Research Catalog

Dean of the birdwatchers : a biography of Ludlow Griscom

Title: Dean of the birdwatchers : a biography of Ludlow Griscom / William E. Davis, Jr.
Author: Davis, William E., Jr., 1936-
Publication: Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institution Press, ©1994.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	QL31.G737 D38 1994	Off-site

Details

Description

xvi, 234 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"One of America's most influential ornithologists, Ludlow Griscom (1890-1959) ushered in the shift to modern birding with binoculars with his conviction that "one need not shoot a bird to know what it was.""--BOOK JACKET. "Drawing on the writings of Griscom and his contemporaries, this biography reveals the complex man who popularized birdwatching as a more democratic, less aristocratic alternative to hunting and influenced a generation of notable future "birders," including Roger Tory Peterson, Joseph J. Hickey, and Allan Cruickshank. During the ten years he was a curator of birds for the American Museum of Natural History, Griscom set forth principles of field identification that revolutionized birding as a hobby and a sport. He also became an international authority on the birds of Central and South America, as well as the local authority on avian populations in the New York City and Boston areas."--BOOK JACKET. "Davis vividly portrays this odd, often abrasive, man whose brusque and assertive manner tended to polarize associates into pro- and anti-Griscom factions. He follows Griscom's involvement with such groups as the National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and Ducks Unlimited. Griscom eloquently fought for the establishment of federal preserves at Plum Island and Monomoy in Massachusetts. He also spoke against tendencies toward petty competition among different environmental groups."--BOOK JACKET. "This first biography of America's first birder captures the tenor of an almost maddeningly active life."--Jacket.

Subject

Genre/Form

Biography
Biographies.
History.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-255) and index.

ISBN

1560983108
9781560983101

LCCN

93038095

OCLC

ocm29182271
29182271
SCSB-9605179

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library