Hugh Whistler
Hugh Whistler (28 September 1889 – 7 July 1943),
Life and career
Hugh was the first son of Major Fuller Whistler of the Highland Light Infantry and Gwenllian Annie (née Robinson) and was born at
He served in India from December 1909 to April 1926. He was initially posted at Phillaur but was later to serve across Punjab including districts such as Jhang that were considered unpopular. He was posted in other regions including the Himalayan foothills of
On 2 October 1925 Whistler married Margaret Joan Ashton (1893–1981) daughter of Thomas Gair Ashton, 1st Baron Ashton of Hyde and Eva Margaret James who were from near his own home in Battle. He died on 7 July 1943 leaving behind a daughter Benedicta and son Ralfe (both now deceased).[2][5][6]
Ornithology
Whistler studied and collected birds wherever he was posted in India. On retiring to England he continued his research into Indian ornithology. He published extensively in the Journal of the
Around 1925 a plan was made by
The day is now over in which it was necessary to collect large series of skins and eggs in India. Enough general collecting has been done; concentration on filling in the gaps in our knowledge is now needed. Those who wish to help in the work should first familiarise themselves with what has been accomplished and learn what remains to be done. With some species the distribution of the different races still needs to be worked out and this implies careful collecting in certain areas. Of other species we still need to know the plumage changes; for this specimens collected at certain times of the year are required. In other species the down and juvenile plumages are unknown. But the greatest need of all is accurate observations on status and migration. In this all can help. Keep full notes for a year on the birds of your station, noting those that are resident and the times of arrival and departure, comparative abundance and scarcity of all the migratory kinds; and you will have made a contribution to ornithology that will in the measure of its accuracy and fullness be a help to every other worker.
Whistler lived at
He was also interested in hounds, pheasant rearing, falconry and was an antiquarian. He was for a while involved in the care of Bodiam Castle.[2] Whistler was a very careful and critical observer noted for his "capacity for taking pains".[1]
He was skeptical of
Several subspecies of birds were named after him including some by Ticehurst,
Writings
A partial list of Whistler's writings includes:
- Whistler, H (1916). "Notes on the birds of the Jhelum District of the Punjab with notes on the collection by Claud Ticehurst". Ibis: 35–118. .
- Whistler, Hugh (1919). "Wagtails at roost (30 March 1919)". Bird Notes. 2 (6): 101–103.
- Whistler, Hugh (1919). "The Norfolk Plover in India". 2 (7): 164–166.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Whistler, Hugh (1949). Popular Handbook of Indian Birds (4 ed.). Gurney and Jackson. (Edition 3 (1941))
- Whistler H (1944) The Avifaunal Survey of Ceylon conducted jointly by the British and Colombo Museums. Spolia Zeylanica 23: 119–321. (posthumous)
- Whistler, H. (1924). In the high Himalayas. London: H.F.& G. Witherby.
- Whistler, Huqh (1926). "The Birds of the Kangra District, Punjab". Ibis. 68 (3): 521–581. .
- Whistler, Hugh (1926). "XXXII.-The Birds of the Kangra District, Punjab. Part II". Ibis. 68 (4): 724–783. .
- Whistler, H. (1928). "The study of Indian birds. Part I. The origin of birds". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 33 (1): 166–176.
- Whistler, H. (1929). "The study of Indian birds. Part II. Some external characteristics of birds. The Feathers". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 33 (2): 311–325.
- Whistler, H. (1929). "The study of Indian birds. Part III. Some external characteristics of birds. The beak". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 33 (4): 776–792.
- Whistler, H. (1929). "Some aspects of bird-life in Kashmir". Himalayan Journal. 1 (1): 29–50.
- Whistler, H. (1930). "The study of Indian birds, Part IV. Some external characteristics of birds. The Wings". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34 (1): 27–39.
- Whistler, H. (1930). "The study of Indian birds. Part V. Some external characteristics of a bird. The foot". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34 (2): 276–290.
- Whistler, H. (1930). "The study of Indian birds. Part VI. Some external characteristics of a bird". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34 (3): 720–735.
- Whistler, H. (1931). "The study of Indian birds. Part VII. The Reproduction of birds". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 35 (1): 89–103.
- Whistler, H. (1931). "The study of Indian birds. Part VIII. The Reproduction of birds. The Nest". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 35 (2): 312–324.
- Whistler, H. (1932). "The study of Indian birds. Part IX. The reproduction of birds. The egg". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 35 (3): 635–644.
- Whistler, H. (1932). "The study of Indian birds. Part X. Migration". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 35 (4): 848–860.
- Whistler, H. (1916). "Migration notes from a passenger-steamer". Zoologist. 20: 453–458.
- Whistler, H. (1908). "Rough notes in East Sussex". Zoologist. 12: 345–349.
- Whistler, H. (1906). "Variety of the Common Wren (Troglodytes parvulus)". Zoologist. 10: 391–392.
- Whistler, Hugh (1905). "Birds noticed during a short visit to Suffolk". The Avicultural Magazine. 3 (5): 165–168.
References
- ^ doi:10.1038/152210a0.
- ^ .
- ^ "The King's School Canterbury. Roll of Honour". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ^ Kinnear, Norman B. (1944). "Obituary: Hugh Whistler". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 44: 289–290.
- ^ Charles Mosley, ed. (1999). Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition. Vol. 1. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 122.
- JSTOR 4080761.
- ^ Ali, S (1941). The Book of Indian Birds (1 ed.). Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. p. iii.
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