Hi Tweeters,

In response to Ian Paulsen?s question of summer BIRD book readings, two
that I?ve recently read come to mind.

The first is ?Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the
Columbia River? by John Kirk Townsend. It is an OSU Press Northwest
Reprint published in 1999. Townsend was invited by Thomas Nuttall to
join the ?Second Age of Discovery? expedition in 1834 from
Independence, Missouri to the Oregon Coast. His first hand description
of this nearly four-year trip builds on the previous experiences of
Lewis and Clark in 1804, but from the point of view of an
ornithologist. In the appendix his ?Catalogue of Birds Found in the
Territory of the Oregon? including the new species discovered by
Townsend is interesting to compare with current species found in the
Northwest. One species not listed by Townsend in his catalog is Sterna
caspia and perhaps gives a clue as to whether or not the Caspian Tern
was found historically on the Columbia.

The second book which I?ve just finished concludes with the hypothesis
of Peter and Rosemary Grant that ?crossbreeding among Darwin?s Finches
suggests that hybridization plays a larger role in evolution than was
previously thought. Galapagos Ground Finches do breed across species
and their hybrid offspring can thrive where conditions favor
intermediate types?. The Grants also speculate that under strict
phylogenetic or breeding-population definition of species, only six
separate species of Darwin?s Finches may exist not the traditional
fourteen. How about the many other species of birds where
hybridization is also know to occur?

The book is ?Evolution?s Workshop: God and Science on the Galapagos
Islands? by Edward J. Larson, Basic Books, 2001. This book describes
the historical context of how this archipelago has become the ?Mecca?
of scientists and especially biologists. The book was of special
interest to Sandi and I, since we had the privilege of spending several
months camping and living with the flora and fauna on Espanola and
Plaza Islands while doing research on the Lava Lizard and Land Iguana.

Larson describes in detail the ways of knowing fact like evolution in
the Galapagos. He describes the debate between David lack and the
Grants about which is of greater significance in the evolution of
Darwin?s Finches, environmental factors such as food or interspecific
competition. This is only one example of the many ideas about
evolution which these islands have promulgated.

He states that these islands ?due to their historical and ongoing
significance for evolutionary thought and the impact of such thinking
on religious belief, the Galapagos Islands stand at the crossroads of
science and religion. For scientists and visitors alike, they can be a
spiritual place?. Amen!!

Both book are highly recommended and raise more questions than they
answer.

Don McVay
Queen Anne, Seattle
dmcvay at cmc.net