Phoebe Snetsinger

Phoebe Snetsinger (; June 9, 1931 – November 23, 1999) was an American birder famous for having seen and documented birds of 8,398 different species, Leo Burnett was a giant in the advertising industry. From him, she inherited many traits and a considerable fortune after his death in 1971. These funds aided in paying for numerous trips in pursuit of her later life hobby.

She attended a tiny elementary school in Lake Zurich with only two other students. Her first bird watching trip was in 1965 in Minnesota with a friend.

Snetsinger was spurred to find the most birds after her doctor diagnosed her with terminal melanoma in 1981, the year she turned 50 years old. Instead of convalescence at home or pursuing treatments, she took a trip to Alaska to watch birds, and returned home to find the cancer in remission. The cancer went into remission about five years at a time, then would recur. She was the first person to exceed 8,000 species observed, in 1995. By the time of her death, she had identified and documented 8,398 species, According to birder Nate Swick, birding in 2016 is much less effort than when Snetsinger did her work of observing birds in their habitat, as many nations have promoted ecotourism to strengthen their economy, and Snetsinger is seen by other birders as a pioneer. Tony Bennett, who knew her from birding in New Mexico, said she was the "consummate craftsman of bird-watching . . . intense, and knowledgable [sic]."

Memoir

Snetsinger's memoir, entitled Birding on Borrowed Time, was published posthumously in 2003 by The American Birding Association (ABA). The publisher described it as: "More than merely a travel narrative, the book is also a profoundly moving human document, as it details how Phoebe Snetsinger's obsession with birds became a way of coping with terminal illness."

Awards and honors In 1994, the Guinness Book of Records named her "the world's leading bird-watcher".

In a 1995 interview, "Snetsinger says a serious birder who goes out with experienced companions once a week might accumulate 200 new species in a year as she once did. After a year like that, however, the pace slows down drastically, since you will have seen almost all the state's common species." She was acknowledged as the "current world record holder, with more than 8,000 bird species to her credit"

In 2010, she was described as one of two people ever to see more than 8,000 species of birds.

To honor Snetsinger on her 85th birthday, on June 9, 2016, a commemorative Google Doodle was posted.

Death On November 23, 1999, while on a birding trip in Madagascar, the van in which Snetsinger was riding overturned, killing her instantly. The final bird she observed before the accident was the red-shouldered vanga, a species which had been described as new to science only two years before, in 1997.

Personal life Phoebe and David Snetsinger had four children, three of whom are bird researchers in the United States. At the time of Phoebe's death, Carol was involved in research on birds in Alaska and Montana; Susan was "a student of the spotted owl in the Northwest" of the U.S.; and Thomas was researching endangered species of birds for the federal government.

At the time of her death, Snetsinger was a resident of Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.