Andrew Leith Adams

Andrew Leith Adams FRSE, FRS (21 March 1827 – 29 July 1882) was a Scottish army physician, naturalist and geologist.

He collected and described specimens of birds and mammals, writing also about his travels in Asia and the middle east where he served at various times.

The orange bullfinch (Pyrrhula aurantiaca) was discovered by him as also the first breeding site of brown-headed gulls (Larus brunnicephalus) in the lakes of the Tibetan plateau.

[1] Adams sent most of his specimens to the Fort Pitt Museum of Natural History at Chatham founded by Sir James MacGrigor.

[10] Later, Richard Lydekker assigned the two species to a new genus, named Leithia in honour of Leith Adams in 1895.