Percy A. Taverner

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Percy Algernon Taverner (June 10, 1875-May 9, 1947) was a Canadian ornithologist.

He was born Percy Algernon Fowler in Guelph, Ontario in 1875. When his parents separated and his mother remarried, he took on his new parent's surname. Taverner, a self-taught naturalist, was the first ornithologist at the National Museum of Canada, now the Canadian Museum of Nature, from 1912 to 1942. He helped establish Point Pelee National Park and a number of bird sanctuaries across Canada, including Bonaventure Island.

Books by Taverner include:

  • Birds of Eastern Canada (1919)
  • Birds of Western Canada (1926)
  • Birds of Canada (1934)

He died in Ottawa in 1947.

The Taverner Cup, a 24 hour competitive birdathon held in eastern Ontario and western Quebec, is named after him.

The Timberline Sparrow, currently considered to be a sub-species of Brewer's Sparrow, and a sub-species of Canada Goose were given the name taverneri in his honour.

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