MRS BAILEY’S CHICKADEE

By linking the name of our Newsletter, The Mountain Chickadee, to a bird species that is characteristic of our area, we join many other Audubon chapters in recognizing our focus on birds, other wildlife, and habitat. Naming our publication after a bird is also part of a long tradition in ornithology. This article describes the close historical ties that the Mountain Chickadee has to Santa Fe. The artwork on the Newsletter masthead showing the Mountain Chickadee (displayed below) is courtesy of Barbara Mandrus, a former member of our Board of Directors. Continue reading to learn about the the bird's connection to Mrs. Bailey.

The Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) was discovered (by Western science) by the well-known early ornithologist William Gambel (1823-1849) “in the mountains about a day’s journey west of Santa Fe” (likely in the Jemez) in 1841. Although his name is well represented in ornithology, botany, and herpetology in the names of organisms he either discovered or that were named in his honor, he made only one trip to the Southwest. He arrived in New Mexico over the Santa Fe trail via Raton Pass, and spent most of June and July in Santa Fe.  He then left for California over the Old SpanishTrail, discovering in Nevada the quail for which he is known and later in California, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, the Oak Titmouse, and the Wrentit. He returned to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 1845 after a trip around the Horn. The Chickadee specimen he obtained, upon which he based his description, has been lost. Although Gambel was a student of Thomas Nuttall, he apparently did not impress John Cassin of the Academy with his careful scholarship – he described the quail as having been found “some distance west” of California – and so did not get the job he desired at the Academy in 1848. Gambel had begun studying to become a medical doctor in 1846 and planned to settle in California and was on his way to meet his bride in San Francisco in 1849 when he died of typhoid fever contracted while aiding sick miners on the Feather River in California after a grueling trip through Wyoming, Utah, and northern Nevada, crossing the Sierras in Winter. 

Known variously over time as Mrs. Bailey’s Chickadee, Barlow’s Chickadee, and Grinnell’s Chickadee, the Mountain Chickadee was originally described by Gambel as Parus montanus, not realizing that this name was “taken” by the Willow Tit of Europe. Cassin had also noted his impatience with literature reviews. Robert Ridgway later corrected the scientific name to honor its discoverer but today’s common name recognizes Gambel’s original description. The generic name was changed from Parus to Poecile quite recently. Although the name well-characterizes the habitat in which it is found, it is unfortunate that the designation as Mrs. Bailey’s Chickadee fell out of favor. Florence Merriam Bailey was a noted ornithologist of New Mexico and the Southwest. Her 1927 book, Birds of New Mexico, is a masterpiece both of ornithological description and of good writing. Given the number of birds named after the wives, daughters, and sisters of ornithologists, it is a pity that this notable female ornithologist is not commemorated by the name of a bird first discovered in the state where she made her most substantial contribution. Florence’s brother, C. Hart Merriam and husband, Vernon Bailey, were both notable naturalists as well.