Edmund Gustavus Bloomfield Meade-Waldo (8 February 1855 – 24 February 1934) was an English

ornithologist 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 th ...

and conservationist. He is probably best known for his efforts to preserve the red kite in Wales. Meade-Waldo was born in

Hever Castle Hever Castle ( ) is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539, it was the seat of the Boleyn (originally 'Bullen') family. ...

and educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and Magdalene College,

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He spent his life managing the family's country estate, Stonewall, in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He conducted fieldwork and collected birds in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, the presumably-extinct

Canary Islands oystercatcher The Canary Islands oystercatcher, Canarian oystercatcher, or Canarian black oystercatcher (''Haematopus meadewaldoi''), Etymology: ''Haematopus'', Latinized Ancient Greek for "bloody-footed", from ''(h)aimato-'' (αίματό-), '"blood-" + ''-p ...

''Haematopus meadewaldoi'' being foremost among them. He was Vice-President of the

BOU Bou () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. The village is situated in the greater Orléans area, in a meander of the river Loire, 14 km east of Orléans and 9 km west of the town of Jargeau. Bou is separated b ...

in 1923 and was an active member of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

, the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...

, the Society for the Protection of the Fauna of the Empire and the Society for the Establishment of Nature Reserves. He was also

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Kent. Meade-Waldo's discovery of

sandgrouse Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family (biology), family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two Genus, genera. The two central Asian species are classified as ''Sy ...

chick rearing behaviour in 1896 was for a long time discredited as fantasy. His acute observations noted male sandgrouse, by deliberately soaking their breast feathers in water, bringing water to its chicks at the nest. Sixty years later he was proved right. He accompanied James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford and the naturalist

Michael John Nicoll Michael John Nicoll (29 September 1880, Bepton - 31 October 1925, Leeds) was an English ornithologist and zoo director at Giza who worked on the birds of Egypt. He accompanied Lord Crawford on several voyages to explore bird life and wrote a boo ...

on their third voyage on the RYS Valhalla; on 7 December 1905 at about 10:15 am the yacht, was cruising off the Florida coast when a "large fin, or frill, sticking out of the water," was spotted. This frill was six feet in length and projected nearly two feet out of the water. "A great neck rose out of the water in front of the frill," noted Meade-Waldo; its neck appeared to be about the thickness of a man's body. This creature moved its head and neck from side to side in a peculiar manner. This ''sea serpent'' incident became famous and caused much interest back home in Britain.

References

*ACAD – A Cambridge Alumni Databas
accessed 19 June 2012
*Hanson, T., 2011. Feathers: The Evolution of A Natural Miracle *Mearns, B. & Mearns, R., 1988. ''Biographies for birdwatchers: the lives of those commemorated in western palearctic bird names'', London: Academic Press.

''Three voyages of a naturalist : being an account of many little- known islands in three oceans visited by the "Valhalla," R.Y.S.'' / by M. J. Nicoll ; with an introduction by the Earl of Crawford *P. R. L., 1934. Obituary of Edmund Gustavus Bloomfield Meade-Waldo. ''Ibis.'' 76(2), pp399–402. 1855 births 1934 deaths Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge People educated at Eton College English ornithologists English conservationists People from Hever, Kent {{UK-ornithologist-stub