Claus King

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Ingrid König (wife of Claus König), Claus König and Karla Kinstler talking at the World Owl Conference in Groningen

Claus König (born November 23, 1933 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein ) is a German ornithologist. His research focus is the order of the owls .

Live and act

Even as a child, Claus König was fascinated by owls and bats. After studying zoology, botany and chemistry at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main , he obtained his doctorate in 1959 . Between 1962 and 1971 he was head of the Ludwigsburg bird sanctuary . From 1971 to 1996 he was a curator in the bird department of the State Museum for Natural History in Stuttgart . In 1997 he succeeded Olivier Rieppel as director of the museum and held this position until his retirement in 2000.

He and his wife Ingrid have been involved in owl research projects since the early 1960s, including the reintroduction of the pygmy owl in the Black Forest at the end of the 1960s . In 2007 he published the nature film “ Der kleine Spauz ” about this project . In the early 1980s he went on an expedition to South America, where he visited the places where Charles Darwin had been between 1832 and 1835. He conducted further studies in Europe and Africa. König described some new species of owls, including the mountain forest screech owl ( Megascops hoyi ) and the Yungas pygmy owl ( Glaucidium bolivianum ) and the Peruvian pygmy owl ( Glaucidium peruanum ) (both 1991) in 1989 . Together with Friedhelm Weick , he wrote the standard taxonomic work Owls of the World in 1999 and 2008 , where he lists all known owl species, revised genera and raised several taxa from subspecies status to species status. From 1969 to 1984 Claus König was President of the German Association for Bird Protection . He is also a member of BirdLife International and the German Ornithological Society .

In 1962, Claus König discovered the first specimens of the Bavarian short-eared mouse near Garmisch-Partenkirchen , a rodent that was thought to be extinct for a long time before it was rediscovered in 2000.

In addition to identification books on birds, König wrote over 250 scientific articles.

Fonts

  • Influences of light and temperature on the hibernation of the dormouse Glis G. Glis Linnaeus 1766. 1959.
  • European birds. 1966.
  • Marsh and water birds, birds of prey, hens, cranes, pigeons, cuckoo birds, owls. 1967.
  • Wild mammals of Europe. 1969.
  • 1969–1970: Collaboration on Grzimek's animal life
  • Europe's bird life in colors. 1971.
  • The Kosmos Bird Guide: The birds of Germany and Europe in color. 1972.
  • Mammals. 1973.
  • The songbirds of Europe. 1976.
  • Birds of Africa: East and South Africa. 1979.
  • Bird nests and clutch. 1979.
  • Birds of Central Europe. 1982.
  • In Darwin's footsteps: ecological considerations in the land of the condor. 1983.
  • The great bird book by Olof Rudbeck the Younger Historical, art-historical and ornithological commentary. 1985.
  • Observe yes - disturb no. 1985.
  • The Rosenstein Castle Museum. 1987.
  • Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World. 1999.
  • Animals in the city park: The vertebrate fauna of the Stuttgart Rosenstein Park. 2000.
  • Owls of the world. 2008.

literature

  • In the Natural History Museum - Claus König is now the boss. In: Stuttgarter Zeitung. May 31, 1997, p. 25.
  • Bärbel Häcker, Eberhart Heiderich: 50 years of nature conservation history in Baden-Württemberg: contemporary witnesses report. Ulmer, 2004, ISBN 978-380-014-472-3 , p. 250.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME King, Claus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Ludwigshafen am Rhein