Anton Alois Palliardi

Anton Alois Palliardi (1799–1873) was a doctor in Františkovy Lázně, a patriot and an excellent ornithologist. He was the first one after Bohuslavu Balbínovi in the 17th century to write and publish a comprehensive scientific publication on birds in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown.

Palliardi published his work in 1852; this date can be considered the beginning of modern ornithology in Bohemia. In the same year Karel Slavoj Amerling (1807–1884) published his work Fauna or animals of Bohemia, but this is rather a compilation and does not contain much concrete data from the field. Palliardi`s book is titled Systematische Uebersicht der Vögel Böhmens mit Angabe ihres Vorkommens, Strichzeit, Brütezeit und einer lateinischen, deutschen und böhmischen Synonimie (A Systematic Record of the Birds of Bohemia with Data on their Occurrence, Migration, Nesting and with Latin, German and Czech Synonyms). Palliardi was an ardent German-speaking patriot of the Bohemian land with Italian family roots and he also collected generic names in the Czech language. Many of them probably reflect the folk terminology of the time.

Palliardi worked in a very modern way when mapping the birds. He relied on his experience in the field and also processed information from a number of collaborators from all over the country, especially from gamekeepers and teachers. This allowed him to list well-documented nesting, presumed and probable nesting of some species, and also rare species. It was in a way the precursor of later “grid” mapping, in which the country is divided into sections that are surveyed in detail. 

According to Palliardi`s description the landscape and its avian inhabitants were somewhat different than today. There were many pastures and meadows, domestic animals grazed in the woods and clearings, but there was no greenery around the streams. Such conditions suited species tied to steppe and woodland habitats as well as species of wet meadows and cultural landscape. Gamekeepers were very active in exterminating the “pests”, the landscape was depleted of birds of prey, herons and cormorants. And mute swans and collared doves for example did not occur here then; they were introduced to our country only in the 20th century. The data about the possible occurrence of lagopus in the Krkonoše Mountains are interesting. Palliardi, however, has remarkably little information about the birds of Šumava.

In Palliardi`s time, the field research was very different to what it is today.  The main instrument of the researcher were not binoculars or a camera, but a firearm and tools for taxidermy. Bird markets with live and dead specimens were also an important source of information. At that time, birds were often hunted for pleasure and for food, for example fieldfares were a popular delicacy, mentioned even in the famous cookbook by Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová. Stuffed birds were collected not only by noblemen, but also by enthusiastic private citizens, doctors and teachers. The reader of Palliardi`s book will therefore also learn how to hunt birds successfully. 

KOMÁREK Stanislav: Ptáci v Čechách v letech 1360–1890.  Praha: Academia, 2007.

KOMÁREK Stanislav: Kdo byl Anton Alois Palliardi. Vesmír 91, 2017/7.

http://www.publicart.gavu.cz/pomnik-antona-aloise-palliardiho-ve-frantiskovych-laznich/ (Cit. 14. 11.  2022)

Monument to Anton Alois Palliardi in Františkovy Lázně. Removed probably in the 1960s or 1970s. (Author: http://www.publicart.gavu.cz/pomnik-antona-aloise-palliardiho-ve-frantiskovych-laznich/)