Name Amelia Laskey | ||
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Amelia Laskey (12 December 1885 - 19 December 1973) was an American amateur naturalist and ornithologist noted for her contributions to biology despite her lack of formal education.
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Early life and education
Laskey was born Amelia Rudolph to German immigrant parents, Susan and Frank Rudolph, in Bloomington, Indiana. She attended school in Chicago through high school. She then became a stenographer before her marriage.
Amateur research
Laskey's research career began when she moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1921. She began to participate in a gardening club, having an expansive garden at her home, and a literary society. She began her studies in ornithology when she joined the Tennessee Ornithological Society in 1928. Her research began with the migratory behavior of chimney swifts, cowbirds, and mockingbirds, and discovered that chimney swifts wintered in Peru. Laskey also studied bluebird nesting behavior and was the first to note a Gambel's sparrow in Tennessee. She was particularly noted for her study of mockingbird behavior; Laskey noted the species' song development, mating behavior and number of mates, egg clutch sizes, and territory defense. She also discovered that brown-headed cowbirds were monogamous.
Her publications spanned 40 years, from 1933 to 1973, the year of her death, and included over 150 papers in ornithological journals. Laskey was also known for her rehabilitation of wounded birds.