Colonel Robert George Wardlaw-Ramsay FLS, FZS (25 January 1852 – 22 April 1921) was an army officer and naturalist. His father was Robert Balfour Wardlaw-Ramsay while his mother Louisa was the third daughter of George, eighth Marquess of Tweeddale. He studied at Cheam and Harrow before joining the Hampshire Regiment in January 1871 to be stationed in India, Afghanistan and Burma. His interest in birds began as a young boy and in 1872 (aged 20) he was elected a member of the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry ...

and was later (1913-1918) to become its president. He was also a Fellow of the Zoological Society. During his various army postings he took a great interest in the local ornithology. He was a nephew of

Arthur Hay, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale Colonel Arthur Hay, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale, (9 November 1824 – 29 December 1878), known before 1862 as Lord Arthur Hay and between 1862 and 1876 as Viscount Walden, was a Scottish soldier and ornithologist. Life Lord Arthur Hay was born ...

and inherited a large collection of over 20,000 bird skins that was later presented to the British Museum. He also edited ''The Ornithological works of Arthur 9th Marquis of Tweeddale'' (1881) and towards the end of his life was writing a ''Guide to the birds of Europe and North Africa'' (1923) which was published posthumously.Clarke, William Eagle (1923) Preface in Guide to the Birds of Europe and North Africa. Gurney and Jackson, London. RGWardlawRamsay

He was married to the elder daughter of Charles Swinton Hogg, Administrator-General of Bengal. He actively corresponded with other ornithologists in the region and many of his notes were published by

Allan Octavian Hume Allan Octavian Hume, CB ICS (4 June 1829 – 31 July 1912) was a British civil servant, political reformer, ornithologist and botanist who worked in British India. He was the founder of the Indian National Congress. A notable ornithologist, Hum ...

in ''Stray Feathers''. He saw action during the Afghan Campaign and also served in Burma and on the Andaman Islands. He later joined the Highland Light Infantry, becoming commander of the 7th Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Scots. He retired from the Army in 1882, shortly after the death of his father, and took to working in the County of Midlothian, where he served as Deputy Lieutenant.

References

External links

Guide to the birds of Europe and North Africa
British naturalists British ornithologists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Zoological Society of London 1852 births 1921 deaths Royal Hampshire Regiment officers {{UK-ornithologist-stub