McGill Libraries
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Horsfield, Herbert Knight
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1856-1932
History
Herbert Knight Horsfield was an English naturalist, ornithologist, and author. He is primarily remembered for his written works on British wildlife and his detailed studies of avian behaviour. Published by D. Appleton and Company, his book Side-Lights on Birds (1923) explored various structural and behavioural anomalies in ornithology, including how birds fly, migrate, and communicate. Outside of his scientific writing, Horsfield also wrote Victorian fiction, publishing his contemporary novel The Mystery of Stephen Claverton & Co. (1894).
Horsfield was actively involved in the late 19th and early 20th-century British scientific community. Records show he was a designated member of the British Ornithologists' Union and frequently contributed to or was listed in The Ibis, the preeminent international journal of avian science, while operating out of Ivy Lodge in Chapel Allerton, Leeds.