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R. D. Bradfield
Rupert Dudley Bradfield (7 December 1876, Queenstown – 2 September 1949, Johannesburg) was a farmer and naturalist from southern Africa. He sent several specimens of birds and plants (mainly spermatophytes) from Waterberg Plateau (Namibia) and Namib desert 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 hornbill and Bradfield's lark. His record of a male red phalarope in winter plumage from his farm in Okahandja in April 1924 sent to the Transvaal Museum 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), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds. It has also been an area with a large contribution made by amateurs in terms of time, resources, and financial support. Studies on birds have helped develop key concepts in biology including evolution, behaviour and ecology such as the definition of species, the process of speciation, instinct, learning, ecological niches, guilds, island biogeography, phylogeography, and conservation. While early ornithology was principally concerned with descriptions and distributions of species, ornithologists today seek answers to very specific questions, often using birds as models to test hypotheses or predictions based on theories. Most modern biological theories apply across life forms, and the number of scientists w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the .... The common name and Latin binomial commemorate the South African naturalist R. D. Bradfield (1882–1949). References External links * Bradfield's swift Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Bradfield's swift Birds of Southern Africa Fauna of Namibia Bradfield's swift Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{apodiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1882 Births
Year 188 (CLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Fuscianus and Silanus (or, less frequently, year 941 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 188 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Publius Helvius Pertinax becomes pro-consul of Africa from 188 to 189. Japan * Queen Himiko (or Shingi Waō) begins her reign in Japan (until 248). Births * April 4 – Caracalla (or Antoninus), Roman emperor (d. 217) * Lu Ji (or Gongji), Chinese official and politician (d. 219) * Sun Shao, Chinese general of the Eastern Wu state (d. 241) Deaths * March 17 – Julian, pope and patriarch of Alexandria * Fa Zhen (or Gaoqing), Chinese scholar (b. AD 100) * Lucius Antistius Burrus, Roman politician (executed) * Ma Xiang, Chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Roberts (zoologist)
Austin Roberts (3 January 1883 – 5 May 1948) was a South African zoologist. He is best known for his ''Birds of South Africa'', first published in 1940. He also studied the mammalian fauna of the region: his work ''The mammals of South Africa'' was published posthumously in 1951. The 7th edition of ''Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa'' which appeared in 2005, is the standard work on the region's birds. Biography Roberts, son of Alfred Roberts (church minister) and Marianne Fannin (naturalist and flower artist), was born in Pretoria and grew up in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He gained much of his early knowledge of zoology from Thomas Ayres (1828–1913), one of South Africa's first amateur ornithologists. Ayres taught Roberts to skin birds and small mammals as well as the importance of keeping accurate records on every specimen. He also encouraged Roberts to study birds systematically. Roberts worked as a clerk in the Potchefstroom branch of Standard Bank from 1901 to 1903 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ditsong National Museum Of Natural History
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 Hall. The museum was established in 1895 by the former South African Republic, also known as the Transvaal. In 2010 it was one of the founding Museums of Ditsong Museums of South Africa. Collections The museum curates large collections of Plio-Pleistocene fossils, including hominids from Sterkfontein, Swartkrans and Kromdraai in the UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Cradle of Humankind, as well as late Permian therapsids (proto-mammals from the Karoo). The most complete skull of an ''Australopithecus africanus'' specimen, Mrs Ples, is on display in the museum. In addition, the Transvaal museum houses extensive collections of mammals, birds, reptiles, and invertebrates. History It was founded as the ''Staatsmuseum'' (Afrikaans for "State M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Formerly, the Sabota lark was classified as belonging to the genus ''Mirafra'' until moved to ''Calendulauda'' in 2009. Not all authorities have followed this re-classification. Two distinctive taxa of this species are respectively known as the large-billed Sabota lark and small-billed Sabota lark. The large-billed subspecies are found in the dry to arid west and south of its range, while the small-billed subspecies are native to mesic woodlands of the north and east. Subspecies Nine subspecies are recognized: * Congo Sabota lark ''C. s. plebeja'' (Cabanis, 1875) — Originally described as a separate species in the genus '' Alauda''. Found on the Cabinda coast of north-western Angola * Benguella Sabota lark ''C. s. ansorgei'' ( Sclater, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 and can be recognized by turquoise facial skin. The eyes are yellow and the beak is red. The beak is long and presents no casque. This is an uncommon resident of the mopane woodlands and mixed thorn fields of northeastern Namibia (especially on the Waterberg plateau), northern Botswana, southern Angola and eastern Zimbabwe. They feed on fruits, large insects, nuts and small reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...s. The common name and Latin binomial commemorate the South African naturalist R. D. Bradfield (1882-194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benoni, Gauteng
Benoni is a town in Ekurhuleni municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. Benoni was also the setting for the MTV-inspired movie ''Crazy Monkey: Straight Outta Benoni'', released internationally in 2005. People from Benoni *Urzila Carlson, New Zealand based comedian, from Benoni *R. Graham Cooks, chemist * Charlene, Princess of Monaco, (née Charlene Wittstock), swimmer, and consort of Prince Albert II of Monaco *Bryan Habana, former Springboks rugby player *Philip Holiday, IBF World Champion Boxer *Morris Kahn (born 1930), Israeli billionaire, founder and chairman of Aurec Group * Mildred Mangxola, singer and member of the Mahotella Queens * Frith van der Merwe, schoolteacher at Benoni High and the most prolific female runner in the history of the Comrades Marathon *Pops Mohamed, jazz musician *Genevieve Morton, top model *Grace Mugabe Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (' Marufu; born 23 July 1965) is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word (''botanē'') meaning " pasture", " herbs" "grass", or " fodder"; is in turn derived from (), "to feed" or "to graze". Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Nowadays, botanists (in the strict sense) study approximately 410,000 species of land plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants (including approximately 369,000 species of flowering plants), and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes. Botany originated in prehistory as herbalism with the efforts of early humans to identify – and later cultivate – ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Okahandja
Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the B1 road. It was founded around 1800, by two local groups, the Herero and the Nama. History Okahandja means ''the place where two rivers'' (Okakango and Okamita) ''flow into each other to form one wide one'' in Otjiherero. A German pastor, Heinrich Schmelen, became the first European to visit the town in 1827. In 1844, two missionaries were permanently assigned to the town, Heinrich Kleinschmidt and Hugo Hahn. A church dates from this period. A military post was established at the initiative of Theodor Leutwein in 1894, and it is this date that is officially recognized as the town's founding.Okahandja Hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namib
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, Namibia, and South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from in the most arid regions to at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and conta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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