Derek Goodwin

Who was Derek Goodwin?

Derek Goodwin was a British ornithologist who wrote a series of what The Times called "definitive works" on estrildid finches, crows and pigeons. He was considered to be an expert on bird behaviour.

Goodwin was born Richard Patrick Goodwin in Woking, United Kingdom, on 26 February 1920. His parents called him Derek for reasons he never fully understood, but the name stayed with him for his entire life. He served in the British military in the Royal Artillery during World War II and was a veteran of the Siege of Tobruk. He left the military in August 1945 and emabarked on his career in ornithology.

Goodwin was a writer and contributor to Avicultural Magazine. By chance, in July 1945, while Goodwin was still in active duty in the military, his purchase of back issues of Avicultural Magazine led to a series of unexpected events which led to his employment at the Natural History Museum. Though he had no formal education in ornithology at the time, Goodwin was hired to work in the Natural History Museum's bird room. He eventually rose up through the ranks to become principal scientific officer for birds at the museum. In 1965 he participated in the third of the Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions. He wrote a series of detailed books on crows, pigeons and estrildid finches during the 1970s and 1980s as part of his work at the British Museum. These works are still regarded as the definitive works on these particular birds today. He also authored and published his favorite work, Birds in Man’s World, and wrote a series of children's books and pamphlets on birds.