Introduction
Audubon's Yellow-throated Vireo, Plate 119 of Birds of America
In 1819 a young man named William MacGillivray set out to walk from Aberdeen to London.
Across the Atlantic, the naturalist John James Audubon roamed the American wilderness, honing his artistic skills.
They would meet in Edinburgh in 1830, forging a friendship that would profoundly impact the study of natural history.
William MacGillivray was born in Old Aberdeen and went on to become Professor of Natural History in Aberdeen. He met John James Audubon when the American woodsman came to Scotland seeking support for his spectacular book of life-sized bird drawings, Birds of America. The two men quickly became friends due to their shared love of birds. They both believed it was essential to experience nature up close in order to understand it, rather than studying it at a distance using specimens.
Audubon and his Birds of America are famous today. Less widely known is MacGillivray’s story, and his contributions to the scientific text that accompanied the famous book. Like the adventurous Audubon, MacGillivray’s passion for nature led him to journey across Britain in his youth and to argue all his life for the importance of recording in the field.
The work of both men has left an important scientific legacy, and shaped how we view our natural world today.
O chionn dà chiad bhliadhna, thòisich òigear dom b’ ainm William MacGillivray a-mach a choiseachd bho Obar Dheathain gu Lunnainn.
Taobh thall a’ Chuain Siar, chaidh an t-eòlaiche-nàdair, John James Audubon,air fàrsan an fhàsaich Aimeireaganach, a’ faobharachadh nan sgilean ealanach aige.
Choinnicheadh iad ann an Dùn Èideann ann an 1830, a’ dèanamh càirdeas aig am biodh buaidh mhòr air rannsachadh na h-eachdraidh nàdarra.
Rugadh William MacGillivray ann an Seanbhaile Obar Dheathain agus chaidh e air adhart a bhith Ollamh na h-Eachdraidh Nàdarra ann an Obar Dheathain. Thachair e ri John James Audubon nuair a thàinig an t-Aimeireaganach a dh’Alba, a’ sìreadh taic airson an leabhair iongantaich de dhealbhan eun, Eòin Aimeireagaidh. Dh’fhàs an dithis dlùth gu luath air sgàth gaol nan eun a bh’ aca. Chreid an dithis dhuibh gun robh e riatanach faighinn a-steach gu faisg ann an nàdar gus a thuigsinn, an àite a rannsachadh aig astar le deismearan.
Tha Audubon agus Eòin Aimeireagaidh ainmeil an-diugh. Chan eil eachdraidh MacGillivray ceart cho ainmeil, agus na tabhartasan aige dhan teacsa shaidheansach a chaidh an cois leis an leabhar ainmeil. Mar an Audubon dàna, stiùir an t-ainneas airson nàdair a bh’ aig MacGillivray a shiubhal thar Bhreatainn nuair a bha e òg, agus a dh’argamaid fad a bheatha airson cudromachd clàraidh anns an raon.
Dh’fhàg obair an dithis dìleab shaidheansach chudromach agus chruthaich mar a tha sinn a’ faicinn ar saoghail nàdarra an-diugh.
