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Bimaculated Lark
The bimaculated lark (''Melanocorypha bimaculata'') breeds in warm temperate countries eastwards from Turkey into Central Asia. It is the eastern counterpart of its relative, the calandra lark. Taxonomy and systematics The bimaculated lark was originally placed in the genus ''Alauda''. The current genus name, ''Melanocorypha'' is from Ancient Greek ''melas'', "black", and ''koruphos'' a term used by ancient writers for a now unknown bird, but here confused with ''korudos'', "lark". "Bimaculate" and the specific ''bimaculata'' are from New Latin ''bimaculatus'', "two-spotted". The alternate name calandra lark should not be confused with the species of the same name. The alternate name Eastern calandra lark is also used for a subspecies of the calandra lark. Description This is a large, robust lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Édouard Ménétries
Édouard Ménétries (Paris, France, 2 October 1802 – St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia, 10 April 1861) was a French entomologist, zoologist, and herpetologist. He is best known as the founder of the Russian Entomological Society. Ménétries was born in Paris, and became a student of Georges Cuvier and Pierre André Latreille. On their recommendation he was chosen as the zoologist on a Russian expedition to Brazil in 1822, led by Baron von Langsdorff. On his return he was appointed curator of the Zoological Collection at St Petersburg. In 1829 he was sent by the Tsar on an exploratory trip to the Caucasus. Ménétries was an authority on Lepidoptera and Coleoptera but also worked on other orders. Most of his named species are from Russia and Siberia but at the museum he was able to study insects from other parts of the world. Two such collections were those made during the expeditions of Alexander von Middendorf (1842–1845) and Leopold von Schrenck (1853–1857) to Calif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melanocorypha Bimaculata MHNT
''Melanocorypha'' is a small genus of birds in the lark family. The current genus name, ''Melanocorypha'' is from Ancient Greek ''melas'', "black", and ''koruphos'' a term used by ancient writer for a now unknown bird, but here confused with ''korudos'', "lark". Taxonomy and systematics Established by Friedrich Boie in 1828, the genus ''Melanocorypha'' has five extant and at least three extinct species. Extant species There are five species recognized in the genus: Extinct species There is at least three fossil species included in this genus: * †''Melanocorypha serdicensis'' (late Miocene from Hrabarsko, Bulgaria)Boev, Z. 2012. Neogene Larks (Aves: Alaudidae (Vigors, 1825)) from Bulgaria - Acta zoologica bulgarica, 64 (3), 2012: 295-318. * †''Melanocorypha donchevi'' (late Pliocene from Varshets, Bulgaria) * †''Melanocorypha minor'' (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) Former species Formerly, some authorities classified the following species as belonging to the genus ''Mela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temperate Countries
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout the year and more distinct seasonal changes compared to tropical climates, where such variations are often small and usually only have precipitation changes. In temperate climates, not only do latitudinal positions influence temperature changes, but sea currents, prevailing wind direction, continentality (how large a landmass is) and altitude also shape temperate climates. The Köppen climate classification defines a climate as "temperate" C, when the mean temperature is above but below in the coldest month to account for the persistency of frost. However, other climate classifications set the minimum at . Zones and climates The north temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Cancer (approximately 23.5° north latitude) to the Arct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former Soviet Union, Soviet republics of the Soviet Union, republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which are colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as the countries all have names ending with the Persian language, Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of". The current geographical location of Central Asia was formerly part of the historic region of Turkestan, Turkistan, also known as Turan. In the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras ( and earlier) Central Asia was inhabited predominantly by Iranian peoples, populated by Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Khwarezmian language, Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae. After expansion by Turkic peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calandra Lark
The calandra lark (''Melanocorypha calandra'') or European calandra-lark breeds in warm temperate countries around the Mediterranean and eastwards through Turkey into northern Iran and southern Russia. It is replaced further east by its relative, the bimaculated lark. Taxonomy and systematics The calandra lark was originally placed in the genus '' Alauda''. The current genus name, ''Melanocorypha'' is from Ancient Greek ''melas'', "black", and ''koruphos'' a term used by ancient writers for a now unknown bird, but here confused with ''korudos'', "lark". "Calandra"' derives ultimately from ''kalandros'' the Ancient Greek name for this bird. The bimaculated lark is also sometimes termed as the calandra lark. Subspecies Four subspecies are recognized: * Western calandra lark (''M. c. calandra'') - (Linnaeus, 1766): Found in southern Europe and north-western Africa to Turkey (except south-central and south-eastern Turkey), Transcaucasia and north-western Iran * Eastern calandra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alauda
