Wolfgang Makatsch


Wolfgang Makatsch was a German ornithologist and oologist. He wrote numerous books about birds and bird identification. Many of his works were translated into other languages and he contributed to Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia.

Life and work

Makatsch was born in Zittau where he was the son of a bank clerk. His interest in birds began at the Zittau park as a child. When the family moved to Bautzen in 1908 his interest in shorebirds increased and he made a collection of eggs while at school. He studied at Leipzig and Munich from 1926 and in 1938 he became an apprentice at Saloniki. During World War II he spent time in the Balkans and was captured by the English in Austria. He returned to Bautzen after the war. In 1951 he received a doctorate for his studies on the birds of Macedonia. He became a staff member at both the Heligoland and Rossitten Bird Observatories. In 1967 he presented in his work Kein Ei gleicht dem anderen, "No egg is like another", the surmise, that the colour white is the colour of the evolutionarily oldest eggs. Only the need to camouflage the eggs against predators led to a change in colour of the eggs. Wolfgang Makatsch traveled extensively, collecting on his expeditions more than 30,000 eggs. This collection is one of the largest in Germany and currently in the Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden.
In February 1983 he attended an International Crane Workshop in Bharatpur, India, and was forced to return early after falling ill. He returned to Bautzen where he died.

Works

  • Unser Kuckuck,. A. Ziemsen Verlag, Wittenberg, 1949.
  • Der Vogel und sein Ei,. A. Ziemsen Verlag, Wittenberg, 1949.
  • Die Vogelwelt Macedoniens,. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig, 1950.
  • Die Vögel der Seen und Teiche,. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1952.
  • Die Vögel in Feld und Flur,. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1954.
  • Die Vögel der Erde. Systematische Übersicht,. Duncker u. Humblot Verlag, Berlin, 1954.
  • Die Vögel in Haus, Hof und Garten,. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1957.
  • Der Vogel und seine Jungen,. Neue Brehm Bücherei 41, 1959.
  • Die Vögel in Wald und Heide,. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1959.
  • Die Vögel an Strand und Watt,. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1962.
  • Wir bestimmen die Vögel Europas,. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1966.
  • Kein Ei gleicht dem anderen. Unterhaltsames und Lehrreiches über die Vögel und ihre Eier,. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1967.
  • Die Eier der Vögel Europas. Eine Darstellung der Brutbiologie aller in Europa brütenden Vogelarten,. 2 Bände. Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1974.
  • Verzeichnis der Vögel der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik,. Neumann Verlag, Leipzig, Radebeul, 1981.