HARRIS, Charles Miller

HARRIS, Charles Miller ( - ) British naturalist, collector, and taxidermist at Tring, the private museum of Baron Walter Rothschild.

Harris had accompanied W. E. Bryant to Isla Guadalupe in 1885 to secure avian specimens for the California Academy of Sciences.

Harris discovered the Galapagos Islands flightless cormorant (Phalacrocorax harrisi), as a member of the Rothschild-sponsored expedition to the Galapagos (1897-1898). The bird was named for him—Harris's Flightless Cormorant.

Harris was on Isla Guadalupe in May 1907 using the chartered schooner Freia. Harris was accompanied by Ignacio and V. L. Carroll, the captain Lopez, and three Mexicans. He took several elephant seal specimens which were sent to the Rothschild museum. At the time, he said there were "a few left that he did not shoot." C. H. Townsend reported that Harris saw about 40 animals and killed 14. [Zoologica, New York Zool. Soc., 1(8) April 15, 1912].

• Harris, Charles Miller. A Cruise After Sea Elephants in Pacific Monthly 21:4 (331-339) April, 1909

[original in SCIF archives]

In the News~

March 26, 1908 [Press Democrat]: “Game Warden Alonzo Lea and A. M. Fairfield dropped into town Thursday and yesterday arrested Charles M. Harris, a cousin of Jack Wilson, who has been in the county about five weeks. The charge against the man was that of killing quail out of season. He appeared before Justice Bruton, pleaded guilty and was released on $150 cash bail, and April 4th was set as the date for pronouncing sentence. Seventeen charges are held pending against him but will probably not be prosecuted. The case is an interesting one and unique in the annals of the prosecution of violations of game laws. Harris is an expert taxidermist and has traveled over much of the world in his business, and is said to have been in the employ of the Rothschilds, the millionaire bankers of Europe, preparing specimens for their private collection. The Sunday Examiner a short time ago had a page account and pictures of some of his work. Here he has been making a collection of the native birds of this county, and the Wardens seized 148 specimens of various bird skins, particularly prepared for mounting. The killing of protected birds is permitted by law when they are taken for public institutions of science on a regularly authorized permit but Harris admitted that he was collecting for private sale and had no permits. The collection was a revelation of the wealth and beauty of bird life in this county. The confiscated skins will probably be presented by the Game Commission to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, which lost all his collection in the big fire. ”