Ridcully the Brown is a kind of parody of Radagast the Brown, one of the Wizards of the order of the Istari from JRR Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings.

While Radagast is a quiet, peaceful being who loves the "birds of the air, and the beasts of the field and knows them all by name", Ridcully is a very different animal. The only speaking to birds he's likely to indulge in is "Winged yer, yer bastard!".

Ridcully seems to me to be the essence of the 18th/19th century British Gentleman. For a good example of the type, check out the Marquis in the film Wilde, a biography of the Irish novelist and playwright, Oscar Wilde starring Stephen Fry and Jude Law.

Ridcully, is however, while just as insensitive and brutish, not actively malicious and indeed, can be kindly and well-meaning.