'Birds from the first were his great love, and snakes he found irresistible', taxidermy catering to the glass-case parlour trade and hunting for sport were pitiless slaughter that had no place in 'earth life' – the field naturalist's own term for his vision of harmony between birds and man. From a childhood among Argentinian shepherds, to a wanderer in rural England, and the author of 'Green Mansions', who transformed the world's attitude to wildlife conservation, ecology and survival; 'unsurpassed as an English writer on Nature,' a 'Times' obituary said.
