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Sir Andrew Smith, 1797-1872
Brief history
Sir Andrew Smith was a Scottish surgeon, naturalist, explorer and zoologist. He was sent to Grahamstown in 1820 as a medical doctor. In 1825 Smith was nominated as the first Superintendent of the South African Museum of natural history in Cape Town. In 1828 Smith was sent to Namaqualand to report on the Bushmen. In 1832 Smith was sent to Natal. In 1834 he left on a scientific expedition north of the Orange River as far north as the Magaliesberg, Charles Davidson Bell going along as expedition artist. Smith's Report of the expedition for exploring Central Africa was published in 1836. Smith's diary was later edited by Percival R. Kirby and published as two volumes titled The Diary of Dr. Andrew Smith, Director of the 'Expedition for Exploring Central Africa', 1834-36.
Andrew Smith used the opportunities of travelling in South Africa to study natural history. He described many species of birds, reptiles, mammals and other groups, including six weaver species, namely:
Ploceus ocularis 1828
Bubalornis niger 1836
Sporopipes Squamifrons 1836
Plocepasser Mahali 1836
Vidua axillaris 1838
Ploceus subaureus 1839
References
A selection of Smith's references may be downloaded here as pdf files. These pertain mainly to his bird and mammal publications in the South African Quarterly Journal. Note that these files are large, mostly 1-2 MB.
Smith A. 1830a. A description of the birds inhabiting the south of Africa. S. Afr. Quart. J. 1: 9-17.
Smith A. 1830b. A description of the birds inhabiting the south of Africa. S. Afr. Quart. J. 1: 105-120.
Smith A. 1830c. A description of the birds inhabiting the south of Africa. S. Afr. Quart. J. 1: 225-241.
Smith A. 1830d. A description of the birds inhabiting the south of Africa. S. Afr. Quart. J. 4: 380-392.
Smith A. 1831. Contributions to the natural history of south of Africa, &c. S. Afr. Quart. J. 5: 9-24.
Smith A. 1833. An epitome of African zoology; or, a concise description of the objects of the animal kingdom inhabiting Africa, its islands and seas. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 1(1):16-32.
Smith A. 1833. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 1(2):49-64.
Smith A. 1833. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 1(3):81-96.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 2(1):113-128.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 2(2):145-160.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 2(3):169-192.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 3(1):209-224.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 3(2):233-248.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology. Part II. Birds. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 3(2):249-256.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 3(3):273-288.
Smith A. 1834. African zoology, continued. S. Afr. Quart. J. Second Series 4(1):305-320.
Contact: H Dieter Oschadleus, weavers4africa [at] gmail.com
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