Thomas McIlwraith (ornithologist)

Portrait of Thomas McIlwraith (1824–1903)

Thomas McIlwraith (born December 25, 1824 in Newton upon Ayr , Ayrshire , Scotland , † January 31, 1903 in Hamilton , Ontario ) was a Canadian ornithologist and businessman of Scottish origin.

Life

In 1853 McIlwraith moved from Scotland to Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario, where he made a career as a successful businessman. He retired from business ten years before his death. A passionate nature lover and bird watcher since childhood, McIlwraith developed into a local expert on avifauna in the Hamilton area from 1860 onwards . He described his observations in articles published in The Canadian Naturalist in 1860 and 1863 . In 1866 his List of Birds observed near Hamilton, Canada West appeared , which included 241 species. His publications attracted the attention of prominent American ornithologists, with whom he corresponded very actively for many years. In 1883 he was one of the 23 founding members of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) in New York City, where he served on the bird migration committee. He was put in charge of the work in the District of Ontario . In 1886 he published the work The birds of Ontario, being a list of birds observed in the province of Ontario, with an account of their habits, distribution, nests, eggs, etc. , a book in octave format with 300 pages, published in 1894 in a second rewritten and expanded edition appeared. In 1889 McIlwraith was elected to the AOU for one year. McIlwraith amassed a large collection of Canadian and British birds, many of which he groomed himself . The naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton learned the preparation trade from McIlwraith.

literature

• Albert Kenrick Fisher : Obituary Thomas McIlwraith . In Condor, Volume 5 (2), 1903. p. 57
• Albert Kenrick Fisher: In Memoriam Thomas McIlwraith . In The Auk, Volume 11 (1), 1904. pp. 1-8

Web links

• Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Volume XIII (1901-1910). Entry Thomas McIlwraith
• Entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia