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The Beginnings of Modern Ornithology in Venezuela*†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Yolanda Texera Arnal
Yolanda Texera Arnal*
Affiliation:
Caracas, Venezuela
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Extract

Among all the zoological species, birds are the easiest to observe and study. Their diurnal habits, the songs, and visual features make them conspicuous. These characteristics have made birds one of the bestknown animal groups even though ornithologists do not make up a large community among zoologists. For Ernst Mayr, an ornithologist who has made significant contributions that go beyond his own field, the accessibility of birds to research has allowed ornithologists to make important discoveries in several new fields of biology, ranging “from new systematics and speciation research to endocrinology and behavioral biology.”

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 58 , Issue 4 , April 2002 , pp. 601 - 622
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 2002

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Footnotes

*

Acknowledgments: To Miguel Lentino, Roger Pérez-Hernández y Hebe Vessuri for the comments made to the manuscript.

†

Translated by Julieta Fombona

References

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31 Mayr, Ernst & Phelps, William H. Jr., “The Origin of the Bird Fauna of the South Venezuelan Highlands,” Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 136 (1967), pp.309–327;Google Scholar published also in Spanish: “Origen de la avifauna de las altiplanicies del sur de Venezuela,” Bol.Soc.Ven.Cienc.Nat. 121 (1971), pp. 305–401.

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49 Proof of this are the numerous memoranda sent by Medina Padilla to the Ministry of Agriculture, asking for support, as well as many articles published in local newspapers for many years describing the decay of the Station.

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52 From the class of 1959, worked for some years as an ornithologist.

53 In the Museum's archives there are many letters and memoranda between 1944 and 1958 describing the Museum's situation. One in particular calls attention to its many problems and weaknesses: From J. M. Cruxent to J. A. Escalona (in charge of Cultural Affairs), Caracas, December, 27, 1952 (Museum's Archives).

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