Contributed by Maine Historical Society
- MMN #135800
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Description
Dr. Henry H. Brock (1864-1953) of Portland was an avid bird hunter and donated over 600 mounted birds to the PSNH along with exotic bird skins. Brock’s collection included a European corncrake (Crex crex), one of the few in Maine that Brock shot at Falmouth in 1889, and a Steeler’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri), the first ever taken outside of Alaska, shot at Pine Point.
Henry Brock shot and prepared a Whooping Crane (Grus americana), around 1900 which became part of the PSNH collection and display. The Crane mount is in the care of the Maine State Museum as of 2023.
The Whooping Crane is the tallest bird in what is now called North America reaching up to five feet tall, weighing about 15 pounds, and has a wingspan of seven feet. Whooping Crane populations declined to around 20 birds in the 1940s because of over-hunting and agricultural operations taking over their nesting and feeding grounds. Whooping Cranes are a species of high concern in 2023, listed as federally endangered in the United States. Through captive breeding, wetland management with private and governmental landowners, and by using an ultralight glider that teaches young Cranes how to migrate, numbers have risen to about 800 in 2023.
About This Item
- Title: Portland Society for Natural History interior with Cranes, ca. 1965
- Creator: Edward T. Richardson, Jr.
- Creation Date: circa 1965
- Subject Date: circa 1965
- Location: Portland, Cumberland County, ME
- Media: Photographic print
- Local Code: S-6584
- Object Type: Image
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Maine Historical Society485 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-1822 x230
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