Charles Vaurie (7 July 1906,

Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (, literally ''Beaulieu on Dordogne''; oc, Belluec) is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, central France. Beaulieu is a medieval city, originally dominated by its great abbey of St Pie ...

, France – 13 May 1975, Reading, Pennsylvania) was a French-born American ornithologist. He was born in France, but moved to

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and then qualified as a dentist at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1928. An interest in painting

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s developed, and after marrying his entomologist wife, Patricia Wilson, in 1934, the two shared numerous field trips. Vaurie became associated with the American Museum of Natural History and by 1946 he was a Research Associate. He went on to produce more than 150 ornithological publications. His most important work was a systematic review of Palearctic birds. By 1956, he was a full-time ornithologist at AMNH, and rose to Curator by 1967. At the time of his death he was a member of the Standing Committee on Ornithological Nomenclature of the

International Ornithological Congress International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. He described for the first time the

cryptic flycatcher The cryptic flycatcher (''Ficedula crypta'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Philippines only being found in the island of Mindanao. Its natural habitat is tropical moist mid-montane forests from 600 - 1,500 ...

(''Ficedula crypta''),

Vilcabamba thistletail The Vilcabamba thistletail (''Asthenes vilcabambae'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is endemic to the Vilcabamba Mountains of Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and subtropical or ...

(''Schizoeaca vilcabambae''), and

Vaurie's nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

(''Caprimulgus centralasicus'').

Partial bibliography

* ''A Revision of the bird family Dicruridae.'' N.Y., 1949. * "Systematic notes on Palearctic birds". N.Y. 1956 (American Museum of Natural History, ''American Museum Novitates'') * ''A generic revision of Fly-catchers of the tribe Muscicapini.'' N.Y., 1953. * "Notes on some Ploceidae from Western Asia"; "Notes on some Asiatic Finches"; "Notes on the bird genus ''Oenanthe'' in Persia, Afghanistan, and India;" and several other articles all published in the ''American Museum Novitates''. N.Y., 1949–1952. * "A generic revision of Flycatchers of the tribe Muscicapini". N.Y., 1953. pp.27 figs & 7 tables. Wrapp. ''Bulletin American Museum of Natural History'' – Vol. 100: Art. 4. * ''The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna: a Systematic Reference'' (2 Vols. )1959 * ''Classification of the Ovenbirds (Furnariidae).'' London, 1971. * ''Tibet and its birds.'' 1972

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaurie, Charles 1906 births 1975 deaths American ornithologists People from Trenton, New Jersey People associated with the American Museum of Natural History 20th-century American zoologists University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine alumni New York University alumni French emigrants to the United States