Country of Birth

USA

Industry

Science

Top Achievements

Florence Merriam Bailey was an American ornithologist and nature writer whose activism led to the creation of groundbreaking legislation in the field of wildlife conservation.

Early Life and Education

Florence Augusta Merriam was born on August 8, 1863, in Locust Grove, New York. Many members of her family were involved in the natural sciences, including zoology, botany, and astronomy. Plagued by poor health throughout her childhood, she received her initial education at home on the family estate, where she had ample opportunities to explore local wildlife. From 1882 to 1886 she studied at Smith College in Massachusetts where she pursued her interest in ornithology.

Early Career

During her final year at Smith College, Merriam began advocating for an end to the widespread use of bird feathers as fashionable hat decorations. She created the Smith College chapter of the Audubon Society for the protection of wild birds, published studies and articles in newspapers and the Audubon Magazine, and organized nature walks to help her colleagues develop an understanding of and respect for local wildlife.

Achievements in Her Field

In 1889 she moved to California in the hope that the milder climate would improve her health and there she also began to study the birdlife of the Western United States. In 1890 she published her first book, Birds Through an Opera-Glass. Over the following 40 years, she published an additional seven books and contributed to many other professional ornithologists’ works.

Merriam was unique for her study of living birds in their natural outdoor habitat, at a time when her peers, in the male-dominated world of ornithology, studied trapped birds or dead specimens. She also enriched her own publications with contributions from amateur birdwatching enthusiasts. Her approach was fundamental in the development of birdwatching as a popular hobby, while her activism catalyzed the passing of important legislations such as the Lacey Act of 1900 which banned the trade of illegally acquired wildlife, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 which made the protection of migratory birds a federal law.

In 1899 she married Vernon Bailey, a naturalist of the Bureau of Biological Surve. They traveled together as field naturalists for over 30 years – undertaking camping expeditions on foot or horseback to conduct their biological research.

Her last major written work was Among the Birds in the Grand Canyon Country, published in 1939 at the age of 76. Merriam died on September 22, 1948, at the age of 85, and was buried in Locust Grove.

Recognition

Merriam was a member of the Women’s National Science Club and founder member of the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia. She became the first woman associate member of the American Ornithologists’ Union in 1885 and its first woman fellow in 1929. Merriam was also the first woman recipient of the Brewster Medal in 1931. In 1933, the University of New Mexico awarded her an honorary doctorate.

Additional Facts

In 1908, a variety of California mountain chickadee was named Parus Gambeli Baileyae in her honor.