Gulliver Pokeby (1750-1839) is famous for one of the less-valued magical discoveries of the 19th century (regardless of how some of us may have fought for his recognition). It was his identification of bird song that saved future witches and wizards much stress and consternation.

In his adulthood, Pokeby was a noted Magizoologist specializing in the study of magical birds. For a number of the later years of his life, Pokeby pursued an investigation into the Augurey, a rare and infrequently-studied bird, feared for its purported "deathly cry." 

The Augurey, which is also known as the Irish Phoenix, is native to Great Britain and Ireland, as well as being found in northern Europe. Its main diet consists of insects, fairies, and flies, and it only hunts in the heavy rain. The Augurey is extremely shy, hiding in tear-shaped nests in brambles and thorns. However, the gap in information on the Augurey is not due to its shy nature, but rather on the mythology surrounding the bird.

When Pokeby began his studies, it was still common belief that the cry of the Augurey foretold death. As a result, up until that time, witches and wizards had avoided all areas where Augureys were known to inhabit. However, Pokeby believed that the Augurey's cry may have signified something else entirely. In 1824, Pokeby published his findings in the book "Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey Cried," printed by Little Red Books.

In this revolutionary text, Pokeby revealed that the cry of the Augurey didn't herald the coming of death, but of something much more... wet. Rain. The Augurey only sings when the falling of rain is imminent, as Pokeby discovered after months of studying them in the damp moors of Ireland. Of course, after the release of his book, Pokeby's research was criticized by other Magizoologists. It wasn't until a few years later that his research was backed up by other studies of the Augurey.