| BIRTHDATE: | 9 September 1937 |
| BIRTHPLACE: | Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, U.S.A. |
| CITIZENSHIP: | USA |
| EDUCATION: | Master of Science degree (biology), Yale University, 1970. Bachelor of Science Degree (biology), Loyola University of Los Angeles, 1959 |
| MILITARY: | US Naval Officer, 1959-1962. |
| PROFESSION: | Ornithologist, specializing in the study of Asian birds. I have done field work in many areas of southern and eastern Asia, indulging my research interests in systematics, vocalizations and distribution. |
| LIVELIHOOD: | President of KingBird Tours, specializing in bird-watching tours all over Asia, 1980-present. I design, market and lead these tours. Occasional lecturer. Led 26 tours for Bird Bonanzas, Quester's, and Attour, 1972-1980. These tours were in Alaska, Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Sabah, Sumatra, Java, Bali, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Sri Lanka. Chief, Migratory Animals Pathological Survey in Thailand, 1964-1966. This was a bird migration study aimed at trying to discover if there are any links between migratory birds and human disease. 93,000 birds were banded, ectoparasites and blood smears were taken from 7,000 birds, and 34 species of birds new to Thailand were found. |
| PUBLICATIONS: | A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia: Covering Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Hong Kong. Collins, London. 1975. Also scientific and popular papers on Asian birds (see attached list) |
GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS: |
U.S. National Museum grant, 1967. Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund Grant, 1969, for research on my SE Asia book at AMNH. Josslyn Van Tyne Memorial Fund Grant for Research, 1970. Fulbright Fellowship to India 1972/1973. 3 N.W. Dible Foundation Grants for research and writing, 1973, 1976 Explorers Club grant for research. Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund Grant, 1977, for field research on owls and frogmouths in Sabah. New York Zoological Society 3-year grant for research on India Bird Guide, 1978. |
| HONORS: | Elected Elective Member of American Birding Association, 1971 Elected Corresponding Member of Explorers Club, 1977. Appointed Honorary Laboratory Associate of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 1978. Elected Elective Member of American Ornithologists' Union, 1979. Elected Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, 1980. Appointed Field Associate of the American Museum of Natural History, 1986. Appointed Research Associate of the American Museum of Natural History, 2003. |
Click here for a bibliography of Ben King's PUBLICATIONS.
