The following article appeared in the Birding Community E-Bulletin,
https://www.refugeassociation.org/birding-community-e-bulletin. Reprinted with permission.”
Florence McBride has created two books to celebrate the “Birds of
Connecticut” exhibit at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. The
exhibit itself originally featured the brilliant taxidermist work of
David H. Parsons, who spent years preparing the mounts, revealing the
birds in natural positions and illustrating behavior as well as
essential field marks. With well over 300 specimens, the collection is a
guide to the birds of Connecticut as well as a brilliant work of art.
The project began in August 2019, when McBride learned that the museum
planned to eliminate this unique Connecticut exhibit. (Even these plans
have been short-circuited by Covid-19.) What Flo McBride did was
photograph all the species, and divide the exhibit into two digital
books, using the Shutterfly website.
Copies of both books will be placed in the Peabody’s archives and the
ornithology library, to document what McBride believes to be one of the
most important achievements of the museum’s staff, and one of the most
significant resources the Peabody offers to the public.
Anyone who would like to see a copy of one or both of the books on the
web can contact McBride at fmcb_warbler@yahoo.com and she will set up a
link.
You can also download a short 27-page version of the book here:
https://celeryfarm.typepad.com/files/bsofct_bookselection_forj.wright_smfile.pdf