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Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock

April 12, 2024

Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock (1860-1953) was an ornithological writer and oölogist, active in England and across Western Australia.

Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock
Born3 June 1860
DiedJune 15, 1953(1953-06-15) (aged 93)
Occupation(s)ornithologist, entomologist, author
EmployerWestern Australian Museum Boola Bardip

The first years of his life, living in England, he became known as F.B. Whitlock. Later in life, in Australia, his name was mostly written as F.L. Whitlock, or F. Lawson Whitlock.[1]

He is noted for his many expeditions to remote regions of Australia, collecting the eggs and nests of birds and recording their behaviour. His notes and specimens were often of little known or new bird populations, generating new names and descriptions. Whitlock's specimens and notes on Conopophila whitei, the grey honeyeater, are regarded as the last new species to be 'discovered' in the state,.

Biography edit

Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock was born 3 June 1860 in Nottingham, England, becoming interested in its natural history at an early age.[2] He became a published ornithologist while still in England, studying the birds of Europe in the literature and field.[3][4] He began a career as a bank manager in Nottingham, later robbing the safe and moving to Western Australia. A reward notice of one hundred pounds was issued with a photograph and description,

"… he has a shifty expression when talking. He is a clever bicyclist and a collector of birds and birds’ eggs, upon which he is a considerable authority".

Whitlock entered Australia through Fremantle port, and travelled to the goldfields north of Kalgoorlie. He was arrested by two police officers in "mysterious circumstances", one called Wilson and another, Robert Connell, who rose through the ranks to become a long-serving Western Australia Police Commissioner.[4][5] The stolen money was not recorded as amongst his few belongings.[4] After his capture at Kanowna, and his conviction and sentencing in England, he returned with his wife, Clara Ellen Neale-Whitlock, and daughter to Western Australia to continue his work in ornithology.[6]

The significant contribution of F. Lawson Whitlock's works to the state's ornithology was noted in The West Australian, published on his ninetieth birthday, the item also links his ancestry to English parliamentarian Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke.[7] Toward the end of his life Whitlock shifted his attention to entomology. His last contribution to ornithological literature concerned seabirds washed up to the nearby beach, collected where he had retired, at Bunbury, Western Australia. Whitlock died there on 15 June 1953.[8]

Works edit

 
Photo of Western ground parrot nest and eggs. The Emu, 1913.

Whitlock had published a book before leaving England, The Birds of Derbyshire, with map and six illustrations (1893), supplemented with notes of a taxidermist and author, A.S. Hutchinson (active 1870s, died 1909).[4]

Whitlock wrote over fifty articles for the Australian journal The Emu, sometimes illustrated with his photographs of bird's nests, eggs and their habitat. The journal's editor, H. M. Whittell, praised his contributions in The Emu on his eightieth birthday, and in a page given over to Whitlock's achievements in his ornithological history of the state, prefacing Serventy's Birds of Western Australia:[3][6]

Not only were Mr Whitlock’s discoveries very numerous, but he has the gift of being able so to describe his field-work that the many records he left in the pages of The Emu are not only literary efforts of a high standard, but are also work-pictures of the habits of the species with which he has come into contact. (Whittell, 1940).

He is also published in other Australian publications, including the journal Notes of the Gould League.[8]

His extensive collections of specimens, nests and eggs are held at the Western Australian Museum, in the H. L. White Collection at the Museum of Victoria, and the Mathews Collection in New York's American Museum of Natural History.[2] The collections and information he provided allowed for scientific study of the range and diversity of birds, including subspecies that were yet to be described. Whitlock is credited with the last new avian species of the state to be named and described, and commemorated by authors in systematic and common names.[7][9]

Taxa bearing his name include

An archive containing Whitlock's notes and diaries is held at JS Battye Library of West Australian History.[14]

Expeditions edit

Whitlock joined or led a number of expeditions within the state of Western Australia, significantly contributing to the region's ornithology during a period of increased exploration and scientific research.[3] On the recommendation of L. F. von Wieldt and A. W. Milligan, Whitlock began collecting for the Western Australian Museum in 1902. He also made collections for others, notably eggs for H. L. White and supplying skins to G. M. Mathews, while still employed at the museum. His expeditions produced major collections from Lake Way (1909), the Nullarbor Plain (1921), and from the remote region of Central Australia in 1923. While at the Nullarbor he collected three specimens of an undescribed species, Blue-Bonnet Parrot, later given the name Psephotus narethae. Whitlock failed to collect a specimen of the elusive Night parrot, Pezoporus occidentalis, while searching at Henbury Station, but recorded sightings and observations of other birds in that region.[6]

List of expeditions edit

A chronological list of regions visited by Whitlock includes,[3]

From 1908 he was employed by H. L. White, and devoted most of his time visiting Western and central Australian regions to obtain birds and their eggs.

