David William Snow (30 September 1924 – 4 February 2009) was an English

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

born in

Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

Career and personal life

He won a scholarship to Eton and started there in 1938 just before his 14th birthday. He won a scholarship to study classics at New College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

but was called up to serve in the navy in April 1943 and served on several ships including

destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, and sloops. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he spent a year sailing through the Far East and to Australia. In 1946 he returned to Oxford and switched from classics to the study of zoology, earning a D.Phil degree in 1953. In 1958, David married Barbara Kathleen Whitaker, who was the warden of

Lundy Island Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon. About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently changing hands between the British crown and ...

. Barbara Snow was also a noted ornithologist and a geologist. From 1957 to 1961 the Snows worked for the

New York Zoological Society New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

at the society's

research centre A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural sc ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. Here they made detailed studies of the

oilbird The oilbird (''Steatornis caripensis''), locally known as the , is a bird species found in the northern areas of South America including the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It is the only living species in the genus ''Steatornis'', the family Stea ...

s (''Steatornis caripensis'') and the fascinating and very complex courtship dances of the white-bearded manakin (''Manacus manacus'') and the golden-headed manakin (''Pipra erythrocephala''). From 1963 to 1964 he was the Director of the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) in the Galapagos Islands. He was Director of CDRS during the landmark expedition mounted from the University of California at Berkeley called the Galápagos International Scientific Project (GISP). He was also Director of Research for the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The William, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginning In 1931 Max Nicholson ...

from 1964 to 1968. Snow gave the 1977

Witherby Memorial Lecture The Witherby Memorial Lecture is an academic lectureship awarded by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) annually since 1968. The memorial lecture is in memorandum of Harry Forbes Witherby Harry Forbes Witherby, MBE, FZS, MBOU (7 Octobe ...

on the subject of 'The relationships between the African and European avifaunas'. From 1968 to 1984 he worked at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

. From 1987 to 1990 he was president of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

. David Snow edited ''

The Ibis ''Ibis'' (formerly ''The Ibis''), subtitled ''the International Journal of Avian Science'', is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the British Ornithologists' Union. It was established in 1859. Topics covered include ecology, conservation, be ...

'', ''Bird Study'' and the ''

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club The ''Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club'' is an ornithology, ornithological scientific journal, journal published by the British Ornithologists' Club (BOC). It is citation, cited as ''Bull. B. O. C.'' Many descriptions of birds Bird sp ...

''. Snow is commemorated in the name of the

cotinga The cotingas are a large family, Cotingidae, of suboscine passerine birds found in Central America and tropical South America. Cotingas are birds of forests or forest edges, that are primary frugivorous. They all have broad bills with hooked ti ...

genus '' Snowornis'' and the critically endangered Alagoas antwren (''Myrmotherula snowi'').

"With his wife, Barbara, Snow made a huge contribution to our understanding of the evolutionary consequences of fruit-eating in birds. In a series of studies of tropical birds, he theorised that the colourful plumage and elaborate mating rituals of male manakins and similar species derived from the fact that copious supplies of fruit enabled the birds to secure adequate daily calories with only a small percentage of their time devoted to feeding. This left them plenty of opportunity to develop elaborate rituals to impress the dowdier females. In England, the Snows spent five years carrying out systematic observations of fruit-eating birds in a small area on the Hertfordshire-Buckinghamshire borders, publishing their results in the seminal Birds and Berries (1988)."

Following Barbara's death in 2007, he published ''Birds in Our Life'', an account of their lives and their close ornithological partnership. Snow died at age 84 and is survived by two sons.

Awards

In 1972 David and his wife Barbara were joint recipients of 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 ...

Brewster Medal The William Brewster Memorial Award, usually referred to as the Brewster Medal, is awarded by the American Ornithologists' Union and is named for ornithologist William Brewster. It is given to an author, or coauthors who are not previous recipients ...

.The Times of London obituary
/ref> He was elected president of the

and in 1982 was awarded its Godman-Salvin Medal for outstanding contributions to ornithology.

Works

* Snow, D.W. (1953). "The migration of the Greenland Wheatear." ''Ibis'' 95(2):376–378 * Snow, D.W. (1958). "The breeding of the Blackbird ''Turdus merula'' at Oxford." ''Ibis'' 100(1):1-30 * Snow, D.W. (1958). ''A Study of Blackbirds.'' George Allen and Unwin, London. * Snow, D.W. (1961). "The displays of the manakins ''Pipra pipra'' and ''Tyranneutes virescens''." ''Ibis'' 103A(1):110–113 * Snow, D.W. (1961). "The Natural History of the

Oilbird The oilbird (''Steatornis caripensis''), locally known as the , is a bird species found in the northern areas of South America including the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It is the only living species in the genus ''Steatornis'', the family Stea ...

