Professor Jiro Kikkawa AM (born 1929) is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese and an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n ornithologist. His early zoological studies were in Japan and at Oxford University in England. He subsequently spent three years at the University of Otago

University of Otago

The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 where he began what was to become an enduring focus of research, the behavioural ecology of Silvereye

Silvereye

The Silvereye or Wax-eye is a very small passerine bird native to Australia, New Zealand and the south-west Pacific islands of Lord Howe, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji...

s and other species of Zosterops

Zosterops

Zosterops is a genus of birds containing the typical white-eyes. They are traditionally placed in the white-eye family, Zosteropidae, which may actually be a part of the Timaliidae, however...

.

In 1961 he moved to Australia, first to the University of New England

University of New England, Australia

The University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....

 at Armidale, and then to the University of Queensland

University of Queensland

The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...

. As well as his studies on white-eye

White-eye

White-eye can refer to:*White-eye , a large family of birds.*White-eye , a species of fish.*White-eye mutation, a mutation in Drosophila melanogaster linked to the X chromosome, found by reciprocal cross breeding experiments in 1906.*A lioness member of the Marsh Pride of lions that have featured...

s he is well known for his studies on the biogeography

Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...

 of Australian rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 birds.

After joining the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions. This makes it Australia's oldest national birding association. It is also Australia's largest...

 (RAOU) in 1961, he served on the RAOU Taxonomic Committee as well as on the editorial board of the RAOU journal Emu

Emu (journal)

Emu, subtitled Austral Ornithology, is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. The journal was established in 1901 and is the oldest ornithological journal published in Australia...

. In 1999 he was awarded the D.L. Serventy Medal for outstanding published work on birds in the Australasian region. As well as numerous published scientific papers, he has authored and edited several books.