AndrewEsposito
Member
Just posting some info relate to previous old threads I'm going to free-flow here, hopefully I'll be reasonably accurate! I'm surprised that 'Ted' is England born, as he was a good friend of George Munro, a New Zealander who accompanied H. C. Palmer (HCP) to the Hawaiian islands in December 1889. He met Palmer while Palmer was collecting for Rothschild in New Zealand. Cambridge Uni was stalled in bureaucracy while trying to engage a collector (eventually R.C. Perkins) and Palmer/Munro accepted Rothschild's request to head immediately to Oahu.
Eventually their business relationship soured and Munro's 12 month renewal of contract was declined by him (he was heading back to NZ to get married, as well). Munro recommended Wolstenholme as his replacement. And so, Wolstenholme and HCP became the new collecting team for Rothschild on Hawaii.
When Wolstenholme collected the soon to be named 'akepa Loxops coccineus wolstenholmei (1893), it was witnessed by RC Perkins - the Cambridge collector who was supposed to be competing against HCP and Wolstenholme. And that's another story.
Alfred Newton was convinced that the new find was actually Bloxam's Loxops coccineus rufa (1826) (HMS Blonde, Lord Byron expedition) - publicly casting doubts on Rothschild's new to science species - certainly not an unusual occurrence between the rivals at the time. Newton examined Bloxam's taxa, which still exists today, as do the Ferdinand Deppe & JK Townsend examples collected on Oahu in 1837.
More than 120 years later, the Oahu 'akepa species was separated as a third species and the 'rufa' relegated as a synonym of Loxops wolstenholmei.
This means that Ted discovered a species that had not been collected for science for more than 50 years and Rothschild's correct description of the bird and its true endemic location took precedence over naturalist and clergyman Bloxam's account.
The wonderful photo of Ted and his Mamo was likely taken by HCP. Ted was very proud of his association with the capture of the live bird ('as if somebody had sent my two bottles of whisky up'), albeit as a witness to a local birdcatcher (Ahulan) and his son whom had been contracted by HCP. Incidentally HCP was laid up in bed after being 'kicked by a horse' and missed one of the most astonishing ornithological moments of the 19th century.
After the picture was taken, Rothschild and HCP deemed the quarry too valuable to keep in case of escape and HCP killed the bird and prepared it as a specimen. It remains today in pristine condition, its tag denoting 'caught by a local birdwatcher for H.C. Palmer.' Rothschild included Wolstenholme's account (referenced as Palmer's "assistant" of the capture in his Avifauna of Laysan and the neighbouring islands... (Part III,p160-161). It's a mesmerising account, quoted in 'layman's vocabulary.'
Copies were made of the Ted and Mamo photograph and Wolstenholme gave a copy of the photograph to Munro after he returned with his family to live and work on Lanai. This is the copy that survives today.
Happy to see more info on the elusive Wolstenholme, especially post-Hawaii expedition.
Eventually their business relationship soured and Munro's 12 month renewal of contract was declined by him (he was heading back to NZ to get married, as well). Munro recommended Wolstenholme as his replacement. And so, Wolstenholme and HCP became the new collecting team for Rothschild on Hawaii.
When Wolstenholme collected the soon to be named 'akepa Loxops coccineus wolstenholmei (1893), it was witnessed by RC Perkins - the Cambridge collector who was supposed to be competing against HCP and Wolstenholme. And that's another story.
Alfred Newton was convinced that the new find was actually Bloxam's Loxops coccineus rufa (1826) (HMS Blonde, Lord Byron expedition) - publicly casting doubts on Rothschild's new to science species - certainly not an unusual occurrence between the rivals at the time. Newton examined Bloxam's taxa, which still exists today, as do the Ferdinand Deppe & JK Townsend examples collected on Oahu in 1837.
More than 120 years later, the Oahu 'akepa species was separated as a third species and the 'rufa' relegated as a synonym of Loxops wolstenholmei.
This means that Ted discovered a species that had not been collected for science for more than 50 years and Rothschild's correct description of the bird and its true endemic location took precedence over naturalist and clergyman Bloxam's account.
The wonderful photo of Ted and his Mamo was likely taken by HCP. Ted was very proud of his association with the capture of the live bird ('as if somebody had sent my two bottles of whisky up'), albeit as a witness to a local birdcatcher (Ahulan) and his son whom had been contracted by HCP. Incidentally HCP was laid up in bed after being 'kicked by a horse' and missed one of the most astonishing ornithological moments of the 19th century.
After the picture was taken, Rothschild and HCP deemed the quarry too valuable to keep in case of escape and HCP killed the bird and prepared it as a specimen. It remains today in pristine condition, its tag denoting 'caught by a local birdwatcher for H.C. Palmer.' Rothschild included Wolstenholme's account (referenced as Palmer's "assistant" of the capture in his Avifauna of Laysan and the neighbouring islands... (Part III,p160-161). It's a mesmerising account, quoted in 'layman's vocabulary.'
Copies were made of the Ted and Mamo photograph and Wolstenholme gave a copy of the photograph to Munro after he returned with his family to live and work on Lanai. This is the copy that survives today.
Happy to see more info on the elusive Wolstenholme, especially post-Hawaii expedition.
