David Snow
Encyclopedia
David William Snow was a celebrated English
ornithologist born in Windermere, Westmorland
.
and started there in 1938 just before his 14th birthday. He won a scholarship to study classics at New College
, Oxford
but was called up to serve in the navy in April 1943 and served on several ships including destroyers, frigates and sloops. After the end of World War II
, 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. Barbara Snow was also a noted ornithologist and a geologist. From 1957 to 1961 the Snows worked for the New York Zoological Society at the society's research centre
in Trinidad
. Here they made detailed studies of the Oilbird
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 worked for the Charles Darwin Research Station
in the Galapagos Islands
. He was Director of Research for the British Trust for Ornithology
from 1964 to 1968, and from 1968 to 1984 he worked at the Natural History Museum
. From 1987 to 1990 he was president of the British Ornithologists' Union
.
David Snow edited The Ibis
, Bird Study and the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club
.
Snow is commemorated in the name of the cotinga
genus Snowornis
and the critically endangered Alagoas Antwren
(Myrmotherula snowi).
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.
's Brewster Medal
.
He was elected president of the British Ornithologists' Union
and in 1982 was awarded its Godman-Salvin Medal for outstanding contributions to ornithology.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
ornithologist born in Windermere, Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
.
Career and personal life
He won a scholarship to EtonEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and started there in 1938 just before his 14th birthday. He won a scholarship to study classics at New College
New College
-United Kingdom:* North East Worcestershire College Redditch and Bromsgrove* New College Durham, County Durham* New College, Edinburgh, Edinburgh* New College London, St John's Wood, London* New College Nottingham, Nottingham...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
but was called up to serve in the navy in April 1943 and served on several ships including destroyers, frigates and sloops. After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 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. Barbara Snow was also a noted ornithologist and a geologist. From 1957 to 1961 the Snows worked for the New York Zoological Society at the society's research centre
Asa Wright Nature Centre
The Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge is a nature resort and scientific research station in the Arima Valley of the Northern Range in Trinidad and Tobago. The Centre is one of the top birdwatching spots in the Caribbean; a total of 159 species of birds have been recorded there...
in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. Here they made detailed studies of the Oilbird
Oilbird
The Oilbird , also known as Guácharo, is a bird found in the northern areas of South America . They are nocturnal feeders on the fruits of the Oil Palm and tropical laurels, and are the only nocturnal fruit eating birds in the world...
s (Steatornis caripensis) and the fascinating and very complex courtship dances of the White-bearded Manakin
White-bearded Manakin
The White-bearded Manakin, Manacus manacus, is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America. It is found from Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south to Bolivia and northern Argentina....
(Manacus manacus) and the Golden-headed Manakin
Golden-headed Manakin
The Golden-headed Manakin, Pipra erythrocephala, is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America. It is found from Panama, Colombia and Trinidad south and east to the Guianas and Brazil and northern Peru...
(Pipra erythrocephala).
From 1963 to 1964 he worked for the Charles Darwin Research Station
Charles Darwin Research Station
The Charles Darwin Research Station is a biological research station operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation. It is located in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, with satellite offices on Isabela and San Cristóbal islands.- Background :In Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island,...
in the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
. He was Director of Research for the British Trust for Ornithology
British Trust for Ornithology
The British Trust for Ornithology is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles.-Activities:The BTO carries out research into the lives of birds, chiefly by conducting population and breeding surveys and by bird ringing, largely carried out by a large number of...
from 1964 to 1968, and from 1968 to 1984 he worked at the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
. From 1987 to 1990 he was president of the British Ornithologists' Union
British Ornithologists' Union
The British Ornithologists' Union aims to encourage the study of birds in Britain, Europe and elsewhere, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation....
.
David Snow edited The Ibis
Ibis (journal)
Ibis, subtitled the International Journal of Avian Science, is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the British Ornithologists' Union. Topics covered include ecology, conservation, behaviour, palaeontology, and taxonomy of birds. The editor-in-chief is Paul F. Donald. The journal is published by...
