Abstract

Johann Friedrich Naumann (1780–1857) was one of central Europe’s most important ornithologists. His innovative approach extended beyond the museum-based taxonomical outlook typical of the time, and included perceptive observations of the ecology and behaviour of birds. Naumann stood on the shoulders of his ornithologist father and, between 1820 and 1844, he single-handedly wrote and illustrated a 12-volume Natural History of Birds. For over a century, this handbook was the most authoritative work on central Europe’s birds. Had it been translated into English, it would have undoubtedly accelerated the study of bird identification and biology in Britain and North America.IntroductionThere can be few British birders who have not heard of – and long to see – a Naumann’s Thrush Turdus naumanni. This Siberian vagrant has been recorded only twice in the UK (1990 and 1996; Murray 2009). But who is the person after whom this attractive thrush is named? It is in fact two people, rather than one: Johann Andreas Naumann (1744–1826) and his son Johann Friedrich Naumann (1780–1857). Together, they described and sketched the bird from a specimen given to them in autumn 1804 by a friend who, like them, was a bird trapper. M. Nishimura