Bob Green was born in Tasmania, and spent his early life in the midlands as a pastoralist, where his deep interest in natural history, particularly ornithology, developed and grew.

Appointed Curator of Zoology at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in 1961, he has subsequently undertaken numerous field studies and published many papers.

Dr Green was one of the original banders to operate in Tasmania under the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme and is a member of numerous scientific organisations. He is a keen wildlife photographer and all photographs in this publication are his work.

In 1986 he received the Clive Lord Memorial Medal from the Royal Society of Tasmania and in 1987 was awarded the Degree of Doctor of Science Honoris Causa by the University of Tasmania and the Australian Natural History Medallion by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. Dr

Green is also a Member of the Australian Institute of Biology.