Bibliography edit

  • Whitlock, F.B. (1893). The Birds of Devonshire. London: Bemrose & Sons. OCLC 9793815 (all editions).
  • —— (1897a). Migration of birds; a consideration of Herr Gätke's views. London: R.H. Porter. OCLC 964917337 (all editions).
  • —— (1897b). "The Breeding Habits of the Purple Heron". The Zoologist. 4th series, vol 1 (675 (September, 1897)): 407–409.
  • Whitlock, F. Lawson (1910). "On the East Murchison, Four Months' Collecting Trip". The Emu. IX (4): 181–219. (with 10 photo's by the author)
  • —— (1939a). "Birds of the Bunbury District, Western Australia". Emu. 39 (1): 47–56. doi:10.1071/MU939047.
  • —— (1939b). "Notes on the Thick-billed Thornbill". Emu. 39 (3): 176–178. doi:10.1071/MU939176. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  • Whitlock, F. L.; Whittell, H.M. (1942). "Petrel Notes from Western Australia". Emu. 42 (1): 36–43. doi:10.1071/MU942036.

References edit

  1. ^ For F.B. Whitlock, see for instance:Whitlock 1893, Whitlock 1897a and Whitlock 1897b. For F.L. Whitlock, see for instance: Whitlock 1910 and Whittell 1940
  2. ^ a b "Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock [bio; corr. w. D. L. Serventy]". De Avibus Historiae Cronologia Ornitologica. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Serventy, D. L.; Whittell, H. M. (1951). "Sect. 1, Part 4 'The Modern Period (1887 onward)'". A handbook of the birds of Western Australia (with the exception of the Kimberley division) (2 ed.). Perth: Paterson Brokensha. p. 41.
  4. ^ a b c d Shaw, Steve (July 2014). "Bank manager who went from birdman to jailbird and back again!". Reflections - digital edition. Derbyshire. Retrieved 21 July 2018. citing author's own work: Frost, R. Shaw, S. (eds.) The Birds of Derbyshire. Liverpool University Press, 2014. 9781846319563
  5. ^ "Our history: WA Police Commissioners 1867-1958". police.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Koekoe, J. (2015). "Frederick Lawson Whitlock, Ornithologist (1860-1953)". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Birdman At Ninety". The West Australian. Vol. 66, no. 19, 936. Western Australia. 10 June 1950. p. 22. Retrieved 21 July 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ a b Obituary (September 1953). "F. Lawson Whitlock". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 53 (3): 268–269. doi:10.1071/mu953268b. ISSN 0158-4197.
  9. ^ whitlocki Jobling, J. A. (2018). Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2018). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from www.hbw.com on 17 July 2018).
  10. ^ a b c d Whitlock 1910.
  11. ^ Citation at www.hbw.com : "1079. WHITLOCKA, gen. nov. Differs from Climacteris in its shorter stouter bill and stronger feet and comparatively much longer first primary; from Neoclima in its broader heavier bill and longer first primary though shorter wing. Type, Climacteris melanura Gould." (Mathews 1912).
  12. ^ whitlocka Jobling, J. A. (2018). Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2018). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from www.hbw.com on 21 July 2018).
  13. ^ "Species Melithreptus (Melithreptus) chloropsis Gould, 1848". Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, Australian Biological Resources Study, Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved 19 July 2020.; see also: "From the Minutes of the B.O.C. 17/10/09". The Emu. 9: 267. 1910. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock - Records - Encyclopedia of Australian Science". www.eoas.info. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 3 July 2018.

