Roxie Laybourne Examining a Dented Aircraft Nose Cone

Summary

Roxie Laybourne was an American ornithologist known for her ability to identify species of birds involved in bird strikes. In the Bird Division at National Museum of Natural History, she is standing and grinning at the camera at a counter holding a dented red and white aircraft nose cone.

Subject

• Laybourne, Roxie C. 1910-2003
• National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Division of Birds

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

• With Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore's encouragement, Laybourne accepted a short-term appointment in 1944 in the Bird Division at the National Museum of Natural History, working with taxidermist Watson Perrygo and curator Herbert Friedmann. Known as the "Feather Lady," Laybourne pioneered the field of forensic ornithology at the Smithsonian Institution by studying the detailed microscopic structure of plumaceous (downy) feather barbules and creating a technique of identifying species of birds from fragmentary feather samples. Her methods revolutionized aviation safety by creating a technique of identifying birds involved in aircraft bird strikes. That work led to the development of the first laboratory in the world dedicated solely to feather identification. The methods she developed are now routinely applied to studies of prey remains, evidence from criminal cases, and anthropological artifacts.
• 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.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 04-086, Box 2, Folder: 5

Contact information

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

Date

c. 1980s

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Women
• Airplanes
• Aeronautics
• Safety measures
• Forensic scientists
• Aircraft industry
• Birds
• Airports
• Employees
• Biology
• Bird control
• Feathers
• Animals
• Animal behavior
• Aircraft bird strikes
• Forensic sciences
• Smithsonian Institution
• Personnel management
• Birds--Behavior
• Airports--Bird control
• Aeronautics--Safety measures
• Smithsonian Institution--Employees
• Ornithologists
• Ornithology
• Aircraft accidents--Investigation

Place

United States

Form/Genre

• Classification
• Photographic print
• Person, candid

ID Number

SIA2014-07406

Physical description

Number of Images: 1; Color: Color; Size: 5w x 3h; Type of Image: Person, candid; Medium: Photographic print

Full Record

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