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The Biography Behind the Bird: Gibberbird Ashbyia Lovensis

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The Biography Behind the Bird: Gibberbird Ashbyia Lovensis VOL. 17 (6) JUNE 1998 297 AUSTRALIAN BIRD WATCHER 1998 , 17 , 297-300 The Biography Behind the Bird: Gibberbird Ashbyia lovensis by TESS KLOOT, 8/114 Shannon Street, Box Hill North, Victoria, 3129 Introduction Almost one hundred species of Australian birds carry names commemorating contributions by various individuals to ornithology. This mainly applies to specific names; for example, Menura alberti (Albert's Lyrebird) was named after Prince Albert (1819-1861), Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, and Acanthiza ewingii (Tasmanian Thornhill) commemorates Rev. T.J. Ewing (1813?-1882), a Tasmanian naturalist and friend of John Gould. Sometimes this applies to the generic name; for example, Barnardius zonarius (Australian Ringneck), which honours Edward Barnard (1786-1861), an ornithologist and member of the Linnean Society, London, and Lathamus discolor (Swift Parrot), which was named after Dr John Latham (1740-1837), an ornithologist who, in 1801, published the first important work on Australian birds. A third instance, which rarely occurs, is when a person's name forms both the generic and specific names of the bird. For example, Geoffroyus geoffroyi (Red-cheeked Parrot) was named in honour of Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1771-1844), a French naturalist, and Ashbyia lovensis (Gibberbird) commemorates Edwin Ashby (1861-1941), an ornithologist of Blackwood, South Australia, and the Rev. James Robert Beattie Love (1889-1947) (RAOU 1926) . Tracing the origin of these names provides fascinating research in addition to making us aware of the dedicated people who pioneered research in the enchanting world of birds. Over the years some names have been discarded; a list of the presently accepted scientific names, authors and dates of description is included in Christidis & Boles (1994) and forms the basis for this article. Naming the bird 'Description of a New Ephthianura [sic] . Ephthianura [sic] lovensis, sp . nov. Habitat. [Type locality] -Leigh's Creek, S.A. Remarks. -I am indebted to Mr R.J.B. Love for the handsome little birds above described, received in the flesh after injecting formalin, and it is with pleasure I name the species after him, while in the vernacular it may be known as the Desert Bush­ Chat [now called the Gibberbird] . The male was obtained on 11th of November last [1910], and the two females a month later. There was a flock of about a score. I have provisionally referred this species to the genus Ephthianura [sic] , but it is of very robust form, and may , after further investigation, exhibit generic differences ... Mr A.J. North supports my opinion that the new bird is possibly allied to the Ephthianurae [sic]' (Ashby 1911). Six years later, Love (1917) published the story of the discovery of the species: ' .. Mr Ashby classed this bird with the Ephthianurae [sic] , naming it provisionally Ephthianura [sic] lovensis. Mr A.J. North did not concur in his view that the bird is an Ephthianura [sic], and named it Ashbyia lovensis. Their view has further been endorsed by Mr Gregory Mathews.' Even today, taxonomists are unsure about the exact position of Epthianura and Ashbyia within the Meliphagidae (Christidis & Boles 1994). AUSTRALIAN 298 KLOOT BIRD WATCHER Edwin Ashby, 1861-1941 Plate 45 Reprinted from The Emu, vol. 40, Plate 69 Edwin Ashby, 1861-1941 Edwin Ashby was born in Sussex, England, on 2 November 186L His parents, both Quakers, were interested in natural history, and fostered their son's curiosity in this field. He was to pursue this interest all his life; he was an active ornithologist who travelled widely and published over 100 articles on birds (Anon. 1941, Whittell 1954). In 1888 he migrated to Australia and, despite an early tendency to ill health, thrived in the Australian climate. In about 1890 he joined his cousin's business and worked as a land and estate agent. On 6 May of the same year, he married Esther Maria Coleman and, twelve years later, moved to Blackwood, in the Adelaide Hills. There VOL. 17 (6) JUNE 1998 Biography Behind the Bird: Gibberbird 299 they settled in untouched bush and built their house, 'Wittunga'. Around the house, Ashby created a lovely English garden, but as he became more aware of the beauty of the Australian flora, he converted the garden to resemble bushland, with plants gathered from many parts of Australia. He retired from the estate agency in 1914, and occupied himself at home with his beloved hobbies of ornithology and horticulture, and occasionally conducted some business from home. In addition, he was also an authority on chitons: his excellent collection was presented to the South Australian Museum in 1932. Sadly, in 1934, a bushfire destroyed a section of the house and garden, and many of his records and specimens were destroyed; however, a number of skins and chitons had already been deposited in the South Australian