Intrepid ornithologist who ensured the survival of Europe's rarest seabird, the eponymous 'Zino's petrel'. After 35 years of association with the bird, his greatest satisfaction was that, thanks to his efforts, there are now much greater grounds for optimism about its status. Other seabird species nesting on the nearby Selvagem and Desertas islands also benefited from his conservation work.

By Brian Unwin, published in the Guardian on Friday 2 April 2004

Paul Alexander (Alec) Zino, who has died aged 88, was a Madeira businessman and wildlife conservationist responsible for the survival of Europe's – and one of the world's – rarest seabirds. Just 45 pairs of Zino's petrel, as it is now known, nest on ledges in the island's central mountains.
   After 35 years of association with the bird, his greatest satisfaction was that, thanks to his efforts, there are now much greater grounds for optimism about its status. Other seabird species nesting on the nearby Selvagem and Desertas islands also benefited from his conservation work.
   Alec Zino was born into a British family, who had been present on Madeira since 1830. Educated in England, he went to St Edmund's College, Ware, then read languages at Christ's College, Cambridge. He later joined the family property business in Madeira, and his huge interest in nature and outdoor life steadily grew. He was skilled at fishing and shooting, and spent much of his spare time in his boat at sea.
   Although the bird to be named after him was considered extinct by the 1960s, Alec suspected that there was still a colony on Madeira. Tape-recording the calls of similar petrels on the Desertas islands, 20 miles away, Alec played the tape to a shepherd in Madeira's central mountain massif. The shepherd, who described the birds' eerie sound as the "ghost of the mountains", directed him to the only spot where it could be heard.
   The only way of reaching the mountain precipice breeding ledges is by abseiling 300ft above a 2,000ft drop. In April 1969, some shepherds abseiled on to the ledges and found burrows with nesting material; then, in June, they found eggs and birds incubating.
   Studies of the birds by Alec and his son Frank helped to establish that these petrels are smaller, lighter, shorter-winged and thinner-billed than the similar petrels nesting on nearby islands and further south on the Cape Verde group. With DNA analysis providing conclusive evidence, the Madeira birds were subsequently confirmed as a separate species – the Zino's petrel.
   Although it is still perilously close to extinction, the species' prospects have since improved slightly. Measures to protect the birds against predators – chiefly rats and cats – and soil erosion were all required to safeguard the site, which is now part of Madeira's national park system.
   The need was emphasised in 1991 when cats killed 10 adult birds – then around a quarter of the world breeding population. Meanwhile, Alec helped the conservation of other seabirds nesting on the Selvagems. He bought the hunting rights in 1967, ending the annual harvesting of birds for food, and built a house there, designed by his wife Yvonne, a great behind-the-scenes organiser, as a base for scientific research. He also paid for wardening during the breeding season.
   Eventually the Portuguese government bought the islands, but did nothing to protect them. In 1976, fishermen slaughtered most birds and destroyed the house, prompting more government action, but Alec had to go on finding – and paying for – wardens, while waiting for funds from Lisbon. His burdens only eased when the Parque Natural da Madeira was established in 1986. There is now year-round wardening and the islands are a candidate for Unesco World Heritage status.
   This quiet man with a wonderful sense of humour took massive strides to care for Madeira's wildlife while he ran the family firm, which he eventually handed over to his son Michael. In the 1950s he also set up a foundation which provides an education and care for disadvantaged children.
   As a result of his conservation work, Alec was made a Commendador da Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique, a Portuguese equivalent of the OBE, in 1990. It also earned him a Certificate of Merit from the UK minister of agriculture in 1988.

He is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1942, two sons and two daughters.

Alec Zino, ornithologist and businessman, born February 9 1916; died March 3 2004

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