Kirk's Woodpecker (1 Viewer)

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Here´s a guy (and a Bird) that I just happened to stumble upon, while checking the guy behind Kirk's White-eye Zosterops kirki SHELLEY 1880, commemorating Sir John Kirk (1832–1922)*, but the Woodpecker is not one of "his" birds. This time we´re dealing with ...

kirkii as in:
• the Red-rumped Woodpecker, a k a Kirk's Woodpecker Dryobates/Veniliornis kirkii MALHERBE 1845 (here) as "P. [Picus] (Cloropicus) Kirkii":

J'ai vu au Muséum Britannique deux exemplaires de cette espèce, et je crois que ce sont deux mâles; ils ont été envoyés de Tobago par M. Kirk, amateur zélé et instruit. Je leur ai donné son nom, sur la demande de M. Strickland.

As far as I can tell, following what little is told in the OD above, this ought to lead us to a M. (Monsieur) James Kirk (who possibly died in 1874?), thus, not to a, or any, "John Kirk" as is often claimed, also in today's Key:

kirki / kirkii
● ...
● John Kirk (fl. 1845) collector on Tobago (Dryobates).

In my notes (even if not included in my my MS) I have the (supposed) dedicatee, James Kirk (who I indeed think is "our guy") as: " ... lived in Tobago from January 1825 for forty-nine years. Noted as contributor of 421 specimens in Jardine's museum catalogue. Sent birds, nests and eggs, snakes and other specimens to Jardine, also birds to Strickland ..." (here). The same James Kirk is also known for his many (46) letters to Jardine, dated between 1826 and 1849.

No other years found, nor of his birth, nor his death (but it could be that he died in 1874, I didn´t search very far, the full story could very well be "out there").

Also (for example/s) see the following links; here, here, here and here (with Plate on the following page).

Could it (?) be this "James Kirk"? Tobago Governor in 1856, a Sugar and Coconut plantation owner (also see here, or/alt. here)?

Anyone who does know the full story (birth and death) of this guy?

Either way, just some observations ...

Enjoy!

Björn

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*Sir John Kirk (1832–1922), Scottish naturalist, botanist, doctor (physician) and stubborn slavery antagonist; who accompanied David Livingstone along the Zambezi River (1858–1863), and thereafter served as Consul to Zanzibar (1865–1887), and ditto of the Comoro Islands (from 1875), ennobled in 1879, ... etc. etc. (commemorated in quite a few Bird taxa, see the Key here)

 

[PScofield]

I believe the honouree must be James Kirk Snr

Birth 1801 Dumfries, Dumfries-shire, Scotland
Baptised 5 April 1801 Dumfries
Death 24 March 1874 Roxborough, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago

Best records are from the slave register. Between 1825 and 1835 he rapidly became richer and the number of slaves he owned increased from 3 to 19.
and by 1856 he was acting Govenor.

His opinions on racial distinctions are given in this paper (of 1868) https://www.jstor.org/stable/3025277 [warning this is not for the light hearted].

It was not his son (who was not born when the letters to Jardin began).

James Kirk Jnr
Birth 14 February 1830 Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago
Death 17 March 1896 Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago

However James Jnr was probably the author of the bird list in the 1884 book "A Handbook of the Island of Tobago" by Loraine Geddes Hay.

Gossip
James Kirk jun., was a member of the Executive Council, and Inspector of Inland Revenue officers and of the police, and arrested the former First Revenue Officer for embezzlement in 1879, but was himself jailed in 1885 for embezzlement. In turn his brother in law William Purser was suspended from his duties as District Medical Officer, Justice of the Peace and member of the Board of Education, for attempting unsuccessfully to assisting his wife’s brother in leaving Tobago.