Professor William G. Hale graduated with a degree in Zoology from the University of Durham in 1959, followed by a PhD in 1962 and a DSc in 1985. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Chartered Biologist, and an Honorary Fellow of Grey College and the University of Durham. He has long experience of research having served on committees of the Natural Environment Research Council, the Council for National Academic Awards, and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Wildfowl Trust. He has supervised and examined over fifty PhD candidates.Hale has published widely in the fields of entomology and ornithology, and recently on antiquarian bird books. He is author of nine books, including the New Naturalist No. 65, Waders and the Collins/Smithsonian Dictionary of Biology. He is a Past President of Liverpool Ornithologists' Club.