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  By Jon Friedman Alexander Wilson was probably the most heralded ornithologist of his day when he met John James Audubon for the first time in a Kentucky tavern, in March 1810. Audubon documented this meeting in his personal notes and described it in detail: “One fair morning I was surprised by the sudden entrance of Mr. Alexander Wilson, the celebrated author of the American Ornithology. How well do I remember him! His long, rather hooked nose, the keenness of his eyes, and his prominent cheek-bones, stamped his countenance with a peculiar character. His stature was not above the middle...

  Article By Jon Friedman   (This is an enlarged and updated version of an article with the same title that was first published in the July, 1997 issue of the Wild Bird Store newsletter.) Elegant Trogon photo by Skye Bloodgood Photography Many thousands of resident and visiting birders travel to rural and remote areas along the Arizona/Mexico border each year, where they hope to sight several of the neo-tropical birds known to migrate here to breed or forage. Among those rare and exotic specialties, sought after by “listers” and more casual birders, are the Aztec Thrush, Zone-tailed Hawk, Whiskered...

By Walker Thomas I glimpsed a great blue heron downstream.  With practiced stealth, I worked a wide circle around it, parted some branches and got off a quick shot before it took flight from the clack of my Nikon. My pride was immense. Ten minutes later, as if to tell me my success was no big whoop, the heron flew up to a nearby rock to watch me fish, and for an hour gobbled up the entrails of trout I caught. When I had a dry spell, it flew past me to do its own fishing just upstream. In five...

(Author’s note: I use the term ornithology in the broadest sense. In this article, I use ornithology to refer to the watching and studying of birds, from prehistoric times to today. Normally ornithology is thought of as a narrow-focus, scientifically-generated study of birds, particularly their physical characteristics. Here I use it to illustrate all manner of bird study, including the making of paintings, engravings and other illustrations of birds. Even the casual observation of birds by non-experts, at least for this article, is included with my use of the term.) Several newsletter issues ago I wrote about my favorite ornithologist,...

(Author’s note: I use the term ornithology in the broadest sense. In this article, I use ornithology to refer to the watching and studying of birds, from prehistoric times to today. Normally ornithology is thought of as a narrow-focus, scientifically-generated study of birds, particularly their physical characteristics. Here I use it to illustrate all manner of bird study, including the making of paintings, engravings and other illustrations of birds. Even the casual observation of birds by non-experts, at least for this article, is included with my use of the term.) Several newsletter issues ago I wrote about my favorite ornithologist,...