Museum, but some type specimens were burnt. By this time, Ashby was 73 and was unable to renew his collection. Instead, he turned his attention to botany and horticulture, and built up an extensive assemblage of plants. He enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm and fascination of Australian plants with both students and visitors to 'Wittunga'. Edwin Ashby was a member of many scientific societies. In 1918, when visiting America, he was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists Union. He was also a Life Member of the British Ornithologists Union, a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a foundation member of the South Australian Ornithological Association, and an original member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, where he served as President between 1925 and 1927 (see Plate 45). A devout Quaker, he became a well-known speaker at Society of Friends' meetings, where he promoted peace and temperance. Edwin Ashby was a cordial and friendly person, with an enthusiasm for life which remained with him to the end (Robertson 1979). 'He has left behind him a fine record of achievement and a name which will always live in the annals of Australian ornithology' (Condon 1941). Rev. James Robert Beattie Love, 1889-1947 Rev. J.R.B. Love, clergyman and missionary, was born on 16 June 1889 at Tyrone, Ireland. His family migrated to Australia when he was only five months old, and settled at Strathalbyn in South Australia. Love attended the local school there and, later, the Pupil Teachers' School in Adelaide. After a brief stint as a teacher in 1906- 7, he attended the University Training College in Adelaide. He was subsequently appointed as Head teacher at the school at Leigh Creek; during his time there he began collecting and sending skins of ornithological specimens to Edwin Ashby. Included among them was a bird which was identified not only as a new species, but an undescribed genus. His story of this discovery was published in the South Australian Omithologist (Love 1917). Like his father before him, Love's life was deeply involved with the Presbyterian Church. In 1912, he began researching the conditions of Aborigines for the Presbyterian Church with a view to the possibility of establishing missions, and later that year, accompanied by A.L. Merrotsy, Love embarked on an 18-monthjourney through northern South Australia into the Northern Territory. They left Copley, near Leigh Creek, on 27 December. A diary kept by Love during the trip, now located in archives of the State Library of South Australia, contains valuable notes on many species of birds from the arid zone of Central Australia (Love 1986, Kloot 1995). Love's work for the Church was interrupted in 1915, when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces. He served in the 1st Light Horse Training Regiment, 1st Imperial Camel Brigade (Anzac Section) and the 14th Light Horse. He was wounded in September 1918, and returned to Australia in October, just a few weeks before the Armistice was signed. He attained the rank of lieutenant and was awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Cross for 'conspicuous gallantry and AUSTRALIAN 300 KLOOT BIRD WATCHER devotion to duty'. On his return to Australia, he attended the Presbyterian Theological School in Ormond College, Melbourne, and was ordained in 1922. He served at the Presbyterian Mission to the Aborigines at Port George IV (Kunrnunya), Western Australia, and later acted as superintendent at the Mapoon Aboriginal mission on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula where, in 1923, he met and married Blanche Margaret Hollinger, a teacher at the mission school. Later the Loves returned to Kunmunya, where they lived for 23 years under very difficult conditions. During this time, Love wrote about the local Worora tribe, translated part of the Bible into their language and recorded some Worora stories in English. His thesis on Worora grammar earned him a Master of Arts degree at the University of Adelaide in 1933. Love was seen by the Aborigines as a father figure, endeavouring to combine Christianity with tribal life and lore. Missions were more readily accepted in those days and few doubted their validity. In 1937, during long-service leave, Love established a new mission at Ernabella in the Musgrave Range, South Australia, before returning to Kunrnunya. After another three years at Kunrnunya he moved to Ernabella and remained there until 1946, when he retired from mission work and was elected moderator of the General Assembly cf the Presbyterian Church of South Australia. Finally, Love accepted a call to the Parish of Mount Barker-Lobethal-Woodside but he was prevented, by illness, from spending much time on his duties. He died on 19 February 1947 and is buried in Centennial Park Cemetery in Adelaide. It behoves bird-watchers to remember these distinguished men whose names Jive on in Australian ornithology. Acknowledgements I thank John Peter for his valuable comments and for ably editing the final draft.
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