Christopher Perrins

Christopher Miles Perrins, LVO, FRS (born 11 May 1935) is Emeritus Fellow of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at the University of Oxford, Emeritus Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford and Her Majesty's Warden of the Swans since 1993.

Education
Perrins was educated at Charterhouse School and Queen Mary College where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology in 1957. He completed his postgraduate study and research at the University of Oxford where he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1963 for research on brood size in tits supervised by David Lack.

Research and career
Perrins research interests are in the population dynamics and breeding biology of birds, particularly tits (Paridae), mute swans and seabirds on Skomer and Skokholm. He investigated animal lead poisoning of swans from lead shot. He is renowned for his work on avian population ecology and, in particular, reproductive rates. He has made a number of important contributions to the long-term study of the great tit at Wytham Woods — an area of mixed woodland established in 1947 by evolutionary biologist David Lack — one of the most famous studies in population ecology.

He was the first to discover that avian clutch size — the number of eggs laid in a single nesting — in great tits has a remarkably high heritability and that the likelihood of the survival of young birds can be traced back to nutrition in the nest. Perrins also demonstrated that females lay a clutch of an appropriate size for their ability to feed. He supervised several successful DPhil students at Oxford including Matt Ridley.

According to Scopus, his most cited journal articles have been published in Ibis,  Nature, Science and the Journal of Animal Ecology.

Publications

 * British Tits: - Collins New Naturalist Series, (1979) ISBN 978-0002195379
 * Encyclopedia of Birds: Christopher M. Perrins and A.L.A. Middleton, Facts on File Inc. (1985) ISBN 978-0816011506
 * The Mute Swan: Helm Field Guides, Birkhead M. Perrins C. ISBN 978-0709932598(1986)
 * The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Guide to Birds of the World: Christopher M. Perrins Hardline (1990) ISBN 978-0747202776
 * Bird Population Studies: Relevance to Conservation and Management: (Oxford Ornithology Series) by Christopher M. Perrins, G. J. Hirons and J. D. Lebreton (1996) ISBN 978-0198540823
 * The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 1: Non-passerines David Snow, Christopher M. Perrins and Robert Gillmor (1998) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198501879
 * The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 2: by David Snow, Christopher M. Perrins and Robert Gillmor (1998) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198501886
 * The New Encyclopedia of Birds: Editor, (2003) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198525066
 * The Complete Encyclopedia of Birds and Bird Migration: Jonathan Elphick: Christopher M. Perrins (2004) ISBN 978-0785816676

Awards and honours
Perrins has received a number of awards for his research, including the Godman-Salvin Medal of the British Ornithologists’ Union in 1988, and the RSPB Medal in 1992. In 1993, he was appointed as the first Warden of the Swans in the Royal Household, playing an important role in the annual Swan Upping ceremony. This was a new office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, created in 1993. Other awards and honours include include:


 * American Ornithologists' Union: Corresponding Member, 1976, Fellow, 1983.
 * Deutschen Ornithologen-Gesellschaft: Corresponding Fellow, 1991, Life Fellow, 2001.
 * Nederlandse Ornithologische Unie: Life Fellow, 1992.
 * Elected an Honorary Fellow, Queen Mary ; Westfield College in 1996
 * Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1997
 * Union Medal of the British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) in 2016, awarded for outstanding contribution to the BOU and ornithology. having served as President of the BOU from 2003 to 2007