Melbourne R. Carriker (1915-2007)
Sat, 2007-03-03 11:44 — Vince Smith
Last week I received the news that the distinguished marine biologist Mel Carriker died of a massive stroke at the age of 92. Mel's father (Meb A. Carriker, 1879–1965), was one of the most prolific collectors of Neotropical birds in the history of ornithology. Meb was also the worlds leading authority on my favourite group of chewing lice - the Heptapsogasteridae, which parasitize Tinamiform birds (Tinamou) of South America. It was Meb Carriker's papers on tinamou lice that first attracted me to the study of lice. Mel accompanied Meb on many of his bird collecting expeditions, and recently published an account of these trips in the form of three books. These provide an extraordinary insight into his father’s remarkable life as an ornithologist and entomologist. It is a sad fact that many of the habitats in the places they visited have since been destroyed, and that populations of birds that perhaps only they obtained have since gone extinct (see Graves 1986).
Graves, G.R. 1986 Geographic variation in the White-mantled Barbet (Capito hypoleucus) of Colombia (Aves: Capitonidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 99: 61–64.
Last week I received the news that the distinguished marine biologist Mel Carriker died of a massive stroke at the age of 92. Mel's father (Meb A. Carriker, 1879–1965), was one of the most prolific collectors of Neotropical birds in the history of ornithology. Meb was also the worlds leading authority on my favourite group of chewing lice - the Heptapsogasteridae, which parasitize Tinamiform birds (Tinamou) of South America. It was Meb Carriker's papers on tinamou lice that first attracted me to the study of lice. Mel accompanied Meb on many of his bird collecting expeditions, and recently published an account of these trips in the form of three books. These provide an extraordinary insight into his father’s remarkable life as an ornithologist and entomologist. It is a sad fact that many of the habitats in the places they visited have since been destroyed, and that populations of birds that perhaps only they obtained have since gone extinct (see Graves 1986).
Meb's three recent books are listed below:
- Vista Nieve. The Remarkable, True Adventures of an Early Twentieth-century Naturalist and His Family in Colombia, South America.—M. R. Carriker. 2001. Blue Mantle Press, Rio Hondo, Texas. xiii + 313 pp., 56 figures, 3 maps. ISBN 0-9665485-2-3. Paperback, $18.95. Order from Amazon UK or US.
- Experiences of an Ornithologist Along the Highways and Byways of Bolivia. Collecting Birds in an Isolated, Magnificent Land in the Nineteen Thirties.—M. A. Carriker, Jr. Edited by M. R. Carriker and R. C. Dalgleish. 2006. Author House, Bloomington, Indiana. xxiii + 452 pp., 28 fi gures, 1 map, 2 appendices. ISBN 1-4208-8352-6 (e). Paperback, $22.99. Order from Amazon UK or US.
- The Bird Call of the Río Beni. Adventures of Father and Son on an Ornithological Expedition in the Jungles of Western Bolivia, South America in 1934–1935. A Diary with Commentary.—M. R. Carriker. 2006. Narrative Press, Crabtree, Oregon. 225 pp., 2 tables, photo- graphs. ISBN I-58976-290-8. Paperback, $26.95. Order from Amazon UK or US.
Meb (left) and Mel Carriker (right), skinning birds and collecting lice in Chiñiri, Bolivia, 1934. The bird on the front corner of the table is a tinamou.
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