View source for Chris Perrins

{{Short description|Ornithologist}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox scientist
  | name              = Chris Perrins
|honorific_suffix={{post-nominals|LVO|FRS|size=100%}}
  | birth_date        = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1935|05|11}}<ref name=whoswho/>
| education = [[Charterhouse School]]
  | alma_mater        = {{Plainlist|
* [[Queen Mary College]] (BSc)<ref name=whoswho/>
* [[University of Oxford]] (DPhil)}}
| awards            =[[Godman-Salvin Medal]], 2018 [[RSPB Medal]], 1992
|field= [[Ornithology]]
| workplaces        = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of Oxford]]
* [[Royal Household]]}}
  | spouse            = {{marriage|Mary Ceresole Carslake|1963}}<ref name=whoswho/>
  | thesis_title      = 	Some factors influencing brood-size and populations in tits
  | thesis_url        = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.671392
  | thesis_year       = 1963
  | doctoral_advisor  = [[David Lack]]<ref name=dphil/>
  | doctoral_students = {{Plainlist|
* [[Tim Birkhead]]<ref name=birk/>
* [[Matt Ridley]]<ref name=ridleydhil/>}}
  | website           = {{URL|zoo.ox.ac.uk/egi/members/professor-chris-perrins-lvo-frs/}}
  }}'''Christopher Miles Perrins''', {{post-nominals|LVO|FRS}}<ref name=frs/> (born 11 May 1935)<ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who | author=Anon|title=Perrins, Prof. Christopher Miles | id = U30593 | year = 1992 | doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.30593|edition = online [[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
 | title = Weekend birthdays
 | newspaper = [[The Guardian]]
 | pages = 52
 | date = 10 May 2014
 }}</ref> is [[Emeritus]] [[Fellow]] of the [[Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology]] at the [[University of Oxford]], Emeritus Fellow at [[Wolfson College, Oxford]]<ref name=ox/> and [[Charles III|His Majesty]]'s [[Warden of the Swans]] since 1993.<ref name=whoswho/><ref name=ox>{{cite web|first=Chris|last=Perrins|year=2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328202920/http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/egi/members/professor-chris-perrins-lvo-frs|archivedate=28 March 2015|url=http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/egi/members/professor-chris-perrins-lvo-frs|publisher=University of Oxford|location=Oxford|title=Professor Chris Perrins LVO FRS}}</ref><ref name=upping>{{YouTube|title=Christopher Perrins, Professor of Zoology at Oxford University talks about Swan Upping|id=ca7fGVI4GCo}}</ref>

