R.I.P. . . For Birdos who have sadly 'fallen off the perch

[arthur]

A TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM T. COOPER (1934-2015)
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Hello from Andrew Isles Natural History Books,

As many of you will by now know, William T. Cooper died peacefully at his rainforest home in far north Queensland on Sunday 10th May 2015, at the age of 81. Bill Cooper will be long remembered as one of the finest bird illustrators of all time and with Joe Forshaw he forged the most successful author/artist natural history team of the twentieth century. Bill Cooper the man was modest, unassuming, good humoured, hard working and generous to all. He was an outstanding self-taught naturalist and maintained his passion for the natural world all his life.

Over the years my wife Belinda and I became close friends with Bill and Wendy and we recently did two exciting trips together with the Coopers to Cape York. Bill and Wendy are good friends with Tom and Sue Shepherd of Artemis Station and it was a great thrill to go there with the Coopers and see our first Golden-shouldered parrots. A subsequent trip saw us revisit Iron Range after a break of thirty years. I can vouch for Bill’s skill in the field, he had that piercing eye for detail, an understanding of behaviour and ecology and a good memory for bird calls. Evenings over the kitchen table were always great fun and we had much in common. There was never a cross word.
Bill’s wonderful partnership with Wendy must be acknowledged. They were a team and without Wendy, Bill’s art would not have reached the standard it did. Belinda and I will miss him terribly.
- Andrew Isles

In a special memorial tribute the ABC will screen Sarah Scragg's documentary Birdman: The Art of William T. Cooper at 2pm this Sunday on ABC1.