Location
Jeremiah E. "Jerry" Stillwell
Years: 1887–1959 | Role: Ornithologist | County: Dallas
Topics
Description
Stillwell had a long interest in birds. He wrote The Checklist of Birds of Dallas County, Texas (1939), with sponsorship from the Dallas Ornithological Society. After retiring as a technical editor with the American Petroleum Institute in 1948, Stillwell and his wife, Norma, sold many of their belongings, and undertook a nomadic life as pioneering recorders and analysts of bird songs, in collaboration with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Together, they created the three-volume audio collection, Bird Songs of Dooryard, Field, and Forest. After his death in 1959, Norma published the book, Bird Songs: The Adventure and Techniques in Recording the Songs of American Birds (1964), chronicling their explorations in wildlife sound recording.
Location Notes
Perhaps a historic marker could be placed at the Trinity River Audubon Center, at 6500 Great Trinity Forest Way in Dallas, honoring the ornithological contributions of both Jerry and Norma Stillwell.
Bibliography
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Norma and Jerry Stillwell, Songs of Dooryard, Field, and Forest, vol. 1 (Old Greenwich, CT: Ficker Record Service, manufactured by Columbia Records, Inc., early 1950s), 33 rpm vinyl LP.
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Norma and Jerry Stillwell, Songs of Dooryard Field and Forest, Volume 2 (Old Greenwich, CT: Ficker Record Service, manufactured by Columbia Records, Inc., early 1950s), 33 rpm vinyl LP.
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Norma and Jerry Stillwell, Songs of Dooryard, Field and Forest, Volume 3 (Old Greenwich, CT: Ficker Record Service, manufactured by Columbia Records, Inc., early 1950s), 33 rpm vinyl LP.
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Norma Stillwell, Bird Songs: Adventures and Techniques in Recording the Songs of American Birds (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1964).