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Ash-throatedAntwren (Herpsilochmus parkeri), painted by John P. O'Neill. The male, top •ght, hasan ashygray throat, while the female, bottom left, hasa strikinglybully breast. The bird was tera),and otherspecies special to discoveredby O'Neill and Tristan J. Davis. poor-soilridges. In thehumid forest, theavifauna was more typical of hu- mid uppertropical zone forest, with ovenbird/antbirdflocks, Tangara TEDPARKER'S ANTWREN tanagergroups, and other birds com- monlyfound in thehabitat. In the humid forest near the areas of stuntedforest, we beganto see small black-and-white birds that we In I983, TristanJ. Davisand I made soilthat supported a seemingly xeric, identifiedas blerpsilochmusantwrens. an expeditioninto the isolatedhills somewhat stunted flora in an area of Soonthereafter we collectedspeci- betweenthe Mayo and Huallaga relativelyhigh annual rainfall. In pro- mensof bully-breasted birds that had rivers in northern Peru. The area was tectedareas and along watercourses, to bethe females. A thoroughstudy chosenmainly because it was still un- therewas good-quality soilsupporting of the available books was not con- known asfar asthe distribution of Pe- moderatelyto well-developedhumid clusive,but we werefairly certain ruvian birds was concerned. We also forest,with a canopy height of approx- thatthere was no Herpsilochmusant- consideredthe degree of isolationof imately30 m, anda fairlywell-devel- wren known fromnorthern Peru, and the area, and the elevations that opedcovering ofepiphytes. no speciesin whichthe malehad an couldbe reached.By talkingto lo- One of the first birds Davis saw ashygray throat, and in whichthe fe- cals, we located an old mule trail wasa Sharpbill(Oxyruncus cristatus), male was so strikingly bully on the fromMayobamba on theRio Mayo alwaysan indicationthat the eleva- breast. to Yurimaguason the Rio Huallaga, tionand habitat will supportan in- Throughthe years we have learned and determined that it should crossa terestingavifauna. In thedrier, more to be carefulwhen thinkingthat ridgeat Izoom or more.This wasa stuntedvegetation were Red-shoul- somethingmight represent an unde- goodelevation for uppertropical deredTanagcrs ( Tachyphonusphoeni- scribed species. But the thought was zone birds. ceus),Royal Sunangels (Hellangelus present. When we returnedto the Whatwe did not expect was a mo- regalis),Napo Sabrewings (Campy- UnitedStates, we quickly made com- saicof habitats, caused by the scattered 1opterus villaviscensio), Wing-barred parisons with materialin the Loui- exposureof poorquality quartz sand Wood-wrens(Henicorhina leucp- sianaState University Museum of

American Birds, Fall 1993 Natural Science collections, and looked at all available literature. leodore A.Parker III Davis and I were then convinced that thebird did represent a new species. We had the veryhighest regard 1953-1993 andadmiration for ourgood friend and colleagueTed Parker,and very easilyand quicklydecided that we would name the bird after him. It was evenmore appropriate, because Ted deeplyloved antbirds! We prepared themanuscript and I painteda color platefor a frontispiece (part of which byKenn Kaufman •sreproduced here). The description of theAsh-throated Antwren (Herp- FORTY YEARS, FOUR MONTHS, sayhe was the greatest field ornithol- silochmusparkerOwasthen published andfour days. That wasall therewas ogistof my generation. m the WihonBulletin (Vol. 98, No. 3, betweenhis life's beginning, in Penn- Do notimagine that the preceding pp.337-35z) in •986. Tedwas very sylvania,and its abrupt ending against statementis justhyperbole inspired pleasedwith this honor, but we knew the side of an Ecuadorian mountain by grief.I wouldhave written the that he wanted to seethe bird, make in August•993. But in the achingly samething (thoughin a different his own taperecordings, and com- briefspan between those two end- tone) a month ago, beforethey parethe voice of all membersof the points,he traceda high trajectory broughtus the newsof the plane genusbefore he could be •oo percent that no one else could match. His crash.Simply stated, Parker knew the surethat the bird should be given full friendslook backnow at the bright birdsof the Neotropics,the Ameri- status.That was just the way he was. arcof his passage, and we try to com- can tropics,far betterthan anyone Ted was never able to see"his" bird prehendwhat we had in TedParker, elseever had; and the Neotropical re- andmake those comparisons. First, he and what the world has lost. gionis by far theworld's richest area became more and more involved in for birds. hispassionate conservation work, and In the stretch between Texas and rarelyhad time to gooff on hisown Throughoutthe late Tierradel Fuego,nearly half of all orwith friends to simply study birds. 1970s and the 1980s, birdspecies are packed into one-sixth Andthen the tragic plane accident of the world'sland area.A single occurred,that took his life and ended Tedwas rewriting squaremile of Amazonian forest may all of his dreams and desires. Both our knowledgeof harbormore than 500 birdspecies. TristanDavis and I are now very The richesthabitats are mostly dense gratefulthat we did not hesitateto South American birds. forests,where the birds are often hard finishthe description of thisspecies to see,and none of thosebirds can be andget it intoprint. Ted knew about namedjust on rangeor on assump- hisbird, and for this we are happy. It's even hard to know what to call tions:That skulkerglimpsed in the In theyears to come,there will be him. Wasn'the a birder?Sure; he was undergrowthcould easily be some- up-and-comingyoung ornitholo- a birderjust like Jesus was a wander- thing unknownto science,or un- gistswho will study Neotropical ing preacher.In knowledgeand un- known within a thousand miles of birds, and birdwatcherswho travel to derstandingand skill, he towered here. In other words, the birds of the thetropics. We hopethey will enjoy above all the other "birders." On the Neotropicsare the most difficult, birds in areas saved because of the in- other hand, the term ornithologistchallenging birds on Earth. Ted Park- fluence of Theodore A. Parker III. could mislead--at least in this era, erwent to theNeotropics to seekout Wehope they know of his legacy, for- whenornithologists sit at desksand thatchallenge, and he cameto know everpreserved in the nameof the sendout students to doheavy mathe- thosebirds more thoroughlythan Ash-throatedAntwren, Herpsiloch- matics. Parker would not come in anyoneelse in history. rausparkeri. from the field, becausethe field was The knowledgeof Neotropical thesource of all originalknowledge. birds, as late as the beginning of the --John P.O•Veill, LSU Museum Youcan say he was a fieldornitholo- I97OS,was still fairly primitive com- ofNatural Science, 119 Foster Hall, LSU,Baton Rouge, LA gist,then; and, if youaccept the bi- paredto anyother part of theworld. 70803 asedtestimony of this closefriend, Reference works on the distribution

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