Richard Patrick Goodwin was born in Woking on 26 Feb 1920. For reasons unclear, his parents called him Derek, and the name stuck for the rest of his life. He was a British ornithologist who wrote seminal works on estrildid finches, crows and pigeons and was considered to be an expert on bird behaviour.

Derek served in the military with the Royal Artillery during WWII and was a veteran of the Siege of Tobruk. He embarked on a career in ornithology after leaving the army in 1945.

Goodwin was employed by the Natural History Museum after the war, despite not having any formal ornithological training. He initially worked in the museum's bird room, eventually rising through the ranks to become principle scientific officer for birds. As part of his work at the museum, he wrote a series of detailed books on crows, pigeons and estrildid finches that are still regarded as the definitive works on these particular birds today. He also wrote and published his book, Birds in Man's World, and wrote a series of children's books and pamphlets on birds. In 1965 he participated in the third of the Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions.

He was a prolific correspondent on the subject of birds, and was appointed a corresponding member of Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft in the 1970s, despite never having been formally taught German. He also taught and mentored noted ornithologists when they were students (e.g. Rob Hulme, Aubrey Manning and Desmond Morris).

Unlike most ornithologists, Goodwin supported the plight of bird species that had been introduced to Britain and elsewhere. He was particularly concerned with the plight of two rare pheasant species - the golden pheasant and the Lady Amherst's Pheasant, writing numerous letters and articles on the subject. He even resigned from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to protest its perceived lack of support for saving these pheasants, which had been introduced to parts of rural England. However, he did not support the reintroduction of raptor species, even regarding the White-tailed Eagle as a potential danger to other species.

Derek Goodwin died on 14 May 2008, at the age of 88.

Sources:

Jerome A. Jackson. In Memoriam: Derek Goodwin, 1920-2008. The Auk, 2010, 127(4), p.955

John F. Burton. Derek Goodwin, 1920-2008. Ibis, 2009, 152(1), pp.216-217