One of the qualities that makes Thoreau so appealing to American readers is his
humanity. Despite his leading position in the pantheon of American writers,
naturalists, and philosophers, it is comforting to note that, like all of us,
Thoreau was human. He made mistakes. Thoreau loved birds as fiercely as any of
us who subscribe to this service. But a careful review of his writing will show
that he sometimes made identification errors. For instance, he famously seemed
unable to distinguish Wood Thrushes and Hermit Thrushes, and simply lumped the
two species as Wood Thrushes. Common names for some birds in the mid-19th
Century were different than now, but I suspect Thoreau sometimes made up names
for those birds he might not have been sure off - Yellow Warblers were simply
Summer Yellowbirds; Black and White Warblers were Black and White Creepers;
Flickers were called Pigeon Woodpeckers; and so on. But small errors or not,
there is no question of his
passion for birds. Today, July 12, is the 196th anniversary of Thoreau's
birth, and the Friends of Huntley Meadows urge birders to review Thoreau's
writings and learn his bird lore, errors and all.
Harry Glasgow
Friends of Huntley Meadows park
