Petr Petrovich Sushkin (russian: Петр Петрович Сушкин; 27 January 1868 – 17 September 1928) was a Russian

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 ...

who specialised on comparative anatomy, and evolution of birds, particularly of the birds of prey. Sushkin was born in

Tula, Russia Tula ( rus, Тула, p=ˈtulə) is the largest city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast in Russia, located south of Moscow. Tula is located in the northern Central Russian Upland on the banks of the Upa River, a tributary of the Oka. ...

, in a merchant family. He studied at the Tula Classical Gymnasium (1877-1885) graduating with a silver medal before going on to Moscow University in 1885. He graduated in 1890 and joined the staff of the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Zoological Museum in 1898. He studied ornithology under

Mikhail Menzbier Mikhail Aleksandrovich Menzbier (Russian: Михаил Александрович Мензбир; 23 October 1855 – 10 October 1935) was a Russian ornithologist. Based in Moscow, he was a founding member of Russia's first ornithological body, ...

and his dissertation in 1897 was on the morphology of the skeleton of birds, specifically of the kestrel. He conducted surveys in the Ufa province in 1891 and Kazakhstan in 1898. His studies on the birds of southeastern Russia,

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

and the

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

were published in several monographs. Sushkin visited European museums from 1899 to 1900 and worked on his doctoral dissertation on the birds of prey. He became a professor at Moscow University and in 1909 became a professor at Kharkov University teaching until 1919. In 1913, he surveyed the Transcaucasian region. From 1919 to 1920 he taught at the Tauride University, Simferopol. He published in English, German, and Russian, and wrote ''Notes on systematics and distribution of certain palaearctic birds'', an influential article on bird relationships.Sushkin, Petr Petrovich, 1868-1928. - Biodiversity Heritage Library
/ref> In 1916, Sushkin was among the founders of the Russian Palaeontological Society. In 1923 he became a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences and in 1924 he was made an honorary member of the British Ornithological Union. Sushkin died of pneumonia at

Kislovodsk Kislovodsk (russian: Кислово́дск, lit. ''sour waters''; ; krc, Ачысуу) is a spa city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, in the North Caucasus region of Russia which is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. Population: History I ...

and is buried at the

Smolensky cemetery Smolensky Cemetery () is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

References

External links

Biography
(in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sushkin, Petr Petrovich Russian ornithologists 1868 births 1928 deaths People from Tula, Russia