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Bird Island Nature Reserve
The Bird Island Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located near Lake Munmorah on the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The island is situated off the east coast of New South Wales, within the Tasman Sea. The reserve may be seen from the lighthouse at Norah Head. Features The island reaches a height of around above sea level, and the prominent rocky cliffs make access difficult by boat. The island was once part of the Australian mainland, however it separated four to six thousand years ago with rising sea levels. The geology of the island is sedimentary rocks from the Sydney Basin. The island is roughly circular in shape, not more than long at any point.Analysis from Google Earth Fauna No introduced animals have been recorded on Bird Island Nature Reserve. Birds Over twenty types of birds have been recorded on the island. Up to 7,000 pairs of wedge-tailed shearwaters and short-tailed shearwaters breed on the island. The sooty oystercatcher i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Parks And Wildlife Service (New South Wales)
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (New South Wales), Department of Planning and Environment and responsible for managing more than 890 national parks and reserves, covering over 7.5 million hectares of land across the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the NPWS is a state government agency rather than federal government, likewise as other states and territories National Parks agencies around Australia. However the states and territories agencies around Australia do still work closely together. History The NPWS was established in 1967 when the Fauna Protection Panel and the Parks and Reserves Branch of the Department of Lands (New South Wales), NSW Lands Department were amalgamated under Lands Minister Tom Lewis (Australian politician), Tom Lewis . Lewis also established a charity, the National Parks Foundation, to assist the NPWS in rais ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-breasted Sea Eagle
The white-bellied sea eagle (''Icthyophaga leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts and tail. The upper parts are grey and the black under-wing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and wedge-shaped as in all Haliaeetinae species. Like many raptors, the female is larger than the male, and can measure up to long with a wingspan of up to , and weigh . Immature birds have brown plumage, which is gradually replaced by white until the age of five or six years. The call is a loud goose-like honking. Resident from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia on coasts and major waterways, the white-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Black Cormorant
The little black cormorant (''Phalacrocorax sulcirostris'') is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand, where it is known as the little black shag. It is around sixty centimetres long, and is all black with blue-green eyes. Taxonomy The little black cormorant was formally described in 1837 by the German born naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt. He placed it in the genus ''Carbo'' and coined the binomial name ''Carbo sulcirostris''. The species is now placed in the genus ''Phalacrocorax'' that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name ''Phalacrocorax'' is the Latin word for a cormorant. The specific epithet ''sulcirostris'' combines the Latin ''sulcus'' meaning "furrow" with ''-rostris'' meaning "-billed". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The common name in New Zealand is the little black shag. A molecul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It breeds in much of the Old World, Australasia, and the Atlantic coast of North America. Taxonomy The great cormorant was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Pelecanus carbo''. Linnaeus specified the type location as "Europe", but this was restricted to the "rock-nesting form of the north Atlantic Ocean" by the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert in 1920. The great cormorant is now one of 12 species placed in the genus ''Phalacrocorax'' that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name is Latinised Anci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Penguin
The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is the smallest species of penguin. It originates from New Zealand. It is commonly known as the fairy penguin, little blue penguin, or blue penguin, owing to its slate-blue plumage and is also known by its Māori language, Māori name . It is a Neritic zone, marine neritic species that dives for food throughout the day and returns to burrows on the shore at dusk, making it the only Nocturnality, nocturnal penguin species on land. The Eudyptula novaehollandiae, Australian little penguin (''Eudyptula novaehollandiae''), from Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand, is considered a separate species. ''Eudyptula minor'' feathers are dense in Melanosome, melanosomes, which increase water resistance and give them their unique blue colour. Taxonomy The little penguin was first described by German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster in 1781. Several subspecies are known, but a precise classification of these is still a matter of dispute. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Reef Egret
The Pacific reef heron (''Egretta sacra''), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia and Oceania. It occurs in two colour morphs with either slaty grey or pure white plumage. The sexes are similar in appearance. Taxonomy The Pacific reef heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes and egrets in the genus '' Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea sacra''. Gmelin based his description on the "Sacred heron" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a specimen of a white morph that had been collected on Tahiti. The Pacific reef heron is now placed with 12 other species in the genus ''Egretta'' that was introduce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-faced Storm Petrel
The white-faced storm petrel (''Pelagodroma marina''), (Māori language, Māori: ''takahikare'') also known as white-faced petrel or frigate petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Pelagodroma''. It is widely distributed across the northern and Southern Hemisphere, southern hemisphere, especially around the coastal and open ocean waters of southern Australia, New Zealand, Tristan da Cunha, Cabo Verde, the Canary islands and the Selvagens islands.Underwood, M. (2012). ''Does size matter? Sex differences in white-faced storm petrels’ ecology'' (Doctoral dissertation, Deakin University). Subspecies and their distributions Here are six recognised subspecies, breeding in island colonies through subtropical to subantarctic regions of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian and south-western Pacific Oceans in both hemisphere: *''P. m. albiclunis'' , 1951 – Kermadec Islands *''P. m. dulcia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-fronted Tern
The white-fronted tern (''Sterna striata''), also known as tara, sea swallow, black-billed tern, kahawai bird, southern tern, or swallow tail, was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. A medium-sized tern with an all-white body including underwing and forked tail, with pale grey hues on the mantle and upper side of the wing. In breeding adults a striking black cap covers the head from forehead to nape, leaving a small white strip above the black bill. This is the most abundant tern in New Zealand. It can be observed feeding on shoaling fish along the entire coastline and many of the smaller outlying islands. Breeding occurs from October to January on rocky cliffs, offshore islands and along the coast where pairs will nest on shingle, sand, shell or rock. Flocks may contain hundreds of breeding pairs that will nest in close proximity to one another. Large numbers of juveniles and some adults migrate to the south-east coast of Australia and parts of Tasmania in the aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Tern
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in Temperateness, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly bird migration, migratory, wintering in coastal Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed bill. Depending on the subspecies, the bill may be mostly red with a black tip or all black. There are several similar species, including the partly Sympatry, sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or Bird vocalization, vocalisations. Breeding in a wider range of habitats than any of its relatives, the common tern nests on any flat, poorly vegetated surface close to water, including beaches and islands, and it readily adapts to artificial substrates such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caspian Tern
The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'') is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''hudro-'', "water-", and Latin ''progne'', "swallow". The specific ''caspia'' is from Latin and, like the English name, refers to the Caspian Sea. Description It is the world's largest tern with a length of , a wingspan of and a weight of . Adult birds have black legs, and a long thick red-orange bill with a small black tip. They have a white head with a black cap and white neck, belly, and tail. The upper wings and back are pale grey; the underwings are pale with dark primary feathers. In-flight, the tail is less forked than other terns, and wingtips are black on the underside. In winter, the black cap is still present (unlike many other terns), but with some white streaking on the forehead. The call is a loud heron-like croak. Distribu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Jaeger
The parasitic jaeger (North America) or Arctic skua (Europe) (''Stercorarius parasiticus''), is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species breeding in Northern Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia and winters across the southern hemisphere. Kleptoparasitism is a major source of food for this species during migration and winter, and is where the name is derived from. Taxonomy The parasitic jaeger was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Larus parasiticus''. Linnaeus specified the type locality as "within the Tropic of Cancer of Europe, America and Asia" but this is now restricted to the Swedish coastline. The parasitic jaeger is now placed with the six other skuas in the genus '' Stercorarius'' that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The species is considered to be monot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
