the birdmen of bulloch county John Parrish & John Abbot The Birdmen of Bulloch County

WRITTEN BY JENNY STARLING FOSS PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK FORTUNE

Bulloch County’s leading Birdman, John W. Parrish, Jr., Ph.D., emeritus professor of biology at Georgia Southern, has long been involved in the research and study of birds, native to and migrating through the area. Because of Georgia’s great diversity in habitat, from mountains to piedmont to coastal plain, it is home to 405 bird species that have been seen and recorded in the state.

But Parrish is not the first naturalist to call Bulloch County home. In 1818, famed British naturalist, John Abbot moved to Bulloch County from Burke County, where he had purchased land and married and started a family. Abbot was a bird and insect enthusiast collecting and mounting samples for his British patrons of birds and insects, including moths and butterflies for shipping. Abbot is not as well-known as Audubon for his meticulous bird drawings, because many of his discoveries were funded by private citizens or scientists and held in their collections back in England. In all it is believed that he spent about 65 years in Georgia and created over 4,000 original watercolors, although fewer than 200 were published during his lifetime. After his wife died, his health and finances declined and he moved in with friend William E. McElveen, where he remained until he died. In 1957, the Georgia Historical Society placed a marker at his grave in Bulloch County. He is buried in McElveen Cemetery off of Mud Road.

Abbot’s meticulous illustrations and careful writing from 250 years ago chronicled the habitats, life cycles, behaviors, and migratory patterns of numerous species. His work helped other scientists and naturalists to classify closely related species, several of which were named from his specimens, drawings and descriptions. Two species of spiders and one moth are named in his honor.

Currently, Parrish is working on getting the two biologists names added to the bird sanctuary sign located on U.S. Highway 80 East just outside of the Statesboro city limits. “Home of John Abbot, Author: Birds of Georgia (1815, 1997). Home of John Parrish, Author: Birds of Georgia (2006, 2021).”

Parrish, originally from Ohio, began his career at Denison University studying for his undergraduate degree. An athlete, Parrish excelled in sports in high school and played baseball in college. He graduated during the Viet Nam War and joined the U.S. Navy. There he met wife, Paula, a Physical Therapist who “owed” the Navy two years of service in exchange for her training. She outranked him. They met in Virginia, and married in a full military ceremony.

The Parrish’s first jobs took them to Emporia State University in Kansas, 50 miles from Dr. Parrish’s hometown.

“We were close to my parents,” said Parrish. “Our children, Wesley, an Atlanta real estate senior account executive, and Cori, who works with non-profits in N.Y.C., were able to grow-up with their grandparents nearby.”

Parrish’s Master’s thesis research concerned the effects of dietary lysine (amino acids) on nitrogen balance in dark-eyed Juncos (a medium-sized sparrow). „