Feather Expert Roxie Laybourne

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Object Details

Author

Minor-Penland, Laurie

Subject

Laybourne, Roxie C. 1910-2003

National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)

National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Dept. of Zoology

Department of Zoology (USNM)

United States National Museum Dept. of Biology Division of Birds

National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Division of Birds

Notes

This image found in Smithsonian Institution Research Reports Spring 1990.

For more images of Roxie Laybourne, see SIA2009-2205, SIA2010-0575, SIA2010-0580, SIA2010-0639, SIA2014-07398, SIA2014-07403, SIA2014-07404, SIA2014-07405, SIA2014-07406, SIA2014-07407, SIA2014-07411, SIA2014-07413, SIA2014-07417, SIA2014-07421, SIA2014-07431, SIA2014-07434, SIA2014-07441, SIA2014-07442, and SIA2014-07448.

Summary

Feather expert Roxie Laybourne examines one of the many feathers that arrive at her office. Tucked away in a small office in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Laybourne is the world's leading expert on feather identification. She first began work at the Smithsonian in 1944.

Roxie C. Laybourne originated the science of forensic ornithology. Often called the "feather detective," Laybourne used feathers to identify bird-strike accidents in military and commercial aircraft, to solve crimes for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to identify feathers unearthed by archeologists, and to recognize species of endangered, poached, or illegally killed birds.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 98-016, Box 1, Folder: Photos/No. 60 Spring 1990

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1990

Standard number

SIA2009-2205

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Type

Photographic print

Person, candid

Physical description

Color: Black and White; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Person, candid; Medium: Photographic print

Data Source

Smithsonian Archives - History Div

Topic

Birds

Women

Smithsonian Institution--Employees

Scientific apparatus and instruments

Ornithologists

Ornithology

Forensic sciences

Zoologists

Specimens

Metadata Usage

Usage conditions apply

Record ID

siris_sic_8052