Hugh Whistler
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hugh Whistler (28 September 1889 – 7 July 1943), F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 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 ...
police officer and
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 worked in India. He wrote one of the first field guides to Indian birds and documented the distributions of birds in notes in several journals apart from describing new subspecies.


Life and career

Hugh was the first son of Major Fuller Whistler of the Highland Light Infantry and Gwenllian Annie (née Robinson) and was born at
Mablethorpe Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, part of the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): The population including nearby Sutton-on-Sea was 12, ...
in 1889. Whistler was educated at
Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ages of five to ele ...
. His younger brother Ralfe Allen Fuller Whistler (24 July 1895 - 28 April 1917) followed after his father and joined the Highland Light Infantry while Hugh went to serve with the
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n police mainly in the
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. He served in India from December 1909 to April 1926. He was initially posted at Phillaur but was later to serve across Punjab including districts such as Jhang that were considered unpopular. He was posted in other regions including Kangra, Lahul and Spiti. He began to correspond with
Claud Buchanan Ticehurst Claud Buchanan Ticehurst FRGS (8 January 1881 – 17 February 1941) was a British people, British ornithologist. Early years Born at St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex he was a brother of Norman Frederic Ticehurst (1873-1960) and their father was Dr ...
and, when on leave in England in 1910, he visited Grove House at Lowestoft and was introduced to scientific ornithology. Wherever he was posted, he took an interest in the local birdlife, keeping careful notes and making collections. In 1924 he returned to England and made a trip to Spain with Ticehurst. On 2 October 1925 Whistler married Margaret Joan Ashton (1893–1981) daughter of Thomas Gair Ashton, 1st Baron Ashton of Hyde and Eva Margaret James who were from near his own home in Battle. He died on 7 July 1943 leaving behind a daughter Benedicta (now deceased) and son Ralfe.


Ornithology

Whistler studied and collected birds wherever he was posted in India. On retiring to England he continued his research into Indian ornithology. He published extensively in the ''Journal of the
Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publi ...
'', making notes on the occurrence and on the distributions of geographic plumage variations. He published a ten-part introduction to the study of birds in India. He made collecting trips to
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
,
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, Italy and Algeria often in the company of
Claud Buchanan Ticehurst Claud Buchanan Ticehurst FRGS (8 January 1881 – 17 February 1941) was a British people, British ornithologist. Early years Born at St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex he was a brother of Norman Frederic Ticehurst (1873-1960) and their father was Dr ...
. Around 1925 a plan was made by W S Millard, Sir George Lowndes and F J Mitchell to produce an illustrated guide to the birds of India for beginners. Whistler was asked to help in its writing. It was eventually published in 1928 as the ''Popular Handbook of Indian Birds''. Four later editions of this publication were issued, and the last was published after his death. In this work he foresaw the value of popularizing observation-based ornithology: Whistler lived at
Battle, East Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Batt ...
during his retirement, where he was a
Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
. He made one trip to India in 1928 as a guest of Admiral
Hubert Lynes Rear Admiral Hubert Lynes, (27 November 1874 – 10 November 1942) was a British admiral whose First World War service was notable for his direction of the Zeebrugge and Ostend raids designed to neutralise the German-held port of Bruges, which ...
with the intention of studying the birds of Kashmir. Lynes was recalled to England and insisted that Whistler and Bertram Beresford Osmaston complete the bird survey. He joined the British Ornithologists' Union in 1913 and in 1940 served as its as vice-president. He visited Kashmir with Admiral Lynes and wanted to produce an account of the birds of Punjab and Kashmir; this was not completed. He was also interested in hounds, pheasant rearing, falconry and was an antiquarian. He was for a while involved in the care of
Bodiam Castle Bodiam Castle () is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area agai ...
. Whistler was a very careful and critical observer noted for his "capacity for taking pains". He was skeptical of George Bristow and his observations which was later to become famous as the
Hastings Rarities The Hastings Rarities affair is a case of statistically demonstrated ornithological fraud that misled the bird world for decades in the 20th century. The discovery of the long-running hoax shocked ornithologists. The Hastings Rarities were a se ...
scandal. Whistler was critical of egg collection driven by trade and remarked on the unscrupulous collection that he heard of from a correspondent in the Khasi hills. He further remarked that eggs from Assam or Sikkim be treated with caution by oologists. This article was reacted to by
E C Stuart Baker Edward Charles Stuart Baker CIE OBE FZS FLS (1864 – 16 April 1944) was a British ornithologist and police officer. He catalogued the birds of India and produced the second edition of the ''Fauna of British India'' which included the introdu ...
. Several subspecies of birds were named after him including some by Ticehurst, Delacour and Stresemann. Whistler's warbler originally described as ''Seicercus burkii whistleri'' is now considered a full species: ''Seicercus whistleri''. The Whistler Prize of
Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
, awarded to the best essay on natural history or
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, is named after him. His collection of 17,320 bird skins was presented to the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
by Mrs Whistler in 1949.


Writings

A partial list of Whistler's writings includes: * * * *
Edition 3 (1941)
* Whistler H (1944) The Avifaunal Survey of Ceylon conducted jointly by the British and Colombo Museums. Spolia Zeylanica 23: 119–321. (posthumous) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whistler, Hugh 1889 births 1943 deaths English ornithologists Fellows of the Zoological Society of London People from Mablethorpe 20th-century British zoologists Members of the Bombay Natural History Society