John Henry Gurney: A Passion for Birds

John Henry Gurney: A Passion for Birds details the life of John Henry Gurney (1819- 1890) who became a successful banker when still young. His wealth enabled him to indulge his passion for collecting natural history specimens, especially birds. A major supporter of the fledgling Norfolk and Norwich Museum, in 1853 he announced his intention to collect a series of every species of bird of prey in the world, and to donate and display them in the museum. Unfortunately, devastating events in his private and professional life threatened to derail his efforts. Nevertheless, he persisted in his specimen-collecting and ornithological studies and became a world-renowned expert on birds of prey and the birds of southern Africa. Gurney named nearly 30 bird species new to science and had several species named after him. He made significant and long-lasting contributions to bird identification and knowledge of the distribution of many species. But why did he choose to collect and study birds of prey in particular; how closely did he approach his goal and how much did it cost him? This book attempts to answer these questions.

Peter J. Mundy read Zoology at King’s College, University of London before teaching in Nigeria where he began research on vultures leading to a PhD. He worked as an ornithologist at Zimbabwe National Parks for many years before being appointed a Professor at the National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Peter authored over 500 publications and was an expert on birds of prey. Clive A. Slater read Zoology at King’s College, University of London leading to a career in environmental and public health. Thereafter he researched the history of Gurney’s famous raptorial collection, which had been held for over 100 years at Norwich Castle Museum where Clive is now a Research Associate in the Natural History Department. Raymond B. Williams read Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge and his subsequent research in avian parasitology and marine zoology was awarded a PhD, an ScD and a DSc. His ongoing research includes printing and publishing in the Victorian era, and the lives of naturalists. Ray has authored over 300 publications and was awarded the Founders’ Medal by the Society for the History of Natural History in 2009.