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Miss Harris's Black-headed Mountain-Finch (1 Viewer)

Björn Bergenholtz

Björn Bergenholtz

(former alias "Calalp")
Sweden
Some additional info on ...

audreyana as in:
• the subspecies* Leucosticte brandti audreyana STRESEMANN 1939 (Note: Full OD** unseen by me!)

Today's HBW Alive Key explain this eponym as:
audreyana
Audrey Harris (b. 1907) English adventuress, traveller in Sikkim and the Himalayas (syn. Leucosticte brandti haematopygia).
Click to expand...
And, simply trusting, following that, I would suggest it was/is commemorating ...
Miss Audrey Harris (1907–1994), British adventuress and intrepid traveler, Author of the book Eastern Visas (An account of the author's travels [1935-36] in the Far East. With plates, including portraits, and maps), published in 1939 ... later a k a Mrs. Malan, in 1940 she married Edward Malan [Edward Murray de Mérindol Malan, MBE (1911–1980)] ... and onwards.

More on the Malan couple is found in the local Blythburgh Parish News, here (p.9) or here (p.5).

For what it´s worth!

Björn
________________________
*valid according to most lists.
** Stresemann, E. 1939. Zwei neue Rassen aus Süd-Tibet und Nord-Sikkim. Ornithologische Monatsberichte 47 (6): 176–177. Google Snippet view, here.
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And here (alt. here) we find a Photo of Miss Audrey Harris (later Mrs Malan) ...

If of any interest?

Björn

PS. Looks like the Blythburgh Parish News (links in post #1) has been moved. Rather disappointing.
--
 
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It might be worth to update The Key to Scientific Names with Malan part (either Audrey Malan née Harris (1907–1994) or Audrey Harris later Malan)? But that's just a guess as at the date of description she was indeed only Harris.

P.S. But I ask myself why her? Till now I see not the full picture from the parts of the limited OD # 1. I see only a connection to the collector Ernst Schäfer.
 
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She was Audrey Mary Harris and she married in 1940. She died 9 April 1994. Her birth was earlier - 15 Oct 1905.
 

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Additional info/pieces about "Miss Harris" a k a "Audrey Malan" (of the Green), here, p.9.

🧩

She's also mentioned here, as well as listed here.

If truly born in "1907" (as allegedly claimed, both by the dear old HBW Alive Key, see post #1, and above), or in "1905" (as claimed by Paul in post #6) is unknown to me.

1543570449BJS_1.jpg

Good luck finding the full story of Miss Audrey Harris, alt. Mrs Audrey Malan (or even Mrs Audrey
de Mérindol Malan) ...

Björn

🚦But beware, if searching for "Audrey Malan", she seems to have a (later) North American namesake (in 1996, here, and elsewhere, still going, well into the mid-2010s).
 
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Martin, I think there's no doubt that a "Audrey Mary Harris" was born in 1905, but how do we know (for sure) that she's "our girl" ... ?
 
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If you look at the document it is corrected to show her married name - Malan. If you doubt that the bird is named for Audrey Mary Malan nee Harris please find the OD. Otherwise, there is no doubt the "adventuress"'s dates are 1905-1994.

Another interesting thing about the 1939 census is that we can see how Audry was able to be an adventuress - she was living in a house in London's best street with 3 housemaids - the house recently sold for 35 million pounds! And the origin of this wealth? Audrey's mother was Rhoda Mary Barclay and her father was a principal of Barclays Bank!
 
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PScofield said:
If you doubt that the bird is named for Audrey Mary Malan nee Harris please find the OD.
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The OD gives no clue. (The name is not explained, no reference is made to any Audrey.)
 

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Audrey Mary Harris was in northern India and Sikkim at the same time as Ernst Schafer. Schafer and Stresemann had considerable issues with the British Government due to nationality and the approaching war. Audrey had influence with the government due to her wealth and family i.e. she stayed in vice-regal palaces and embassies throughout her journey. I suspect her book probably mentions the link but if not it seems pretty straight forward. I strongly suspect she was the only "Audrey" for 1000 miles :)
 
On top of Paul's reasoning/argumentation ...

Apparently, meanwhile (about a year ago), Eastern Visas, by Audrey Harris, 1939, has been up-loaded (here).

The Book itself was dedicated: "To MY SISTER RHODA".

Clearly connecting our Audrey with Paul's (first) document in post #6, showing a Sister by the same (rather unusual) given name (Rhoda Mary Harris).

Fair enough, looks like Audrey was born in 1905!

I agree. Well done Paul! (y)
 
Taphrospilus said:
What kind of help for Stresemann? I do not think he was in Sikkim (at least not with Schäfer).
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Could be on Schäfer's request (even if not mentioned in the OD) ...

Or maybe Stresemann was simply 'inspired' by a (talked-about) Lady roaming the same area.

This far (even without any dedication), I'd put my money on Miss Audrey Harris.

(None of Schäfer's two wives was named Audrey)
 
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No Stresemann was not in Asia with Schäfer. I simply meant that by aiding in smoothing bureaucratic red tape, Audrey would have helped Stresemann get Schäfer's collections and publish on them.
 
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She doesn't cite Schäfer in her book and, so far as I can find, he doesn't appear to cite her in his publications either. But, of course, if she provided some help to him, this might have been after her own trip, in which case there would be no reason for it to appear in her book; and acknowledging help from a British may not have been an option for him after the war had started.
One person she does cite, and with whom she apparently spent quite some time while in Sikkim, is "the British Political Officer, Mr. B. J. Gould"; there is no doubt that Gould subsequently interacted with the German expedition (as shown by this picture).
 
It would appear that the British Government had good reason to be suspicious of the 1938–1939 German expedition to Tibet. Schafer held the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer in Himmler's personal staff.

See

www.bbc.com

When Nazis tried to trace Aryan race myth in Tibet

Heinrich Himmler sent a team of five Germans to Tibet in 1938 to pursue the Aryan race myth.
www.bbc.com

Schafer's own account: Fest der weissen Schleier "Festival of the White Gauze Scarves: A research expedition through Tibet to Lhasa, the holy city of the god realm" may be instructive.

If you don't recognise it, by the way, this expedition is the source of the plot to Indiana Jones!
 
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Just to be safe ...

Does anyone know the Identity of the OD's "F. A. PETER", the (first-mentioned) collector, of the "Ladakh" specimens (in January 1933) ... ?

:unsure:
 
Björn Bergenholtz said:
Does anyone know the Identity of the OD's "F. A. PETER", the (first-mentioned) collector, of the "Ladakh" specimens (in January 1933) ... ?
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I think, quite possibly, this guy : PETER, Friedrich A. – Persons of Indian Studies by Prof. Dr. Klaus Karttunen

Anyway, the Ladakh specimens were not included in the new taxon by Stresemann. (He wrote that Stegmann had identified them as pamirensis Severtsov, but that he himself regarded them as 'echte L. b. haematopygia Gould'.) It would be quite unusual to name a taxon after someone who had collected something else.
 
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