22nd April 2010
Doors at 6 pm, Talk commences at 7 pm
Ornithologists estimate that 150,000 avian species have existed since birds first appeared millions of years ago. If that figure, albeit based on incomplete evidence, is correct then nearly 94 percent of those species have become extinct over time. In his talk, Fuller will focus on 75 avian species that have vanished since 1600, describing each of their traits, their habitat and distribution. Going through first hand accounts of sightings by early travelers to records of the last sighting and probable cause of extinction. Some of the birds and their stories will be familiar: the heath hen, passenger pigeon, dodo and great auk; how mosquitoes and rats from ships brought destruction to certain island birds, and starving Japanese soldiers ate the last Wake Island rail during World War II.
Errol Fuller is an English writer and painter. He is the author of a series of books on the subject of extinction and extinct creatures. These books include Extinct Birds; The Great Auk; The Lost Birds of Paradise; Dodo – From Extinction to Icon; and, in conjunction with the New Zealand artist Raymond Ching, Kiwis. He has also produced, in both English and Arabic, a catalogue for The National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage, Qatar, to complement an exhibition held in Doha during 2004, titled Lost Worlds.
Recently, he has departed from the natural history theme and written a large-scale monograph on the little known artist and etcher of architectural subjects, Hedley Fitton.
His own paintings are sometimes – although certainly not exclusively – of sporting subjects, and often feature boxing, snooker and other slightly disreputable sports
Talk at 11 Mare Street - please click here to buy tickets
