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Throughout the month of December, these snow buntings from the museum’s collections were on display at the Governor’s mansion in Augusta. The talented Kennebec Valley Garden Club transformed the Blaine House to highlight “Flora and Fauna of Maine” over the holiday season.
This snow bunting display was part of the collection at the Turner Nature Center and was created by taxidermist Gilman Brown around 1895-1904. The birds are posed in a glass dome, combining biology with the aesthetics popular at the time.
Gilman Thurston Brown was born in Cumberland in 1874. He lived in the Turner area as an adult, although he died of tuberculosis when he was just 30 years old. Brown had been in poor health for years and was listed as an “invalid” in the 1900 census. Despite his physical disability, he worked as a taxidermist and owned a floral business around the time of his death.
Snow buntings can still be found in Maine today. They nest on the tundra along the Arctic Circle and migrate each winter. Maine is a perfect winter home, thanks to its many beaches, lake shores, and farm fields. Buntings especially favor Maine’s blueberry barrens, which resemble their native tundra.
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