History Commons^™

By Shattering The Vulture’S Nose, Melissa Yang

The Goose

This project explores an unusual ornithological debate between 19th-century naturalists John James Audubon and Charles Waterton on the olfaction of vultures. Both naturalists involved were also artists—certainly more than they were scientists—and prone to artifice and performative amplification. This article examines the rhetorical dynamics of this niche but sensational debate on avian olfaction, and its problematic influence on scientific progress.