THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

In his widely discredited Birds of Fryup (1907), Gilbert Thorsby identified five distinct warblers endemic to the Fryup district: the cliff warbler, wreck warbler, gorse warbler, pit warbler, and Gilbert’s warbler.  Despite being essentially identical, Sprule discerned differences in habitat, as well as slight variations in the cadence of their respective calls, which were imperceptible to the human ear.  Thorsby’s claim was dismissed by the Royal Society, which found that his five warblers were in fact one – the already well-established willow warbler.