|
Brookfield Conservation Park
Brookfield Conservation Park is a conservation park located in South Australia, about 130 km northeast of Adelaide. History The area that became Brookfield Conservation Park was first settled in 1836 as a pastoral lease. Pioneer farming families kept sheep, which were confined in brush yards overnight and protected by shepherds living in simple slab huts. The area was later named Glen Leslie Station; during this period, the station grazed up to 2000 sheep and eucalyptus mallees on the land were razed for wood and charcoal. In 1971, using a $55,000 donation from the Forest Park Foundation of Peoria, the Chicago Zoological Society purchased the land as a conservation reserve for the southern-hairy nosed wombat (''Lasiorhinus latifrons''). The station was renamed Brookfield Zoo Wombat Reserve, after Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois. Six years later, the land was gifted to the Government of South Australia. Brookfield Conservation Park was formally proclaimed on 6 July 1978, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservation Volunteers Australia
Conservation Volunteers Australia is an Australian Non-profit, not-for-profit conservation organisation that attracts and co-ordinates Volunteering, volunteers for environmental restoration projects. History The organisation was founded in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, Victoria in 1982 as the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers. The organisation's Head Office remains in Ballarat, and Conservation Volunteers now has 25 offices around Australia. Timeline * 1982 – organisation founded as Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers * 1999 – Leading partner in forming the international Conservation Volunteers Alliance * 2000 – New name and logo launched as organisation becomes Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) * 2000 – Admitted to Global 500 Roll of Honour, United Nations Global 500 Honour Roll for Environmental Achievement – one of only 14 organisations from 12 countries recognised for the year * 2001 – Launch of Revive Our Wetlands, a 10-year par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blanchetown, South Australia
Blanchetown is a small township in South Australia, on the (west) bank of the Murray River, northeast of Adelaide. The Blanchetown Bridge is the westernmost (and farthest downstream) of the four crossings of the Sturt Highway over the Murray River. During the nineteenth century it was an important transportation centre on the lower Murray. In the early 21st century, Blanchetown has been described as "a strange mixture of historic buildings and temporary shacks built by holidaymakers on the banks of the river". Blanchetown is widely regarded as the entrance to the Riverland district. History Blanchetown is in the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri people. Blanchetown was originally surveyed in October 1855 as Blanche Town. It was named after Lady Blanche MacDonnell, the wife of the Governor of South Australia, Sir Richard MacDonnell. The Governor selected the site personally, to replace an earlier settlement of Murrundi (or Moorundee) - five kilometres downstream - which was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myoporum Platycarpum
''Myoporum platycarpum'', known by several common names including sugarwood, false sandalwood and ngural is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is rounded with bright green foliage as a young shrub and roughly fissured, dark grey bark when mature. Sugarwood is endemic to the southern half of continental Australia. Description Sugarwood is a rounded shrub or small tree growing to a height of with foliage and branches that are glabrous but often covered with small raised, wart-like tubercles. The bark on mature specimens is rough, dark grey, flaky bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are usually long, wide, linear to elliptic in shape and usually have small teeth or serrations in the outer half. The leaves are often curved or have a hook on the end and both surfaces are deep green in colour. The flowers are borne in groups of about 5 to 8 (sometimes more or fewer) on a stalk long. The flowers have five triangular sepals and five petals, joined at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malleefowl
The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental care after the chicks hatch. It is the only living representative of the genus ''Leipoa'', though the extinct giant malleefowl was a close relative. Behaviour Malleefowl are shy, wary, solitary birds that usually fly only to escape danger or reach a tree to roost in. Although very active, they are seldom seen as they freeze if disturbed, relying on their intricately patterned plumage to render them invisible, or else fade silently and rapidly into the undergrowth (flying away only if surprised or chased). They have many tactics to run away from predators. Breeding Pairs occupy a territory, but usually roost and feed apart; their social behaviour is sufficient to allow regular mating during the season and little else. In winter, the male ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Owlet-nightjar
The Australian owlet-nightjar (''Aegotheles cristatus'') is a nocturnal bird found in open woodland across Australia and in southern New Guinea. It is colloquially known as the moth owl. It is the most common nocturnal bird in Australia, and despite suffering from predation and competition by introduced species it is not considered threatened. Description and habitats The Australian owlet-nightjar is a small to medium-sized owlet-nightjar with grey upperparts and a white, barred front and a distinct dark and pale patterning on the head. In the north of Australia females can also have a rufous morph. The plumage is overall paler in desert populations. Australian owlet-nightjars are adapted to live in open woodland, with more pointed wings and larger feet, unlike most of the rest of the family that live in dense forest (though some individuals of this species can and do live in such habitat in Queensland and New Guinea). It lives in a variety of habitats in addition to open wood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground Cuckooshrike
