This special issue of The Canadian Field-Naturalist, written by John L. Cranmer-Byng, is devoted to the life and work of Percy Taverner.

From 1911 to 1942, Taverner was ornithologist at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa. During that time, he helped lay the foundations of ornithology in Canada by building up the necessary collections of birds at the museum and studying their distribution through a network of people who collected specimens and gathered ornithological information across the country. A leading advocate of conservation and wild bird protection, Taverner played a major role, through his research and recommendations, in the creation of Point Pelee National Park and bird sanctuaries along the North Shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence and on Bonaventure Island.

Perhaps Taverner's most far-reaching contribution was as an educator of public thought. His wide knowledge was passed to the public in his books — Birds of Eastern Canada, Birds of Western Canada, and Birds of Canada.

He was also an active member of council of the OFNC and an influential associate editor and frequent contributor to The Canadian Field-Naturalist.

© 1996 OFNC, 254 pp., $10.00