| James A. Jobling | |
| Birth Place: | Bexhill-on-Sea |
| Nationality: | British |
| Occupation: | Ornithologist and functionary |
James A. Jobling is a British naturalist and author.[1] Jobling is known for his work on the taxonomy of birds, writing and publishing one of the most comprehensive reference works on the etymology of the names of genera and species of birds around the world.[2] [3]
Jobling was initially a civil servant with experience in finance and land registration. Since childhood, he had an interest in the natural world, especially in birds and their names.[1] He worked for several years writing the Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, published in 1991 by Oxford University Press. The Dictionary would later be reissued by British publisher Helm in 2010, under the name Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.[4] Jobling became closely associated with Lynx Edicions through the creation and editing of the HBW Alive Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology (2014–2020), which was later incorporated into the Handbook of the Birds of the World.[5] This work would later be made a part of the online database Birds of the World.
He was a member of the British Ornithologists' Union and a committee member of the British Ornithologists' Club.[6]