Muriel Saphir, known by her nickname Starr Saphir, was an American birder in New York City who led bird walks in Central Park several times a week for nearly 40 years.
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16 Facts About Starr Saphir
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Starr Saphir was born Muriel Theodora Saphir on July 21,1939.
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Starr Saphir cited a black-and-white warbler as her "spark bird", or bird species which triggers a broader interest in birds or birding.
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Starr Saphir saw it when she was six years old, on the side of the road when her father's car broke down on a trip to her grandparents' house, and recognized it from looking through her grandmother's John James Audubon illustrations.
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5.
Starr Saphir was a theater major at American University and worked for a time as an actor in Off-Broadway and other productions.
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Starr Saphir lived in California for a time, pursuing her acting career, and was active in the birding community there.
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Starr Saphir discovered that she liked teaching and wound up leading them regularly, usually four times per week in Central Park, for almost 40 years.
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Starr Saphir called the park her "office", but was determined to keep costs low and barely made enough to eke by.
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Starr Saphir developed a reputation for her skills with bird identification by sight and by sound, and the Wall Street Journal said she had "seemingly supernatural powers of hearing and sight".
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10.
In May 2005, Starr Saphir was a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, featured in a segment in which she introduces O'Brien to birding.
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11.
Starr Saphir persisted giving regular bird walks despite a range of health issues, including cataracts, arthritis, a limp, and back problems, and after being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.
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Starr Saphir did not have a computer and was concerned that the introduction of technology to the pastime would make it inaccessible for some.
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Starr Saphir did come to use a cell phone to share sightings while out in the park, but otherwise used notebooks to track her sightings.
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Starr Saphir left 80 such books when she died, tallying 259 different species just in Central Park.
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Starr Saphir was married twice, first to Michael Henisse and later to Stephen Gussman, from whom she was separated when she died, and she had two daughters, Shawna Leigh and Lara Willis.
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16.
Starr Saphir died of complications due to metastatic breast cancer on February 10,2013, at the age of 73.
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