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Sacred Ibis: The Ornithology of Canon Henry Baker Tristram, DD, FRS
Henry Baker Tristram was a surprising and remarkable man: explorer, ornithologist, and priest. With his wild beard (for which he required special permission from his bishop) he undertook expeditions to the Sahara and Palestine at a time when doing so was even more fraught with danger than it is today. As a founding member of the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU), he contributed regularly to its journal, Ibis, as well as other scientific journals. Tristram’s nickname in the BOU was “Sacred Ibis”.
Tristram was a collector par excellence, acquiring extensive collections running to tens of thousands of specimens, primarily of birds, but also of plants, fish, mammals, insects, molluscs, geological samples and archaeological material. He was the first scientist to support Charles Darwin in print, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1868 supported by his great friend Alfred Newton as well as Darwin.
Professor J. B. Cragg, an eminent Zoologist at Durham University, described Tristram as “the most important biological scientist to have emerged from Durham.” Tristram took part in the famous “Oxford debate” between Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford and Thomas Huxley. This led to the unfortunate and incorrect assumption that Tristram subsequently gave up his support of Darwin.
This book follows Tristram’s epic adventures and love for birds—from his boyhood on the moors of Northumberland to his time as a Residentiary Canon of Durham Cathedral—and the people that influenced him—from his dislike of Gladstone whom he met as a fresher in Oxford to the offer of the Bishopric of Jerusalem by Disraeli (which Tristram declined). In the book are over 80 colour plates and a reproduction of Darwin’s first letter to Tristram.
Tristram was a collector par excellence, acquiring extensive collections running to tens of thousands of specimens, primarily of birds, but also of plants, fish, mammals, insects, molluscs, geological samples and archaeological material. He was the first scientist to support Charles Darwin in print, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1868 supported by his great friend Alfred Newton as well as Darwin.
Professor J. B. Cragg, an eminent Zoologist at Durham University, described Tristram as “the most important biological scientist to have emerged from Durham.” Tristram took part in the famous “Oxford debate” between Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford and Thomas Huxley. This led to the unfortunate and incorrect assumption that Tristram subsequently gave up his support of Darwin.
This book follows Tristram’s epic adventures and love for birds—from his boyhood on the moors of Northumberland to his time as a Residentiary Canon of Durham Cathedral—and the people that influenced him—from his dislike of Gladstone whom he met as a fresher in Oxford to the offer of the Bishopric of Jerusalem by Disraeli (which Tristram declined). In the book are over 80 colour plates and a reproduction of Darwin’s first letter to Tristram.
406 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2016
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July 29, 2023
An awe-inspiring journey of dedication and determination despite the threats of bandits and internecine tribal warfare to explore the avian wonders of a land yet not fully known to the science of natural history, in the late 1800s. Whether it is Tristram, Hodgson, Jerdon, Gould or Hume, the spirit of adventure and the depth of observations from the pioneering ornithologists is humbling and makes one wonder whether such great names will ever be produced in this field. Agree, it is a bit dry at times, but overall I rate it 5 out 5.
Displaying 1 of 1 review