,''Steatornis caripensis'', in Trinidad, W.I. Part 1. General Behaviour and Breeding Habits." ''Zoologica, Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Society'' 46(3):27–48 * Snow, D.W. (1962). "The Natural History of the

,''Steatornis caripensis'', in Trinidad, W.I. Part 2. Population, Breeding Ecology and Food." ''Zoologica, Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Society'' 47(16):199–221 * Snow, D.W. (1963). "The display of the Orange-headed manakin." ''Condor'' 65(1) * Snow, D.W. & Snow, B.K. (1963). "Breeding and the annual cycle in three Trinidad thrushes." ''Wilson Bulletin'' 75(1) * Snow, D.W. & Snow, B.K. (1964). ''Breeding seasons and annual cycles of Trinidad Land-Birds''. aperback* Snow, D.W. (1965). "The breeding of the

Red-billed Tropicbird The red-billed tropicbird (''Phaethon aethereus'') is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wi ...

in the Galapagos Islands." ''Condor'' 67(3) * Snow, D.W. (1965). "The breeding of the

Audubon's Shearwater The Sargasso shearwater (''Puffinus lherminieri'') is a small Tropics, tropical seabird in the Procellariidae, petrel family (biology), family. The only shearwater to nest primarily in the Caribbean, it ranges throughout the western Atlantic duri ...

''Puffinus lherminieri'' in the Galapagos." ''The Auk'' 82(4) * Snow, D.W. (1966). '"Annual cycle of the Yellow Warbler in the Galapagos." ''J. Field Ornithology'' 37(1) * Snow, D.W. & Snow, B.K. (1966). "The breeding season of the Madeiran Storm-petrel (Oceanodromo castro) in the Galapagos." ''Ibis'' 108(2):283–284 * Snow, D.W. & Snow, B.K. (1967). "The breeding cycle of the

Swallow-tailed Gull The swallow-tailed gull (''Creagrus furcatus'') is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae. It is the only species in the genus ''Creagrus'', which derives from the Latin ''Creagra'' and the Greek ''kreourgos'' which means butcher, al ...

(''Creagrus furcatus'')." ''Ibis'' 109(1):14–24 * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1968). "Behavior of the Swallow-tailed Gull of the Galapagos." ''Condor'' 70(3): * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1969). "Observations on the

Lava Gull The lava gull (''Leucophaeus fuliginosus''), also known as the dusky gull, is a medium-sized gull and a member of the "hooded gull" group. It is most closely related to the Laughing gull and Franklin's gull and is the rarest gull in the world. It ...

(''Larus fuliginosus''). ''Ibis'' 111(1):30–35 * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1971). "The feeding ecology of tanagers and honeycreepers in Trinidad." ''The Auk'' 88(2) * Snow, D.W. (1971). "Display of the Pompadour Cotinga ''Xipholena punicea''." ''Ibis'' 113(1):102–104 * Snow, D.W. (1971). "Evolutionary aspects of fruit-eating by birds." ''Ibis'' 113(2):194–202 * Snow, D.W. (1971). "Social organization of the

Blue-backed Manakin The blue-backed manakin (''Chiroxiphia pareola'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America, its range extending from Colombia and Tobago to southeastern Brazil. It is found in deciduous forests but not evergreen rainforest ...

." ''Wilson Bulletin'' 83(1) * Snow, D.W. & Goodwin, D. (1974). "The Black-and-gold Cotinga." ''The Auk'' 91(2) * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1974). "Breeding of the Green-bellied Hummingbird." ''The Auk'' 91(3) * Snow, D.W. (1976). "The relationship between climate and annual cycles in the ''cotingidae''." ''Ibis'' 118(3):366–401 * Snow, D.W. (1976). "The web of adaptation: bird studies in the American tropics." Collins, London * Snow, D.W. (co-editor) (1978–1997). ''Handbook of the Birds of the Western Palearctic''. Edited Stanley Cramp ''et al.''; Oxford University Press) (HBWP) (Widely known as the ''BWP''). * Snow, D.W. ed. (1978). ''An Atlas of Speciation in African Non-Passerine Birds''. British Museum Press. . * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1979). "The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher and the Evolution of Lek Behavior." ''Condor'' 81(3) * Snow, D.W. (1982). ''The Cotingas: Bellbirds, Umbrella birds and their allies.'' British Museum Press. * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1984). "Long-term defence of fruit by Mistle Thrushes Turdus viscivorus." ''Ibis'' 126(1):39–49 * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1985). "Display and related behavior of male Pin-tailed Manakins." ''Wilson Bulletin'' 97(3): * Snow, D.W. (1987) ''The Blackbird.'' Shire Natural History. . * Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1988). ''Birds and berries: a study of an ecological interaction.'' Poyser, London. . * Snow, D.W. ed. (1992) ''Birds, Discovery and Conservation: 100 years of the British Ornithologists' Club'' (editor), Helm Information * Willis, E.O.; Snow, D.W.; Stotz, D.F. & Parker III, T.A. (1993) '' Olive-sided Flycatchers in Southeastern Brazil'' Wilson Bulletin 105(1): * Snow, D.W. et al. (1998).''The Birds of the Western Palearctic: 2 Volume Set: Volume 1, Non-Passerines; Volume 2, Passerines'' bridged, Box set ardcover Oxford University Press, US; Concise edition. . * Snow, D.W. (editor) and Stanley Cramp (author). ''The Complete Birds of the Western Palearctic.'' ardcover Oxford University Press (Sd.). Cdr edition. . * Prum, Richard O. & Snow, David W. (2003) ''Manakins'' in Perrins, Christopher ''The Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds''. Firefly Books. pp. 434–437. . * Snow, D.W. (2008a) ''Obituary – Snow, B.K.'' Ibis 150(3):662–663. * Snow, D.W. (2008b). ''Birds in Our Life''. William Sessions Limited. (pbk). An autobiography.

Footnotes

References

*Beolens, B. & Watkins, M. - ''Whose Bird?''

External links