Latham has been called the "grandfather" of Australian ornithology. He was able to examine specimens of Australian birds which reached England in the last twenty years of the 18th century, and was responsible for naming many of them. These included the Emu, White Cockatoo, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Superb Lyrebird and Australian Magpie. He was also the first to describe the Hyacinth Macaw.