Rupert Dudley Bradfield (7 December 1876, Queenstown – 2 September 1949,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

) was a farmer and naturalist from

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...

. He sent several specimens of birds and plants (mainly

spermatophyte A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...

s) from Waterberg Plateau (Namibia) and

Namib desert The Namib ( ; pt, Namibe) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namib ...

to museums in United Kingdom and South Africa. Many species of birds, reptiles and plant names commemorate him. Several of his plant collections were from his farm near Okahandja and later on upon his return to South Africa, from Benoni. He is commemorated in several bird species, including

Bradfield's swift Bradfield's swift (''Apus bradfieldi'') is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. The common name and Latin binomial commemorate the South African naturalist R. D. Bradfield ...

Bradfield's hornbill Bradfield's hornbill (''Lophoceros bradfieldi'') is an African hornbill. It is a medium-sized bird, in length, characterized by black back and wings and a white belly. The tip feathers of the long tail are white. Females are smaller than males an ...

and

Bradfield's lark The sabota lark (''Calendulauda sabota'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Africa in its natural habitats of dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Taxonomy and systematics Fo ...

. His record of a male red phalarope in winter plumage from his farm in Okahandja in April 1924 sent to the

Transvaal Museum The Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, formerly the Transvaal Museum, is a natural history museum situated in Pretoria, South Africa. It is located on Paul Kruger Street, between Visagie and Minnaar Streets, opposite the Pretoria City Hal ...

was recorded as "the first record of any phalarope from Africa" by the museum director

Austin Roberts Austin Roberts may refer to: * Austin Roberts (American football) (born 1995), American football tight end *Austin Roberts (singer) (born 1945), American singer and songwriter *Austin Roberts (zoologist) Austin Roberts (3 January 1883 – 5 May ...

References

{{reflist 1882 births 1949 deaths South African naturalists