George Stuart Keith (4 September 1931 – 13 February 2003) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
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 a champion birder, editor of a series of books about African birds, and co-founder of the
American Birding Association
The American Birding Association (ABA) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birding in Canada and the United States. It has been called "the standard-bearer for serious birding in North America." Originally con ...
(ABA).
Early life
Keith was born on 4 September 1931 in
Clothall
Clothall is a village and civil parish in the county of Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 358. It is situated south-east of Baldock
Baldock ( ) is a historic market town and unparished area in the local government district of Nor ...
,
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, near
Baldock
Baldock ( ) is a historic market town and unparished area in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire, England, where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north n ...
in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
.
During World War II, he moved with his mother and three siblings to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
In 1943, he returned to Britain to study classics at
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
.
During the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
he served as a lieutenant in
The King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...
, an infantry regiment. After his service, Keith completed his formal education, receiving an M.A. degree in classics from
Worcester College
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...
of the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
Career
He returned to North America in 1955.
From 1958, he was a research associate in the ornithology department of the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
in New York.
He joined the
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...
in 1959; became an elective member in 1970; and was made a fellow in 1991.
From 1965 to 1973, he served as secretary, then president, of the U.S. Section of the
International Council for Bird Preservation
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
, now BirdLife International.
In 1969, he helped found the ABA, and he served as its first president, from 1973 to 1976.
In 1978, Keith joined the project that would compile the seven-volume series ''
The Birds of Africa
:"The Birds of Africa" ''is also a five-volume handbook by George Ernest Shelley, published 1896-1912.''
''The Birds of Africa'' is an eight-volume ornithological handbook.
Its authors/editors are C. Hilary Fry, Stuart Keith and Emil Urban, a ...
'' as a member of its Board of Advisors.
In 1980, he became a senior editor, sharing duties with Hilary Fry and Emil K. Urban.
He contributed the sections describing
bulbul
The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical As ...
s and
cisticola
__NOTOC__
Cisticolas (pronounced ''sis-TIC-olas'') are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other ...
s, and had completed his work on the final volume (published in 2004) at the time of his death.
With John Gooders, in 1980 he published the ''Collins Bird Guide'' to the birds of Britain and Europe.
Keith made contributions in other media as well. In the 1960s, he produced a film about
cranes in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
; he produced a feature-length film on
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n birds.
He made recordings of bird songs from
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 continental Africa; with William Gunn, he produced ''Birds of the African Rain Forests'', the first recordings to specialize in the vocalizations of 90 species of African forest birds.
It is for his accomplishments as a birder that Keith is most widely known. In 1956, he set a one-year record of 594 species seen in the United States and Canada.
He was the first to see 4,000 species worldwide, a total which he achieved in the 1970s.
At the time of his death, he had seen more than 6,500 species; however, he was surpassed by
Phoebe Snetsinger
Phoebe Snetsinger (née Burnett; June 9, 1931 – November 23, 1999) was an American birder famous for having seen and documented birds of 8,398 different species, at the time, more than anyone else in history and the first person to see more than ...
, who is credited with almost 8,400 species.
Keith's feats were recorded in ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''People'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Bird Watcher's Digest''.
Recognition
In 1993 he was awarded the
Linnaean Society of New York The Linnaean Society of New York (LSNY) was established in 1878, in the city of New York, United States of America, by a group of amateurs interested in natural science, especially ornithology. The founding members included H.P. Bailey, Eugene Pinta ...
's
Eisenmann Medal
The Eisenmann Medal is awarded by the Linnaean Society of New York (LSNY) in recognition of the recipient's ornithological excellence and encouragement of amateur efforts in ornithology and birding.
The medal commemorates the ornithologist and pro ...
.
In 1999, he received the
Ludlow Griscom Award The Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contributions in Regional Ornithology is an award bestowed by the American Birding Association upon individuals who are determined to have "dramatically advanced the state of ornithological knowledge for a pa ...
from the ABA "in appreciation of his vision and leadership in shaping ABA and tireless passion and dedication to the birds of North America."
Later life and death
Keith became a naturalized American citizen in 1994.
He died, of circulatory-related causes, on 13 February 2003 while on a birding trip to
Chuuk in
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
, having seen a new life bird earlier in the day.
Selected publications
* Keith, Stuart and John Gooders. 1980. ''Collins Bird Guide: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe.'' Collins, London, UK. 767 pp. .
* Urban, Emil K.; C. Hilary Fry; and Stuart Keith. 1986. ''The Birds of Africa, Volume II: Game Birds to Pigeons.'' Academic Press, London, UK. 552 pp. .
* Fry, C. Hilary; Stuart Keith; and Emil K. Urban. 1988. ''The Birds of Africa, Volume III: Parrots to Woodpeckers.'' Academic Press, London, UK. 611 pp. .
* Keith, Stuart; Emil K. Urban; and C. Hilary Fry. 1992. ''The Birds of Africa, Volume IV: Broadbills to Chats.'' Academic Press, London, UK. 632 pp. .
* Urban, Emil K.; C. Hilary Fry; and Stuart Keith. 1997. ''The Birds of Africa, Volume V: Thrushes to Puffback Flycatchers.'' Academic Press, London, UK. 672 pp. .
* Fry, C. Hilary; Stuart Keith; and Emil K. Urban. 2000. ''The Birds of Africa, Volume VI: Picathartes to Oxpeckers.'' Academic Press, London, UK. 600 pp. .
* Fry, C. Hilary and Stuart Keith. 2004. ''The Birds of Africa, Volume VII: Sparrows to Buntings.'' Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 728 pp. .
References
External links
* Robertson, Don. 2003.
In Memoriam: G. Stuart Keith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Stuart
British ornithologists
American ornithologists
1931 births
2003 deaths
20th-century American zoologists