Jacques Berlioz (9 December 1891, Paris – 21 December 1975) was a French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

and ornithologist, specializing in hummingbirds. He was a grand-nephew of composer Hector Berlioz (1803–1869). Berlioz was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where the family home stood behind Sainte-Trinité and took an interest in natural history from his early childhood. The family included many artists and scientists and his grand uncle was the famous composer Hector Berlioz. He studied medicine and pharmaceutical chemistry in which he received a doctorate in 1917. He then worked at the ''

Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

'' in Paris as an assistant in the department of entomology, moving to the department of mammals and birds in 1920. He became an assistant curator after some years and a chief curator in 1949 with the title of professor. He continued to work here until his retirement in 1962. Berlioz travelled to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

on collection trips with Jean Delacour between 1925 and 1932. Among his writings, were three chapters on

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

, distribution and

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

in ''Traité de Zoologie'' (vol. 15, 19.50, pp. 845–1088) apart from papers on the hummingbirds. For many years he was an editor of ''L'Olseau et la Revue Française d'Ornithologie''. Apart from natural history, he also took an interest in

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

, was a good artist and a talented musician. Berlioz was an officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, an honorary member of the American Ornithologists' Union, the British Ornithologists' Union, the ''

Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft The German Ornithologists' Society (german: Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft) was founded in 1850, and is one of the world's oldest existing scientific societies. Its goal is to support and further scientific ornithology in Germany on all levels. ...

'', the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

, and the ''Société de France Ornitholoque''.

Written works

* ''La vie des colibris'' (Paris) Gallimard, 1944 - The life of

hummingbirds Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

. * ''Oiseaux de la Réunion'' (Paris) Larose, 1946 - Birds of Réunion. * ''Les oiseaux'' (Paris) Presses universitaires de France, 1962 - The birds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlioz, Jacques 20th-century French zoologists 1891 births 1975 deaths French ornithologists Scientists from Paris Officers of the Legion of Honour National Museum of Natural History (France) people