Chris Perrins

Christopher Miles Perrins, LVO FRS^[5] (born 11 May 1935)^[1][6] is Emeritus Fellow of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at the University of Oxford, Emeritus Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford^[7] and His Majesty's Warden of the Swans since 1993.^[1][7][8]

Chris Perrins LVO FRS
Born	(1935-05-11) 11 May 1935 (age 89)[1]
Education	Charterhouse School
Alma mater	Queen Mary College (BSc)[1] University of Oxford (DPhil)
Spouse	Mary Ceresole Carslake ​ ​ (m. 1963)​ [1]
Awards	Godman-Salvin Medal, 2018 RSPB Medal, 1992
Scientific career
Fields	Ornithology
Institutions	University of Oxford Royal Household
Thesis	Some factors influencing brood-size and populations in tits (1963)
Doctoral advisor	David Lack[2]
Doctoral students	Tim Birkhead[3] Matt Ridley[4]
Website	zoo.ox.ac.uk/egi/members/professor-chris-perrins-lvo-frs/

Education

Perrins was educated at Charterhouse School and Queen Mary College^[1] where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology in 1957.^[1] He completed his postgraduate study and research at the University of Oxford where he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1963 for research on brood size in tits supervised by David Lack.^[2]

Research and career

Perrins research interests are in the population dynamics and breeding biology of birds, particularly tits (Paridae),^[2][9] mute swans^[10][11] and seabirds on Skomer and Skokholm.^[7][12][13] He investigated animal lead poisoning of swans from lead shot.^[12] He is renowned for his work on avian population ecology and, in particular, reproductive rates. He has made a number of important contributions to the long-term study of the great tit at Wytham Woods^[14] — an area of mixed woodland established in 1947 by evolutionary biologist David Lack – one of the most famous studies in population ecology.^[5]

He was the first to discover that avian clutch size – the number of eggs laid in a single nesting – in great tits has a remarkably high heritability and that the likelihood of the survival of young birds can be traced back to nutrition in the nest.^[5] Perrins also demonstrated that females lay a clutch of an appropriate size for their ability to feed.^[5][15] He supervised several successful DPhil students at Oxford including Matt Ridley^[4] and Tim Birkhead.^[3]

According to Scopus,^[16] As of 2016^[update] his most cited journal articles have been published in Ibis,^[17][18] Nature,^[19] Science^[9] and the Journal of Animal Ecology.^[20]

Publications

• British Tits^[21]
• Encyclopedia of Birds^[22]
• The Mute Swan^[23]
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Guide to Birds of the World: Christopher M. Perrins Hardline (1990) ISBN 978-0747202776
• Bird Population Studies: Relevance to Conservation and Management: (Oxford Ornithology Series) by Christopher M. Perrins, G. J. Hirons and J. D. Lebreton (1996) ISBN 978-0198540823
• The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 1: Non-passerines David Snow, Christopher M. Perrins and Robert Gillmor (1998) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198501879
• The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 2: by David Snow, Christopher M. Perrins and Robert Gillmor (1998) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198501886
• The New Encyclopedia of Birds: Editor, (2003) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198525066
• The Complete Encyclopedia of Birds and Bird Migration: Jonathan Elphick: Christopher M. Perrins (2004) ISBN 978-0785816676

Awards and honours

Perrins has received a number of awards for his research, including the Godman-Salvin Medal of the British Ornithologists' Union in 1988, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Medal in 1992.^{[citation needed]} In 1993, he was appointed as the first Warden of the Swans in the Royal Household, playing an important role in the annual Swan Upping ceremony. This was a new office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, created in 1993. Other awards and honours include:^[7]

• American Ornithologists' Union: Corresponding Member, 1976, Fellow, 1983.
• Deutschen Ornithologen-Gesellschaft: Corresponding Fellow, 1991, Life Fellow, 2001.
• Nederlandse Ornithologische Unie: Life Fellow, 1992.^{[citation needed]}
• Elected an Honorary Fellow, Queen Mary; Westfield College in 1996^[1]
• Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1997^[5]
• Union Medal of the British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) in 2016, awarded for outstanding contribution to the BOU and ornithology.^{[citation needed]} having served as President of the BOU from 2003 to 2007^{[citation needed]}