Derek Goodwin was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 ornithologist who wrote a series of what The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

called "definitive works" on estrildid finch

Estrildid finch

The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae , or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows....

es, crows and pigeons. He was considered to be an expert on bird behaviour.

Goodwin was born Richard Patrick Goodwin in Woking

Woking

Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, on 26 February 1920. His parents called him Derek for reasons he never fully understood, but the name stayed with him for his entire life. He served in the British military in the Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

 during 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...

 and was a veteran of the Siege of Tobruk

Siege of Tobruk

The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...

. He left the military in August 1945 and emabarked on his career in ornithology

Ornithology

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...

.

Goodwin was a writer and contributor to Avicultural Magazine. By chance, in July 1945, while Goodwin was still in active duty in the military, his purchase of back issues of Avicultural Magazine led to a series of unexpected events which led to his employment 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...

. Though he had no formal education in ornithology at the time, Goodwin was hired to work in the Natural History Museum's bird room. He eventually rose up through the ranks to become principal scientific officer for birds at the museum. In 1965 he participated in the third of the Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions

Harold Hall Australian Expeditions

The Harold Hall Australian Expeditions comprise a series of five main ornithological collecting expeditions carried out in the 1960s and covering much of the Australian continent.-Organisation:...

. He wrote a series of detailed books on crows, pigeons and estrildid finch

Estrildid finch

The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae , or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows....

es during the 1970s and 1980s as part of his work at the British Museum. These works are still regarded as the definitive works on these particular birds today. He also authored and published his favorite work, Birds in Man’s World, and wrote a series of children's books and pamphlets on birds.

He was known as a prolific bird correspondents and was elected as a corresponding member of Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft

Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft

The Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft was founded in 1850, and is one of the world's oldest existing scientific societies. Its goal is to support and further scientific ornithology on all levels. It publishes the Journal of Ornithology, founded in 1853....

 in the 1970s, though he never studied German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 in school. He also taught and mentored noted ornithologists, such as Aubrey Manning

Aubrey Manning

Professor Aubrey William George Manning OBE FRSE FIBiol is a distinguished English zoologist and broadcaster.-Life:...

, Rob Hume

Rob Hume

Robert `Rob` Hume is an English ornithologist, author and journalist specialising in avian and natural history subjects. From Spring 1989 , until Summer 2009 Robert `Rob` Hume is an English ornithologist, author and journalist specialising in avian and natural history subjects. From Spring 1989...

 and Desmond Morris

Desmond Morris

Desmond John Morris, born 24 January 1928 in Purton, north Wiltshire, is a British zoologist and ethologist, as well as a popular anthropologist. He is also known as a painter, television presenter and popular author.-Life:...

 when they were students.

Goodwin was also a longtime advocate for the plight of two rare pheasant species—the golden pheasant

Golden Pheasant

The Golden Pheasant or "Chinese Pheasant", is a gamebird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae...

 and the Lady Amherst's Pheasant

Lady Amherst's Pheasant

The Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Chrysolophus amherstiae, is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae.These are native to south western China and Myanmar, but have been introduced elsewhere, and have established a self-supporting, but now declining, feral population in England, the...

. He wrote numerous letters and articles on the subject of these two birds. He even resigned from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...

 to protest its perceived lack of support for saving these pheasants, which had been introduced to parts of rural England

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...

. Unlike most ornithologists and bird watchers, Goodwin supported the plight of introduced bird species in Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and elsewhere. However, he did not support the reintroduction of raptor

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 species, even regarding the White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle

The White-tailed Eagle , also known as the Sea Eagle, Erne , or White-tailed Sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes other raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers...

as a potential danger to other species.

Derek Goodwin died on 14 May 2008, at the age of 88.

Selected works

• Crows of the World (1976)
• Pigeons and Doves of the World (1977)
• Estrildid Finches of the World (1984)
• Birds in Man’s World