James Macdonald (ornithologist)

James Macdonald (ornithologist) James "Jim" David Macdonald Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh FRSE Linnean Society of London FLS Zoological Society of London FZS Institute of Biology FIB (3 October 1908 – 17 September 2002) was a Scottish-Australian museum curator, ornithologist, ornithological writer, and organizer of ornithological expeditions. His 1973 book Birds of Australia: A Summary of Information, with illustrations by Peter Slater (ornithologist) Peter Slater and a chapter by Dominic Serventy Dominic L. Serventy, was a valuable handbook. Quotes The Cuckoo may easily be mistaken for a male Eurasian sparrowhawk Sparrow-hawk in flight. They are identical in size and are similarly barred below. The illusion is often fostered in late summer by young cuckoos being seen in flight with their foster-parents, much smaller birds ... Birds of Britain: A Guide to the Common Species George Bell (publisher) George Bell 1949 https://books.google.com/books?id=9j9BAAAAYAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=foster-parents 29 (153 pages) One of the areas whose birds have been given rather less attention than most is the arid western regions of South Africa. For various reasons it has been, and still is, an inhospitable country, in spite of the kindly disposition of its thinly scattered population. Its political history, at times somewhat turbulent; its desolate and fog-bound coastline, now made doubly inapproachable because of protective measures against illicit diamond prospecting; its vast hinterland of Kalahari Desert and Okavango Delta Okavango swamp; and its own arid mountains and plains have discouraged travellers and ornithological pursuits.Although the birds of this region have been studied relatively infrequently most of the species represented have been known for a long time. The first ornithological survey of any importance took place as early as 1783-5 when the French naturalist, François Levaillant Levaillant, made his second great journey ‘into the interior parts of Africa from the Cape of Good Hope’. Introduction ix–x Contributions to the Ornithology of Western South AfricaL Results of the British Museum (Natural History) South West Africa Expedition, 1949–50 1957 pages-ix–x (quote from p. ix; text at archive.org) Instructions to Young Ornithologists (1959) If you are fortunate to have the chance to examine a recently dead bird, even one brought home from the poulterer with plumage intact, spend a little time examining the feathers carefully and note down various points of interest. Instructions to Young Ornithologists: Bird Biology Museum Press 1959 https://books.google.com/books?id=OPlPAAAAYAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=moult 95 (128 pages) Horny projections which look more like teeth are found in the beaks of a special group of ducks represented in Britain by Common merganser Goosander and Red-breasted merganser Merganser, sometimes known as "sawbills". In these birds the beak is narrow and the "teeth" are used for gripping fish. p. 102 Quotes about James D. Macdonald Macdonald selects twelve aspects of the life and behaviour of birds, illustrating them with Australian examples. Topics covered are Territorial Behaviour, Breeding behaviors of birds Breeding Biology, Population Problems, Post-Breeding Activities, Fledge Learning to Fly, Distribution, Habitats and Adaptations, Plumage, Other Important Features, Various Systems, the Senses, and Variation and Evolution of birds Evolution. The level of detail on each subject is well suited to the intended audience and avoids both superficiality and excessive detail. Indeed, beginners are far from the only birdwatchers who would profit from reading this book. The list of references, although short, is useful and reasonably comprehensive and would give the interested reader a useful introduction to the literature on a particular topic. Gerry Clark G. S. Clark, review of Birds for Beginners. How Birds Live and Behave by J. D. Macdonald Emu — Austral Ornithology 1982 82 2 114 https://www.publish.csiro.au/MU/pdf/MU9820114 When appointed to the British Museum (Natural History) in 1935 he was placed in the Bird Room, where he started as Assistant Keeper and retired in 1968 as Senior Scientific Officer in charge of the Bird Room and Deputy Keeper of the Zoology Department. Apart from war service with the Admiralty (United Kingdom) British Admiralty, his entire career was dedicated to traditional museum ornithology. He ran collecting expeditions to South Sudan in 1938–1939 and South West Africa in 1950–1951, each substantially enhancing African collections in the Museum; that led to publication of a comprehensive report on the birds of the region. ...His professional career culminated in a Harold Hall Australian expeditions series of expeditions to Australia sponsored mostly by Major Harold Hall, an Australian philanthropist. That was the last systematic collecting of Australian birds by an overseas institute, collecting in all parts of the continent and enriching the British Museum collection of Australian birds by some 6,500 specimens (skins, skeletons, and fluid). The leader of the first expedition in 1962–1963, Jim’s party discovered a new species of bird (Hall's babbler Hall’s Babbler) in Queensland. In that expedition, his wife Betty accompanied him as doctor and caterer for the team. Jiro Kikkawa, In Memoriam: James David Macdonald, 1908–2002 The Auk 120 3 1 July 2003 912–913 https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/120.3.912 10.1093/auk/120.3.912 External links James David Macdonald Category:1908 births Category:2002 deaths Category:Curators Category:Non-fiction authors from Australia Category:Non-fiction authors from Scotland Category:Ornithologists Category:Science authors Category:University of Aberdeen alumni Category:Zoologists from Australia Category:Zoologists from the United Kingdom