I haven’t been to a movie theater in quite a while, so I was pleased to watch the exhibit’s video – The Best Known Grouse of the Western States, which referred not to my attitude toward many things, but rather to the pinnated grouse, or as many call it, the greater prairie-chicken, or, you prefer, the Tympanuchus cupido.

It’s a tragic tale, or tail, if you wish, that there were 10 million of the birds in Illinois in the 1800s, but only about 200 by 2019. That original number might be taken with a grain a salt, as modern crowd estimation science only traces back to the 1960s, when it was used to count the number of people at University of California campus protests. Of course, placing the salt on the bird’s tails (or tales) might allow them to be captured and then counted.

One could also see poems about birds, miniature oil paintings of birds, the piano sheet music for The Whippoorwills Song and a page showing the Bounty Laws on Birds (1800-1899) from various states, all while being serenaded by bird sounds from above.

The coup de grâce, pouring salt on the wounds of extinction, was the Favorite Indian Recipe book, which includes mouthwatering instructions regarding the preparation of baked woodcock, crow casserole and, moving on from avian treats, roast beaver.