==Education==
Perrins was educated at [[Charterhouse School]] and [[Queen Mary College]]<ref name=whoswho/> where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in [[Zoology]] in 1957.<ref name=whoswho/> He completed his postgraduate study and research at the [[University of Oxford]] where he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1963 for research on [[Avian clutch size|brood size]] in [[Tit (bird)|tits]] supervised by [[David Lack]].<ref name=dphil>{{cite thesis|degree=DPhil|publisher=University of Oxford|title=Some factors influencing brood-size and populations in tits|first=Christopher Miles|last=Perrins|year=1963|url=http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph013844961|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.671392}}|oclc=44835614}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Research and career==
Perrins research interests are in the [[population dynamics]] and breeding biology of birds, particularly [[Tit (bird)|tits (''Paridae'')]],<ref name=dphil/><ref name=CharmantierMcCleery2008>{{cite journal|last1=Charmantier|first1=A.|last2=McCleery|first2=R. H.|last3=Cole|first3=L. R.|last4=Perrins|first4=C.|last5=Kruuk|first5=L. E. B.|last6=Sheldon|first6=B. C.|title=Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity in Response to Climate Change in a Wild Bird Population|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=320|issue=5877|year=2008|pages=800–803|doi=10.1126/science.1157174|pmid=18467590|bibcode=2008Sci...320..800C|s2cid=206512427}}</ref> [[mute swan]]s<ref name="CharmantierPerrins2006">{{cite journal|last1=Charmantier|first1=A.|last2=Perrins|first2=C.|last3=McCleery|first3=R. H.|last4=Sheldon|first4=B. C.|title=Quantitative genetics of age at reproduction in wild swans: Support for antagonistic pleiotropy models of senescence|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]|volume=103|issue=17|year=2006|pages=6587–6592|doi=10.1073/pnas.0511123103|pmid=16618935|pmc=1458927|bibcode=2006PNAS..103.6587C|doi-access=free}} {{open access}}</ref><ref name="MccleeryPerrins2006">{{cite journal|last1=Mccleery|first1=R. H.|last2=Perrins|first2=C. M.|last3=Wheeler|first3=D.|last4=Groves|first4=S.|title=The effect of breeding status on the timing of moult in Mute Swans Cygnus olor|journal=Ibis|volume=149|issue=1|year=2006|pages=86–90|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.2006.00596.x}}</ref> and [[seabird]]s on [[Skomer]] and [[Skokholm]].<ref name=ox/><ref name=alumni>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721074851/https://www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/content/professor-chris-perrins|year=2016|archivedate=21 July 2016|url=https://www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/content/professor-chris-perrins|title=Oxford Alumni: Professor Chris Perrins|publisher=University of Oxford|location=Oxford|first=Chris|last=Perrins}}</ref><ref name="Ropert-CoudertGuilford2011">{{cite journal|last1=Ropert-Coudert|first1=Yan|last2=Guilford|first2=Tim|last3=Freeman|first3=Robin|last4=Boyle|first4=Dave|last5=Dean|first5=Ben|last6=Kirk|first6=Holly|last7=Phillips|first7=Richard|last8=Perrins|first8=Chris|title=A Dispersive Migration in the Atlantic Puffin and Its Implications for Migratory Navigation|journal=[[PLOS ONE]]|volume=6|issue=7|year=2011|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0021336|pmc=3140476|pmid=21799734|pages=e21336|bibcode=2011PLoSO...621336G|doi-access=free}} {{open access}}</ref> He investigated [[animal lead poisoning]] of swans from [[lead shot]].<ref name=alumni/> He is renowned for his work on avian [[population ecology]] and, in particular, reproductive rates. He has made a number of important contributions to the long-term study of the [[great tit]] at [[Wytham Woods]]<ref name=wythamwoods>{{cite book|last1=Savill|first1=Peter|last2=Perrins|first2=Christopher|authorlink=Chris Perrins|last3=Kirby|first3=Keith|last4=Fisher|first4=Nigel|year=2011|doi=10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199605187.001.0001|title=Wytham Woods: Oxford's Ecological Laboratory|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford|pages=282|isbn=9780199605187|url=http://www.wytham.ox.ac.uk/book.php|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823114952/http://www.wytham.ox.ac.uk/book.php|archivedate=23 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> — an area of mixed woodland established in 1947 by evolutionary biologist [[David Lack]] – one of the most famous studies in population ecology.<ref name=frs/>

He was the first to discover that [[avian clutch size]] – the number of eggs laid in a single nesting – in great tits has a remarkably high [[heritability]] and that the likelihood of the survival of young birds can be traced back to nutrition in the nest.<ref name=frs/> Perrins also demonstrated that females lay a clutch of an appropriate size for their ability to feed.<ref name=frs/><ref name="DeanFreeman2012">{{cite journal|last1=Dean|first1=B.|last2=Freeman|first2=R.|last3=Kirk|first3=H.|last4=Leonard|first4=K.|last5=Phillips|first5=R. A.|last6=Perrins|first6=C. M.|last7=Guilford|first7=T.|title=Behavioural mapping of a pelagic seabird: combining multiple sensors and a hidden Markov model reveals the distribution of at-sea behaviour|journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society Interface]]|volume=10|issue=78|year=2012|pages=20120570|doi=10.1098/rsif.2012.0570|pmid=23034356|pmc=3565783}} {{open access}}</ref> He supervised several successful DPhil students at Oxford including [[Matt Ridley]]<ref name=ridleydhil>{{cite thesis|degree=DPhil|publisher=University of Oxford|title=Mating system of the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.348151}}|first=Matthew White|last=Ridley|year=1983|url=http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph013858922|oclc=52225811|access-date=15 July 2016|archive-date=16 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716052757/http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph013858922|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Tim Birkhead]].<ref name=birk>{{cite thesis |degree=DPhil |first=Timothy Robert|last=Birkhead |title=Breeding biology and survival of guillemots (Uria aalge) |publisher=University of Oxford |year=1976 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:05606087-da38-464f-8d70-b7af1ca05451|website=ora.ox.ac.uk |oclc=44837387|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.449886}} {{free access}}}}</ref>

