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He started one of the world's first two [[bird ringing]] schemes in 1909 (they merged in the late 1930s), transferring responsibility, in 1937, to the [[British Trust for Ornithology]] (BTO), who continue to run it.<ref> Bird Study Vol 16 March 1969 no.1, AL Thomson, text of first BTO Witherby Lecture </ref>. Witherby was Hon Secretary and Treasurer (1904–14),<ref name="WWW">{{cite book|title=[[Who Was Who]]|publisher=[[OUP]]}}</ref> and Chairman (1924–27)<ref name="WWW" /> of the [[British Ornithologists' Club]] (1924–1927) and President of the Council of the [[British Ornithologists' Union]] (BOU) (1933–1938).<ref name="WWW" /> He was a founding member and early vice-chairman of the BTO, which survived through his financial generosity, not least in donating the proceeds of the sale of his extensive collection of [[taxidermy|stuffed]] birds to the [[British Museum]] - this is now at the Natural History Museum, Tring.
Witherby's crowning glory was ''[[Handbook of British Birds|The Handbook of British Birds]]'' (1938–1941). Spanning five volumes, it was reprinted a number of times, the later editions having a few pages devoted to corrections and additions to previous editions, but few of these are of great significance and the main text was left untouched. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the [[American Ornithologists' Union]] in 1928<ref name="WWW" /> and was awarded the [[Godman-Salvin Medal]] by the BOU in 1937. Witherby's Lark (''Alaemon hamertoni'') was named for him, in 1905, but is now more commonly known as the [[Lesser Hoopoe-lark]]. Two other bird sub-species have been named after him:<ref>Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names by James A Jobling, 1991 OUP</ref> ''Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi'' ([[common reed bunting]]) and ''Erithacus rubecula witherbyi'' ([[European robin]]).
During [[World War I]] he was a lieutenant in the [[Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve]].<ref name="WWW" />
==References==
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