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are known from the fossil record. The current genus name is from Latin ''alauda'', "lark". Pliny the Elder thought the word was originally of Celtic origin. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Alauda'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The type species was subsequently designated as the Eurasian skylark. The genus ''Alauda'' has four extant and at least two extinct species. Formerly, many other species have also been considered to belong to the genus. Extant species The genus contains four species: Extinct species * †''Alauda xerarvensis'' (late Pliocene of Varshets, Bulgaria) * †''Alauda tivadari'' (late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary) Former species Previ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic period (), and the Classical period (). Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical periods of the language. From the Hellenistic period (), Ancient Greek was followed by Koine Greek, which is regarded as a separate historical stage, although its earliest form closely resembles Attic Greek and its latest form approaches Medieval Greek. There were several regional dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek developed into Koi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Latin
New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy and international scientific vocabulary, draws extensively from New Latin vocabulary, often in the form of classical or neoclassical compounds. New Latin includes extensive new word formation. As a language for full expression in prose or poetry, however, it is often distinguished from its successor, Contemporary Latin. Extent Classicists use the term "Neo-Latin" to describe the Latin that developed in Renaissance Italy as a result of renewed interest in classical civilization in the 14th and 15th centuries. Neo-Latin also describes the use of the Latin language for any purpose, scientific or literary, during and after the Renaissance. The beginning of the period cannot be precisely identified; however, the spread of secular educatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occurs in Australia. Habitats vary widely, but many species live in dry regions. When the word "lark" is used without specification, it often refers to the Eurasian skylark ''(Alauda arvensis)''. Taxonomy and systematics The family Alaudidae was introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors as a subfamily Alaudina of the finch family Fringillidae. Larks are a well-defined family, partly because of the shape of their . They have multiple scutes on the hind side of their tarsi, rather than the single plate found in most songbirds. They also lack a pessulus, the bony central structure in the syrinx of songbirds. They were long placed at or near the beginning of the songbirds or oscines (now often called Passeri), j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven primarily by the availability of food. It occurs mainly in the northern hemisphere, where birds are funneled onto specific routes by natural barriers such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Caribbean Sea. Migration of species such as storks, turtle doves, and swallows was recorded as many as 3,000 years ago by Ancient Greek authors, including Homer and Aristotle, and in the Book of Job. More recently, Johannes Leche began recording dates of arrivals of spring migrants in Finland in 1749, and modern scientific studies have used techniques including bird ringing and satellite tracking to trace migrants. Threats to migratory birds have grown with habitat destruction, especially of stopover and wintering sites, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. Most arthropods such as insects, vertebrates (excluding live-bearing mammals), and mollusks lay eggs, although some, such as scorpions, do not. Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water and are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e., breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth they use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering. The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark and was in size. Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At and up to , the ost ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melanocorypha
''Melanocorypha'' is a small genus of birds in the lark family. The current genus name, ''Melanocorypha'' is from Ancient Greek ''melas'', "black", and ''koruphos'' a term used by ancient writer for a now unknown bird, but here confused with ''korudos'', "lark". Taxonomy and systematics Established by Friedrich Boie in 1828, the genus ''Melanocorypha'' has five extant and at least three extinct species. Extant species There are five species recognized in the genus: Extinct species There is at least three fossil species included in this genus: * †''Melanocorypha serdicensis'' (late Miocene from Hrabarsko, Bulgaria)Boev, Z. 2012. Neogene Larks (Aves: Alaudidae (Vigors, 1825)) from Bulgaria - Acta zoologica bulgarica, 64 (3), 2012: 295-318. * †''Melanocorypha donchevi'' (late Pliocene from Varshets, Bulgaria) * †''Melanocorypha minor'' (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) Former species Formerly, some authorities classified the following species as belonging to the genus ''Mela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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