60 THE OSPREY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF JOHN CASSIN. 



By Theodore Gill. 



The only ornithologist ever resident in the United States who paid special 

 attention to "extralimital" birds, or those living outside of the American 

 continents, was John Cassin. Up to his time American ornithologists were 

 content to confine their serious studies to American birds and mainly to those 

 confined within the limits of the United States. Cassin' s sympathies and re- 

 searches, however, were constrained within no artificial or political boundaries 

 but extended to birds from all parts of the world. He certainly had a more 

 extensive acquaintance with species or rather knew and could name more 

 species by sight than any other American ornithologist. He commenced to 

 publish the results of his studies in ornithology as early as 1844, and con- 

 tinued those studies with no serious intermission nearly up to his death. He 

 was fortunate in having under his almost unrestrained direction what was for 

 some time the most extensive ornithological collection extant. That collection 

 was the fruit of his own knowledge and the munificence of his friend, Dr. 

 Thomas B'. Wilson, and that friend's brother, Mr. Edward Wilson. 



Cassin, it must be remembered, began to publish the results of his studies 

 at nearly the same time as, or very little later than, Brewer, Dekay, Gambel, 

 Giraud and Lawrence, and also about the same time as Baird. Audubon was 

 still flourishing and had much work still in store on mammals to do. Old- 

 fashioned ideas of system were prevalent and most ornithologists were content 

 to take the system as it was without troubling themselves very much about 

 abstruse taxonomic questions. 



Cassin was an early friend and correspondent of Baird and indeed before 

 he himself had begun to publish on birds was the intermediary for the presen- 

 tation (in July, 1843) of the latter's first article to the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences. His humorous letter to Baird announcing its reception and delay in 

 presentation was published in the Ospret for July, 1900 (iv, p. 173). His 

 letters to Professor Baird are kept as an heirloom from her father by Miss 

 Lucy H. Baird and a few will be hereafter published through her kindness. 



Cassin' s knowledge and ability were recognized not only in the United 

 States, but throughout the world by those best qualified to judge. The very 

 competent editor of the Ibis, Prof. Alfred Newton, echoed their appreciation on 

 the occasion of recording his death in the Ibis for April, 1869 (n. s., v, 244): 

 "Among the many ornithologists whose loss has been deplored in this Journal, 

 there has not been one of such approved scientific reputation as the last who 

 has been taken from us. ' ' 



The only biographical notice of Cassin of any extent was contributed by 

 his friend. Dr. Thomas Brewer, to the Boston Society of Natural History, 