, Bird Study and the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club
Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club
The Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club is an ornithological journal published by the British Ornithologists' Club . It is cited as Bull. B. O. C.Many descriptions of birds new to science have been published in the bulletin....
.
Snow is commemorated in the name of the cotinga
Cotinga
The cotingas are a large family of passerine bird species found in Central America and tropical South America. Cotingas are birds of forests or forest edges, which mostly eat fruit or insects and fruit. Comparatively little is known about this diverse group, although all have broad bills with...
genus Snowornis
Snowornis
Snowornis is a genus of bird in the Cotingidae family. Formerly included in Lipaugus, it contains two species of somewhat aberrant pihas:* Olivaceous Piha * Grey-tailed Piha...
and the critically endangered Alagoas Antwren
Alagoas Antwren
The Alagoas Antwren is a species of bird in the Thamnophilidae family.It is endemic to Brazil.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
(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' UnionAmerican Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
's Brewster Medal
Brewster Medal
Brewster Medal is an award from the American Ornithologists' Union. The award is named for William Brewster. From 1921 to 1937 it was given biennially but has been annual since then.- List of winners :* 1919 : Robert Ridgway...
.
He was elected president of the British Ornithologists' Union
British Ornithologists' Union
The British Ornithologists' Union aims to encourage the study of birds in Britain, Europe and elsewhere, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation....
and in 1982 was awarded its Godman-Salvin Medal for outstanding contributions to ornithology.
Works
- Snow, D.W. (1953). "The migration of the Greenland WheatearNorthern WheatearThe Northern Wheatear or Wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
." 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. ASIN B0000CK4EK
- Snow, D.W. (1961). "The displays of the manakins Pipra pipraWhite-crowned ManakinThe White-crowned Manakin is a tiny passerine bird in the manakin family. It is a resident breeder in the tropical New World from Costa Rica to northeastern Peru and eastern Brazil. It was formerly placed in the genus Pipra, but its syringeal anatomy favours its separation as a separate genus...
and Tyranneutes virescensTiny Tyrant-manakinThe Tiny Tyranneutes or Tiny Tyrant-manakin is a species of bird in the Pipridae family.It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela....
." Ibis 103A(1):110-113 - 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. [Paperback]
- Snow, D.W. (1965). "The breeding of the Red-billed TropicbirdRed-billed TropicbirdThe Red-billed Tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus, also known as the Boatswain Bird is a tropicbird, one of three closely related seabirds of tropical oceans.-Distribution and habitat:...
in the Galapagos Islands." Condor 67(3) - Snow, D.W. (1965). "The breeding of the Audubon's ShearwaterAudubon's ShearwaterAudubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....
Puffinus lherminieri in the Galapagos." The Auk 82(4) - Snow, D.W. (1966). '"Annual cycle of the Yellow WarblerYellow WarblerDendroica petechia is a New World warbler species or superspecies; the subspecies group around D. aestiva is increasingly treated as good species Dendroica aestiva again. The name for the entire cryptic species complex is Mangrove Warbler, and another group of subspecies is known as Golden Warbler...
in the Galapagos." J. Field Ornithology 37(1) - Snow, D.W. & Snow, B.K. (1966). "The breeding season of the Madeiran Storm-petrelMadeiran Storm-petrelThe Band-rumped Storm Petrel or Madeiran Storm Petrel, is of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.The Band-rumped Storm Petrel is 19–21 cm in length with a 43–46 cm wingspan, and weighs 44-49g. It is mainly black with an extensive white rump...
(Oceanodromo castro) in the Galapagos." Ibis 108(2):283-284 - Snow, D.W. & Snow, B.K. (1967). "The breeding cycle of the Swallow-tailed GullSwallow-tailed GullThe Swallow-tailed Gull 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, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the...
(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 GullLava GullThe Lava Gull is a large gull. One of the rarest gulls in the world, the entire population lives on the Galapagos Islands and is estimated at 400 pairs....
(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 CotingaPompadour CotingaThe Pompadour Cotinga is a species of bird in the Cotingidae family, the cotingas. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela....
