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On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw's Life Story.

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ON THE WINGS OF CRANES: LARRY WALKINSHAW'S LIFE STORY. By Lowell M. Schake. James R. Walkinshaw, Editor. Universe Inc., New York and Bloomington, Indiana, USA. 2008:339 pages and 24 photographs. ISBN: 978-0-595-48497-3. $24.95 (paper).--Lawrence Harvey Walkinshaw, 28th president of the Wilson Ornithological Society (1958-1960), was an important participant in Michigan's ornithological Golden Age. For a long stretch of years in the mid-Twentieth century, an unusual concentration of bird students in the state produced a remarkable body of work. Many of these were professional ornithologists at universities, colleges, and the state Conservation Department, but Michigan also had a host of amateur ornithologists making worthwhile contributions. Although they made their living at something else, their interest in birds lay somewhere between strong and all-consuming.

Larry Walkinshaw, by occupation a dentist, was one of these. A clue to where along the spectrum he fit is shown by his marriage proposal. "Clara," he asked the woman who would become his wife, "Do you think you can love birds as much as I do?" It turned out that she couldn't, quite, but the marriage lasted 61 years, until Larry's death.

Several professional ornithologists were willing to help amateurs become involved in research and who were also willing to have a role in the Michigan Audubon Society (founded the same year Walkinshaw was born, 1904). The MAS journal, the Jack-Pine Warbler, was for many years an important publication outlet for field-related articles by both professionals and amateurs.

During dental school at the University of Michigan, Walkinshaw spent a lot of time in the Museum's Bird Division, chatting with Assistant Curator Josselyn Van Tyne (2 years older...

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