CSI: Audubon
December 13, 2016 7:54 PM Subscribe
Audubon Magazine profiles Pepper Trail, Forensic Ornithologist.
Among his other accomplishments, Trail created the North American Feather Atlas.
Among his other accomplishments, Trail created the North American Feather Atlas.
The feather atlas alone is a treasure. I have this collection tattooed on my arm now.
posted by rtha at 8:37 PM on December 13, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by rtha at 8:37 PM on December 13, 2016 [10 favorites]
Nowadays the Feather Atlas, which doesn’t have any dedicated funding and is managed by a single volunteer and Trail, has grown into a digital destination that gets 1.4 million hits a year
Jesus.
posted by rtha at 8:42 PM on December 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Jesus.
posted by rtha at 8:42 PM on December 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
This is my new favorite thing.
posted by pipoquinha at 9:10 PM on December 13, 2016
posted by pipoquinha at 9:10 PM on December 13, 2016
Before I clicked on the actual links, I assumed Pepper Trail must be, like, Mark Trail's cousin or something, and this was a bird-centric spinoff strip.
But this dude is so cool that I'm not even disappointed:
posted by dersins at 9:30 PM on December 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
But this dude is so cool that I'm not even disappointed:
Give him a single feather or a small fragment of a claw or a cooked hunk of breast meat, and he’ll tell you the species of bird from which it came.!!!
posted by dersins at 9:30 PM on December 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Pepper Trail didn’t set out to make a name for himself in the dark world of avian-associated crimes. He was born in Virginia—his great-grandfather was Paris Pepper Trail, and his great-uncle was Peach TrailThis is great!
posted by Songdog at 4:48 AM on December 14, 2016 [3 favorites]
The interesting scientist and the story are great, that is. The crimes against protected species are awful.
posted by Songdog at 5:06 AM on December 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Songdog at 5:06 AM on December 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
This reminded me of the FPP about the retirement of the Caltech glassblower, in terms of the scientific community not having a ready replacement for someone who has a niche.
Your Feather Atlas tattoo is amazing, rtha.
Thanks for posting - I really enjoyed reading this. (Aside from, as Songdog says, the crimes against protected species. Those poor hummingbirds, all squeezed to death.)
posted by minsies at 7:01 AM on December 14, 2016
Your Feather Atlas tattoo is amazing, rtha.
Thanks for posting - I really enjoyed reading this. (Aside from, as Songdog says, the crimes against protected species. Those poor hummingbirds, all squeezed to death.)
posted by minsies at 7:01 AM on December 14, 2016
This is my new favorite thing.
The fact there is someone named Pepper Trail is my new favorite thing. That he speaks in this way is a bonus:
As familiar as Trail is with death, these hummingbirds pack an emotional punch. “Their very tininess makes them delightful and charming. Their extraordinary flying ability makes them impressive and awe-inspiring,” he says. “Our power compared to their power is so great that it seems particularly perverse and cruel to kill them.”
posted by NorthernLite at 8:33 AM on December 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
The fact there is someone named Pepper Trail is my new favorite thing. That he speaks in this way is a bonus:
As familiar as Trail is with death, these hummingbirds pack an emotional punch. “Their very tininess makes them delightful and charming. Their extraordinary flying ability makes them impressive and awe-inspiring,” he says. “Our power compared to their power is so great that it seems particularly perverse and cruel to kill them.”
posted by NorthernLite at 8:33 AM on December 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Somebody please write a series of cozy mysteries about this guy. PLEASE.
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:40 AM on December 14, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:40 AM on December 14, 2016 [3 favorites]
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posted by figurant at 8:14 PM on December 13, 2016