A History of Oregon Ornithology

From Territorial Days to the Rise of Birding

Alan L. Contreras, Vjera E. Thompson, Nolan M. Clements

• Publisher: Oregon State University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9780870714009
• eBook ISBN: 9780870714016
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Zoology
• Index: Biological Sciences

The study of birds was, in its early years, often driven by passionate amateurs in a localized context. A History of Oregon Ornithology takes the reader from the Lewis and Clark expedition to the 1950s, then refocuses on how birding and related amateur field observation grew outside the realm of academic and conservation agencies.
 
Editors Alan Contreras, Vjera Thompson, and Nolan Clements have assembled chapters exploring the differences and interplay between the amateur and professional study of birds, along with discussions of early birding societies, notable observers, and ornithological studies. It includes significant chapters on Charles Bendire, William L. Finley, Ira Gabrielson, Stanley Jewett, and David B. Marshall. It also notes the sometimes-overlooked contributions of women to our expanding knowledge of western birds. Special attention is paid to the development of seabird observation, the impact of the Internet, and the rise of digital resources for bird observers.
 
Intended for readers interested in the history of Oregon, the history of scientific explorations in the west, and the origins of modern birding and field ornithology, A History of Oregon Ornithology offers a detailed and entertaining tour of how birds were first observed and studied by explorers in what is now Oregon.
 

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Origins and Types of Bird Study
• 2. Euro-American Land-based Expeditions, 1804–1859
• 3. The Contributions of Charles Emil Bendire
• 4. Early Statehood, 1860–1900: Travelers and Local Lists
• 5. The Northwestern Ornithological Society
• 6. The Legacy of William L. Finley and Herman T. Bohlman
• 7. Introduced Birds in Oregon
• 8. Government Surveys and Academic Study, 1901–1939
• 9. Oregon Bird Books, 1901–1939
• 10. Ira Gabrielson, Stanley Jewett, and the Publication of Birds of Oregon (1940)
• 11. The Emergence of the Active Amateur, 1901–1960
• 12. Teaching about Birds
• 13. Development and Limits of the Citizen Scientist: 1950s to the Internet
• 14. Oregon’s Expanding Avifauna
• 15. Expanding Knowledge of Oregon’s Seabirds
• 16. Atlases, Surveys, and Counts
• 17. The Long Wingspan of David B. Marshall
• 18. The Life History of Birds of Oregon: A General Reference
• 19. The Internet Age
• 20. Hopes, Predictions, and Expectations
• Appendixes
• Notes
• Contributors
• Index
• Plates