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| Mountain Mockingbirds & Thrushes |
Well for one thing, these wondrous feathered creatures have
inspired humankind for thousands of years. Also birds keep us connected to
nature, densely populated city. Even though, many of us live in towns, large
and small; you only have to look out your window to see some bird species living
right along beside us. I even captured a photo of a large tom turkey finding
little juicy tidbits in my yard last week. We are constantly reminded we live
as part of the natural world and its creatures. We love their song, from the
call of a bluejay, the soft hooting of an owl at night, or the call of ducks,
wild geese or even swans overhead, they enthrall and delight us. So it is no
wonder, to me, anyway, why these bird lovers spent so much of their lives
studying, drawing and chronicling species of birds.
John Gould was an English ornithologist who lived 1804 to
1881 as well as an accomplished and critically acclaimed bird artist. Along
with his wife, Elizabeth, and other artists, such as Edward Lear and William
Hart, he published a number of
monographs on birds with illustrated plates. In Australia,
he is been considered the “Father of bird study” and the Gould League is named
after him.
