Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774, in Virginia. Along with William Clark, he led one of the most famous explorations of the United States that uncovered new species, documented geography, and led to many preserved parks and trails.
There are historic trails along the large area of Lewis and Clark’s Expedition and they can be great to go birding. Many plants, birds, and places are named after the famous explorer, including the Lewis’s Woodpecker.
I saw a black woodpecker [6] [NB: or Crow] today about the size of the lark woodpecker as black as a crow. I indevoured to get a shoot at it but could not. it is a distinct species of woodpecker; it has a long tail and flys a good deel like the jay bird.—Lewis and Clark Journals
As their travels led them to new and wild territory they discovered many different bird species.
Unfortunately, Lewis died under mysterious circumstances a few years after the exploration was finished. He was only 35-years-old, but his work and discoveries will live on forever.
All About Birds
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Rick 08.21.07 at 4:56 pm
I think, in fact, that they discovered only two new species: the woodpecker and Clark’s Nutcracker. Audubon took a poke at the scientific work of the corps when he named the Western Meadowlark ‘neglecta’, ‘overlooked’.
The type specimen of Lewis’s Woodpecker is in the MCZ (or whatever we’re calling it this week). It is one of very few surviving biological specimens from the expedition.