According to [[Scopus]],<ref name=scopus.com>{{Scopus|7003813581}}</ref> {{as of|2016}} his most cited journal articles have been published in ''[[Ibis (journal)|Ibis]]'',<ref name=PerrinsTits2008>{{cite journal|last1=Perrins|first1=C. M.|title=Tits and their caterpillar food supply|journal=Ibis|volume=133|year=2008|pages=49–54|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1991.tb07668.x|s2cid=84885659 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=TitsPerrins2008>{{cite journal|last1=Perrins|first1=C. M.|title=Eggs, egg formation and the timing of breeding|journal=Ibis|volume=138|issue=1|year=2008|pages=2–15|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1996.tb04308.x}}</ref> ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'',<ref name=Pettits>{{cite journal|last1=Pettifor|first1=R. A.|last2=Perrins|first2=C. M.|last3=McCleery|first3=R. H.|title=Individual optimization of clutch size in great tits|journal=Nature|volume=336|issue=6195|year=1988|pages=160–162|doi=10.1038/336160a0|bibcode=1988Natur.336..160P|s2cid=4349069}}</ref> ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]''<ref name=CharmantierMcCleery2008/> and the ''[[Journal of Animal Ecology]]''.<ref name=NoordwijkMcCleery1995>{{cite journal|last1=Noordwijk|first1=A.J. Van|last2=McCleery|first2=R.H.|last3=Perrins|first3=C.M.|title=Selection for the Timing of Great Tit Breeding in Relation to Caterpillar Growth and Temperature|journal=The Journal of Animal Ecology|volume=64|issue=4|year=1995|pages=451|doi=10.2307/5648|jstor=5648|bibcode=1995JAnEc..64..451N }}</ref>

===Publications===
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* ''British Tits''<ref name=tits>British Tits (1979) Collins New Naturalist Series {{ISBN|978-0002195379}}</ref>
* ''Encyclopedia of Birds''<ref>Encyclopedia of Birds (1985) Christopher M. Perrins and A.L.A. Middleton, Facts on File Inc {{ISBN|978-0816011506}}</ref>
* ''The Mute Swan''<ref>The Mute Swan (1986) Helm Field Guides, Birkhead M. Perrins C. {{ISBN|978-0709932598}}</ref>
* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Guide to Birds of the World:''  Christopher M. Perrins Hardline (1990) {{ISBN|978-0747202776}}
* ''Bird Population Studies: Relevance to Conservation and Management:'' (Oxford Ornithology Series) by Christopher M. Perrins, G. J. Hirons and J. D. Lebreton (1996) {{ISBN|978-0198540823}}
* ''The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 1: Non-passerines'' David Snow, Christopher M. Perrins and Robert Gillmor (1998) Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0198501879}}
* ''The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 2:'' by David Snow, Christopher M. Perrins and Robert Gillmor (1998) Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0198501886}}
* ''The New Encyclopedia of Birds:'' Editor, (2003) Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0198525066}}
* ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Birds and Bird Migration:'' Jonathan Elphick: Christopher M. Perrins (2004) {{ISBN|978-0785816676}}
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===Awards and honours===
Perrins has received a number of awards for his research, including the [[Godman-Salvin Medal]] of the British Ornithologists' Union in 1988, and the [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]] (RSPB) Medal in 1992.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} In 1993, he was appointed as the first Warden of the Swans in the Royal Household, playing an important role in the annual [[Swan Upping]] ceremony. This was a new office in the [[Royal Household]] of the [[Monarch|Sovereign]] of the United Kingdom, created in 1993. Other awards and honours include:<ref name=ox/>

{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
*[[American Ornithologists' Union]]: Corresponding Member, 1976, Fellow, 1983.
*[[German Ornithologists' Society|Deutschen Ornithologen-Gesellschaft]]: Corresponding Fellow, 1991, Life Fellow, 2001.
*Nederlandse Ornithologische Unie: Life Fellow, 1992.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
* Elected an Honorary Fellow, Queen Mary; Westfield College in 1996<ref name=whoswho/>
* Elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1997|Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1997]]<ref name=frs>{{cite web|author=Anon|year=1997|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117002938/https://royalsociety.org/people/christopher-perrins-12082/|archivedate=17 November 2015|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/christopher-perrins-12082/|publisher=royalsociety.org|location=London|title=Professor Christopher Perrins LVO FRS}} One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: {{blockquote|"All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under [[Creative Commons license|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]." --{{cite web |url=https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |title=Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies |accessdate=2016-03-09 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925220834/https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |archivedate=25 September 2015 |df=dmy-all }}}}</ref>
* Union Medal of the [[British Ornithologists' Union|British Ornithologists' Union (BOU)]] in 2016, awarded for outstanding contribution to the BOU and ornithology.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} having served as President of the BOU from 2003 to 2007{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

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==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

{{FRS 1997}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrins, Christopher Miles}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century British biologists]]
[[Category:Presidents of the British Ornithologists' Union]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:New Naturalist writers]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:Edward Grey Institute people]]