He studied in Cambridge where he graduated in natural sciences and anthropology.
He edits Cecidology, the journal of the British Plant Gall Society.
Books: - Animals in the zoo, - Animal communities, - Britain's Plant Galls. A photographic guide (2011) WildGuides. Old Basing, Hampshire. ISBN 978 190365743 0 - Purnell's concise Encyclopedia of Nature, Forests, Kingfisher, London, 1992 ISBN 0-86272-915-7
Chinery is well known for his books on insects :
Insects of Britain and Northern Europe, 3rd edition, Collins field guide. ISBN 0-00-219918-1 Insects of Britain and Western Europe, Collins Guide, 1986 (reprinted in 1991) Butterflies of Britain and Europe, Collins Wildlife Trust Guides.