François Le Vaillant (1753 - November 22, 1824) was a French explorer, collector and ornithologist. 1753 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Ornithology (from the Greek ornitha = chicken and logos = word/science) is the branch of biology concerned with the scientific study of birds. ...

Le Vaillant was born in Paramaribo, the capital of Dutch Guiana (Surinam), the son of the French consul. When his father returned to Europe, in 1763, he studied natural history at Metz. He was sent by the Dutch East India Company to the Cape Province of South Africa in 1781, and collected specimens there until 1784. He made two journeys, one eastwards from the Cape and one north of the Orange River and into Great Namaqualand. Colonial style houses, Waterkant, Paramaribo. ... Location within France Rhine watershed Metz is a city in the North-East of France, capital of the Lorraine région and of the département of Moselle (57). ... This article is about the trading company. ... Under the Union of South Africa and after that under the Republic of South Africa, the old Cape Colony became the Cape of Good Hope Province (though it was commonly known as the Cape Province). ... The Orange River is the largest river of South Africa. ... Namaqualand is an arid region of south-western Africa, extending along the west coast over 600 miles and covering a total area of 170,000 square miles/440,000 sq km. ...

On his return he published Voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique (1790, 2 vols.), and Second voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique (1796, 3 vols.), both of which were translated into several languages. He also published Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique (1796-1808, 6 vols.) with drawings by Jacques Barraband, Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis (1801-06), Histoire naturelle des cotingas et des todiers (1804) and Histoire naturelle des calaos (1804). Over 2,000 bird skins were sent to Jacob Temminck, who had financed the expedition, and these were later studied by his son Coenraad Jacob Temminck and included in the collection of the museum at Leiden. Jacques Barraband (1767 - 1809) was a French zoological illustrator. ... Coenraad Jacob Temminck (March 31, 1778 _ January 30, 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat and zoologist. ... Leiden (in English also, but now rarely, Leyden) is a city and municipality in South Holland, The Netherlands. ...

Le Vaillant died in poverty in La Noue, near Sezanne.

Le Vaillant was opposed to the systematic nomenclature introduced by Carolus Linnaeus and only gave the new species he discovered French names. Some of these are still in use as common names, such as Bateleur and Chanteur. Other naturalists were left to assign binomial names to his new discoveries. Some of these honoured Le Vaillant, including Levaillant's Cuckoo. Levaillant's Woodpecker was also named after him. A painting of Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné  listen, and who wrote under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish scientist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ...