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Isle Of Noss
The Isle of Noss or Noss ( sco, Noss) is a small, previously inhabited island in Shetland, Scotland. Noss is separated from the island of Bressay by the narrow Noss Sound. It has been run as a sheep farm since 1900, and has been a national nature reserve since 1955.The Story of Noss National Nature Reserve. p. 15. Noss is popular for wildlife tourism, and is linked to Bressay by a seasonal ferry service, run by the wildlife wardens using an inflatable boat. The ferry service brings around 1700 to the island each year, whilst total annual visitor numbers are thought to be around 5000 once those visiting on private and commercial boats are included.The Story of Noss National Nature Reserve. p. 20. Attractions on Noss include a visitor centre, the Pony Pund built to breed Shetland ponies, the Holm of Noss rock and the Noup cliff. Etymology The name ''Noss'' comes from the Old Norse ''nǫs'', meaning nose. The fact that the name given was ''nǫs'' and not ''nǫsøy'' (nose isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mainland, Shetland
The Mainland is the main island of Shetland, Scotland. The island contains Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick, and is the centre of Shetland's ferry and air connections. Geography It has an area of , making it the third-largest Scottish island and the fifth largest of the British Isles after Great Britain, Ireland, Lewis and Harris and Skye. Mainland is the second most populous of the Scottish islands (only surpassed by Lewis and Harris), and had 18,765 residents in 2011 compared to 17,550 in 2001. The mainland can be broadly divided into four sections: *The long southern peninsula, south of Lerwick, has a mixture of moorland and farmland and contains many important archaeological sites. **Bigton, Cunningsburgh, Sandwick, Scalloway, and Sumburgh *The Central Mainland has more farmland and some woodland plantations. *The West Mainland **Aith, Walls, and Sandness *The North Mainland – in particular the large Northmavine peninsula, connected to Mainland by a narrow ist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus. Isthmus vs land bridge vs peninsula ''Isthmus'' and ''land bridge'' are related terms, with isthmus having a broader meaning. A land bridge is an isthmus connecting Earth's major landmasses. The term ''land bridge'' is usually used in biogeology to describe land connections that used to exist between continents at various times and were important for migration of people and various species of animals and plants, e.g. Beringia and Doggerland. An isthmus is a land connection between two bigger landmasses, while a peninsula is rather a land protrusion which is connected to a bigger landmass on one side only and surrounded by water on all other sides. Technically, an isthmus can have canals running from coast to coast (e.g. the Panama C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Black-backed Gull
The lesser black-backed gull (''Larus fuscus'') is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It has increased dramatically in North America, most common along the east coast. Formerly just a winter visitor, many birds are now spotted year-round. Some winters they occur in large numbers. Even on the west coast, this species has become an annual winter visitor in California with birds reported around most of the state each winter. They've even been seen in numbers at the Salton Sea. Taxonomy The lesser black-backed gull was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and it still bears its original name ''Larus fuscus''. The scientific name is from Latin. ''Larus'' appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and ''fuscus'' meant black or brown. Subspecies The five recognized subspecies are: *''L. f. graellsii' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Skua
The great skua (''Stercorarius skua''), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken from other birds. Taxonomy The great skua was described from the Faroe Islands and Iceland by the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich in 1764 under the binomial name ''Catharacta skua''. It is now placed in the genus '' Stercorarius'' that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The English name and species name "skua" is believed to originate from the Faroese ''skúvur'' or ''skúgvur'' and is the only known bird name to originate from the Faroes that has come into regular use elsewhere. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name bonxie, a Shetland name of Norse origin. The genus name ''Stercorarius'' is Latin and means "of dung"; the food disgorged by other birds when pursued by skuas was onc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Fulmar
The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is a highly abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemisphere, with a single bird seen south of New Zealand. Fulmars come in one of two color morphs: a light one, with white head and body and gray wings and tail, and a dark one, which is uniformly gray. Though similar in appearance to gulls, fulmars are in fact members of the family Procellariidae, which include petrels and shearwaters. The northern fulmar and its sister species, the southern fulmar (), are the extant members of the genus . The fulmars are in turn a member of the order Procellariiformes, and they all share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns; however, nostrils on albatrosses are on the sides of the bill, as opposed to the rest of the order, including f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Razorbill
