David A. Christie

David Andrew Christie (born August 23, 1945 in Bristol ) is a British ornithologist .

Life

Christie has been observing birds since he was five. In 1967 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Hull , where he studied French and Swedish. From 1973 to 2002 he was the assistant editor of British Birds magazine , for which he wrote about 200 articles. Since 1980 he has been a freelance author and translator of articles and books on ornithology. Since 1988 he has been exploration coordinator with the Hampshire Ornithological Society. Christie's interests include population biology, distribution, migration, and systematics of birds, particularly woodpeckers , waterfowl, and birds of prey . Christie was editor of the Hamlyn Species Guides , Helm Identification Guides, and co-editor of Volumes 8 (2003) to 17 (2013) of the Handbook of the Birds of the World . For the seventh volume he contributed together with Hans Winkler the chapter on the family of the woodpeckers (Picidae). His best-known works include Woodpeckers: A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets and Wrynecks of the World (1995), The Macmillan Birder's Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds: Including North Africa (1996), The Birds of Israel (1996) and Raptors of the World (2001). Christie also translated some works from Swedish into English, including 1990 Bird Migration (original title: Fagelflyttning , 1982) by Thomas Alerstam, 1992 Birds of Europe (original title: Fåglar i Europa ) by Lars Jonsson and in 1999 the Collins Bird Guide (original title: Fågelguiden: Europa also Medelhavsområdets fåglar i fält ) by Lars Svensson .

Christie has been conducting field studies regularly since 1973, including censuses of wild fowl and wading birds for the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), as well as breeding bird populations and population studies.

Christie is a member of the Colonial Waterbird Society, the Neotropical Bird Club and the Oriental Bird Club.

Works (selection)

• The Blackcap (with CF Mason, illustrated by Hilary Burn ), 1994
• The Swallow (with Angela K. Turner, illustrated by Hilary Burn), 1994
• Birds of Great Britain and Europe , 1995
• Woodpeckers: A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets and Wrynecks of the World , 1995 (with Hans Winkler , illustrated by David Nurney )
• The Macmillan Birder's Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds: Including North Africa , 1996 (with Hadoram Shirihai , illustrated by Alan Harris )
• The Birds of Israel , 1996 (with Hadoram Shirihai)
• Skuas and Jaegers , 2000 (with Klaus Malling Olsen)
• Raptors of the World , 2001 (with James Ferguson-Lees , Philip John Kennedy Burton , illustrated by Kim Franklin and David Mead)

literature

• John E. Pemberton: Who's Who in Ornithology. Buckingham Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-9514965-8-9 , p. 77.
• David Christie: to Appreciation. In: British Birds 95, May 2002. pp. 214-215.