Frédéric de Lafresnaye

Baron Nöel Frédéric Armand André de Lafresnaye (24 July 1783 - 14 July 1861) was a French ornithologist and collector.

Lafresnaye was born into an aristocratic family at Chateau de La Fresnaye in Falaise, Normandy. He took an early interest in natural history, particularly entomology. It was only after acquiring a collection of European birds that he turned his attention to ornithology.

Lafresnaye described a number of new bird species, some with Alcide d'Orbigny. He accumulated a collection of over 8000 bird skins at his home. After his death the collection was purchased by the American collector Henry Bryant and donated to the Boston Natural History Society.[1] It was transferred to the Museum of Comparative Zoology in 1914.

Lafresnaye's piculet,[2] Lafresnaye's woodcreeper and Lafresnaye's vanga are avian species that bear his name.

Selected works

References