My first idea was the Carolina wren as well. One problem is that both it
and the waterthrush were unlikely in Ohio north of Chillicothe at the
time. Wilson (1828) said the wren was rare as far north as Pennsylvania
(he investigated Ohio along Lake Erie and the Ohio River, but not in the
interior); Ohio's first ornithologist Kirtland (1838) wrote: "The Great
Carolina Wren was common at Cincinnati the last winter. I have not seen
it north of that city." Since that time, though this species has proven
vulnerable to hard winters, it's inclined to nest farther north than two
hundred years ago. Right now, it seems the Columbus-area population was
thumped by the -13 degrees F temperatures this past winter, for example.
Of the waterthrush (and most ornithologists of the time lumped the
Louisiana and northern waterthrushes), Wilson said pretty much the same
thing: rare in PA, but common further south; he also paradoxically says
it passed through PA on its way north (undoubtedly the confused sister
species). Kirtland says a few stay to nest in Ohio, but most passed to
the north in migration--again confusing the two. The waterthrush's song
does sound spookier than the wren's, I'll admit. It looks like either of
these species would be decidedly uncommon between Chillicothe and the
Lake at the time. But the text Bob quotes does say this bird was "not
often seen," and "uncommon." You have to hope a bird of ill omen would
not be seen every day!
Bill Whan
Columbus
Scott Moody wrote:
> From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Bob Evans,
> Geologist, etc.
> Hopewell Township, Muskingum County
>
> wrote:
>
> Subject: Daniel Boone's Ohio bird riddle
>
> The old English vernacular "sparrow" just means a small bird so which
> little bird would start singing a lot when disturbed? And be inhabiting
> clearings, not woodlands, but cleared areas that would be devoted to maize,
> beans, pumpkins, etc.? Certainly not a Louisiana Waterthrush; I would
> instead suggest the Carolina Wren
>
> Scott Moody
> Ohio University
>
from Bob Evans:
...Daniel Boone spent considerable time in Ohio, mostly either fighting
the “Indians,” (Miami and Shawnee) or as their captive. A couple
chapters describe customs he observed while a prisoner of the Shawnee.
Ultimately his bravery and backwoods skills resulted in his being
adopted by a prominent Shawnee widow. “He often accompanied them in
their hunting excursions, wandering with them over the extent of forest
between Chillicothe and lake Erie.”
One passage that is relevant here is, “There is in that country a
sparrow, of an uncommon species, and not often seen. This bird is called
in the Shawnese dialect by a name importing “kind messenger,” which they
deem always a true omen, whenever it appears, of bad news. They are
exceedingly intimidated whenever this bird sings near them; and were it
to perch and sing over their war-camp, the whole party would instantly
disperse in consternation and dismay.”
I wonder what it is, or was? Does anybody know? Maybe it is extinct. I
suppose it may not even be a sparrow, given that this is a
mid-nineteenth century account of incidents from 1778, but it was
probably a small brown bird, thus a “sparrow.” It was “uncommon” but
certainly well-known among the Shawnee. It had a song of sufficient
clarity and duration to be regarded as a message of warning. We’re not
talking Henslow’s here. It lived in the primordial forests of Ohio, and
would at least sometimes perch in the trees, and so it could be “over
their war-camp.”
This passage certainly illustrates that both the native Americans and
Daniel Boone were familiar with bird song and bird identification, which
I think is pretty cool.
My favorite candidate is Louisiana waterthrush. Any other thoughts or
suggestions?
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