BANCROFT, Griffing

BANCROFT, Griffing (1879-1955), Connecticut-born son of famed historian, Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832-1918) and his second wife, Matilda Coley Griffing.

BANCROFT, Griffing (1879-1955)

Ornithologist and oologist by avocation, Bancroft and his namesake son had one of the largest private egg collections in the country before World War II. He became a member of the Cooper Ornithological Club in 1920. He made collecting trips to San Clemente Island in February and March of 1923, In February 1923 he collected on San Clemente Island, including five sets of bald eagle eggs. FIX

Bancroft authored numerous ornithological articles in the journal, Condor, as a result of a trip taken aboard his yacht to Baja California, Mexico. His egg collection is located and the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. A southern form of yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea bancrofti), was named in his honor.

Bancroft collected specimens on:

• San Clemente Island (1923)
• Santa Catalina Island (1932)
• Isla Natividad (1905, 1925, 1932)

His egg collection is located in the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.

Palmer, T. S. Nomenclature of California Birds in Condor 30(5):267-268 September-October 1928:

BANCROFT, Griffing “Born at New Haven, Connecticut, January 21, 1879. An active oologist and ornithologist of San Diego and member of the Cooper Ornithological Club since 1920. In recognition of his interest in the birds of southern and Lower California, Huey has recently named a southern form of Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Nyctanassa violacea bancrofti, in his honor .”

» Bancroft, Griffing Lower California: A Cruise.

» Bancroft, Griffing The Flight of the Least Petrel, 1932

In the News~

May 5, 1955 [WP]: “May 4. La Jolla, CA. Griffing Bancroft, 76, naturalist, author and attorney and a member of one of California’s most noted families, died at his home here today. A native of New Haven, Connecticut, he was the son of Hubert Howe Bancroft who came to San Francisco during the ’49 gold rush… Griffing Bancroft authored several books including a novel about the Japanese migration to California… He married his first wife, the former Ethel Works, daughter of United States Senator John D. Works, who now lives in New York, in 1901. She is the mother of his three children. They were divorced and Bancroft married Margaret Wood in 1917. In addition to his widow other survivors include three children, Griffing Jr., CBS radio news reporter and commentator in Washington, D. C., Hubert Howe with the Voice of America in Washington, and Mrs. Louis Molloy, New York City.”

Island Collections~

ISLAND	COLLECTOR	INSTITUTION	DATE	NUMBER	SPECIMEN
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft	WFVZ	February 23, 1923	WFVZ-8160	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft	WFVZ	February 23, 1923	WFVZ-52452	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft	WFVZ	February 23, 1923	WFVZ-52454	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft	WFVZ	February 24, 1923	WFVZ-10084	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft & Gordon Burnham	WFVZ	February 26, 1923	WFVZ-9883	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft & Gordon Burnham	WFVZ	March 15, 1923	WFVZ-6910	Carpodacus mexicanus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft & Gordon Burnham	WFVZ	March 15, 1923	WFVZ-8722	Carpodacus mexicanus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft & Gordon Burnham	WFVZ	March 15, 1923	WFVZ-8724	Carpodacus mexicanus	Eggs
San Clemente Island	Griffing Bancroft & Gordon Burnham	WFVZ	March 27, 1923	WFVZ-97061	Pandion haliaetus	Eggs

ISLAND	COLLECTOR	INSTITUTION	DATE	NUMBER	SPECIMEN
Santa Catalina Island	Griffing Bancroft	WFVZ	April 1932	WFVZ-7945	Lophortyx californica	Eggs