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 ManakinBlue-backed ManakinThe Blue-backed Manakin, Chiroxiphia pareola, is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America. It is found in southern Colombia, eastern Venezuela, the Guyanas, northeast Brazil, the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; and in Tobago. A disjunct population...
." Wilson Bulletin 83(1) - Snow, D.W. & Goodwin, D. (1974). "The Black-and-gold CotingaBlack-and-gold CotingaThe Black-and-gold Cotinga is a species of bird in the Cotingidae family. It is endemic to humid Atlantic Forest in the highlands of the Serra do Mar in south-eastern Brazil. It is threatened by habitat loss, but remains common within several national parks, e.g. Serra dos Órgãos and Itatiaia...
." The Auk 91(2) - Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1974). "Breeding of the Green-bellied HummingbirdGreen-bellied HummingbirdThe Green-bellied Hummingbird , also known as the Tepui Hummingbird and sometimes placed in the genus Saucerottia, is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family...
." 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 ISBN 0-00-219735-9
- 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. ISBN 978-0565007874.
- Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1979). "The Ochre-bellied FlycatcherOchre-bellied FlycatcherThe Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Mionectes oleagineus, is a small bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from southern Mexico through Central America, and South America east of the Andes as far as southern Brazil, and on Trinidad and Tobago....
and the Evolution of Lek Behavior." Condor 81(3) - Snow, D.W. (1982). The Cotingas: Bellbirds, Umbrella birds and their allies. British Museum Press. ISBN 0-19-858511-X
- Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1984). "Long-term defence of fruit by Mistle ThrushMistle ThrushThe Mistle Thrush is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is found in open woods and cultivated land over all of Europe and much of Asia...
es Turdus viscivorus." Ibis 126(1):39-49 - Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1985). "Display and related behavior of male Pin-tailed ManakinPin-tailed ManakinThe Pin-tailed Manakin is a species of bird in the monotypic genus Ilicura of the family Pipridae. It is endemic to Brazil....
s." Wilson Bulletin 97(3): - Snow, D.W. (1987) The Blackbird. Shire Natural History. ISBN 0-85263-854-X.
- Snow, B.K. & Snow, D.W. (1988). Birds and berries: a study of an ecological interaction. Poyser, London. ISBN 0-85661-049-6.
- Snow, D.W. ed. (1992) Birds, Discovery and Conservation: 100 years of the British Ornithologists' Club (editor), Helm Information ISBN 1-873403-15-1
- Willis, E.O.; Snow, D.W.; Stotz, D.F. & Parker III, T.A. (1993) Olive-sided FlycatcherOlive-sided FlycatcherThe Olive-sided Flycatcher, Contopus cooperi, is a passerine bird. It is a medium-sized tyrant flycatcher.- Description :Adults are dark olive on the face, upperparts and flanks. They have light underparts, a large dark bill and a short tail....
s 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 [Abridged, Box set] [Hardcover]. Oxford University Press, USA; Concise edition. ISBN 978-0198540991.
- Snow, D.W. (editor) and Stanley Cramp (author). The Complete Birds of the Western Palearctic. [Hardcover]. Oxford University Press (Sd.). Cdr edition. ISBN 978-0192685797.
- Prum, Richard O. & Snow, David W. (2003) Manakins in Perrins, Christopher The Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. pp. 434–437. ISBN 1-55297-777-3.
- Snow, D.W. (2008a) Obituary - Snow, B.K. Ibis 150(3):662-663.
- Snow, D.W. (2008b). Birds in Our Life. William Sessions Limited. ISBN 978-1850723813 (pbk). An autobiography.
Further reading
- Rudder, Joy (2009). The old house and the dream: The story of The Asa Wright Nature Centre. Prospect Press, Maraval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. ISBN 976-95082-1-7. Especially pp. 47–49.
- See the long article in German on Barbara Kathleen Snow on the German Wikipedia at: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Kathleen_Snow.
- Barbara Snow's obituary by David Snow may be downloaded from: http://www.fsd2010.org/data/File/pdf/snow_barbara_obituary.pdf.