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Flamingos
Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean), and two species native to Afro-Eurasia. A group of flamingoes is called a "flamboyance", or a "stand". Etymology The name ''flamingo'' comes from Portuguese or Spanish ; in turn, the word comes from Provençal – a combination of and a Germanic-like suffix ''-ing''. The word may also have been influenced by the Spanish ethnonym or . The name of the genus, ''Phoenicopterus'', is ; other genera names include '' Phoeniconaias,'' which means , and '' Phoenicoparrus,'' which means . Taxonomy and systematics The family Phoenicopteridae was introduced by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1831, with '' Phoenicopterus'' as the type genus. Traditionally, the long-legged Ciconiiformes, probably a paraphyletic asse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James's Flamingo
James's flamingo (''Phoenicoparrus jamesi''), also known as the puna flamingo, is a species of flamingo that lives at high altitudes in the Andes, Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina. It is named for Harry Berkeley James, a British naturalist who studied the bird. James's flamingo is closely related to the Andean flamingo, and the two species are the only members of the genus ''Phoenicoparrus''. The Chilean flamingo, Andean flamingo, and James's flamingo are all sympatric, and all live in Bird colony, colonies (including shared nesting areas).Mascitti, V. and Kravetz, F.O., "Bill Morphology of South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 104(1), 73. James's flamingo had been thought to be extinct until a population was discovered in a remote area in 1956.Johnson, A.W., Behn, F., and Millie, W.R. "The South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 60(5), 289-99 Description The James's flamingo is smaller than the Andean flamingo, and is about the same size ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harrisonavis
''Harrisonavis'' is an extinct genus of flamingo that lived during the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene periods in what is now France. Despite being one of the oldest known members of the flamingo family, it already shows a skull remarkably similar to that of the modern greater flamingo. Although generally similar, it subtly differs in the curvature of the bill and the size of the ventral keel of the maxilla, both signs that ''Harrisonavis'' was not yet as adapted towards filter feeding as modern species are. ''Harrisonavis'' inhabited brackish lakes alongside the more basal Palaelodidae. It contains the single species ''Harrisonavis croizeti'', first described in 1852. Discovery and naming ''Harrisonavis'' was first reported in 1852 by paleontologist Paul Gervais on the basis of a nearly complete skull which showed a similar morphology to modern flamingos of the genus '' Phoenicopterus''. Due to this superficial similarity, it was assumed that the fossils belonged to an extinct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicoparrus
''Phoenicoparrus'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. First established by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856, it contains two species. Evolution While it is hard to track where the ''Phoenicoparrus'' originally came from, there is evidence that it originated in the New World where it split from the other lesser group and into its own genus. The base of the genus is hypothesized to have started with the Andean species. The ''Phoenicoparrus'' split from the group around 2.56 million years ago and its two comprising species later split from 0.5-2.5 million years ago. ''Phoenicoparrus'' is identified from the rest of its evolutionary group because it is a part of the deep-keeled group, however it is its own genus because both Andean and Jame's lack a hind toe. Diet and Habitat ''Phoenicoparrus'' chicks are fed filtered secretions from their parents for the first 4-7 weeks of life. The parents are able to filter sediments from the saline concentrated l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Flamingo
The lesser flamingo (''Phoeniconaias minor'') is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. Birds are occasionally reported from further north, but these are generally considered vagrants. Characteristics The lesser flamingo is the smallest species of flamingo, though it is a tall and large bird by most standards. The species can weigh from . The standing height is around . The total length (from beak to tail) and wingspan are in the same range of measurements, from . Most of the plumage is pinkish white. The clearest difference between this species and the greater flamingo, the only other Old World species of flamingo, is the much more extensive black on the bill. Size is less helpful to distinguish the two species, unless they occur together, since the sexes of each species also differ in height. The extinct species '' Phoeniconaias proeses'' in the same genus, from the Pliocene of Australia, is thought to have been even smaller. The lesser fla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoeniconotius
''Phoeniconotius'' is an extinct genus of flamingo that lived in Australia from the late Oligocene to the early Miocene. Unlike modern flamingos and the contemporary '' Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae'', it was likely less well adapted for swimming and deep water wading. ''Phoeniconotius'' was a robust flamingo with bones more massive than those of the modern greater flamingo. Only a single species is recognized, ''Phoeniconotius eyrensis''. History The fossils of ''Phoeniconotius'' have been discovered in the Lake Eyre basin of Australia, specifically a layer of mudstone belonging to the Etadunna Formation on the western shore of Lake Palankarinna. The type material consists of three bones, the distal end of the left tarsometatarsus and two phalanges. The material was collected from the surface and were discovered in association with one another, however not articulated. One phalanx, which is thought to represent the third toe, matches well with the corresponding area on the tar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicopteriformes
