What is John Gilbert (naturalist)?
'''John Gilbert''' (1812? – 28 June 1845) was an [[England|English]] [[natural history|naturalist]] and [[exploration|explorer]]. He collected animal specimens for English naturalist [[John Gould]]. [[Australia]]'s rarest animal, [[Gilbert's Potoroo]], ''Potorous gilberti'', and the [[Gilbert-Einasleigh River]] were named after him. ==Early life== Gilbert was born on 14 March, but the exact year is not known. It must have been between 1810 and 1815 and so most books use 1812. Gilbert was a [[taxidermist]] for the [[Zoological Society of London]]. He met English naturalist John Gould and went to [[Australia]] in 1838 with Gould. Gould paid him £100 a year to collect and preserve animals and birds for him ==Australia== Gould and Gilbert arrived in [[Hobart]] on the ship ''Parsee'' on 19 September 1838. They were going to collect animal and bird specimens for Gould's books. Both worked in [[Tasmania]] for a few months. On 4 February 1839, Gilbert went to the [[Swan River Colony|Swan River settlement]]. He worked there for a year, mainly around [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], collecting for Gould. Gilbert then sailed for [[Sydney]], and in June 1840 took a ship to [[Port Essington]] in the north of Australia. In March 1841 he sailed to [[Singapore]], stopping at [[Timor]] on the way. From there he sailed for [[London]] and arrived at the end of September. He had collected a very large number of birds for Gould, and made many notes on their habits. In February 1842 Gilbert returned Australia to collect further specimens. He reached Perth in July and stayed for 17 months in [[Western Australia]]. He made his most interesting discoveries among the Wongan Hills, about 100 miles north-east of Perth. He was a fine naturalist and his notes on birds, their habits, diet, song and the names given them by the [[Indigenous Australians|aborigines]] were all of great interest and value. Gilbert collected specimens of 432 birds, including 36 species new to Western Australia. He collected 318 mammals, including 22 species no