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Grey-headed Gull
The grey-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus''), also known as the grey-hooded gull, is a small species of gull which breeds patchily in South America and Africa south of the Sahara. It is not truly migratory, but is dispersive, becoming more widespread in winter. This species has occurred as a rare vagrant to the United States, Italy, and Spain. As is the case with many gulls, it had traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus''. Recent evidence suggests the South American and African populations may represent two separate cryptic species. Description The grey-headed gull is slightly larger than the black-headed gull at 42 cm length. The summer adult has a pale grey head, a grey body, slightly darker in tone than in black-headed gull, and red bill and legs. The black tips to the primary wing feathers have conspicuous white "mirrors". The underwing is dark grey with black wingtips. The grey hood is lost in winter, leaving just two dark smudges around and behind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rio Grande Do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian states by area, ninth-largest by area and it is divided into 497 municipalities. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is bordered clockwise by Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Uruguayan Departments of Uruguay, departments of Rocha Department, Rocha, Treinta y Tres Department, Treinta y Tres, Cerro Largo Department, Cerro Largo, Rivera Department, Rivera, and Artigas Department, Artigas to the south and southwest, and the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Corrientes Province, Corrientes and Misiones Province, Misiones to the west and northwest. The capital and largest city is Porto Alegre. The state has the highest lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hartlaub's Gull
Hartlaub's gull (''Chroicocephalus hartlaubii'') is a small gull in the genus ''Chroicocephalus''. It was formerly (as with other related gulls) placed in the genus ''Larus'' until genetic research demonstrated that the old broad view of that genus was paraphyly, paraphyletic. In the past it had sometimes been treated as a subspecies of the Australasian silver gull (''C. novaehollandiae''), but is now treated as a separate species; current genetic evidence suggests its closest relative is not the silver gull but the African and South American grey-headed gull (''C. cirrocephalus''), and in particular the African subspecies of it ''C. c. poiocephalus'' (with the possibility that ''C. cirrocephalus'' is paraphyletic with respect to ''C. hartlaubii'': Černý & Natale 2022, Fig. 6). The species' name commemorates the German physician and zoologist, Gustav Hartlaub. In the past, it was also sometimes known as "king gull". Description Hartlaub's gull is 37–39 cm in length, wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Sub-Saharan Africa
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of South America
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight Bird skeleton, skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 Order (biology), orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have Bird wing, wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the Flightless bird, loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemism, endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chroicocephalus
''Chroicocephalus'' is a genus of medium to relatively small gulls which were included in the genus ''Larus'' until genetic evidence published in 2005 showed that ''Larus'' as then constituted was paraphyly, paraphyletic. Ten species are currently accepted. The genus name ''Chroicocephalus'' is from Ancient Greek ''khroizo'', "to colour", and ''kephale'', "head". Taxonomy The species now placed in this genus were formerly assigned to the genus ''Larus''. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2005 found that ''Larus'', as then constituted, was paraphyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, the genus ''Chroicocephalus'' with resurrected to contain a clade of species, all of which have black heads. The genus ''Chroicocephalus'' had been introduced in 1836 by the English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton. Although he listed two species in the new genus, he did not specify a type species, type. In 1840 George Robert Gray, George Gray designated the typ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Elementaita
Lake Elmenteita is a soda lake, in the Great Rift Valley, about 120 km northwest of Nairobi, Kenya. Geography Elmenteita is derived from the Maasai word , meaning "dust place", a reference to the dryness and dustiness of the area, especially from January to March. The town of Gilgil is near the lake. In the south-to-north sequence of Rift Valley lakes, Elmenteita is between Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru. Along the nearby escarpment, the major Nairobi- Nakuru highway ( A104 Road) gives motorists a spectacular vista of the lake. Today the lake is a protected area due to its bird life and has been named as a UNESCO heritage site together with Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria. About 10,000 years ago, Lake Elementaita, together with the neighboring Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha (60 km further south), formed one single, deep freshwater lake that eventually dried up, leaving the three lakes as remnants. At the southern end of the lake are the "Kekopey" hot springs, in which a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambia
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.Hoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A–Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publications. p. 11. . Its territory is on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, which flows through the centre of the country and empties into the Atlantic. The national namesake river demarcates the elongated shape of the country, which has an area of and a population of 2,769,075 people in 2024 which is a 47% population increase from 2013. The capital city is Banjul, which has the most extensive metropolitan area in the country. The second and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama. Arab Muslims, Arab Muslim merchants traded with indigenous West Africans in The Gambia throughout the 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of , the country has Demographics of South Africa, a population of over 64 million people. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament of South Africa, Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest, most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban. Cradle of Humankind, Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is part of the Southern Cone region of South America. Uruguay covers an area of approximately . It has a population of almost 3.5 million people, of whom nearly 2 million live in Montevideo metropolitan area, the metropolitan area of its capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city, Montevideo. The area that became Uruguay was first inhabited by groups of hunter gatherer, hunter gatherers 13,000 years ago. The first European explorer to reach the region was Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516, but the area was colonized later than its neighbors. At the time of Spanish colonization of the Americas, European arrival, the Charrúa were the predominant tribe, alongside other groups such as the Guaraní people ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is a Megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west, to the peaks of the Andes mountains extending from the north to the southeast of the country, to the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon River. Peru has Demographics of Peru, a population of over 32 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima. At , Peru is the List of countries and dependencies by area, 19th largest country in the world, and the List of South American countries by area, third largest in South America. Pre-Columbian Peru, Peruvian territory was home to Andean civilizations, several cultures during the ancient and medieval periods, and has one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraphyly
Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In contrast, a monophyletic grouping (a clade) includes a common ancestor and ''all'' of its descendants. The terms are commonly used in phylogenetics (a subfield of biology) and in the tree model of historical linguistics. Paraphyletic groups are identified by a combination of synapomorphies and symplesiomorphies. If many subgroups are missing from the named group, it is said to be polyparaphyletic. The term received currency during the debates of the 1960s and 1970s accompanying the rise of cladistics, having been coined by zoologist Willi Hennig to apply to well-known taxa like Reptilia (reptiles), which is paraphyletic with respect to birds. Reptilia contains the last common ancestor of reptiles and all descendants of that ancest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
