Michael Stanley Reid Sharland (1899–1987) was an Australian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and amateur

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 ...

. He was born, and spent most of his life, in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, though he also lived and worked in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Sharland was very active in ornithological organisations. He joined 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 ...

(RAOU) in 1921 and served on its Migration Committee 1926–1932, as Branch Secretary or Councillor for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

while living in that state 1934–1941, and as Branch Secretary for Tasmania 1942–1964. He also served as RAOU President 1949–1951. In 1971 he initiated the formation of the Bird Observers Association of Tasmania. As well as numerous papers and articles, books he authored include: * 1945 - ''Tasmanian Birds. A field guide to the birds inhabiting Tasmania and adjacent islands, including the sea birds''. Mercury Press: Hobart. * 1952 - ''Stones of a Century''. Oldham, Beddome & Meredith: Hobart. * 1958 - ''Tasmanian Birds. A field guide to the birds inhabiting Tasmania and adjacent islands, including the sea birds''. Angus & Robertson: Sydney. * 1963 - ''Tasmanian Wild Life. A popular account of the furred land mammals, snakes and introduced mammals of Tasmania''. Melbourne University Press: Parkville. * 1964 - ''A Territory of Birds''. Rigby Ltd: Adelaide. * 1967 - ''Birds of the Sun''. Angus & Robertson Ltd: Sydney. * 1971 - ''A Pocketful of Nature''. The Mercury: Hobart. * 1976 - " Once Upon a Time in Tasmania....Tasmanian Tales". Davies Brothers Limited: Hobart. * 1981 - ''A Guide to the Birds of Tasmania''. Drinkwater Publishing: Hobart.

References

* Robin, Libby. (2001). ''The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001''. Carlton, Vic. Melbourne University Press. * Wall, Leonard E. (1987). Obituary. Michael Stanley Reid Sharland. ''

Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

'' 87: 133. Australian ornithologists 1899 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Australian zoologists {{Australia-ornithologist-stub