Launcelot Eric Richdale

Dr Launcelot Eric Richdale OBE (1900-1983) was a New Zealand teacher and notable amateur ornithologist. Born at Marton, New Zealand and educated at Wanganui, he became a teacher based in Dunedin after obtaining a diploma in 1922 from Hawkesbury Agricultural College near Sydney, Australia.

Richdale's main ornithological interest was in seabirds, especially penguins and petrels, and he was engaged in long-term studies of various species for most of his life. He was the driving force to gain protection for the colony of Royal Albatrosses at Taiaroa Head, Otago, after discovering the first successful fledling there in 1938. [cite web|url=http://www.odt.co.nz/your-town/dunedin/19806/albatross-colony-marking-70-years|title=Albatross colony marking 70 years|date=28 August 2008|publisher=Otago Daily Times|accessdate=2008-08-30] Although his fieldwork was carried out in southern New Zealand, he spent some time studying overseas, as a Fulbright Fellow at Cornell University 1950-1951, as a Nuffield Research Fellow at the Edward Grey Institute for Bird Research 1952-1955 and, after retirement, again as a Nuffield Fellow, at the Zoological Society of London 1960-1963.

He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) and contributed numerous papers to its journal, the "Emu" as well as to several other scientific journals. He produced a series of popular booklets about New Zealand birds as well as a series of biological monographs to publish the results of his research. In addition, he authored two major books, "Sexual Behavior in Penguins" (University of Kansas Press, 1951), and "A Population Study of Penguins" (Clarendon Press, 1957). His publications earned him a DSc from the University of New Zealand in 1952. He was awarded an OBE for services to ornbithology in 1982.

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References

*Fleming, Charles; & Warham, John. (1985). Launcelot Eric Richdale, OBE, (1900-1983). "Emu" 85: 53-54.