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Diamond Firetail
The diamond firetail (''Stagonopleura guttata'') is a species of estrildid finch that is endemic to Australia. It has a patchy distribution and generally occupies drier forests and grassy woodlands west of the Great Dividing Range from South East Queensland to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. While it is a small stocky bird it is one of the largest finches in Australia. The birds are very distinctive with a black breast-band on a white breast. The flanks are black with white spots and it has a scarlet rump (hence the name) and a black tail. Taxonomy The family Estrildidae (grass-finches) was named by Swainson in 1827 and "finch" can be traced back to the Old English ''finc'' but its origin is debated. Firetail is now used to describe the three species of ''Stagonopleura''. The red-browed finch (''Neochmia temporalis'') is no longer considered a firetail even though it has a red rump. The diamond firetail has also been known as the "spotted finch (Lewin 1808), spotted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Shaw (biologist)
George Kearsley Shaw (10 December 1751 – 22 July 1813) was an English botanist and zoologist. Life Shaw was born at Bierton, Buckinghamshire, and was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, receiving his M.A. in 1772. He took up the profession of medical practitioner. In 1786 he became the assistant lecturer in botany at the University of Oxford. He was a co-founder of the Linnean Society in 1788, and became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1789. In 1791 Shaw became assistant keeper of the natural history department at the British Museum, succeeding Edward Whitaker Gray as keeper in 1806. He found that most of the items donated to the museum by Hans Sloane were in very bad condition. Medical and anatomical material was sent to the museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, but many of the stuffed animals and birds had deteriorated and had to be burnt. He was succeeded after his death by his assistant Charles Konig. Works Shaw published one of the first English descriptions with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nankeen Kestrel
The nankeen kestrel (''Falco cenchroides''), also known as the Australian kestrel, is a raptor native to Australia and New Guinea. It is one of the smallest falcons, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. Instead, it simply perches in an exposed position, but it also has a distinctive technique of hovering over crop and grasslands. Taxonomy The nankeen kestrel is a species of the genus ''Falco'', allied to a subgenus ''Tinnunculus''. They were first described by Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. Further descriptions — regarded as synonyms for the species — were published: ''Cerchneis immaculata'' Brehm, 1845; the later name ''Cerchneis unicolor'' by Alexander Milligan was published in ''Emu'' in 1904; and that author's name appearing in the assignment to a subspecies, ''Cerchneis cenchroides milligani'', published by Gregory Mathews in 1912. The generic name is Late Latin ''falco'' 'falcon' (from ''falx'' ''falcis'', 'sickle') and the speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Described In 1796
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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