Person

McKean , John Leonard (1941 - 1996)

Born
18 January 1941
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died
16 February 1996
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Chiropterist and Ornithologist

Summary

John McKean was an ornithologist who for many years worked for the CSIRO Division of Wildlife Research (and Ecology). During his career he published over 100 papers on his research and observations in the field. Specimens he collected became part of the Australian National Wildlife Collection (ANWC); he also assisted other ornithologists in lodging their collections here. McKean was well-known as a "twitcher", in one year recording over 500 birds in the wild. He was also an enthusiastic participant in the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme.

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Details

Chronology

1962
Career event - Joined CSIRO Wildlife Survey Section
1966
Life event - Participated in parrot exploring expedition to Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula, with Joseph Forshaw

Published resources

Books

  • McKean, John L., Notes on some collections of bats (order Chiroptera) from Papua New Guinea and Bougainville Island (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1972), 35 pp. Details
  • Wilson, S. J., Lane, S. G. and McKean, J. L., The use of mist nets in Australia (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1965), 26 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Carter, Mike, 'Obituary: John Leonard McKean', Wingspan, 6 (2) (1996), 29. Details
  • Frith, H. J. and McKean, J. L., 'Races of the introduced Spotted Turtledove, Streptopelia chinensis (Scopoli), in Australia', Australian journal of zoology, 23 (1975), 295-306, https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO9750295. Details
  • McKean, John L. and Hindwood, K. A., 'Additional notes on birds of Lord Howe Island', Emu, 64 (2) (1965), 79-97. Details
  • Stewart, David, 'Obituary: John McKean - 1941-1996', Flightlines, 18 (1996), 3-4. Details

See also

  • Fagg, Murray, 'McKean , John Leonard (1941 - 1996)', Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators, Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH), 2010, https://anbg.gov.au/biography/mckean-john-leonard.html. Details
  • Robin, Libby, The Flight of the Emu: a Hundred Years of Australian Ornithology 1901-2001 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2001), 492 pp. Details
  • Schodde, Richard, 'Establishing a national reference collection of birds: the first forty years of the birds of the Australian National Wildlife Collection' in Contributions to the History of Australasian Ornithology [volume 1], Davis, William E., Recher, Harry E., Boles, Walter E. and Jackson, Jerome A., eds (Cambridge, Mass.: Nuttall Ornithological Club, 2008), pp. 305-86. Details

Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 2026

EOAS ID: biogs/P008183b.htm

This Edition: 2026 August - Bibliographies
Larneuk - Gariwerd calendar - Pre-spring: late July to August - season of nesting birds
Reference: https://www.bom.gov.au/resources/indigenous-weather-knowledge/indigenous-seasonal-calendars/gariwerd-calendar#bom-anchor-list__item-larneuk-season-of-nesting-birds

Publisher: Swinburne University of Technology.

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