On the Wing #33: (BRO) Bonaparte Vs. Coues

It's time for round 2 in the search for the Babe Ruth of Ornithology! This weeks contestants are Charles Lucien Bonaparte and Elliott Coues! The format will be the same as last weeks with a brief blurb about each contestants background and achievements and a summary of each of the positive and negative contributions they gave to ornithology. So without further adieu, here are this weeks contestants:

As the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, he conquered the birds of the North American continent, not for glory, but instead for science!

Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803-1857) was the nephew of the Corsican-born ruler of France that everyone knows from history class, but this isn't his story. This Bonaparte was one of the most gifted, foreign-born ornithologists that ever graced America's shores and his work helped to cement him into the annals of ornithological history. Even before arriving the U.S., he discovered a new species of Old World warbler and upon arrival in the New World presented a paper describing a new species of storm-petrel that would later carry Alexander Wilson's name. Also in a service to Wilson, he revised and updated "American Ornithology", Wilson's groundbreaking book covering over 200 species of birds with hand drawn illustrations and information on size, weight, habitat, habits, and other vital information.

After returning to Europe in 1826, he continued his work with biology and ornithology by lecturing and presenting European and American styles of ornithology. He also created the genus Zenaida in honor of his wife Zénaïde which today represents the Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) and six other species of "Zenaida" doves. Later in the 1840s, he started devising his own methodology for categorizing the birds of the world. Always moving, always trying to do more and more, Mr. Bonaparte certainly did his part to become as recognized and useful to the ornithological community. For that we thank him, by remembering his name in the form of an uncommon winter gull by the name of Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia).

With a beard and shooting ability to rival the Duck Commander, the man was a bird collecting machine!

Elliott Coues (pronounced "cows") (1842-1899) was perhaps the most persnickety, cantankerous, most hardcore shotgun ornithologist in the trade. The man lived, breathed, and advocated for the old school practice of blasting everything and anything with feathers to build up a reputable collection in order to truly know the birds in a given area. Co-founder of the American Ornithologists Union (advocating for the rights of all its member to safe and correct binocular handling, as well as, the right to bird where ever and whenever its members desire) and a prolific writer of ornithological science, Coues left his footprint in the study forever. He also pioneered the trinomial systematics which dictated subspecies, as well as listing those subspecies in his own guide to North American birds called "Key to North American Birds". 

Despite his great leaps in ornithological study, Coues had a sustained dislike for the early birders that were emerging out of the ether in the late 1800s. He would go to his death, decrying the "opera glass fiends" as he called them and denounced their attempts at cataloging birds using sight records instead of having the bird in hand. He was the literal living progenitor of the proverb "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush". After reading the chapter entitled "Shotgun Ornithology" in Scott Weidensaul's "Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding", it was appalling to read Coues's recommendation on what a true ornithologist should have in regards to specimens. He suggested that a budding collector should have at least several specimens of male, female, immature, juvenile, and all transition plumages of common birds within the collectors area. Thinking about this, I can only imagine the hell some poor young collector had to go through in order to collect appropriate specimens of a Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) or Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) given that they take so long to mature, but also because it seemed every other industry in the U.S. wanted them for food, fashion, or swinging dead from a fence post. The toll of collecting, along with market hunting and habitat destruction did an injustice to the birds of North America. While such collecting is banned now, many species have never recovered to their former numbers. Despite all his achievements, Coues couldn't let his old ways go and probably would hate today's birders with the same fire-in-the-belly disdain for those very first "opera glass fiends".

Scores:

Charles Lucien Bonaparte:

• Updated and revised Wilson's book "American Ornithology" (1)
• Named and described several new species of bird including several named for Alexander Wilson (1)
• Presented on the merits of European and American Ornithology (1)
• Named the genus Zenaida for his wife (1)
• Attempted to categorize the birds of the world according to his own style (and apparently despite Linnaeus's contributions to the matter several decades earlier). (1/2)

Elliott Coues:

• Co-founded the American Ornithologists Union (1)
• Introduced and recommended the use of a trinomial systematic taxonomy that categorized subspecies of birds (and later other animals). (1)
• Prolific writer on a variety of subjects in the ornithological field. (1)
• Advocated the use of collecting bird specimens via shotgun as the only viable way to becoming a proper ornithologist. (-1)
• As a result, he was very resistant to the growing movement of bird watchers and derided them as "opera glass fiends". (-1)

And the scores are: Bonaparte - 4.5 / Coues - 1

As such Bonaparte beats Coues and moves on to face Sir Peter Scott in the quarterfinals! Hope you lovely watchers enjoyed this installment of the Babe Ruth of Ornithology. Have a great weekend and as always, happy birding ^_^.