Ludlow Griscom

Ludlow Griscom ( born June 17, 1890 in New York City; † 28 May 1959 Cambridge ( Massachusetts)) was an American ornithologist and botanist. Griscom was considered a pioneer in the field of ornithology.

Life

Parents Clement Acton Griscom and Genevieve Sprigg Ludlow took almost every summer traveling across Europe. Since he grew up in an international environment, he learned five languages ​​fluently and another ten could read easily and even translate with some help from other people a total of 18 languages. Up to the age of eleven he had a private tutor. He then moved to the Symes School, which he left at age 15 with the access authorization for Harvard University. Since he was too young for a degree, he spent two years at home, where he continued formed musically and linguistically. His training at the keyboard made ​​in temporarily for talented concert pianist. Through music, his hearing was so trained that helped him this ability later in the identification of birdsong.

At age 17, he finally attended a preparatory course at Columbia University in Jura. He thus followed the ideas of his parents, but inside had already set to the ornithology. In 1912 he received the degree of Bachelor (eng: AB degree) awarded in Law at Columbia University. This he took the opportunity for a change at the Cornell University. There, he became the first graduate under Arthur Augustus Allen, who in turn was the first professor of ornithology. During two summers he taught ornithology at West Virginia University. In 1915, he finally reached the degree of Master of Science at Cornell University. There he taught for a year before he returned to New York.

Since he really wanted to work in the American Museum of Natural History, he began first in the Department of Ichthyology. Only later the opportunity arose to move to the ornithological department. From 1917 to 1927 he was first assistant, then assistant curator of ornithology. He learned many valuable things from his mentor Frank Michler Chapman. But the beginning of the First World War changed his position. Griscom had to discard as a second lieutenant propaganda about Germany. In 1927 he became president of the Linnean Society of New York. His biggest supporters came from the Bronx County Bird Club. The Bronx Club turned the first of the so-called Griscom method, which is still practiced under the name Audubon Christmas Count of the National Audubon Society. In 1927 Griscom moved at the invitation of herpetologist Thomas Barbour to Cambridge and built a second center for ornithology. At the Museum of Comparative Zoology he worked until 1948 as assistant curator of ornithology, before he was eventually promoted to a research ornithologist and editor.

During his time at the American Museum of Natural History Griscom took part in many expeditions. So he was in 1917 in Nicaragua, in 1924 and 1927 in Panama and in 1926 in Yucatán. During his time at Harvard, he went in 1930 on a research trip to Guatemala. In Panama, in Guaymí Indian territory, he gained nine new species or its subspecies. On his travels he was observing also full of passion the respective plants. On one of these botanical trips in 1925 in Newfoundland, he may learn to Edith Sumner Sloan, whom he married on 14 September 1926. Both had three children named Edith, Andrew and Joan.

Ludlow Griscom was active in many clubs and organizations. He was also a member of the American Ornithologists ' Union. In 1949 he suffered his first stroke in 1956 followed with a trip to Mexico another. In the same year he was elected president of the American Ornithologists ' Union. He accepted the election pro forma, left office but right back down. Despite warnings of doctors and confined to a wheelchair, he broke with Edith in 1958 on a journey to Africa and Europe. Through this last trip Griscom came to more than 3000 different species of birds, which he had observed in his life.

Writings

  • Birds of the New York City region, American Museum of Natural History, New York 1923
  • Together with Maunsell Schieffelin Crosby: Birds of the Brownsville region, southern Texas, The Auk, Vol 42 (3 ), 1925, pp. 432-440
  • Obituaries: Maunsell Schieffelin Crosby, The Auk, Vol 48 (2 ), 1931, pp. 320-322
  • Distribution of bird life in Guatemala, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 154: 15-77, 1932
  • Ornithology of the Republic of Panama, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 711 (3): 269-289, 1935
  • A mono- graphic study of the Red Crossbill, Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 41 (5): 77-209, 1937
  • Modern bird study, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1945
  • Together with Edith Folger: Birds of Nantucket, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1948
  • Birds of the Concord region, a study of population trends, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1949
  • Together with Herbert Friedman and Robert Thomas Moore: Distributional check -list of the birds of Mexico, Pt. I, Pacific Coast Avifauna, no 29, 1950
  • Together with Dorothy Snyder: Birds of Massachusetts, Salem Peabody Museum, Salem 1955
  • Together with Alden Holmes Miller, Herbert Friedmann and Robert Thomas Moore: Distributional check -list of the birds of Mexico, Pt. II, Pacific Coast Avifauna, no 33: Page 1-436, 1957
  • Together with Guy Emerson: Birds of Martha 's Vineyard, Martba 's Vineyard, Massachusetts in 1959

First descriptions

Ludlow Griscom was involved in many original descriptions of genera and species, or has even described.

Genera

Together with Jonathan Dwight and John Treadwell Nichols, he has described the following fish and bird species:

  • Xenotriccus ( Dwight & Griscom, 1927)
  • Acanthocleithron ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Amarginops ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Gnathobagrus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Microstomatichthyoborus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)

Birds

The following new species have been described by Griscom:

  • Western White-throated Ant panties ( Myrmotherula ignota ) ( Griscom, 1929)
  • Griscom - Buschammer ( Pselliophorus luteoviridis ) ( Griscom, 1924)
  • Tacarcunabuschtangare ( Chlorospingus tacarcunae ) ( Griscom, 1924)
  • Chest band Schnäppertyrann ( Xenotriccus callizonus ) ( Dwight & Griscom, 1927)
  • Schwarzwangenhabia ( Habia atrimaxillaris ) ( Dwight & Griscom, 1924)
  • Atitlantaucher ( Podilymbus gigas ) ( Griscom, 1929)

The taxon Woodhen ( Gallirallus conditicius ) ( Peters & Griscom, 1928 ) is regarded as invalid because Philip Sclater Lutley had this already under the name Gallirallus sylvestris ( PL Sclater, 1870) described.

In addition, Ludlow described a lot of subspecies such as Margarornis rubiginosus boultoni. Together with Peters, he has also described the taxon for the potentially extinct Ebon purple crown pigeon ( Ptilinopus porphyraceus marshallianus ) from Micronesia.

Fish species

  • Acanthocleithron chapini ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Alestes carmesinus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Amarginops Platus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Barbus atromaculatus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Barbus candens ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Chelaethiops congicus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Distichodus langi ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Doumea alula ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Garra ornate ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Gnathobagrus depressus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Hippopotamyrus retrodorsalis ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Hypsopanchax platysternus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Labeo cyclopinnis ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Labeo sorex ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Microstomatichthyoborus bashforddeani ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Raiamas salmolucius ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)
  • Tetracamphilius notatus ( Nichols & Griscom, 1917)

Dedikationsnamen

In honor of Griscom some authors have designated a subspecies with griscomi. The following Dedikationsnamen were named after Ludlow Griscom:

  • Palmenzwergkauz ( Glaucidium palmarum griscomi ) ( Moore, RT, 1947)
  • Meadowlark ( Sturnella magna griscomi ) (van Tyne & Trautman, 1941)
  • Tuberkelhokko ( crax griscomi rubra ) ( Nelson, 1926)
  • Western Waldschnäppertyrann ( Contopus sordidulus griscomi ) ( Webster, 1957)
  • House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus griscomi ) ( Moore, RT, 1939)
  • Einfarbhäher ( Aphelocoma unicolor griscomi ) (van Rossem, 1928)
May 28 Cambridge (Massachusetts) Electronic keyboard Genus Atitlán Grebe James Lee Peters Edward William Nelson
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