The ground cuckoo-shrike (''Coracina maxima'') is an uncommon bird species endemic to Australia, occurring mainly in open woodland and arid grasslands throughout inland Australia, but also occasionally in areas on the east coast. Taxonomy ''Coracina maxima'' is one of 81 species in the family Campephagidae, 7 of which occur in Australia. The family can be divided into 2 groups, one of which contains 13 of the 81 species, and occur only in Asia. The other group, which includes genus ''Coracina'' (cuckoo-shrikes, cicadabirds and trillers), occurs in Africa, southern and Southeast Asia, Australia and islands in the west Pacific. Occurring in Australia are four species of cuckoo-shrike. The black-faced cuckoo-shrike (''Coracina novaehollandiae'') is a common species that occurs throughout all of Australia. The white-bellied cuckoo-shrike (''Coracina papuensis'') is uncommon and only occurring in the northern parts of the Northern Territory, as well as most of Queensland, Victoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purple-backed Fairywren
The purple-backed fairywren (''Malurus assimilis'') is a fairywren that is native to Australia. Described by Alfred John North in 1901, it has four recognised subspecies. In a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, although females of two subspecies have mainly blue-grey plumage. Distributed over much of the Australian continent, the purple-backed fairywren is found in scrubland with plenty of vegetation providing dense cover. Taxonomy and systematics Australian ornithologist Alfred John North described the purple-backed fairywren in 1901, proposing it be called the purple-backed superb warbler. He added that Edward Pierson Ramsay had noted that inland specimens differed from coastal specimens of the variegated fairywren around 25 years previously. However, Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Splendid Fairywren
The splendid fairywren (''Malurus splendens'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is also known simply as the splendid wren or more colloquially in Western Australia as the blue wren. The splendid fairywren is found across much of the Australian continent from central-western New South Wales and southwestern Queensland over to coastal Western Australia. It inhabits predominantly arid and semi-arid regions. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male in breeding plumage is a small, long-tailed bird of predominantly bright blue and black colouration. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males were polygamous as all dull-coloured birds were taken for females. It comprises several similar all-blue and black subspecies that were originally considered separate species. Like other fairywrens, the splendid fairywren is notable for several peculiar behavioural char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Grey Kangaroo
The western grey kangaroo (''Macropus fuliginosus''), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, sooty kangaroo and (when referring to the Kangaroo Island subspecies) Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo, is a large and very common kangaroo found across almost the entire southern part of Australia, from just south of Shark Bay through coastal Western Australia and South Australia, into western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, and in the entire Murray–Darling basin in New South Wales and Queensland. Taxonomy Long known to the Aboriginal Australians, for Europeans, the western grey kangaroo was the centre of a great deal of sometimes comical taxonomic confusion for almost 200 years. It was first noted by European maritime exploration of Australia, European explorers when Matthew Flinders landed on Kangaroo Island in 1802. Flinders shot several for food, but assumed that they were eastern grey kangaroos. In 1803, Baudin expedition to Australia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Kangaroo
The red kangaroo (''Osphranter rufus'') is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the Largest mammals#Marsupials (Marsupialia), largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as southern Western Australia, the eastern and southeastern coasts, and the rainforests along the northern coast. Taxonomy The initial description of the species by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest, A.G. Desmarest was published in 1822. The type location was given as an unknown location west of the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains. The author assigned the new species to the genus ''Kangurus''. In 1842, Gould reassigned the species to the genus ''Osphranter'', a taxon later submerged as a subgenus of ''Macropus''. A taxonomic restructure in 2015 in ''Taxonomy of Australian Mammals'' by Jackson and Groves promoted ''Osphranter'' back to the genus level, redefining the red kangaroo, among others, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-beaked Echidna
The short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''), also called the short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna, and the only member of the genus ''Tachyglossus'', from Ancient Greek (), meaning "fast", and (), meaning "tongue". It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialised tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so. The short-beaked echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws, which allow it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground, it has a significant tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and low levels of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability but deters predators by curling into a ball and protecting itself with its spines. It cannot sweat or deal well with heat, so it tends to avoid daytime activity in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slender-tailed Dunnart
The slender-tailed dunnart (''Sminthopsis murina''), also known as the common dunnart in Australia, is a dasyurid marsupial. It has an average body length of 7 to 12 centimeters (2.8–4.7 in) with a tail length of 5.5 to 13 centimetres (2.2–5.1 in). It weighs 25–40.8 grams for males and 16.5–25.4 grams for females. Distribution and habitat The slender-tailed dunnart is native to the east and south-east coast and interior of Australia, from the Cape York Peninsula to the Port Lincoln area of South Australia. There are two subspecies: ''S. m. murina'' is found throughout the distribution, and ''S. mu. tatei'' found between Townsville and Cairns in Queensland. This species is found at altitudes of between 60–360 metres (196.9–1181.1 ft) and preferes habitats with an average rainfall between 30–85 centimetres (11.8–33.5 in) per year. Habitats encountered include Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands, Mallee scrub,y forests and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
