andone year there were rumors of a JohnFarrand, Jr. cougar.Along the banksof the Wabashgrew giant sycamores;in MOMENTSIN HISTORY thesehollow "swell-butts," swifts still nestedin theancestral way. Swallow- tailedand Mississippi kites wheeled overthe prairieswest of town.In a swampwith andentcypresses and sweetgums, Robert glimpsed what he decidedwas an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Robertworked hard at identifying RobertRidgway's the birds he found. At first,his only bookwas Oliver Goldsmith's History Roseate Grosbeaks ofthe Earth and Animated Nature, an antiquated,almost useless work that emphasizedEuropean and tropical species,with engravingsso stylized veteran of the War of 1812. thatmany of the birds are hard to rec- He had madehis Robert,the first of theRidgways' ognize even now. But then one day, in ten children,was born on July 2, a storein thenearby town of Olney, first bird drawingby the 1850.His parents were keenly inter- Robertand his mother found a copy age of four,and at ten, ested in nature, and Robert's own of Samuel G. Goodrich's Illustrated passionfor birds soon revealed itself. NaturalHistory of theAnimal King- had a large collection He hadmade his first bird drawing dom.Published in New Yorkin 1859, bythe age of four,and at ten,had a the book contained an excellent text of drawings,eggs, largecollection of drawings,eggs, and 390 engravingsof birds;it dis- and nests. and nests.He lovedto go hunting cussedand figured many American with his father, who knew the local species,and frequently cited Wilson, namesof many of the birds they saw. Audubon,and Nuttall. Mrs. Ridg- THE WABASH RIVERs CELEBRATED Wild Turkeysand PassengerPi- waypurchased it for him on the spot. in song,arises near Grand Lake in geonswere common in thosedays, Robertquickly matched his fa- Ohio and flows westward and south- westwardacross the greencountry- sideof Indiana.Near Covington it turnsto the south,and from just belowTerre Haute until k joinsthe Ohio River, the Wabashforms the boundarybetween Indiana and Illi- nois.On this final portionof its course,the river is borderedby bot- tomlandsand occasional high bluffs. On onesuch bluff, rising one hun- dred feet above the river on the Illi- nois side, sits Mount Carmel, in WabashCounty. In themiddle of the lastcentury, Mount Carmelwas a farmingand lumberingtown with fewerthan 2000 residents. Among its leadingcitizens was David Ridgway, adruggist who had opened the towns firstmodern, three-story commercial building.In 1849,he married Henri- ettaJames Reed, the daughterof a RobertRhJgway at the ageof sixteen.Photo: Rathven Deane Collection, Ubrary of CongTess.

3• -American Birds,Summer 1992 ther's"ground robin" with Good- rich's"Chewink, or Ground-Robin" and his father's"yellow mocking- bird" with the Yellow-breasted Chat. The "bell bird" was harder, because Goodrich'sdescription of theWood Thrushwas quite vague,and the "blue wren" probablyremained a mystery,because Goodrich didn't de- scribehis "Blue-gray Fly-catcher, or Gnat-catcher." But thanks to Good- rich,the list of identifiedbirds began to grow. On a bdghtday during the winter of 1863-1864,as Robert was walking pasta stand of giant ragweed, he star- tied a flock of unfamiliar birds. The males were a beautiful crimson that contrasted with the snow. Robert and The birdthat startedRidgway on hispath to fame,the PurpleFinch (Carpodacus Purpureus). Photoby J.R. Woodward/ViREO. his friends Lucien and Granville Turner soon found more of them he had in his collection. mensfor theUnited States Geologi- feedingon the seedsof sycamores. Ridgwaylater called Baird's letter calExploration of theFortieth Paral- Robert collecteda few. Knowing "a revelation." He knew that Wilson, lel,soon to departfor the wild coun- nothingabout preparing specimens, Audubon, and Nuttall were all dead, try betweenthe SierraNevada and he madea coloreddrawing of the andhad thought he was the only per- the Rocky Mountains.A second male and female. son alive who was interested in birds. turningpoint had arrived. Try as they might, the boys Butnow he had a letterfrom a living "How I survived this additional couldn't find the new bird in ornithologist,who invitedhim to thrill I do not know,"Ridgway later Goodrich.Although its bill wasn't reply.A briskcorrespondence fol- said."I onlyremember that the con- crossed, it seemed closest to the lowed, in which Baird counseled,en- sentof my parentswas, after some "American Cross-Bill, Loxia Ameri- courage&and admonished the promis- hesitation, obtained and the offer cana." Robert named it the "Roseate ingteenager in southernIllinois. wasaccepted."On or aboutApril 18, Grosbeak,Loxia rosea,"but delibera- 1867, the family droveto Olney, tionswent on into spring.Finally, whereRidgway boarded the Ohio & Mrs.Turner suggested they write to MississippiRailroad and headed east the Commissioner of Patents in towardWashington. It was his first Washington.Perhaps he knewthe He knew that trainride and he wasonly 16, sohe namesof birds.Robert was ready to Wilson,Audubon, and wasaccompanied by DavidScott, an try anything,so off went a letter Olneymerchant on hisway to Balti- alongwith the colored drawing. Nuttall were all dead, moreto buygoods for his store. In earlyJuly there came an answer, Therefollowed two busy weeks at not from the PatentOffice, but from and had thought he the Smithsonian,where Ridgway SpencerF. Baird,Assistant Secretary was the only person studied western birds and learned of the . Baird from Baird how to preparespeci- praisedRobert's ardstic ability and alive who was interested mens.Then early in May,he traveled his attention to scientific detail. "I to ,where the expedition in birds. hadno difficultyin recognizingthe embarkedby steamerfor Panama. birdyou sent, and was much pleased Aftercrossing the isthmus, they took tosee that you had given all the essen- another steamer to San Francisco. tial features of form and color with On Wednesday,March 6, 1867, For two seasons,Ridgway explored muchaccuracy. The bird is the Pur- Ridgwaycame in fromthe field and the little-knowncountry between ple Finch(Carpodacus purpureus)." found another letter waiting for him. Sacramentoand Salt Lake City. Bairdurged Robert to continuehis In it Baird offeredhim a job, at WhenRidgway returned to Wash- studiesof birds,and asked what eggs $50.00 a month, collectingspeci- ingtonin thefall of 1869,Baird put

