Passenger pigeon

Paul Russell Cutright examines Theodore Roosevelt’s first two published works: lists of birds found in the Adirondack mountains and in Oyster Bay, New York. Cutright explores Roosevelt’s friendship with H.D. Minot who coauthored The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y., and he also looks at Roosevelt’s Notes on Some of the Birds of Oyster Bay, Long Island. Cutright reviews the field work that went into each pamphlet, discusses some of the birds found in each, and compares the information found in them to observations in Roosevelt’s natural history notebooks. He also highlights the publications in which the pamphlets have been reprinted, and he lists the museums, libraries, and institutions that have these rare works in their collections. Two pages of endnotes and a biography of Cutright supplement the text.

 

The first page of The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y. appears twice in the article along with a photograph of the Snow owl donated to the American Museum of Natural History by Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Paul Russell Cutright examines the thirteen natural history notebooks that Theodore Roosevelt kept during his childhood and young adult years. He notes the dates, the subjects, and the locations of the observations kept in each notebook. Cutright focuses on Roosevelt’s love of birding and most of the notebook excerpts deal with this subject. He highlights Roosevelt’s skill at identifying birds by their calls and songs, notes his considerable observation skills, and credits various naturalists and friends who influenced Roosevelt.

Two photographs of Roosevelt as a child and young man and a full-page picture of a mounted snowy owl that Roosevelt prepared accompany the article.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of the executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is on page two of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In “The Sighting at Pine Knot, Virginia,” Alton A. Lindsay explores the question of whether Theodore Roosevelt was the last person to report a credible sighting of the extinct passenger pigeon near his presidential retreat, Pine Knot in Virginia, in 1907. Lindsay provides a history of Pine Knot and also looks at the making of Roosevelt as a naturalist going back to his childhood.  He notes some of the defining experiences in Roosevelt’s life that made him a naturalist and conservationist, such as his time in the Dakota Badlands. Like other scholars he pushes back against the idea that Roosevelt was merely a man of action and asserts that he “was a man of intellect.”

 

He details Roosevelt’s sighting of a small flock of passenger pigeons in May 1907, and argues that Roosevelt’s history and experience as a naturalist and ornithologist lend credibility to his claims to have seen the birds. 

 

A photograph of President Roosevelt and another showing the Pine Knot cabin from the side and rear accompany the article.

A large flock of wild pigeons has been reported in Sullivan County, New York, proving the bird is not extinct. Details about the range and numbers of birds are related.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-30

Creator(s)

Unknown

John Lewis Childs sends President Roosevelt details regarding various species of birds and their behaviors. Childs admits he was wrong, and the president right, about the nesting habits of the Long-eared vs. Short-eared owl. Childs describes a trip wherein he showed John Burroughs the nesting sites of a Brown Thrasher, and a Spotted Sandpiper, both incubating eggs. Childs compliments Roosevelt on the accuracy of his observations and description of a flock of passenger pigeons at Pine Knot, especially considering how busy he must be. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-20

Creator(s)

Childs, John Lewis, 1856-1921