Phoenicopteriformes is a group of water birds which comprises flamingos and their extinct relatives. Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) and the closely related grebes ( Podicipedidae) are contained in the parent clade Mirandornithes. Fossil record Flamingos and their relatives are well attested in the fossil record, with the first unequivocal member of the Phoenicopteridae, '' Elornis'', known from the late Eocene epoch. Relation to extinct palaelodids The Palaelodidae – an extinct family of peculiar "swimming flamingos" – are believed to be the closest relatives of the modern flamingos, with the extinct genus '' Juncitarsus'' slightly more primitive than the clade which contains flamingos and grebes ( Mirandornithes). The foot and wing anatomy of fossil palaelodids suggests that they were surface-swimming birds, rather than grebe-like divers as was proposed in the past. Whether swimmers or divers, that both primitive phoenicopteriforms and their closest relatives, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenorhynchopsis
''Xenorhynchopsis'' is an extinct genus of flamingo from the Pliocene to Pleistocene Lake Eyre basin of Australia. Initially described as species of stork, the two known ''Xenorhynchopsis'' species are vastly different in size. ''X. minor'' is the older and smaller of the two species, ranging from the Pliocene to Pleistocene and being described as having reached a size smaller than that of the lesser flamingo. ''X. tibialis'' meanwhile appears to have been restricted to Pleistocene strata and was notably bigger, being counted as one of the biggest known flamingos in the fossil record. History The fossils of ''Xenorhynchopsis'' were initially described by Charles Walter de Vis in 1905, who recognized two species he named ''Xenorhynchopsis minor'' and ''Xenorhynchopsis tibialis'' respectively. Possibly due to the fact that de Vis lacked flamingo material in his collection to compare the fossils to, he assigned the genus to the Ciconiidae, the storks. ''X. tibialis'', the larger of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elornis
''Elornis'' is an extinct genus of flamingo from the Late Oligocene of Ronzon, France. Although the name was coined in the 1850s, the name remained a nomen nudum until later publications by French zoologist Henri Milne-Edwards. ''Elornis'' has been historically considered to be a member of the Phoenicopteridae, but more recent research suggests it may have been more basal. Research on this taxon is however difficult as the current whereabouts of the fossil material are unknown, limiting data to the description and illustrations of Milne-Edwards. History The name ''Elornis'' was first coined by Auguste Aymard in a report on the paleontology of the French Haute Loire region, which was presented on two occasions to the Congres Seientifique de France in 1855. In his report, Aymard introduces several names for fossil birds, including ''Elornis grandis'', ''Elornis (?) littoralis'' and ''Elornis (?) antiquus''. However, very little information is given in the report, only stating th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenicopterus
''Phoenicopterus'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. Taxonomy The genus ''Phoenicopterus'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' to accommodate a single species, the American flamingo ''Phoenicopterus ruber''. The genus name is Latin for "flamingo". Species The genus contains three extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ... species: References Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Bird genera {{Phoenicopteriformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoeniconaias
''Phoeniconaias'' is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. The genus contains one extant species, the lesser flamingo (''Phoeniconaias minor''), occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India, and an extinct species, '' Phoeniconaias proeses,'' from the Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Phoeniconaias Bird genera Taxa described in 1869 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omen
An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient history, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages from the gods. These omens include natural phenomena, for example an eclipse, abnormal births of animals (especially humans) and behaviour of the sacrificial lamb on its way to the slaughter. Specialists, known as diviners, variously existed to interpret these omens. They would also use an artificial method, for example, a clay model of a sheep liver, to communicate with their gods in times of crisis. They would expect a binary answer, either yes or no, favourable or unfavourable. They did these to predict what would happen in the future and to take action to avoid disaster. Though the word ''omen'' is usually devoid of reference to the change's nature, hence being possibly either "good" or "bad", the term is more often used in a foreb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naiad
In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes such as pre- Mycenaean Lerna in the Argolis. Etymology The Greek word is ( ), plural ( ). It derives from (), "to flow", or (), "body of flowing water". Mythology Naiads were often the object of archaic local cults, worshipped as essential to humans. Boys and girls at coming-of-age ceremonies dedicated their childish locks to the local naiad of the spring. In places like Lerna their waters' ritual cleansings were credited with magical medical properties. Animals were ritually drowned there. Oracles might be situated by ancient springs. Naiads could be dangerous: Hylas of the '' Argo''’s crew was lost when he was taken by n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