Volume 46, Number 2 ß321 him to work writing technicalde- scriptionsand making drawings for the three-volumeHistory of North American Birds, which Baird was writingwith ThomasMayo Brewer. When this greatwork finally ap- pearedin 1874,its authors were list- edas Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway. Ridgwaybecame Baird's leading discipleand one of themost respect- ed ornithologistsof his time. In CA MERA SERVICE 1880,he wasappointed Curator of Birdsat the Smithsonian.In 1883, he was one of the founders oftheAmeri- CLEARLYFOR THE BIRDS! can Ornithologists'Union, and in 1898 succeededWilliam Brewster as its president.His own magnum opus,The Birds of North and Middle •f America,began to appearin 1901. Consideredone of thegreatest works coating. on taxonomicornithology ever writ- Available in 10 x 42, 8 x 42 and ten, it won the BrewsterMedal of the armoring.Lifetime warranty and 3 year A.O.U. and the 7No-Faultx42 models, Passport w•thProtection. orwithout rubber Medalof the NationalAcademy of CALL RAY FOR THE BEST PRICE Sciences. New Generation Binoculars Ridgwayarrived on the scene after the greatage of discoveryand de- FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $200.00 SECOND DAY AND NEXT DAY UPS AVAILABLE AT ADDITIONAL COST scriptionhad passed,but among NorthAmerican birds, the Cackling Serving South Since 1965 Goose, Mexican Duck, Motded i 11SI SOUTH DIXIE HIGHWR9 Duck, LesserPrairie-Chicken, Carib- IVlIRMI, FLORIOFI =F-'--IlS6 bean Coot, , PHONE (31•S) •8-•8H• FRX (•[•S) •SS-•1•3 Bicknell'sThrush, Worthen's Spar- row,Belding's Sparrow, Dusky Sea- side-Sparrow,White-winged Junco, Black Rosy-Finch,Brown-capped the center of a Christmas Bird Count memory."Delightful indeed must Rosy-Finch,and McKay'sBunting cirde.In 1915,when the Ridgways have been the memories of that first bearscientific names he gavethem. movedto Olneyfor good,what he encounter, when he found his He himself is remembered in the sci- describedas "morethan forty-five "RoseateGrosbeaks" in the ragweed entific names of the Masked Bob- yearsof homesickness"came to an at theedge of townand couldn't fig- white,the Buff-collared Nightjar, the end.Here he spent the remainder of ureout what they were. interior form of the Plain Titmouse his days,working on TheBirds of As it turnsout, the PurpleFinch (possiblya distinctspecies), several North and MiddleAmerica Eight wasin Goodrich'sbook all along. Central and South American birds, thick volumeshad been printed Therewas even a picture.But the de- and in Ridgwayia,the genusof the when he died in 1929, and three scriptionwas brief and the illustra- . moreappeared during the nextfew tion only a crude,black-and-white Throughouthis long career, Ridg- decades. copyof Audubon'sPlate IV. Robert waynever forgot the Wabash country It is unlikelythat Ridgwayhad a Ridgwaywas only 13 then,and sim- of hisboyhood. He alwaysdreamed favorite bird, but when he wrote The ply didn'trecognize the bird. If he of goinghome, and in 1906,a few Ornithologyof Illinoisin 1889, he had, he would never have sent that milesnorthwest of Olney,he and his saidof thePurple Finch that he had letterto Washington. It was a mistake wife purchaseda smalltract and "first made its acquaintanceat anyonemight make. In viewof all named it "Bird Haven." Since 1945, Mount Carmel, in mid-winter, that followed, it is fortunatefor or- the Bird HavenSanctuary has been undercircumstances of delightful nithologythat he made it. •

322 -American Birds,Summer 1992