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Fonualei (Vavaʻu)
Fonualei is an uninhabited volcanic island in the kingdom of Tonga. It 70 km northwest of Vavaʻu and is part of the highly active Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone and its associated volcanic arc, which extends from New Zealand north-northeast to Fiji, and is formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-Australian Plate. The closest island to Fonualei is Tokū 19.7 km to the southeast. Geography The island is the peak of an active volcano which rises 1000m from the seafloor. It has a diameter of 2 km and a maximum height of 188m. The coast is surrounded by cliffs, with only two beaches suitable for a landing. The western, southern, and north-eastern sides have narrow fringing reefs. History In the 1830s the inhabitants of Tokū used Fonualei for their gardens. The first European to sight the island was Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rua on the ''La Princesa'' on 26 February 1781. He reported the island to be barren from eruptions, and called it f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Volcanoes In Tonga
This is a list of active and extinct volcanoes in Tonga. References * See especiallFigure 1 * Global Volcanism ProgramGVP * D. Stanley; South Pacific handbook * Government of Tonga, official 1962 land survey {{reflist Lists of volcanoes, Tonga Volcanoes of Tonga, Lists of landforms of Tonga, Volcanoes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Pandora (1779)
HMS ''Pandora'' was a 24-gun sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy launched in May 1779. The vessel is best known for its role in hunting down the mutineers in 1790, which remains one of the best-known stories in the history of seafaring. ''Pandora'' was partially successful by capturing 14 of the mutineers, but wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef on the return voyage in 1791. HMS ''Pandora'' is considered to be one of the most significant shipwrecks in the Southern Hemisphere. Design and construction ''Pandora'' was a 24-gun, 9-pounder, post ship. The class was designed by Surveyor of the Navy John Williams in 1776; it was an enlarged version of the , also designed by Williams. Ten ships of the class were ordered in total, with the first agreed on 25 June. ''Pandora'' was the ninth ship to be ordered, such occurring on 11 February 1778. Contracted out to Adams & Barnard of Grove Street, Deptford Dockyard, she was laid down on 2 March and launched on 17 May 1779 with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Frigatebird
The great frigatebird (''Fregata minor'') is a large seabird in the frigatebird family (biology), family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands; in the Indian Ocean, colonies can be found in the Seychelles (on Aldabra Island, Aldabra and Aride Islands) and Mauritius, and there is a tiny population in the South Atlantic, mostly on and around St. Helena and Boatswain Bird Island (Ascension Island). The great frigatebird is a large and lightly built seabird up to 105 cm long with predominantly black plumage. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism; the female is larger than the adult male and has a white throat and breast, and the male's scapular feathers have a purple-green sheen. In the breeding season, the male is able to distend his striking red gular sac. The species feeds on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (mostly flying fish), and indulges in kleptoparasitism less frequently than other fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynesian Starling
The Polynesian starling (''Aplonis tabuensis'') is a species of starling of the family Sturnidae. It is found in the Samoan Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, the Santa Cruz Islands and Wallis and Futuna. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and tropical moist forests. Various subspecies exist throughout this wide range, some darker in coloration and some lighter. Its call is a raspy buzz or rattle. Diet is fruit and insects. On islands where the Samoan starling is present, the Polynesian starling is less conspicuous and keeps to the forest, feeding on harder, less edible fruit. Taxonomy The Polynesian starling was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the shrikes in the genus '' Lanius'' and coined the binomial name ''Lanius tabuensis''. The specific epithet is from the toponym Tongatapu, one of the main islands of Tonga. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynesian Wattled Honeyeater
The Polynesian wattled honeyeater (''Foulehaio carunculatus'') or the eastern wattled honeyeater, is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It was considered conspecific with the Fiji wattled honeyeater and the kikau. The species is endemic to the islands of the Central Pacific, occurring on American Samoa, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests, tropical mangrove forests, and tropical moist montane forest. Taxonomy The Polynesian wattled honeyeater was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the treecreepers in the genus '' Certhia'' and coined the binomial name ''Certhia carunculata''. The specific epithet is from Latin ''caruncula'' meaning "a small piece of flesh" and hence wattled. Gmelin based his description on the "wattled creeper" that had been describe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australasian Swamphen
The Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus''), commonly known as the pūkeko in New Zealand, is a striking and socially complex bird found in Oceania, including eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru Islands, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia. A member of the Rail (bird), rail family, it is part of the diverse order Gruiformes, which includes species with similar characteristics such as Cranes of Great Britain, cranes and other rail species. Within the Australasian swamphen species, five recognised subspecies exist, with ''P. p. melanotus'' being the most common and widely distributed in New Zealand. They display phenotypic characteristics typical of rails: relatively short wings and strong, elongated bills, adapted to its semi-aquatic lifestyle in wetlands. The swamphen is renowned for its distinctive blue-purple plumage, striking red frontal shield, and strong red legs. It is often found in Swamp, swamps, Marsh, marshes, and other wet lowland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotless Crake
The spotless crake (''Zapornia tabuensis'') is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is widely distributed species occurring from the Philippines, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand across the southern Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas Islands to the south east along the Tuamotus island chain to Pitcairn Oeno island, Taxonomy The spotless crake 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 other crakes and rails in the genus ''Rallus'' and coined the binomial name ''Rallus tabuensis''. Gmelin's account is taken from that of the "Tabuan rail" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham's description was probably based on a plate painted by the German naturalist Georg Forster who had accompanied the British explorer James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Imperial Pigeon
The Pacific imperial pigeon, Pacific pigeon, Pacific fruit pigeon or lupe (''Ducula pacifica'') is a widespread pigeon species in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Taxonomy The Pacific imperial pigeon 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 all the other doves and pigeons in the genus ''Columba'' and coined the binomial name ''Columba pacifica''. Gmelin based his description on the "Ferruginous-vented pigeon" from the "Friendly Isles in the South Seas" (now the Tonga Islands in the South Pacific) that had been described in 1783 by English ornithologist John Latham. The Pacific imperial pigeon is now placed with 40 other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongan Ground Dove
The shy ground dove (''Pampusana stairi''), also known as the Tongan ground dove or friendly ground dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. This species was formerly in the genus ''Alopecoenas'' Sharpe, 1899, but the name of the genus was changed in 2019 to ''Pampusana'' Bonaparte, 1855 as this name has priority. References External linksBirdLife Species Factsheet. Shy ground dove Birds of Tonga Birds of the Pacific Ocean TShy ground dove Shy ground dove The shy ground dove (''Pampusana stairi''), also known as the Tongan ground dove or friendly ground dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natura ... Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Columbiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Tern
The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is a seabird of the tropical oceans, and remarkably, has evolved the ability to fly for years at a time, skimming the sea surface for food, and returning to land only to breed, on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Taxonomy The sooty tern was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 as ''Sterna fuscata'', bearing this name for many years until the genus ''Sterna'' was split up; it is now classified in the genus ''Onychoprion'' as ''Onychoprion fuscatus''. The genus name is from ancient Greek , "claw" or "nail", and , "saw". The species name ''fuscatus'' is Latin for "dark". The sooty tern has little interspecific variation, but it is usually divided into six to eight allopatric subspecies. Some recent authors further subdivide the Indopacific population into up to eight subspecies altogether, but much of the variation is clinal. The affinities of eastern Pacific birds (including ''O. f. manutarus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide. It has a membership of more than 2.5 million people across List of BirdLife International national partner organisations, 116 country partner organizations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the National Audubon Society, and American Bird Conservancy. BirdLife International has identified 13,000 Important Bird Area, Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature's IUCN Red List, Red List authority for birds. BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International. There are over 13,000 IBAs worldwide. These sites are small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in their character, habitat or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States the program is administered by the National Audubon Society. Often IBAs form part of a country's existing protected area network, and so are protected under national legislation. Legal recognition and protection of IBAs that are not within existing protected areas varies within different countries. Some countries have a National IBA Conservation Strategy, whereas in others protection is completely lacking. History In 1985, following a specific request from the European Economic Community, Birdlife International dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
