Citizen Science, Circa 1884

While looking for an obituary for one of my ancestors, I came across this post in the New York Herald, dated February 15, 1884. How about that? A citizen science project! Perhaps this was the predecessor of Cornell University’s Great Backyard Bird Count, a successful volunteer-driven research project. Apparently, observing birds was an activity unsuited for women and girls, in the estimation of 19th century ornithologists.