American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus: an historic first for Essex
Travers, demonstrating the 19th century habit of using phonetic spelling.
Research on Robert Miller Christy
Glegg (1929) referenced Clarke (1839), apparently about "remarks on some of the rarer birds of the
Saffron Walden area". Effie Warr at the Natural Histon' Museum finally tracked this reference
down, but the essence of this article was that collectors should donate rarer bird specimens to the
museum rather than mentioning specific rarities already donated.
The Internet proved a very useful ally: the Historic Manuscripts Commission (HMC) website scanning
on "Christy" produced the Bridson et al. (1980) reference that 1 traced on the Natural History
Museum's web site. Effie Warr provided with me details of the Christy reference within Bridson et
al (1980):
CHRISTY, Robert M. Original manuscripts, essays, and articles on natural history,
archaeology, and other subjects ...A journal of observations on natural history
archaeology, etc. ... 15 Sept. 1877 - 30 June 1925, 3 vols.
HELD - PASSMORE EDWARDS MUSEUM
I contacted Dr Peter Allen of the Essex Field Club with this new information to see if this could be
traced in the club's museum. Unfortunately Ken Shaw could not find these volumes, so this line of
research was closed. However, having found labels compiled by Joseph Clarke (Clarke 1845 approx.),
which were referenced by Christy (1890), this was not such a disappointment.
Summary
Research has shown that few Bitterns were obtained in Essex in the 1820-30s, so individual specimens
are easy to trace (see Appendix B). The American Bittern was donated by Jabez Gibson, a founder
member and trustee of the Saffron Walden Natural History Society. The society's collection was
housed in Hill Street, Saffron Walden, in the days before the Museum opened in 1835 (Pole 1985).
No other bitterns from foreign countries were purchased or donated up to 1845, as confirmed in
Clarke's Catalogue (Clarke 1845) and Maynard (1892, 1897). There is some confusion in Christy's
1883 Catalogue regarding Jabez Gibson/W Davis and Salmon/Tuck specimens, but this has been
very simple to explain and resolve. The American Bittern details all corroborate in the Museum's
first Catalogue (1832-25) as follows:
Donor Jabez Gibson: (A), (B), (E)
Locality Wenden: (C), Christy (1883), Maynard (1892), base of specimen
Saffron Walden: (A)
Date 1826: (C), (E), base of specimen
Artist Travers: (A), (B), (E)
Cost £1 0():(A),(B), (E)
Sex Female: (A), (B)
The location of Wenden was straightforward. In Margary (1975), plate 17 included a copy of an
Ordnance Survey map of 1801 and Wenden would now be in the centre of Wendens Ambo. Wet/
marshy areas were indicated on the River Cam, particularly towards Audley End. Reaney (1969)
also referred to Wenden and indicated that this was the original name of the river valley that runs in
a west to east direction through Wendens Ambo.
32
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 19 (2002)