The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis impennis''). Wild populations live in the subarctic waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Razorbills are primarily black with a white underside. The male and female are identical in plumage; however, males are generally larger than females. This agile bird, which is capable of both flight and diving, has a predominantly aquatic lifestyle and only comes to land in order to breed. It is monogamous, choosing one partner for life. Females lay one egg per year. Razorbills nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed crevices. The parents spend equal amounts of time incubating, and once the chick has hatched, they take turns foraging for their young. In 1918, the razorbill was protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-legged Kittiwake
The black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Larus tridactylus''. The English name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. The genus name ''Rissa'' is from the Icelandic name ''rita'' for this bird, and the specific ''tridactyla'' is from Ancient Greek ''tridaktulos'', "three-toed", from ''tri-'', "three-" and ''daktulos'', "toe". In North America, this species is known as the black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from the red-legged kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as kittiwake. Range and distribution The black-legged kittiwake is a coastal bird of the arctic to subarctic regions of the world.del Hoyo, J; Elliott, A; Sargatal, J (1996). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol. 3''. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 622–6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Shag
The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mainly wintering in its breeding range except for the northernmost birds. In Britain this seabird is usually referred to as simply the shag. The scientific genus name derives from the Latin for glutton. The species name ''aristotelis'' commemorates the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Taxonomy The European shag was formerly classified within the genus ''Phalacrocorax'', but a 2014 study found it to be significantly more diverged than the clade containing ''Phalacrocorax'' and ''Urile'', but basal to the clade containing ''Nannopterum'' and ''Leucocarbo'', and thus classified it in its own genus, ''Gulosus''. The IOC followed this classification in 2021. ''Gulosus'' is thought to have split from the ''Nannopterum''-''Leucocarbo'' clade betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Guillemot
The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands. Common murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more maneuverable underwater, typically diving to depths of . Depths of up to have been recorded. Common murres breed in colonies at high densities. Nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours. They make no nest; their single egg is incubated on a bare rock ledge on a cliff face. Eggs hatch after ~30 days incubation. The chick is born downy and can regulate its body temperature after 10 days. Some 20 days after hatching the chick leaves its nesting ledge and heads for the sea, unable to fly, but gliding for some distance with fluttering wings, accompanied by its male parent. Male guillemots spend more time di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Puffin
The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin is found in the northeastern Pacific. The Atlantic puffin breeds in Russia, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and the Faroe Islands, and as far south as Maine in the west and France in the east. It is most commonly found in the Westman Islands, Iceland. Although it has a large population and a wide range, the species has declined rapidly, at least in parts of its range, resulting in it being rated as vulnerable by the IUCN. On land, it has the typical upright stance of an auk. At sea, it swims on the surface and feeds on small fish and crabs, which it catches by diving underwater, using its wings for propulsion. This puffin has a black crown and back, pale grey cheek patches, and a white body and underparts. Its broad, bold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Gannet
The northern gannet (''Morus bassanus'') is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in the northern Atlantic. The sexes are similar in appearance. The adult northern gannet has a mainly white streamlined body with a long neck, and long and slender wings. It is long with a wingspan. The head and nape have a buff tinge that is more prominent in breeding season, and the wings are edged with dark brown-black feathers. The long, pointed bill is blue-grey, contrasting with black, bare skin around the mouth and eyes. Juveniles are mostly grey-brown, becoming increasingly white in the five years it takes them to reach maturity. Nesting takes place in colonies on both sides of the North Atlantic, the largest of which are at Bass Rock (75,000 pairs as of 2014), St. Kilda (60,000 pairs as of 2013) and Ailsa Craig (33,000 pairs as of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) because they are the most resistant minerals to weathering processes at the Earth's surface. Like uncemented sand, sandstone may be any color due to impurities within the minerals, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with certain regions. Rock formations that are primarily composed of sandstone usually allow the percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs. Quartz-bearing sandstone can be changed into quartzite through metamorphism, usually relate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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