William Lay Thompson was an American

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 ...

, naturalist and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He was Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, an expert on bird vocalizations, past President of the Michigan Audubon Society, and past Editor of the Jack Pine Warbler.

Early life and education

William Lay Thompson was born on February 16, 1930, in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. He was the son of Dora (Lay) Thompson of Lockhart, Texas and William Henry Thompson of Brownwood, Texas. He attended the Austin public schools. After graduating from Austin High School he went to the

University of Texas in Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

where he received his bachelor's degree with a major in zoology and a minor in botany. He continued at the University of Texas in Austin for a master's degree in zoology. This was followed by a Doctorate in zoology at the

University of California in Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

Career

From 1955 to 1957, Thompson served in the

United States Army Chemical Corps The Chemical Corps is the branch of the United States Army tasked with defending against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. The Chemical Warfare Service was established on 28 June 1918, combining activities that unti ...

, stationed in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

In 1959, Thompson was engaged to teach at Wayne State University, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, in the Department of Biology. He taught in the University's Adult Education Program and at the

Detroit Zoo The Detroit Zoo is a zoo located in Royal Oak, Michigan, spanning 125 acres and housing more than 2,000 animals and more than 245 different species. It was the first U.S. zoo to feature bar-less habitats, and is regarded to be an international ...

. He was elected as a Member of AOU (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 ...

) and AAAS (

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

) in which he was elected a Fellow. He retired from Wayne State in 1993 as Professor Emeritus. Thompson established Museum of Natural History in Biology Department at Wayne State University circa 1972-1976 was used by area schools in "Tandem Teaching" program. Thompson was a member of the Detroit Audubon Society, in which he served a term as vice president and also the Michigan Audubon Society, in which he served as president for several years.

Personal life

In 1958 Thompson married Retta Catherine Maninger in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. They had three children.

Death

Thompson died on November 27, 2016, in

Livonia, Michigan Livonia is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 95,535 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which ranked it as Michigan's ninth most-populated municipality. Livonia is a part ...

Publications

* Summer Birds of the Canadian "Breaks" in Hutchinson County, Texas. Texas J. Sci. 4(2) :220-229. * The Ecological Distribution of the Birds of the Black Gap Area, Brewster County, Texas. The Texas Journal of Sci. 5(2) :158-177. * Summary of the Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Agonistic Behavior of the House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus). University of California Graduate Division, Northern Section.
Agonistic Behavior in the House Finch. Part I
Annual Cycle and Display Patterns. The Condor, 62(4) :245-271.
Agonistic Behavior in the House Finch. Part II
Factors in Aggressiveness and Sociality. The Condor, 62(5) :378-402.
An Early Specimen of the Indigo Bunting from California
The Condor, 66(5) :445. * A Comparative Study of Bird Behavior. The Jack-Pine Warbler, 43(3) :110-117.
The Songs of Five Species of Passerina
Behaviour, XXXI(3-4) :261-267.
Song Development in the Indigo Bunting
Animal Behaviour, 16(4) :462-469. * Song Recognition by Territorial Male Buntings (Passerina). Animal Behaviour, !7(4) :658-663. * Territorial Defense and Individual Song Recognition in the Indigo Bunting. The Jack-Pine Warbler, 47(3) :76-83. * An Analysis of Catbird Song. The Jack-Pine Warbler, 47(4) :115-125.
Song Variation in a Population of Indigo Buntings
The Auk, 87(1) :58-71. * Geographic Variation in Song Composition of the Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea. Animal Behaviour, 18(1):151-158. * Singing behavior of the Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) (U. S. A.) Abstracts - XI Congressus Internationalis Ornithologicus. The Hague, 30 August - 5 September. :215-216.
Calls of the Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea
Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 27 :35-46.
Singing Behavior of the Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea
Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 31 :39-59.
A Behavioral and Morphological Study of Sympatry in the Indigo and Lazuli Buntings of the Great Plains
The Wilson Bulletin, 87(2) :145-179.
Vocalizations of the Lazuli Bunting
The Condor, 78(2):195-207.
Song Characteristics of the Yellow Warbler
The Wilson Bulletin, 91(4) :533-550.
Suggestions for Preparing Audiospectrograms for Publications
Condor, 81 :220-221.
Local Song Traditions in Indigo Buntings: Cultural Transmissions of Behavior Patterns Across Generations
Behaviour, 77(4): 199–221. * A Burrowing Owl Specimen from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The Jack-Pine Warbler, 60(3): 118. * Infant Transfer Patterns in a Captive Group of Ring Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Detroit Zoological Park. American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums: Regional Conference Proceedings, :pp. 254–259. * Study Guide for Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company; Dubuque Iowa, 91 pages.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, William Lay 1930 births 2016 deaths American ornithologists American zoologists American naturalists American ecologists American conservationists American science writers American ornithological writers American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction environmental writers University of Texas at Austin alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Wayne State University faculty People from Austin, Texas