TWO WOODPECKERS, TWO NATURALISTS AND A GOVERNOR GENERAL

Out walking one beautiful golden, crisp morning in the bracing Assam winter, I looked up into a sal tree (Bombax ceiba) in full glorious bloom to spy a smaller version of the golden backed woodpecker. Its frenetic activity did not allow a full uninterrupted view, but its size, colours and habit were good indicators. Further on, the among the branches of a large rain tree (Albizia saman), I spotted the less flamboyant, much smaller but equally perky, grey capped pygmy woodpecker. Both woodpeckers moved quickly, searching for insects and grubs in the nooks and crannies of the tree bark. Over a glass of fresh orange juice, after my peregrinations, I leafed through a well thumbed copy of A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Salim Ali and Dillon Ripley to check my citing. Detailed descriptions of both birds are easily available in various online resources. From the www.iucnredlist.org, I learnt that the grey capped pygmy woodpecker, Picoides canicapillus (or Dendrocopos canicapillus) had been named by Edward Blyth in 1845 and Nicholas Aylward Vigors had named the Himalayan golden back or flame back woodpecker, Dinopium shorii, In 1832. Both species are listed as non migrant or resident, found distributed over areas in excess of 20,000km; with the grey capped  flameback  extending its range over south east Asia into eastern China, while the flame back  was limited to the Indian subcontinent. The North eastern region of India is thus common to the ranges of both species. And the numerous sal trees of the Tezpur university campus are natural homes to the flameback, which is known to be partial to sal forests. On the massive sal tree outside my window, the grey capped pygmy woodpecker, is equally at home grubbing and feasting, while a host of other birds feast on its flowers.

Initially, I simply could not locate who the shorii referred to or commemorated; till the fact that Nicholas Aylward Vigors had written the text for John Gould's first book, made me follow the link and download the book. The opening page says “Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains” by John Gould A.L.S, London, 1832. Impatiently, I scrolled down the volume, stopped short at the name Picus shorii and read: “This very brightly coloured species of Woodpecker, we have great pleasure in naming after the Hon.C.J.Shore, through whose researches in Ornithology, while in India, it was first made known, and who with the utmost kindness and liberality, allowed the accompanying Plate, to be drawn from a specimen in his collection.” (capitals- as in original text). I subsequently found out that Hon.C.J. Shore referred to the Governor General of Bengal (1793 to 1797), about whom I had been recently reading in Political History of Assam, (volume 1, Edited by HK Barpujari, 1980) for the background on the ongoing book on Dr. Radhikaram Dhekial Phookan. His more famous predecessor Lord Cornwallis had sent troops under Capt. Welsh to help the Ahom King Gaurinath Singha to contend with the Moamari Rebellion; Shore with his policy of non intervention withdrew the troops almost as soon as he took over in 1793.In the long run this finally lead to the Anglo Burmese War 1824-26 and the annexation of Assam by the East India Company. Charles John Shore (1751 – 1834) came out as a writer in the East India Company at the age of 19. Among other things, I was fascinated to learn he was not only a close associate of Sir William Jones but edited his memoirs. Shore was also the first president of the British and Foreign Bible Society and had a strong interest in Ornithology.

Now, I scrolled up, past the dedication to the advertisement (introduction), where John Gould, records his grateful thanks to Nicholas Aylward Vigors M.P.,a zoologist and politician, for his significant contributions towards the text, illustrations and in placing this work before the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society. Vigors (1785-1840) was a founder member of the Zoological Society of London (founded 1826) and the Royal Entomological Society of London (founded 1833) and an acknowledged authority on Ornithology, having published about 40 papers and described 110 species of birds.

Edward Blyth (1810-1873) who named Picoides canicapillus, was in comparison, not a high ranking government functionary but a rather poorly paid  curator at the museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, which he joined in 1841 and served till 1862. His original contribution to Ornithology in India is borne out by having at least 12 species named in his honour. His work has been highly respected by Alfred Wallace, Charles Darwin and John Gould; in fact his devotion to Ornithology annoyed his employers who were expecting a detailed catalogue of the museum. Modern Ornithology in India began with his contributions in the 19th century, unfortunately in the 21st century, he is given less credit than A.O.Hume et.al.

What juxtaposed the two woodpeckers, two naturalists and the governor general? Beyond the fact that they were birds of a feather; they were also united by Ornithology, Taxonomy, India, the Asiatic Society, Calcutta and London. In fact, John Gould opens his advertisement (introduction) of “Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains” by writing: “India, and its especially its central regions presents a field the richness of which invites and repays the industry of the naturalist; and although few scientific or enterprising travelers return to Europe without adding something to our knowledge, still the fact presses upon us strengthened by their researches that much remains for the labourer.” In a strange outcome of colonial supremacy, the colonizers became discoverers and lords of lands and species already inhabited by the indigenous. Landforms, plants and animals were named in honour of patrons of that paid or blessed the travellers; others were   post marked by taxonomy, to become part of an ‘universal’ nomenclature. Can we recover or at least acknowledge that which is lost in translation, transportation and transposition?

Lithograph of Picus shorii from John Gould  â€œCentury of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains” 

(Photo credit : Gaurangi Maitra using Nokia 7 Plus).

Tags: TWO WOODPECKERS