Niels Kjærbølling

Niels Kjærbølling (11 October 1806 – 2 January 1871) was a Danish ornithological writer and lithographer. He founded a menagerie in 1859, which is considered the predecessor of the Copenhagen zoo. He popularlized bird study in Denmark with some of the earliest illustrated works on the birds of the region.

Early life Kjærbølling was born in Als to school teacher Jørgen Nielsen and Marie (born Lorentzen). The library at Augustenborg awakened scholarly interests. He qualified to become a teacher at Skaarup Seminary in 1827 and taught at Marstal (1831) and Ærøskøbing (1836). With a vivid interest in nature, Kjærbølling used all of his spare time to pursue botanical studies and observe bird life. In 1843 he published a handbook of outdoor and flower gardening, and the following year, he gained the post of inspector at the Jutland, Funen and Schleswig created gardens at Snoghøj.

Career

Among his first work on birds was an 1828 manuscript, Forsøg til en Abbildning af Danske Sangfugle. His more famous works include Ornithologia danica, Danmarks Fugle (Birds of Denmark or "national birds"), produced during 1847–1852, and his collection titled Skandinaviens Fugle (Birds of Scandinavia) which are descriptions of birds accompanied by lithographed drawings of the birds on hand-coloured plates. His works became very popular and spread public interest in Danish birds and bird spotting.