Sources edit

April 12, 2024
frederick, bulstrode, lawson, whitlock, 1860, 1953, ornithological, writer, oölogist, active, england, across, western, australia, born3, june, 1860diedjune, 1953, 1953, aged, occupation, ornithologist, entomologist, authoremployerwestern, australian, museum, . Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock 1860 1953 was an ornithological writer and oologist active in England and across Western Australia Frederick Bulstrode Lawson WhitlockBorn3 June 1860DiedJune 15 1953 1953 06 15 aged 93 Occupation s ornithologist entomologist authorEmployerWestern Australian Museum Boola BardipThe first years of his life living in England he became known as F B Whitlock Later in life in Australia his name was mostly written as F L Whitlock or F Lawson Whitlock 1 He is noted for his many expeditions to remote regions of Australia collecting the eggs and nests of birds and recording their behaviour His notes and specimens were often of little known or new bird populations generating new names and descriptions Whitlock s specimens and notes on Conopophila whitei the grey honeyeater are regarded as the last new species to be discovered in the state Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Expeditions 3 1 List of expeditions 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 SourcesBiography editFrederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock was born 3 June 1860 in Nottingham England becoming interested in its natural history at an early age 2 He became a published ornithologist while still in England studying the birds of Europe in the literature and field 3 4 He began a career as a bank manager in Nottingham later robbing the safe and moving to Western Australia A reward notice of one hundred pounds was issued with a photograph and description he has a shifty expression when talking He is a clever bicyclist and a collector of birds and birds eggs upon which he is a considerable authority Whitlock entered Australia through Fremantle port and travelled to the goldfields north of Kalgoorlie He was arrested by two police officers in mysterious circumstances one called Wilson and another Robert Connell who rose through the ranks to become a long serving Western Australia Police Commissioner 4 5 The stolen money was not recorded as amongst his few belongings 4 After his capture at Kanowna and his conviction and sentencing in England he returned with his wife Clara Ellen Neale Whitlock and daughter to Western Australia to continue his work in ornithology 6 The significant contribution of F Lawson Whitlock s works to the state s ornithology was noted in The West Australian published on his ninetieth birthday the item also links his ancestry to English parliamentarian Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke 7 Toward the end of his life Whitlock shifted his attention to entomology His last contribution to ornithological literature concerned seabirds washed up to the nearby beach collected where he had retired at Bunbury Western Australia Whitlock died there on 15 June 1953 8 Works edit nbsp Photo of Western ground parrot nest and eggs The Emu 1913 Whitlock had published a book before leaving England The Birds of Derbyshire with map and six illustrations 1893 supplemented with notes of a taxidermist and author A S Hutchinson active 1870s died 1909 4 Whitlock wrote over fifty articles for the Australian journal The Emu sometimes illustrated with his photographs of bird s nests eggs and their habitat The journal s editor H M Whittell praised his contributions in The Emu on his eightieth birthday and in a page given over to Whitlock s achievements in his ornithological history of the state prefacing Serventy s Birds of Western Australia 3 6 Not only were Mr Whitlock s discoveries very numerous but he has the gift of being able so to describe his field work that the many records he left in the pages of The Emu are not only literary efforts of a high standard but are also work pictures of the habits of the species with which he has come into contact Whittell 1940 He is also published in other Australian publications including the journal Notes of the Gould League 8 His extensive collections of specimens nests and eggs are held at the Western Australian Museum in the H L White Collection at the Museum of Victoria and the Mathews Collection in New York s American Museum of Natural History 2 The collections and information he provided allowed for scientific study of the range and diversity of birds including subspecies that were yet to be described Whitlock is credited with the last new avian species of the state to be named and described and commemorated by authors in systematic and common names 7 9 Taxa bearing his name include Acanthiza apicalis whitlocki Whitlock s tit Collected by him and described as a species Acanthiza whitlocki by A J North who was requested to honour Whitlock by the sponsor of his expedition H L White 10 Ocyphaps lophotes whitlocki a crested columbid pigeon and dove family he collected in regions of the centre and North of Western Australia Whitlocka 11 a synonym for the avian genus Climacteris proposed by G M Mathews for the species Climacteris melanurus the black tailed treecreeper 12 Melithreptus whitlocki Mathews G M 1909 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club vol 25 p 24 then described as a new subspecies nowadays considered a synonym of Gilbert s honeyeater Melithreptus chloropsis 13 An archive containing Whitlock s notes and diaries is held at JS Battye Library of West Australian History 14 Expeditions editWhitlock joined or led a number of expeditions within the state of Western Australia significantly contributing to the region s ornithology during a period of increased exploration and scientific research 3 On the recommendation of L F von Wieldt and A W Milligan Whitlock began collecting