James Davidson FZS (28 March 1849 – 25 June 1925) was a Scottish naturalist in

colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...

. He studied birds and many aspects of Indian natural history during his career in the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

, mostly posted in the Bombay Presidency and central India. Davidson was born at

Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...

near Glasgow to William James Davidson and Harriet, daughter of Mark Sprot. His early education was at St Andrews in the private school of Mr Douglas before he went to study followed by studies at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities. He qualified in the Indian Civil Services in 1872 and served in the Bombay Presidency until 1897. For his work during the famine years around 1876–78, he received a special award from the government. He retired to Edinburgh, Scotland. During his service in India, he wrote extensively about the birds of the regions of present-day

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...

, Satara and

Belgaum Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

, corresponding with

Allan Octavian Hume Allan Octavian Hume, Order of the Bath, CB Indian Civil Service, ICS (4 June 1829 – 31 July 1912) was a British political reformer, ornithologist, civil servant and botanist who worked in British Raj, British India and was the founding spirit ...

, to whom he gave his bird collection. His method included the use of local lads (including the Bhils) who located bird nests for him. He wrote numerous notes to ''Stray Feathers'', the Journal started by Hume as well as to the journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

. Just before his retirement, he made a trip to Kashmir with the lepidopterist and forest officer

Thomas Reid Davys Bell Thomas Reid Davys Bell (2 May 1863 – 24 June 1948) was a lepidopterist, naturalist and forest officer who worked in India. Bell collected natural history specimens, studied birds and the life histories of butterflies and moths in his spare time ...

. He was a member of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

from 1883.Warr, F. E. 1996. Manuscripts and Drawings in the ornithology and Rotschild libraries of The Natural History Museum at Tring. BOC.

Publications

* Davidson, J. (1898
A short trip to Kashmir
''Ibis'', 7:1-42. * Davidson, J. (1886
Bird nesting on the ghats
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 1(4):175-183. * Davidson, J. (1885) Notes on the birds of Khandeish and Nasik. Vol. 1. 2 vols. Unpublished manuscript in BMNH archives, Tring, U.K. * Davidson, J. (1908
On the nesting habits of the Small Indian Spotted Eagle ''Aquila hastata''
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.'' 18(3):682-683. * Davidson, J. (1904
The eggs of the Small Sun-bird ''Arachnothera minima''.
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society''. 15(4):726. * Davidson, J. (1898
The birds of North Kanara.
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society''. 11(4):652-679. * Davidson, J. (1898
The birds of North Kanara. Part II.
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.'' 12(1):43-72. * * * * Davidson, J. (1895
The birds of the Bombay Presidency.
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.'' 9(4):488-489. * Davidson, J. (1891
Notes on nidification in Kanara.
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society''. 6(3):331-340. * With E.H. Aitken (1890
Notes on the larvae and pupae of some of the butterflies of the Bombay Presidency
''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society''. 5:260-286, 349–375. * Davidson, J. (1882) Rough list of the birds of western Khandesh. ''Stray Feathers''. 10(4):279-327. * Davidson, J. (1880) Letters to the Editor. ''Stray Feathers''. 9(1,2&3):236. *Davidson, J. (1879) Letters to the Editor. ''Stray Feathers''. 8(2-5):414. *Davidson, J. (1879) Letters to the Editor. ''Stray Feather''s. 8(2-5):415-416. * Davidson, J. (1878) Letters to the Editor. ''Stray Feathers''. 7(1-2):172. * Davidson, J. (1874) Letters to the Editor. ''Stray Feathers''. 2(1,2&3):336.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, James Scottish naturalists Davidson 1925 deaths 1849 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Maryhill Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish people of the British Empire Scottish ornithologists Members of the Bombay Natural History Society British people in colonial India Scientists from Glasgow