Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. (December 16, 1915 – February 11, 2008) was an American ornithologist.
He was the son of Chicago banker Melvin Alvah Traylor and Mrs. Dorothy Y. Traylor. Traylor was Lieutenant with the marines and served on Guadalcanal during World War II in 1942 where he was awarded with the Silver Star medal. As a Marine Corps officer, Mel was severely injured during the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific theatre, where he lost one eye and suffered arm and upper body wounds during the famous beach assault. After the war Traylor continued his work for the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, which he had started in 1937. [1] He made expeditions to Africa (in collaboration with Austin L. Rand), to South America, and to Asia. In 1960 he was among the members of the World Book Encyclopedia Scientific Expedition to the Himalaya led by Sir Edmund Hillary. In 1956 Traylor became assistant curator of birds in the Field Museum. [1] Since his retirement in the 1980s he was working as curator emeritus for the Field Museum.
Traylor was among the authors (alongside Raymond A. Paynter, Ernst Mayr, G. William Cottrell, and James Lee Peters) of Check-list of Birds of the World, a standard reference work with sixteen volumes published between 1931 and 1987. Traylor described species like the Tana River cisticola and the Colombian screech-owl, and the genus Zimmerius . He made further revisions of the family Tyrannidae. The orange-eyed flycatcher (Tolmomyias traylori) is named in his honour. Traylor and Paynter were awarded with the Elliott Coues Award by the American Ornithologists' Union in 2001.
The genus Sayornis is a small group of medium-sized insect-eating birds, known as phoebes, in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.
Pyrocephalus is a genus of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, Tyrannidae.
Elaenia is a genus of passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family which occur in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Except by voice, specific identification is often difficult since many species are very similar. They are also known by the common name elaenia, which they share with the similar tyrant flycatchers of the genus Myiopagis.
The spadebills are a genus, Platyrinchus, of Central and South American passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. They have broad, flat, triangular bills.
The cinnamon attila is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in northern South America in the Amazon Basin of Brazil and the Guianas. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana; also Amazonian Ecuador, Peru, and regions of Bolivia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical swamps.
Knipolegus is a genus of birds, the black tyrants, in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.
Lophotriccus is a genus of South American birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.
McConnell's flycatcher is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in the Guiana Shield, northern Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Mionectes is a genus of birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.
The short-crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.
Neoxolmis is a genus of South American birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae.
Phylloscartes is a genus of small birds in the family Tyrannidae. They are found in wooded habitats of Central and South America. They mainly feed on small arthropods, and most commonly take part in mixed species flocks. The mottled-cheeked tyrannulet is among the commonest birds in its range, but several other species are rare and threatened. Their plumage is predominantly green, yellow, white and grey, and many have contrasting facial patterns and wing-bars. They have thin, pointed bills, and relatively long tails. Most frequently cock their tail, perch relatively horizontally and are very active.
The rufous-lored tyrannulet is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in the Venezuelan Coastal Range. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The white-crested spadebill is a species of passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The orange-eyed flatbill or orange-eyed flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in the Amazon in south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and north-eastern Peru. First recognized as a species due to its distinct voice, it was only described in 1997; the binomial commemorates the American ornithologist Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the conservation status of this species as being of "least concern".
Zimmerius is a genus of Neotropical birds in the family Tyrannidae.
Pogonotriccus is a genus of small passerine birds in the family Tyrannidae. They are found in wooded habitats of Central and South America.
Lessonia is a genus of South American birds in the tyrant flycatcher family, found near freshwater lakes and saline marshes.
The yellow-winged flatbill, also known as yellow-winged flycatcher, is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in humid forests to the west of the Andes in north west Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica.
Raymond Andrew Paynter Jr. was an American ornithologist and curator at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University (1961–1999).