D. Ian M. Wallace
Encyclopedia
D. Ian M. Wallace is a British
birder, author
and artist
. He lives in Staffordshire
.
D.I.M. Wallace was the second chairman of the British Birds Rarities Committee
and was a contributing author to The Birds of the Western Palearctic
.
(BWP), Simon Harrap wrote: "The Field Characters sections are rather shorter than the BWP originals, and have again been penned by Ian ('D.I.M.') Wallace. I always thought that the BWP texts were long, repetitious and woolly, but those in BWPC are merely short and still full of Wallace waffle. Far too much space is devoted to irrelevant and meaningless statements about flight actions in small passerine
s (e.g. Greenish Warbler
is 'light on the wing') and to altogether strange observations about jizz
, such as 'fullness of tail' and 'breadth of wing'. I read a selection of Field Character accounts for some of the more 'critical' species and found them very disappointing regarding the more substantive issues of structure, plumage and call. One some important issues I would say they are downright wrong ... Indeed, the Field Characters account simply ducks the issue with some difficult species ... On balance, I have to conclude that this section of the text contributes little and that I would never refere to BWPC in order to identify a bird"
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
birder, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. He lives in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
D.I.M. Wallace was the second chairman of the British Birds Rarities Committee
British Birds Rarities Committee
The British Birds Rarities Committee , established in 1959, is the national bird rarities committee for Britain. It assesses claimed sightings of bird species that are rarely seen in Britain, based on descriptions, photographs and video recordings submitted by observers...
and was a contributing author to The Birds of the Western Palearctic
The Birds of the Western Palearctic
The Birds of the Western Palearctic is a nine-volume ornithological handbook covering the birds of the western portion of the Palearctic zoogeographical region.BWP is a comprehensive regional avifauna for...
.
Wallaces's writing
Wallace's writing style has been criticised by others. In reviewing the concise edition (BWPC) of The Birds of the Western PalearcticThe Birds of the Western Palearctic
The Birds of the Western Palearctic is a nine-volume ornithological handbook covering the birds of the western portion of the Palearctic zoogeographical region.BWP is a comprehensive regional avifauna for...
(BWP), Simon Harrap wrote: "The Field Characters sections are rather shorter than the BWP originals, and have again been penned by Ian ('D.I.M.') Wallace. I always thought that the BWP texts were long, repetitious and woolly, but those in BWPC are merely short and still full of Wallace waffle. Far too much space is devoted to irrelevant and meaningless statements about flight actions in small passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
s (e.g. Greenish Warbler
Greenish Warbler
The Greenish Warbler and Green Warbler are widespread leaf-warblers throughout their breeding range in northeastern Europe and temperate to subtropical continental Asia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters in India. It is not uncommon as a spring or early autumn vagrant in Western...
is 'light on the wing') and to altogether strange observations about jizz
Jizz
Jizz can mean:*Jizz , the immediately recognisable characteristics of a bird. Sometimes extended to refer to animals and plants.*An alternative way of writing jism, a slang term for semen or ejaculation.It is also referred to by:...
, such as 'fullness of tail' and 'breadth of wing'. I read a selection of Field Character accounts for some of the more 'critical' species and found them very disappointing regarding the more substantive issues of structure, plumage and call. One some important issues I would say they are downright wrong ... Indeed, the Field Characters account simply ducks the issue with some difficult species ... On balance, I have to conclude that this section of the text contributes little and that I would never refere to BWPC in order to identify a bird"
Contributions
- A field guide to the birds of Britain and Europe by Roger PetersonRoger Tory PetersonRoger Tory Peterson , was an American naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator, and held to be one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement.-Background:...
, Guy MountfortGuy MountfortGuy Mountfort OBE was an English advertising executive, amateur ornithologist and conservationist.-Biography:...
, P.A.D. HollomPhilip HollomPhilip Arthur Dominic Hollom is a British ornithologist.In 1951, he became a member of the editorial board of British Birds magazine under the senior editorship of Max Nicholson, whom he succeeded in 1960...
. CollinsWilliam Collins (publisher)William Collins was a Scottish schoolmaster and publisher.Collins was born near Glasgow in 1789. In 1819 he set up a publishing business, initially selling religious books. He produced the first Collins dictionary in 1824, when he also obtained a licence to publish the Bible...
, 1965- new edition of 1954 work; revised and enlarged in collaboration with I.J. Ferguson-LeesJames Ferguson-LeesI. James Ferguson-Lees is a British ornithologist. He spent his early years in Italy and France, but was educated in Bedford, England. He turned down the chance to study zoology at Oxford University in order to get married, and became a teacher for seven years...
and Wallace - 1971 impression: ISBN 0-00-212020-8
- 2004 edition: ISBN 978-0007192342
- new edition of 1954 work; revised and enlarged in collaboration with I.J. Ferguson-Lees
Significant articles
- Snipe and Grouse: English Bird Names in Birding WorldBirding WorldBirding World is a monthly birding magazine published in the United Kingdom. It is the magazine of the Bird Information Service, based at Cley next the Sea, Norfolk....
, Vol. 6 No. 4 pp. 164–5
External links
- See also: Other people called Ian WallaceIan WallaceIan Wallace is the name of:*D. Ian M. Wallace, ornithologist*Ian Wallace , science fiction author*Ian Wallace , pioneer of Vancouver's conceptual art movement...