Len Howard

Gwendolen "Len" Howard (* 1894 ; † January 5, 1973 in Ditchling , East Sussex ) was a British naturalist and musician .

Life

Howard was the youngest of four children of the poet Henry Newman Howard and Florence Howard, née Warman. She was trained as a violist and played in the orchestra under Malcolm Sargent .

In about 1942 Howard moved from London to Ditchling, East Sussex and began observing the wild birds around their home. Howard's musical training gave her a unique insight into the song of birds. She developed an intimate, almost communal relationship with the birds, many of which flew freely around and through her house and even slept there. She named her house Bird Cottage , or Vogel-Herberge in German .

Howard authored two books about her birds in which she made the claim that individual intelligence, not just instinct , is a major factor in bird behavior. Howard paid special attention to the great tits in her research, but also wrote about robins , sparrows , blackbirds , thrushes , finches and blue tits , among other things . She singled out particularly noticeable individuals for her bird biographies , which were published in various magazines and in her books.

Howard believed that fear was the primary motivator in bird behavior, as observed by humans. That is why Howard went to great lengths to keep their surroundings, just like those of their birds, under controlled conditions in order to give the birds the greatest possible sense of security so that they could develop a close relationship with them. Therefore, the author lived very withdrawn. Anyone wishing to visit her at her Bird Cottage had to follow precise instructions.

Howard died at Bird Cottage on January 5, 1973, at the age of 79.

Works

• Birds As Individuals . Collins, London 1952, ISBN 0-00-211051-2 .
• Living With Birds . Collins, London 1956, ISBN 0-00-211456-9 .

German editions:

• All the birds in my garden. Secrets of bird life. Franckh, 1954.

literature

• Eva Meijer: The bird house. Novel. btb, Munich 2018, ISBN 9783442757947 .

Web links

• Blog for Len Howard (English)
• Song thrush (English)