Oklahoma and Texas Corvid Research Collection ---

Collection

Identifier: NWRC 0065

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection comprises historical documents, reports, manuscripts, and correspondence primarily focused on the behavior and control of crows and white-necked ravens—collectively referred to as corvids. The materials span from the 1920s through the 1960s and include field studies, damage assessments, government bulletins, and experimental notes, with a strong emphasis on Oklahoma and Texas. Notable contributors include Bureau of Biological Survey employees E.R. Kalmbach, S.E. Aldous, and R.H. Imler. Two documents are dated in the 1960s. It is unknown when these later documents were added to the collection of earlier documents.

The collection includes a small number of photographs and maps.

Dates

1920 - 1966

Creator

United States. Bureau of Biological Survey (BBS) (Organization)

Biographical / Historical

Main contributors to this collection, Edwin R. Kalmbach, Shaler E. Aldous, and Ralph H. Imler, were employed by the Bureau of Biological Survey in its Denver Food Habits Laboratory, which was established in Denver in 1931. The Laboratory's research focused on the food habits and economic relationships of mammals and birds to agriculture in the western United States. Kalmbach was the laboratory's director from 1931 until the lab merged with the BBS' Control Method's Research Laboratory in 1940, forming the Denver Wildlife Research Laboratory.

Extent

.8 linear feet (2 Hollinger boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection contains historical documents, reports, and correspondence from the 1920s to the 1960s, focused on the behavior and control of crows and white-necked ravens in the Oklahoma and Texas. The items were created or collected by Bureau of Biological Survey employees, including E.R. Kalmbach, S.E. Aldous, and R.H. Imler,during a period when the agency prioritized research on agricultural impacts of bird pests. The collection includes field studies, government bulletins, manuscripts, and a small number of photographs and maps.