Roger Tory Peterson

[Ima Sikfuk]

Author, teacher, artist, naturalist, ornithologist. Almost single-handedly took the study of nature (birds in particular) and made it accessible to the non-scientist. His 1934 "Field Guide to the Birds" is considered the first modern field guide. He developed the "Peterson Identification System" which stressed features that would help the user of the field guide identify species in the field. This method was instrumental in helping binoculars and spotting scopes replace the shotgun in the latter part of the 20th century that field collectors relied on, making bird-watching accessible to all. His identification system was later used in an entire series of "Peterson Filed Guides" for everything from animal tracks to stars and planets.
I got my first "Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds " when I was 9 or 10 years old, this was soon followed by his "Birds of Texas" (which sadly has not been updated since 1963), "Field Guide to the Western Birds" (which covered the US west of the 100th Meridian), "Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe", "Reptiles and Amphibians", "Wildflowers", "Butterflies, etc, etc. Even took up drawing birds (never could paint though). The man was an idol of sorts to me. In 1990 went with my brother and sister-in-law to Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park in the Lower Rio Grande Valley to see if we could find a Mexican bird (a Masked Tityra) which had shown up there. As we drove into the park, my brother spied an elderly gentleman walking towards the park entrance and stopped to chat the fellow up for information about the bird. As they were talking, something about the old gentleman struck me as vaguely familiar. Once we parked, got out, found the herd of people and saw the bird, someone mentioned "Peterson saw it" and it struck me...my brother had been talking to Roger Tory Peterson, the man was less than 5 feet from me and I didn't even realize it!
Mr. Peterson, who was born August 28, 1908 in Jamestown, NY, passed away July 28, 1996 at his home in Old Lyme, CT.

As a young man





Not my old field guide but real similar, except I long ago lost the dust jacket.


Example of his artwork...this is much more detailed than what appeared in the field guides...The Peterson Field Guides are now much more detailed than they were when I was a young'un.

[guardmom2008]

Great story. Wow how lucky for your brother to have been talking to him.

[RubySlippers]

neat story. thanks.

[ratkin638]

When I was growing up, a copy of "A Field Guide To The Birds" sat on a shelf near window over the kitchen sink. That window had the best view of our backyard, and my mother always had the book there so she could look up unusual visitors. (My mother's copy [which she still has] has to be at least 60 years old, and is in better condition that the one pictured above!)

[MorbidMolly]

We always had a copy by the kitchen window where one of our bird feeders was....wow, nice to know the story of the man behind it.....

[Frazzzld Kat]

When I was growing up, a copy of "A Field Guide To The Birds" sat on a shelf near window over the kitchen sink. That window had the best view of our backyard, and my mother always had the book there so she could look up unusual visitors. (My mother's copy [which she still has] has to be at least 60 years old, and is in better condition that the one pictured above!)

I wonder if the book is a collectable now? Specially since he has passed on. Hopefully your mom will pass the book to you at some point.