Dale Allen Zimmerman, 1928–2021

AmericanOrnithology.org Volume 139, 2022, pp. 1–2 https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukac026 IN MEMORIAM Dale Allen Zimmerman, 1928–2021 Eugene M. Jercinovic* 6285 Algodon Road SW, Deming, New Mexico, USA *Corresponding author: Published September 16, 2022 Dale Zimmerman on his 1970s Galapagos expedition (photo by Marian Zimmerman). Dale published approximately 100 scientific papers during his career, most on birds. He also wrote or contributed his bird paintings to several books. He designed and painted 44 color plates for Birds of New Guinea (Princeton University Press, 1986). He was the senior author of Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania (Princeton, 1990). He was also the co-editor of New Mexico Bird Finding Guide (New Mexico Ornithological Society, 1992). He wrote Turaco Country: Reminiscences of East African Birding Sky (Island Press, 2015), a 783-page tome describing his and Marian’s many experiences in East Africa illustrated by hundreds of their magnificent photographs. At the time of his death, he was working on another book, East African Birds Worth Knowing, which is being completed by his co-author, Carol Ann Fugagli. Dale was also the primary illustrator of his own books, and his paintings were used in numerous other works including the 1983 three-volume Audubon Field Guide to North American Birds. Over the years he regularly provided drawings for the New Mexico Ornithological Society Copyright © American Ornithological Society 2022. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: . Dale Zimmerman, a professionally trained botanist who also made significant contributions to ornithology, died November 10, 2021. He was a long-time faculty member in the Department of Natural Sciences at Western New Mexico University (WNMU) in Silver City, but in seven consecutive decades from the 1950s to the 2010s, he traveled the globe studying the flora and avifauna on all seven continents. He received the Ludlow Griscom Award from the American Birding Association in 2015 for his contributions to ornithology. He was also an Elective Member (1958) and Fellow (1999) of the American Ornithological Society (AOS). Dale Allen Zimmerman was born June 7, 1928, in Imlay City, Michigan. As a child, he displayed a passionate interest in birds, insects, and Africa. In high school, he became a regular visitor to the inner sanctum of the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology where he was encouraged by museum ornithologists. He matriculated at the University of Michigan in 1946. Although he continued his study of birds and his relationship with the Museum of Zoology, in his junior year he chose to major in botany. The following summer he took part in a plant collecting expedition to Mexico, his first taste of another country. He earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in botany at Michigan, completing the latter in 1956. While at Michigan he also studied bird painting with George Miksch Sutton. In the fall of his senior year, Dale met Marian Allen in a dendrology class. They married in July 1950. That summer they had a long adventure studying the plants and birds of Mexico, initiating their long collaborative global field research. A son, Allan Dale Zimmerman, was born in 1957. Dale accepted a faculty position in botany at WNMU in 1957, where he taught for the next 31 years. He and Marian continued to pursue their mutual interest in international travel and study of birds and plants throughout his teaching career. In 1988, Dale was diagnosed with macular degeneration, and although he retired from his faculty position at WNMU that year, he and Marian continued their international research expeditions until Marian’s death in 2011. Despite her loss, Dale continued to travel internationally, often accompanied by his protégé, Carol Ann Fugagli. 2 In Memoriam to use on their T-shirts and other items. He served as an Associate Editor of the AOU Ornithological Monograph series and of Western Birds. He also served for several years on the Editorial Board of American Birds and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Birding Association. The herbarium of the Gila Center for Natural History at WNMU was named the Dale A. Zimmerman Herbarium in 2003. The New Mexico Ornithological Society presented Dale with the F. M. Bailey Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor bestowed on only five people to date. E. M. Jercinovic Dale is survived by his son, Allan, and niece, Gail Crowly. A more extensive description of Dale and Marian’s contributions to the study of birds by the author appeared in The New Mexico Botanist (2012; Special Issue 3:6–16). His bird, insect, and plant collections will last far beyond his days as will his magnificent paintings. In his life, he never ceased contributing to the store of human knowledge. Memorials Editor: Ted Anderson, Ornithology 139:1–2 © 2022 American Ornithological Society  (...truncated)