> With discussion of the capture, release and tracking of the
> Night Parrot, by Dr Steve Murphy 'the world's foremost expert
> on the night parrot', we seem to have forgotten the person
> that made all this possible.
I doubt that would ever happen. His name is in every article that's been
published about it since the discovery - perhaps with diminishing frequency,
but still there - and lots of us have attended his talks in numerous locations.
I'm sure his name will be mentioned in any papers that are eventually published.
While Steve Murphy might have by now overtaken John as the foremost expert, or
will eventually, surely that's inevitable and expected.
> I attended one of John Young's talks last year and was
> captivated by his story of 17000 hours searching for the
> parrot. I was left with the indelible impression it was his
> single-minded perseverance, that he stuck with this raison
> d'être. The rest is history; John found the current population.
I doubt anyone would dispute that.
> I only wish Steve well with the current ecological study - a
> study which I understand John has been excluded. The birding
> community, however, should not allow John to become a
> footnote to this story. Since John's exclusion, the herculean
> value of his effort is highlighted by the premise (again my
> understanding) that no new populations of the parrot have been found.
While it's generally true that original discoverers end up forgotten by many, I
think it's going to take longer than usual in this case.
> I believe that John's story of finding a parrot, thought to
> be extinct, is the story. The rest is necessary icing on the cake.
I was under the impression that very few people thought it was extinct. I'm
really interested in the icing.
Peter Shute
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