Graham Stewart Cowles (27 June 1931 – 19 January 2024) was a British

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 ...

and paleornithologist.

Life and career

In January 1949, Cowles joined the bird department of 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 ...

in London as an assistant. He then served in the British Armed Forces for 2 years from January 1950. From 1952, as a curatorial Assistant, he was assigned to the avian osteology collection of the British Museum (Natural History). In 1961, he accompanied Peter Colston on an expedition to Andalusia and from 1962 to 1963 and 1965, he joined expeditions to Australia, financed by Australian

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Harold Wesley Hall (1888–1964). From 1971, he transferred the bird collections to the

Natural History Museum at Tring The Natural History Museum at Tring was the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild; today it is under the control of the Natural History Museum, London. It houses one of the finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptil ...

where they were curated and supervised by Colston and Cowles. In January 1977 he was appointed Senior Scientific Officer and after I.C.J. Galbraith retired in 1985, Cowles became head curator of the bird collection until his own retirement at the end of June 1991. Cowles described the Hall's babbler (Pomatostomus halli) in 1964 and the subspecies of the

Collared Kingfisher The collared kingfisher (''Todiramphus chloris'') is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the white-collared kingfisher, black-masked kingfisher or mangrove kingfisher. It has ...

(Halcyon chloris) in 1980. In 1994, Cowles described the

Réunion sheldgoose The Réunion sheldgoose or Kervazo's Egyptian goose (''Alopochen kervazoi'') is an extinct species of sheldgoose from Réunion. It was a close relative of the Egyptian goose and was about the same size. There is only one description remaining, th ...

(Alopochen kervazoi) and the Réunion kestrel (Falco duboisi) after extensive research on subfossil bird species of the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

in 1987 and in chapter "2-The Fossil Record" in the work ''Studies of Mascarene Island Birds.'' In 1974, Cowles participated in an expedition of the British Ornithologists' Union to Réunion island. During study of the Vergoz caverns near La-Saline-les-Bains and a coastal cave near Saint-Paul, he collected fragments of the extinct turtle species Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise (Cylindraspis inepta). Cowles published the book ''Birds (Instructions for Collectors)'' in 1970 in collaboration with Colin James Oliver Harrison (1926–2003). In 1974, Cowles wrote the chapter "Timaliidae – Quail-thrushes & Babblers" in Pat Hall's book ''Birds of the Harold Hall Australian Expeditions 1962–1970''. Cowles died on 19 January 2024, at the age of 92.

Dedication names

Julian P. Hume named the Rodrigues bulbul (Hypsipetes cowlesi) in honour of Graham S. Cowles in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowles, Graham S. 1931 births 2024 deaths English palaeontologists English ornithologists