These are the stories of the birds of America – and the people who named them, ate them, studied them, and saved them.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, feathers were an indispensable part of life for the vast majority of Americans. No, I don’t mean the elaborate and costly plumes that adorned the fancy hats of fancy ladies, nor do I mean the quills used for writing until they were eclipsed by the ball-point pen. Instead, it…
Last May, I found the lifeless body of a small, black and white bird lying among the tables and chairs in front of a restaurant along Washington DC’s Anacostia River waterfront. I stooped down and saw that it was a Blackpoll Warbler, with its diagnostic black cap, white cheek, and streaked chest, and then took…
If, on April 18, 1899, you happened to be in New York City and wished to have dinner at the finest restaurant in Manhattan, you might make your way to the Financial District and find the corner of Beaver and William streets. Above the entrance of a grand brick and brownstone building, flanked by two…