Hadoram Shirihai

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Hadoram Shirihai (born May 2, 1962 in Israel ) is an Israeli ornithologist and author. His main interests are the avifauna of Israel, the research of sea ​​birds and marine mammals as well as a long-term project on the worldwide photographic documentation of all still existing bird species.

Life

Shirihai is the son of Batia and Eli Shirihai. His mother was a school teacher, his father a zoologist. He grew up in Jerusalem and has been an avid bird watcher since he was thirteen . While in high school, he participated in a three-year field study by the Jerusalem Bird Observatory (JBO) on the stilt and golden eagle . From 1981 to 1988 he was a full-time ornithologist in the Nature Reserves Authority and in the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel . In 1984 Shirihai founded the International Birdwatching and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE) on the Red Sea, with the aim of long-term observation and ringing of migratory birds . The Eilat Research and Ringing Center is run by a nature conservation - oriented non-governmental organization and is located in a reserve on an important bird migration route , where over 400 different bird species have already been observed. Every year over 60,000 tourists from all over the world visit the reserve and the center, where Shirihai was the first director until 1993. Shirihai's other fields of activity included the annual spring and autumn census of birds of prey during migrations in Eilat for nine seasons, the census of breeding birds and the establishment of rarity and avifaunistic commissions for Israeli birds. Shirihai was able to document the occurrence of 50 bird species that had not previously been detected in Israel. He added ten more to the bird species list of the western Palearctic region .

Shirihai has focused on marine mammal and seabird research since the mid-1990s. He founded the Tubenoses Project, with the aim of photographing and documenting all types of tubular noses . In 2007 he succeeded in rediscovering the Solomon Islands petrel ( Pseudobulweria becki ). In May and October 2009, Shirihai photographed the Macgillivray petrel ( Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi ) off the coast of Gau in the Fiji Islands for the first time. In 2009 he published the first photos of the Vanuatus petrel ( Pterodroma occulata ) at sea. Between 2008 and 2010 he documented the Madeira petrel ( Pterodroma madeira ) in the waters of Macaronesia . At the end of 2013, he took the first photo of a pregnant female mascarene petrel ( Pseudobulweria aterrima ) off Réunion . In 2010 he described the subspecies Pterodroma brevipes magnificens of the chestnut petrel , which occurs on Vanuatu . The subspecies Puffinus bailloni colstoni of the tropical shearwater from the Seychelles , described in 1996 together with David A. Christie , is today a synonym for the subspecies Puffinus bailloni nicolae, which was described by Christian Jouanin in 1971 .

At the beginning of the 2000s, Shirihai started an extensive long-term photo project about the bird species on earth. Of the almost 5000 species photographed so far, 3250 come from the Neotropic alone . Between 2000 and 2018 Shirihai worked with Lars Svensson on the Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds . This two-volume work includes all passerine species and subspecies of the western Palearctic with extensive sections and several photos of each species.

Since 1989 Shirihai has been working as a freelance ornithologist, guide on bird watching tours and author. In addition to various books, he has published scientific articles in Israeli and international bird journals, including Torgos (Israel), Birding World , Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club , British Birds , Dutch Birding , Bulletin of the African Bird Club and Sandgrouse .

Dedication names

Early 2015 was desert owl ( Strix hadorami ) named in honor of Hadoram Shirhai. This species has been confused with the Omankauz ( Strix butleri ) since the 19th century and, thanks to a DNA analysis and the support of Shirihai, could be described as a separate species.

Works (selection)

  • Birdwatching in the Deserts of Israel , International Birdwatching Center Eilat, 1993
  • The Birds of Israel . Academic Press, London, 1996
  • The Macmillan Birder's Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds (with David A. Christie , illustrated by Alan Harris ), Macmillan, London, 1996
  • Passerines and Passerine Migration in Eilat 1984–1993 (with John H. Morgan). International Birdwatching Center Eilat, 1997
  • Ethiopia 1997: In Search of Endemic Birds (with Julian Earnshaw Francis), 1998
  • Raptor Migration in Israel and the Middle East: A Summary of 30 Years of Field Research (with Reuven Yosef, Dan Alon, Guy M. Kirwan , Reto Spaar), IBRCE, IOC, SPNI, Eilat, 2000
  • A Guide to the Birding Hotspots of Northern Israel (with James P. Smith, Guy M. Kirwan and Dan Alon) Israel Ornithological Center, SPNI, Tel Aviv, 2000
  • A Guide to the Birding Hotspots of Southern Israel (with James P. Smith, Guy M. Kirwan, and Dan Alon) Israel Ornithological Center, SPNI, Tel Aviv, 2000
  • Sylvia Warblers (with Gabriel Gargallo and Andreas J. Helbig , illustrated by Alan John Harris and David Cottridge). A. & C. Black, London, 2001
  • A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean (illustrated by Brett Jarrett). Princeton University Press, 2002
  • Whales, Dolphins and Seals - A Field Guide to the Marine Mammals of the World (illustrated by Brett Jarrett). A. & C. Black, London, 2006 (German: Kosmos Naturführer: Meeressäuger - all 129 species worldwide (Translation: Daniel Erdmann), 2008)
  • Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds. Volume 1: Passerines: Larks to Warblers. 2018 (with Lars Svensson ).
  • Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds. Volume 2: Passerines: Flycatchers to Buntings. 2018 (with Lars Svensson).

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Shirihai, Hadoram
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli ornithologist and author
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Israel