Richard (Dick) John Watling (born 13 November 1951) is a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

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 ...

, writer and

environmental consultant Environmental consulting is often a form of compliance consulting, in which the consultant ensures that the client maintains an appropriate measure of compliance with environmental regulations. There are many types of environmental consultants, b ...

of British origin.

Life

Watling was born in Uganda, spent most of his childhood in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and first went to Fiji in 1967. He studied zoology at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and then obtained a doctorate at Cambridge, his doctoral thesis concerning the red-vented bulbul, a bird introduced to Fiji where it is an agricultural pest. He has worked in the Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks in Tanzania and with the World Wildlife Fund's Conservation Indonesia Programme as well as at many places throughout the south-west Pacific and

south-east Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

regions. He has also served as editor of ''Domodomo'', the journal of the Fiji Museum. and was the principal founder of NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, which is Fiji's only domestic NGO working solely for the conservation of Fiji's natural heritage

Publications

Books authored or coauthored by Watling include: * 1982 – ''Birds of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa''. (Illustrated by Chloe Talbot-Kelly). Millwood: New Zealand. * 1986 – ''Mai Veikau: Tales of Fijian Wildlife''. Fiji Times: Suva. * 1999 – ''Pocket Poster Guide to the Birds of Fiji''. Author: Fiji. * 2001 – ''A Guide to the Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia: Including American Samoa, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna''. Author: Fiji. * 2005 – ''Palms of the Fiji Islands''. (With George Bennett). Environmental Consultants: Suva. * 2006 – ''Guide to the Birds of the Kingdom of Tonga''. Author: Fiji.

References

1951 births Fijian ornithologists Fijian writers Fijian environmentalists Living people Fijian people of British descent British emigrants to Fiji {{ornithologist-stub