WILLIAM SWAINSON, ORNITHOLOGIST: 224 YEARS OLD TODAY
Happy Birthday, William Swainson, 224 years old today, honoured with a Google emblem, and… oh, sorry, we’ve run out of tiny candles for your cake…
Swainson (1789 – 1855) was an English ornithologist, entomologist, conchologist, natural historian, and a gifted illustrator of the natural world. He was a pioneer of the new lithographic technology, which enabled quicker reproduction of his work than engraving.
Moluccan King Parrot from Zoological Illustrations
Swainson lent his name to a number of avian species, three of which may be found on Abaco. These are the Swainson’s Hawk, Thrush and Warbler. The hawk is a rare visitor; the thrush is a transient, passing through the Bahamas during migration; and the warbler is a hard-to-find winter resident. Here are the three species, courtesy of AUDUBON.ORG and for each, an illustrative video.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
SWAINSON’S HAWK Buteo swainsoni
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyUf8ls10QY]
SWAINSON’S THRUSH Catharus ustulatus
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpLnRUnoJNQ]
SWAINSON’S WARBLER Limnothlypis swainsonii
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
My greatgreat grandfather was
William Swainson not William John who was his son. Much Info on the Internet is incorrect in this regard.
MARY
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Hi Mary, thanks for the comment. A quick check does indeed show a great deal of confusion between the naturalist and the lawyer! I’ll remove the ‘John’. Maybe you need to edit the Wikipedia page, which is probably the main source of confusion (including mine!). All the best RH
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Wonderful photos and films. Being offline for several days I missed the Google tribute, nice to see it here. W.J. Swainson’d be delighted to read this, RH.
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I knew about the birds, but not about the man. Interesting to investigate, but why would Google choose his 224th birthday? I can’t see any great significance in that! RH
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To be ahead of the ones who goes for the 225th.
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😎
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