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African Palm Swift
The African palm swift (''Cypsiurus parvus'') is a small swift. It is very similar to the Asian palm swift, ''Cypsiurus balasiensis'', and was formerly considered to be the same species. The Malagasy palm swift was also recently split from this species. This is a common species with a very wide distribution which faces no obvious threats and may be increasing in numbers as a result of the cultivation of the exotic Washington palm, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". Description This 16 cm long species is mainly pale brown in colour. It has long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. The body is slender, and the tail is long and deeply forked, although it is usually held closed. The call is a loud, shrill scream. Sexes are similar, and young birds differ mainly in their shorter tails. Palm swifts have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces, since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyphaene Petersiana
''Hyphaene petersiana'', the real fan palm or makalani palm, is a palm tree native to the subtropical, low-lying regions of south central Africa. Range and habitat It is found in Burundi, Rwanda, the DRC, Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and the northern and north-eastern Limpopo. Its habitat is open woodland, flood plains, banks of rivers and the fringes of pans and swamps. Reproduction As with other ''Hyphaene'' species, ''H. petersiana'' is dioicous and the female plants produce copious fruit of around 60 mm in diameter. Up to 2,000 fruits may be found on a tree, the combined yield of about four seasons. The seeds germinate with difficulty but find saline conditions beneficial. They develop massive tap-roots which draw saline water deep underground. Though slow-growing, they may attain a maximum height of 18 metres. Typical adult plants however stand some 5 to 7 metres tall. Uses and associations The plants are utilised by humans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926. It is part of Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, an area designated as a biosphere reserve. History Conservation Pre-Game Reserve (1867-1898) A Game Commission was established in 1891 with J.M. Malan of Rustenberg as chairperson which resulted in the establishment of the game law of 1891 It must be noted that there were already individual farmers as far back as 1867 who published notices in the ''Staatscourant'' to prohibit hunting and so try preserve the game on their own land. In total 200 owners protected game on about 300 farms between 1867 and 1881 in this manner. One o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Lichtenstein
Martin H[e]inrich Carl Lichtenstein (10 January 1780 – 2 September 1857) was a German physician, List of explorers, explorer, botanist and zoologist. He explored parts of southern Africa and collected natural history specimens extensively and many new species were described from his collections by European scientists. Biography Born in Hamburg, Lichtenstein was the son of Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein, head of the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums, Johanneum. His father had an interest in eastern languages and built up an extensive library. He took an interest in natural history and geography from an early age, and came into contact with Count Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg, Johann Centurius von Hoffmannsegg in 1797 and began to help examine the Count's extensive collections of insects and birds. He then went to study medicine at University of Jena, Jena and University of Helmstedt, Helmstedt and qualified as a doctor on 26 April 1802. He then chose to travel and found work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy Palm Swift
The Malagasy palm swift (''Cypsiurus gracilis'') is a small swift in the family Apodidae. It is very similar to the African palm swift, ''Cypsiurus parvus'', with which it was formerly considered conspecific. It was split based on differences in vocalizations and plumage coloration. Distribution The Malagasy palm swift is native to Madagascar and Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, .... References {{Taxonbar, from=Q65050840 Cypsiurus Birds of Africa Birds described in 1871 Taxa named by Richard Bowdler Sharpe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asian Palm Swift
The Asian palm swift (''Cypsiurus balasiensis'') is a small swift. It is very similar to the African palm swift, ''Cypsiurus parvus'', and was formerly considered to be the same species. It is a common resident breeder in tropical Asia from India to the Philippines. The down and feather nest is glued to the underside of a palm leaf with saliva, which is also used to secure the usually two or three eggs. This is a bird of open country and cultivation, which is strongly associated with oil palms.''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, This 13 cm long species is mainly pale brown in colour. It has long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. The body is slender, and the tail is long and deeply forked, although it is usually held closed. The call is a loud shrill scream. Sexes are similar, and young birds differ from adults mainly in their shorter tails. Asian palm swift has very short legs which it uses only for clinging to vertical surfaces, si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washingtonia
''Washingtonia'' is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States (in southern California, and southwest Arizona) and northwest Mexico (in Baja California and Sonora). Both ''Washingtonia'' species are commonly cultivated across the Southern United States, the Middle East, southern Europe, and North Africa, where they have greatly hybridized. Description They are fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae), with petioles armed with sharp thorns terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. The flowers are in a dense inflorescence, with the fruits maturing into a small blackish-brown drupe 6–10 mm diameter with a thin layer of sweet flesh over the single seed.Riffle, Robert L. and Craft, Paul (2003) ''An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms''. Portland: Timber Press. / Extant species There are three species: ''Washingtonia robusta'', ''Washingtonia filifera'', and ''Washingtonia filibusta'' The fruit is edible, and was used by Native American people as a mino ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Union For Conservation Of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable". Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice and through building partners ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least-concern Species
A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. They do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent. Species cannot be assigned the "Least Concern" category unless they have had their population status evaluated. That is, adequate information is needed to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution or population status. Evaluation Since 2001 the category has had the abbreviation "LC", following the IUCN 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). Before 2001 "least concern" was a subcategory of the " Lower Risk" category and assigned the code "LR/lc" or lc. Around 20% of least concern taxa (3261 of 15,636) in the IUCN database still use the code "LR/lc", which indicates they have not been re- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aboriginal languages, an Aboriginal Australian language of the Sydney region. Its original meaning, which is preserved in official competitions, refer only to returning objects, not to throwing sticks, which were also used for hunting by various peoples both in Australia and around the world. However, the term "non-returning boomerang" is also in general use. Various forms of boomerang-like designs were traditionally and in some cases are still used by some groups of Aboriginal Australians for hunting. The tools were known by various names in the many Aboriginal languages prior to Colonisation of Australia, colonisation. The oldest surviving Aboriginal boomerang, now held in the South Australian Museum, was found in a peat bog in South Australia, d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cypsiurus Parvus MHNT ZOO 2011 11 189 RdN Principe
''Cypsiurus'' is a genus of the swift family of birds. There are three species, which were formerly considered to be conspecific due to their similarity: * Asian palm swift, ''Cypsiurus balasiensis'' * African palm swift, ''Cypsiurus parvus'' * Malagasy palm swift, ''Cypsiurus gracilis'' They have mainly pale brown plumage and long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin .... The body is slender, and the tail is long and deeply forked, although it is usually held closed. The sexes are similar, and young birds differ from adults mainly in their shorter tails. Palm swifts have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces, since swifts never settle voluntarily on the ground. These swifts spend m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area.Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. . With nearly billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Demographics of Africa, Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will exceed 3.8 billion people by 2100. Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including Geography of Africa, geography, Climate of Africa, climate, corruption, Scramble for Africa, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oil Palm
''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms, called oil palms, containing two species, native to Africa and the Americas. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. Description Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can grow well over tall. The leaves are pinnate, and reach between long. The flowers are produced in dense clusters; each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals. The palm fruit is reddish, about the size of a large plum, and grows in large bunches. Each fruit is made up of an oily, fleshy outer layer (the pericarp), with a single seed (the palm kernel), also rich in oil. Species The two species, '' E. guineensis'' (Africa) and '' E. oleifera'' (Americas) can produce fertile hybrids. The genome of ''E. guineensis'' has been sequenced, which has important implications for breeding improved strains of the crop plants. Distribution and habitat ''E. guineensis'' is native to west and southwest Africa, occurr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
