In Memoriam: Robert A. McCabe, 1914-1995

Abstract

sonal effects was an 18-page, single-spaced list of books he had read and when he read them. He was described by one of his avid pupils, his daughter Diana, as not only the best father a daughter could want, but also a mentor and the best teacher she had ever had. She noted that No one else could palm a handful of colored chalk and draw the circulation of the large intestine with such precision and grace. Andy was a strong and vocal conservationist, always willing to take on any adversary for the sake of birds and a healthy environment. During a stay in India, for example, he published an eloquent and forceful criticism of inadequate efforts to protect the habitats of the Gir Forest (Peacock, May-June 1965, Forestry, Conservation, and the Indian Lion). At a teacher's conference in Honolulu, Andy publicly criticized First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson's effusive praise for conservation efforts in Hawaii, meriting the headline Speech by Mrs. Johnson here labelled 'pure bunk.' Andy called it as he saw it, and when it came to conservation, he took his case effectively to both the scientific community and the public. He was a key expert witness in the successful legal battle to protect the Palila (Loxioides bailleui) and its habitat. The ruling in the case defined taking as used in the Endangered Species Act to include not only direct physical harm to the species, but also to its habitat, making this a landmark case that has been crucial in arguments to protect many other species. Andy was always active in professional societies and was especially fond of the Wilson Ornithological Society, strongly supporting its Van Tyne Library at the University of Michigan with contributions of books and journals. He was President of the Wilson Society when its annual meeting was held at Mississippi State University. I'll always remember him as he was on a canoe trip down the Tombigbee River following that meeting. Standing knee-deep in water with soaked pants and the ever-present flowered Hawaiian shirt, wanting to know everything we could tell him about the river and region, stopping us mid-sentence to hear a Swainson's Warbler, then providing persuasive arguments as to why the river should not be converted to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Always the student, always the ornithologist, always the teacher, Andy Berger.