Wolfgang Makatsch

Wolfgang Makatsch ( born February 16, 1906 in Zittau, † February 23, 1983 in Bautzen ) was a German ornithologist and author of bird field guides. Many of his works have been translated into other languages.

Life and work

Makatsch was an employee at the bird Wait Helgoland and Rossitten (now Rybatschi ). In 1967, he put in his work " No egg is like the other " to the assumption that the color white is the evolutionarily oldest color of bird eggs. He justifies this with the white color of reptile eggs. Only the need to camouflage the eggs against predators, has led to a change in the color eggs.

Wolfgang Makatsch traveled extensively, on which he collected about 30,000 eggs. This collection is one of the most extensive in Germany, located in the Museum of Zoology Dresden.

Works (selection)

  • Our cuckoo. A. Ziemsen Verlag, Wittenberg, 1949.
  • The bird and its egg. A. Ziemsen Verlag, Wittenberg, 1949.
  • The birdlife Macedoniens. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig 1950.
  • The birds of the lakes and ponds. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1952.
  • The birds in fields and meadows. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1954.
  • The birds of the world. Systematic Review. Duncker & Humblot Verlag, Berlin, 1954.
  • The birds in the house, yard and garden. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1957.
  • The bird and its young. New Brehm library 41, 1959.
  • The birds in the forest and heath. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1959.
  • The birds on the beach and watts. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1962.
  • We determine the Birds of Europe. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1966.
  • No egg is like another. Entertaining and informative about the birds and their eggs. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1967.
  • The eggs of the birds of Europe. A representation of the breeding biology of all breeding species in Europe. 2 vols. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul 1974.
  • List of birds of the German Democratic Republic. Neumann Verlag, Leipzig / Radebeul 1981.
Rossitten Bird Observatory Name Authority File
827851
de