Charles M. Inglis

Charles McFarlane Inglis FES, FZS (1870–1954) was a naturalist and curator of the Darjeeling museum in India from 1926 to 1948. The museum was run by the Bengal Natural History Society and many of his writings were published in that society's journal which he started and edited.

He was born 8 November 1870 in Elgin, Scotland, the son of Archibald Inglis, a retired planter in India, who went to India at the age of 18.[1] Like his father Charles became a indigo planter and during this time made studies of the birds, butterflies and dragonflies.[2][3]

His ability to sketch and illustrate birds led to Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher inviting him to produce a series of articles on birds of importance to agriculture in India. These were published in the Agricultural Journal of India and were later revised and published as a book Birds of an Indian Garden in 1924.

While hunting in Bihar in 1935, Inglis shot the last specimen of pink-headed duck ever to be documented. The species is now presumed to be extinct. Inglis did not know what he had killed, until his dog, a retriever, brought the bird to him.

Publications

  • Baker, H. R. & C. M. Inglis. The Birds of Southern India including Madras, Malabar, Travancore, Cochin, Coorg and Mysore. Government Press, Madras (1930)
  • Fletcher, T. B. and C. M. Inglis Birds of an Indian Garden. Calcutta & Simla: Thacker, Spink & Co. (1924)
  • Inglis C. M. The leaf insect – Phyllium scythe Gr. J. Darjeeling Nat Hist. Soc. 5 : 32–33 (1930)

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Minden (1908). History of Behar. Calcutta: Calcutta General Printing Company. pp. 263–266.
  2. ↑ Obituary. 1954 Journal of the Bengal Natural History Society 24:1–8 ( ISSN 0409-0756)
  3. ↑ Warr, F. E. 1996. Manuscripts and Drawings in the ornithology and Rothschild libraries of The Natural History Museum at Tring. BOC.


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