author

Frank Finn

1868–1932

Best known as an English ornithologist, he wrote lively, accessible books that brought birds and animal behavior to a broad readership. His work drew on years spent studying natural history in India as well as a sharp eye for the odd and memorable in the animal world.

1 Audiobook

The Making of Species

The Making of Species

by Douglas Dewar, Frank Finn

About the author

Born in Maidstone in 1868 and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford, Frank Finn built his career around birds, natural history, and popular science writing. He is remembered chiefly as an ornithologist, but he also had a gift for explaining animal life in a way that ordinary readers could enjoy.

After a collecting expedition to East Africa in 1892, he joined the Indian Museum in Calcutta, serving first as Assistant Superintendent and later as Deputy Superintendent. Those years shaped much of his writing, including books on Indian birds and other works that mixed close observation with an easy, conversational style.

Back in England, he continued to write and edit, including a period with the Avicultural Magazine. His books ranged from practical bird studies to broader reflections on animal behavior, and titles associated with him include works such as The Birds of Calcutta, Ornithological and Other Oddities, and Bird Behaviour. He died on October 1, 1932.