The ornithological observations of James Parsons Burkitt in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Abstract

James Parsons Burkitt (1870–1959), a civil engineer and County Surveyor of Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was one of the pioneers of modern ornithology. He was an experienced field ornithologist when, during the early 1920s, he designed and conducted the first population study of a bird, the robin (Erithacus rubecula), based on marked (ringed) individuals. He discovered details of territorial behaviour, song, and threat display, and estimated the average life-span of this bird. After the completion of his robin study he continued to observe and to publish on the birds around his home. In this biographical paper, hitherto unreported details of his ornithological work, including a series of maps showing the robins’ territories at Lawnakilla (1922–1926), are provided, and the places near Enniskillen where Burkitt lived and studied birds are located.