Little Clark Says Hello

This lovely little Clarks Nutcracker stopped by Jill Honer's home just the other day to say hello. Honer sent this picture to the Ledger along with a little history on the little bird.

The Clarks Nutcracker was the second bird listed in Lewis and Clark's journal. Therefore, it was named after William Clark.

William Clark first observed it in 1805 along the banks of the Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its scientific name literally means "nutcracker of the Columbia." Lewis recorded a more detailed description in 1806. A skin collected by the expedition was obtained by the ornithologist Alexander Wilson, who used it to produce an engraving for his monumental American Ornithology.