ASH, J.S. 1925-

(John Sidney Ash)

PERSONAL: Born May 26, 1925, in Gosforth, Northumberland, England; married Jonquil Gudgeon (a zoologist), 1951; children: Caroline. Ethnicity: "British (Caucasian!)." Education: University of Durham, B.Sc., 1945; Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, D.I.C., 1948, Ph.D., 1952. Hobbies and other interests: Ornithology, entomology, philately, country pursuits.

ADDRESSES: Home—Godshill Wood, Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 2LR, England. E-mail—johnash@paysanne.freeserve.co.uk.

CAREER: Writer. ICI Game Research Station, ecologist, 1951–60; Game Research Association, research director, 1960–69; U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit, head of Medical Ecology Division in Ethiopia, 1969–77; United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, ornithologist in Somalia, 1978–82; consultant to various organizations of the United Nations, 1983–84; retired, 1984. British Trust for Ornithology, past member of council, past member of scientific advisory committee, bird observatories committee, and bird-ringing committee, and past member of joint committee (with Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Game Research Association) on the effects of toxic agricultural chemicals on birds and mammals; Association of British Manufacturers of Agricultural Chemicals, past member of wildlife research committee. Portland Bird Observatory, cofounder and committee member, 1951–69; Rachel Carson Trust for the Living Environment, member of board of directors, 1963–96; Smithsonian Institution, honorary research associate, 1973–96. Conducted extensive field research, including migration surveys, in Africa, India, and the Middle East. Guest on television and radio programs in England and abroad. Military service: Royal Air Force, 1945–48.

MEMBER: British Ornithologists' Union (chair of records committee, 1969), Ornithological Society of the Middle East, British Ornithologists' Club, African Bird Club, Oriental Bird Club, Bali Bird Club, Bustard Group.

AWARDS, HONORS: Tucker Medal, British Trust for Ornithology, 1967; Union Medal, British Ornithologists' Union, 1997.

WRITINGS:

(With J.E. Miskell) Birds of Somalia: Their Habitat, Status, and Distribution, East Africa Natural History Society (Nairobi, Kenya), 1983, published as Birds of Somalia, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1998.

Author of more than 400 scientific articles. Editor, Game Research Association Annual Report, 1961–69.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea, with a Distribution Atlas, with J.D. Atkins.