetieth Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union (English; PDF; 893 kB) Original article
3. ↑ IBIS, Vol 150, No. 3 Obituary: Barbara Snow, 1921–2007 ( Memento of the original from July 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English; PDF; 63 kB) Original article