Brian "Fox" Ellis presents - Robert Ridgway, Illinois's Bird Man

Renowned storyteller and author Brian “Fox” Ellis presents a first-person impression of Robert Ridgway and the story of his lifelong work at the Smithsonian Institution. As Illinois' most prominent "bird man," Ridgway’s research transformed the field of ornithology, and led to the evolution of bird-watching from a hobby to scientific discipline. 

Brian “Fox” Ellis becomes Robert Ridgway, telling the story of his transect of the western wilderness when he was still a teenager, his life-long work at the Smithsonian Institution, his birding trips into Central America and his journey across Alaska with John Burroughs, Louis Agazziz Fuertes, and John Muir. Ridgway was a student of Spencer Baird, who travelled with Audubon, creating a direct link to the lineage of America’s preeminent ornithologists. He helped to refine systematics and evolutionary theory, redefining the relationships between species, sub-species, and geography.