Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey

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Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey (1904; from The Condor)

Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey (born August 8, 1863 in Locust Grove , New York , † September 22, 1948 in Washington, DC ) was an American ornithologist . Her older brother was Clinton Hart Merriam .

Live and act

Bailey grew up on her family's estate. Like her brother, she developed a keen interest in natural history . Her father met John Muir in 1871 in what would later become Yosemite National Park . Bailey went to private school in Utica . From 1882 to 1886 she attended Smith College . No academic degree was recognized there until it was honored in 1921. At times Bailey also attended Stanford University .

Cover sheet of Birds of village and field

She began birdwatching at a time when ornithology relied on the study of specimens. Before 1885, when feathers were widely used as ornaments on hats, Bailey wrote articles about the need for measures to protect birds . She tried to educate the public about the value of animals. Soon after, the United States Congress passed law prohibiting the importation of birds. This caused the populations of water birds , including pelicans and grebes, to recover . Over time, fashion changed in such a way that interest in bird feathers for decoration disappeared.

Bird description, Birds of village and field

Bailey published a nature guide on birds in their natural habitat. It is considered the first example of modern bird identification books. The then twenty-six-year-old had the descriptions printed in Audubon Magazine and later published in the form of books. In December 1899, Florence Augusta Merriam married the naturalist Vernon Orlando Bailey . He worked with her brother Clinton for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey . The Bailey couple went on long study trips and were charged with stimulating young people's interest in natural history.

Florence Bailey became the first woman to become a member of the American Ornithologists' Union in 1885 and the organization's first female fellow in 1929 . In 1931 she received the William Brewster Medal for the work Birds of New Mexico , at that time the most extensive book on the bird world of the southwestern United States. She helped found the National Audubon Society of the District of Columbia , where she often taught the basics of ornithology. Bailey's last major work, Among the Birds in the Grand Canyon National Park , was published by the National Park Service in 1939 .

Florence Bailey died in Washington, DC on September 22, 1948

Dedication names

Joseph Grinnell named in 1908 a subspecies of the mountain chickadee Parus gambeli baileyae , a name now synonymous with poecile gambeli baileyae applies. In his dedication he honored the wife of Vernon Orlando Bailey (1864–1942), who contributed to so many important publications on ornithology of the western United States.

Works

  • Birds of Village and Field (1898), Houghton, Mifflin & Co, New York & Boston.
  • Birds Through An Opera , Glass Riverside Library for Young People, Mifflin & Co, New York & Boston.
  • My Summer In A Mormon Village , Mifflin & Co, New York & Boston.
  • Handbook of Birds of The Western United States , Mifflin & Co, New York & Boston.
  • Birds of New Mexico (1928), New Mexico Dept. of Game & Fish.

literature

  • Harriet Kofalk: No Woman Tenderfoot: Florence Merriam Bailey, Pioneer Naturalist . Texas A&M University Press , College Station 1989, ISBN 0-89096-378-9 (English).
  • Joseph Grinnell: The Southern California Chickadee . In: The Condor . tape 10 , no. 1 , 1908, p. 29–30 (English, online [PDF; 150 kB ; accessed on December 6, 2015]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Paul H. Oehser: In Memoriam: Florence Merriam Bailey (PDF; 539 kB), 1952
  2. ^ Richard H. Cracroft and Neal E. Lambert: A believing People , p. 87, Brigham Young University Press , 1974
  3. ^ Mark Barrow: A Passion for Birds , Princeton, 1998, pp. 156-157
  4. ↑ Joseph Grinnell, p. 30.

Web links

Commons : Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Bailey, Florence Augusta Merriam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bailey, Florence; Merriam, Florence Augusta (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Locust Grove (New York)
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1948
Place of death Washington, DC