for the Western Australian Museum in 1902 He also made collections for others notably eggs for H L White and supplying skins to G M Mathews while still employed at the museum His expeditions produced major collections from Lake Way 1909 the Nullarbor Plain 1921 and from the remote region of Central Australia in 1923 While at the Nullarbor he collected three specimens of an undescribed species Blue Bonnet Parrot later given the name Psephotus narethae Whitlock failed to collect a specimen of the elusive Night parrot Pezoporus occidentalis while searching at Henbury Station but recorded sightings and observations of other birds in that region 6 List of expeditions edit A chronological list of regions visited by Whitlock includes 3 Kalgoorlie district 1901 Whitlock s first collecting trip East Murchison 1902 03 Whitlock returned to this area in 1909 10 Mogumber near Moore River preceding Wongan Hills 1903 Joining A W Milligan and C P Conigrave Rottnest Island Norseman 1904 Wilson Inlet near where he resided at Youngs Siding 1904 07 10 Irwin Valley 1907 From 1908 he was employed by H L White and devoted most of his time visiting Western and central Australian regions to obtain birds and their eggs De Grey River Condon River Abrolhos Islands 1908 East Murchison Lake Way district near the town of Wiluna 1909 Whitlock s record of the journey was published by The Emu in April 1910 He describes being commissioned by H L White to revisit the Northwest region and after assembling his notes he wrote to J T Tunney regarding a label attached to a mounted specimen at Perth Museum described as a Guttated Bower Bird Chlamydodera guttata and collected 50 miles NW of Lake Way Tunney replied with the exact location of his collection noting it was the only one he saw and Whitlock resolved to direct his journey toward the same site On this expedition he obtained the type specimens for North s descriptions of the grey honeyeater Lacustroica whitei and Acanthiza apicalis whitlocki Whitlock s tit 10 Stirling Range country around Wilson Inlet Nullagine River 1910 1911 Coongan River Barrow Island 1917 Peron Peninsula Barrow Island Dirk Hartog Island 1918 Nullarbor Plain 1921 Fortescue River 1922 Bibliography editWhitlock F B 1893 The Birds of Devonshire London Bemrose amp Sons OCLC 9793815 all editions 1897a Migration of birds a consideration of Herr Gatke s views London R H Porter OCLC 964917337 all editions 1897b The Breeding Habits of the Purple Heron The Zoologist 4th series vol 1 675 September 1897 407 409 Whitlock F Lawson 1910 On the East Murchison Four Months Collecting Trip The Emu IX 4 181 219 with 10 photo s by the author 1939a Birds of the Bunbury District Western Australia Emu 39 1 47 56 doi 10 1071 MU939047 1939b Notes on the Thick billed Thornbill Emu 39 3 176 178 doi 10 1071 MU939176 Retrieved 19 July 2020 Whitlock F L Whittell H M 1942 Petrel Notes from Western Australia Emu 42 1 36 43 doi 10 1071 MU942036 References edit For F B Whitlock see for instance Whitlock 1893 Whitlock 1897a and Whitlock 1897b For F L Whitlock see for instance Whitlock 1910 and Whittell 1940 a b Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock bio corr w D L Serventy De Avibus Historiae Cronologia Ornitologica Retrieved 2 July 2018 a b c d Serventy D L Whittell H M 1951 Sect 1 Part 4 The Modern Period 1887 onward A handbook of the birds of Western Australia with the exception of the Kimberley division 2 ed Perth Paterson Brokensha p 41 a b c d Shaw Steve July 2014 Bank manager who went from birdman to jailbird and back again Reflections digital edition Derbyshire Retrieved 21 July 2018 citing author s own work Frost R Shaw S eds The Birds of Derbyshire Liverpool University Press 2014 9781846319563 Our history WA Police Commissioners 1867 1958 police wa gov au Government of Western Australia Retrieved 24 July 2020 a b c Koekoe J 2015 Frederick Lawson Whitlock Ornithologist 1860 1953 Museums Victoria Collections Retrieved 2 July 2018 a b Birdman At Ninety The West Australian Vol 66 no 19 936 Western Australia 10 June 1950 p 22 Retrieved 21 July 2018 via National Library of Australia a b Obituary September 1953 F Lawson Whitlock Emu Austral Ornithology 53 3 268 269 doi 10 1071 mu953268b ISSN 0158 4197 whitlocki Jobling J A 2018 Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology In del Hoyo J Elliott A Sargatal J Christie D A amp de Juana E eds 2018 Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive Lynx Edicions Barcelona retrieved from www hbw com on 17 July 2018 a b c d Whitlock 1910 Citation at www hbw com 1079 WHITLOCKA gen nov Differs from Climacteris in its shorter stouter bill and stronger feet and comparatively much longer first primary from Neoclima in its broader heavier bill and longer first primary though shorter wing Type Climacteris melanura Gould Mathews 1912 whitlocka Jobling J A 2018 Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology In del Hoyo J Elliott A Sargatal J Christie D A amp de Juana E eds 2018 Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive Lynx Edicions Barcelona retrieved from www hbw com on 21 July 2018 Species Melithreptus Melithreptus chloropsis Gould 1848 Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy Australian Biological Resources Study Australian Faunal Directory Retrieved 19 July 2020 see also From the Minutes of the B O C 17 10 09 The Emu 9 267 1910 Retrieved 19 July 2020 Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock Records Encyclopedia of Australian Science www eoas info University of Melbourne Retrieved 3 July 2018 Sources editWhittell Major H M 1940 Frederick Lawson Whitlock The Emu XXXIX 4 279 doi 10 1071 MU939279 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick Bulstrode Lawson Whitlock amp oldid 1113945462, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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