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Golden-breasted Starling
The golden-breasted starling (''Lamprotornis regius''), also known as royal starling, is a medium-sized passerine in the starling family. Subspecies *''Lamprotornis regius magnificus'' (Victor Van Someren, van Someren, 1924) *''Lamprotornis regius regius'' (Anton Reichenow, Reichenow, 1879) Distribution and habitat The golden-breasted starling has a very large range. It is distributed in Northeastern Africa, from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and northern Tanzania. These birds inhabit the grassland, savannah, the thickets of acacias, dry-thorn forests and shrubland. Status and conservation Widespread throughout its habitat range, the population trend of the golden-breasted starling appears to be stable. The species is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Description ''Lamprotornis regius'' can reach a body length of about . The adult has a metallic green head and upper back, bright golden yellow breast and belly, dark Beak, bill and l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Aviary
The National Aviary, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the only independent indoor nonprofit aviary in the United States. It is also the country's largest indoor aviary, and the only one accorded honorary "National" status by the United States Congress. The Aviary is home to more than 500 birds, other animals, and reptiles representing more than 150 species. They have been a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1984. Location and features The National Aviary is located at 700 Arch Street on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), Northside, within Allegheny Commons, Allegheny Commons Park in the Allegheny Center (Pittsburgh), Allegheny Center neighborhood. In the spring and summer, the National Aviary is open daily. During the fall and winter, they are closed on Tuesdays, as well as holidays Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. The National Aviary offers daily interactive experienc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmopsarus Regius -Bird Kingdom, Niagara Falls, Canada-8a
''Lamprotornis'' is a large genus of glossy starlings all of which occur in Africa south of the Sahara. They have glossy blue or green upper parts, which is due to hollow melanin granules arranged in a single layer near the feather barbule's surface. This unique arrangement led to some glossy starlings formerly placed in the genus ''Spreo'' being transferred to ''Lamprotornis'', since they shared this feature (but see also below). The genus ''Lamprotornis'' was introduced by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1820. The type species was subsequently designated as the long-tailed glossy starling. The under parts of these species lack iridescence. They may be blue, purple, yellow or brown. Most ''Lamprotornis'' starlings have striking yellow or red irides and some have long tails. These glossy starlings are found in a variety of habitats from forests to open woodland and gardens. They nest in tree holes, either natural, or made by woodpeckers or barbets, and some will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Described In 1879
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 common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings 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, hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamprotornis
''Lamprotornis'' is a large genus of glossy starlings all of which occur in Africa south of the Sahara. They have glossy blue or green upper parts, which is due to hollow melanin granules arranged in a single layer near the feather barbule's surface. This unique arrangement led to some glossy starlings formerly placed in the genus ''Spreo'' being transferred to ''Lamprotornis'', since they shared this feature (but see also below). The genus ''Lamprotornis'' was introduced by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1820. The type species was subsequently designated as the long-tailed glossy starling. The under parts of these species lack iridescence. They may be blue, purple, yellow or brown. Most ''Lamprotornis'' starlings have striking yellow or red irides and some have long tails. These glossy starlings are found in a variety of habitats from forests to open woodland and gardens. They nest in tree holes, either natural, or made by woodpeckers or barbets, and some wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Termite
Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied, unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "white ants"; however, they are not ants but highly Apomorphy and synapomorphy, derived cockroaches. About 2,997 extant species are currently described, 2,125 of which are members of the family Termitidae. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the Taxonomic rank#All ranks, epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (the cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate Order (biology), order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the sister group to wood-eating cockroaches of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, Thorax (insect anatomy), thorax and abdomen (insect anatomy), abdomen), three pairs of jointed Arthropod leg, legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antenna (biology), antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. The insect nervous system consists of a insect brain, brain and a ventral nerve cord. Most insects reproduce Oviparous, by laying eggs. Insects Respiratory system of insects, breathe air through a system of Spiracle (arthropods), paired openings along their sides, connected to Trachea#Invertebrates, small tubes that take air directly to the tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in ves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Animal
Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population tend to associate in social groups (gregariousness) and form cooperative societies. Sociality is a survival response to evolutionary pressures. For example, when a mother wasp stays near her larvae in the nest, parasites are less likely to eat the larvae. Biologists suspect that pressures from parasites and other predators selected this behavior in wasps of the family Vespidae. This wasp behaviour evidences the most fundamental characteristic of animal sociality: parental investment. Parental investment is any expenditure of resources (time, energy, social capital) to benefit one's offspring. Parental investment detracts from a parent's capacity to invest in future reproduction and aid to kin (including other offspring). An animal that cares for its young but shows no other sociality traits is said to be ''subsocial''. An animal that exhibits a high degree of sociality is called a ''social animal''. The hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamprotornis Regius - Golden Breasted Starling
''Lamprotornis'' is a large genus of glossy starlings all of which occur in Africa south of the Sahara. They have glossy blue or green upper parts, which is due to hollow melanin granules arranged in a single layer near the feather barbule's surface. This unique arrangement led to some glossy starlings formerly placed in the genus ''Spreo'' being transferred to ''Lamprotornis'', since they shared this feature (but see also below). The genus ''Lamprotornis'' was introduced by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1820. The type species was subsequently designated as the long-tailed glossy starling. The under parts of these species lack iridescence. They may be blue, purple, yellow or brown. Most ''Lamprotornis'' starlings have striking yellow or red irides and some have long tails. These glossy starlings are found in a variety of habitats from forests to open woodland and gardens. They nest in tree holes, either natural, or made by woodpeckers or barbets, and some will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iris (anatomy)
The iris (: irides or irises) is a thin, annular structure in the eye in most mammals and birds that is responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupil, and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. In optical terms, the pupil is the eye's aperture, while the iris is the diaphragm (optics), diaphragm. Eye color is defined by the iris. Etymology The word "iris" is derived from the Greek word for "rainbow", also Iris (mythology), its goddess plus messenger of the gods in the ''Iliad'', because of the many eye color, colours of this eye part. Structure The iris consists of two layers: the front pigmented Wikt:fibrovascular, fibrovascular layer known as a stroma of iris, stroma and, behind the stroma, pigmented epithelial cells. The stroma is connected to a sphincter muscle (sphincter pupillae), which contracts the pupil in a circular motion, and a set of dilator muscles (dilator pupillae), which pull the iris radially to enlarge the pupil, pulling it in folds. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beak
The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and carrying objects, killing prey, or fighting), preening, courtship, and feeding young. The terms ''beak'' and '' rostrum'' are also used to refer to a similar mouth part in some ornithischians, pterosaurs, cetaceans, dicynodonts, rhynchosaurs, anuran tadpoles, monotremes (i.e. echidnas and platypuses, which have a bill-like structure), sirens, pufferfish, billfishes, and cephalopods. Although beaks vary significantly in size, shape, color and texture, they share a similar underlying structure. Two bony projections–the upper and lower mandibles–are covered with a thin keratinized layer of epidermis known as the rhamphotheca. In most species, two holes called ''nares'' lead to the respiratory system. Etymology Although the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species. A series of Regional Red Lists, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit, are also produced by countries and organizations. The goals of the Red List are to provide scientifically based information on the status of species and subspecies at a global level, to draw attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity, to influence national and international policy and decision-making, and to provide information to guide actions to conserve biological diversity. Major species assessors include BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology (the research division of the Zoological Society of London), the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and many Specialist Groups within th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
