They are cruising among the islands in the inland waters — expecting to reach Magellanes very soon, — their objective being to discover remnants of the earliest civilization in that part of South America.

[2] Gordon Willey wrote in a biographical sketch of Junius Bird that Margaret "proved herself a formidable ally right from the start, flourishing under the conditions of a 1,300-mile trip in a nineteen-foot sailboat as well as journeying across the flats of far southern South America in a wind-driven Ford car.

"[1] Additionally, she kept detailed field journals on the couple's expeditions, her "witty, charming, and personable" writings conveying "the more human aspects of [Junius] Bird’s research while reinterpreting his theoretical ideas.

"[1] With Junius Bird, Margaret worked on excavations in Argentina, Patagonia, Peru, and Chile, including at Canadon Leon, Cueva Fell and Pali-Aike.

[4] Margaret McKelvy Bird died on 28 December 1996, and was buried with her husband in Greenwood Union Cemetery, Westchester County, New York.