Abstract
Mrs. Elizabeth L. Kerr was a bird and mammal collector who traveled to Colombia in the early 20th century when women had very limited access to education or scientific expeditions. Despite her notable contributions to Colombian ornithology, including collecting the holotype of a new species to science (Chocó Tinamou—Crypturellus kerriae), her name is not mentioned in historical accounts of ornithology in Colombia. Here, we describe what we know about Kerr’s life as a collector and her legacy in the study of Colombian birds. We highlight the fact that Kerr has become a role model for female naturalists and provide a short account of an all-female ornithological expedition to resurvey one of Kerr’s collecting sites. By bringing Kerr’s legacy to the public eye, we hope to raise awareness of implicit bias and barriers faced by women in science.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | duad006 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | The Condor |
Volume | 125 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | Apr 10 2023 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2023 |
Keywords
- INHS
- Colombia
- gender bias
- female ornithologist
- Chocó
- bird collector
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology
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Following in the footsteps of early 20th century naturalist Elizabeth Kerr
6/5/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research