Alexander William Milligan (1858 – 30 March 1921) was an Australian accountant, legal clerk, zoological collector and

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

. Milligan was born at

Sulky Gully Sulky Gully was the location of a gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yel ...

, near

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. He was educated at

Guildford, Victoria Guildford is a small settlement situated on the Loddon River, north-west of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Midland Highway between Daylesford and Castlemaine. The population recorded at the 2016 census was 333. Fac ...

. In 1897 he moved to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

where he worked as a temporary accountant with the Department of Lands and Surveys. He was a founding member in 1901 of the

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and bird conservation, conservati ...

, with which he served as a member of the Checklist Committee. He was also the Honorary Consulting Ornithologist to the

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...

. In 1908 he moved back to Victoria where he died in St Kilda. Several birds were named after him by

Gregory Mathews Gregory Macalister Mathews Order of the British Empire, CBE FRSE FZS FLS (10 September 1876 – 27 March 1949) was an Australian-born amateur ornithologist who spent most of his later life in England. Life He was born in Biamble, New South Wal ...

References

Australian ornithologists 1858 births 1921 deaths Zoological collectors {{Australia-ornithologist-stub