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Kirby Lake
Kirby Lake is a 740-acre man-made reservoir located on the south side of Abilene, Texas, just east of Highway 83, in the northeastern portion of Taylor County. Kirby Lake is within the Brazos River Basin, meaning that Cedar Creek, which feeds Kirby Lake, eventually feeds into the Brazos River. Kirby Lake resides in the Red Prairies portion of the Central Great Plains ecoregion. Management is under the City of Abilene. Hydrology Kirby Lake has around of surface area, a 7,620 acre-feet of capacity, and the maximum measured depth was . The watershed which feeds Kirby Lake is around , and Cedar Creek is the impounded river which the dam is named after. The water level fluctuates in relation to water demand of the many uses of the reservoir. The turbidity is less than 1-foot (300 centimeters) with a red coloring. Since the dam's creation, Kirby Lake has only dried out once in 2000. In an effort to restore the lake, treated wastewater was used as an addition inflow, and by 2002 Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrupting a watercourse to form an Bay, embayment within it, excavating, or building any number of retaining walls or levees to enclose any area to store water. Types Dammed valleys Dammed reservoirs are artificial lakes created and controlled by a dam constructed across a valley and rely on the natural topography to provide most of the basin of the reservoir. These reservoirs can either be ''on-stream reservoirs'', which are located on the original streambed of the downstream river and are filled by stream, creeks, rivers or rainwater that surface runoff, runs off the surrounding forested catchments, or ''off-stream reservoirs'', which receive water diversion, diverted water from a nearby stream or aqueduct (water supply), aq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cactus Wren
The cactus wren (''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus'') is a species of wren that is endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. Its plumage is brown, with black and white spots as markings. It has a distinctive white eyebrow that sweeps to the nape of the neck. The chest is white, whereas the underparts are cinnamon- buff colored. Both sexes appear similar. The tail, as well as flight feathers, are barred in black and white. Their song is a loud raspy chirrup; akin in the description of some ornithologists to the sound of a car engine that will not start. It is well-adapted to its native desert environment, and the birds can meet their water needs from their diet which consists chiefly of insects, but also of some plant matter. The cactus wren is a poor flier and generally forages for food on the ground. Ornithologists generally recognize seven subspecies, wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junonia Coenia
''Junonia coenia'', known as the common buckeye or buckeye, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Its range covers much of North America and some of Central America, including most of the eastern half of the US, the lower to middle Midwest, the Southwest (including most of California), southern Canada, and Mexico. Its habitat is open areas with low vegetation and some bare ground. Its original ancestry has been traced to Africa, which then experiences divergence in Asia. The species ''Junonia grisea'', the gray buckeye, is found west of the Rocky Mountains and was formerly a subspecies of ''Junonia coenia''. Caterpillars of these butterflies appear to prefer plants that produce iridoid glycosides, which are bitter compounds that release a hormone called gastrin that activates the digestive system (i.e. hunger); therefore, iridoid glycoside producing plants stimulate and attract their appetites particularly when found in plants like ''Plantago lanceolata''. In fact, the presen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asterocampa Clyton
''Asterocampa clyton'', the tawny emperor, is a species of brush-footed butterfly. It is native to North America, especially the eastern half from Canada to northern Mexico. The tawny emperor should not be mistaken for a very similar ''Asterocampa'' butterfly, the hackberry emperor, which can be distinguished by the white spots near the tip of its forewing and the black eyespot lower along the edge of the forewing. The upperside is mostly dark brown. The forewing is an orange-brown color with pale orange-yellow spots. The underside is mainly gray brown with the forewing having some black and pale yellowish markings. The wingspan measures 2 to 2.6 inches (51 to 66 mm). A dark morph of this species is regionally common with nearly uniformly dark hind wings. This butterfly may be seen flying near houses, gravel driveways, near water, muddy places, gardens, and woodlands. Its only host plant is hackberry trees. The adult feeds on carrion, plant sap, and dung, and rarel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erynnis Horatius
''Erynnis horatius'', commonly known as Horace's duskywing, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the United States from Massachusetts to Florida, and west to eastern South Dakota, the Gulf Coast, south-eastern Utah, Colorado, north-eastern Arizona, and New Mexico. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut. State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved January 27, 2018. Fringes are brown. Upperside of male forewing is dark brown with little contrast and no white overscaling. Upperside of female forewing is light brown with a contrasting pattern and large transparent spots. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reakirt's Blue
''Echinargus isola'', or Reakirt's blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is the sole representative of the monotypic genus ''Echinargus''. It is found in Central America and the extreme southern U.S. ''Echinargus isola'' migrates regularly throughout most of the U.S. almost to the Canada–United States border, and very rarely into the southern prairies. The wingspan is 16–23 mm. Adults are on wing from June to October in the north and year round in south.Reakirt's Blue Butterflies of Canada Its habitats include fields, gardens, open areas, and host plants. The larvae feed on , particularly mesquites ('' |
Eurema Nicippe
''Eurema nicippe'', the sleepy orange, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its range spans from Central America to north along the United States-Mexico border, and it often travels further to non-mountainous regions of the southeastern United States. Description The sleepy orange is a bright orange butterfly with the upperside of the wings having wide black borders. The forewing costal margin has a small, narrow black marking that resembles a closed eye. Contrary to popular belief, its name originates from this wing patterning, rather than its behavior; the butterfly has a very rapid flight pattern when disturbed. The underside of the wings varies seasonally: summer forms are bright yellow with brick-red markings, while winter forms are browner and more heavily marked. It has a wingspan of 1–2 inches (35–50 mm). , Eurema nicippe-underside.jpg, underside (summer form) Eurema nicippe clustering.jpg, puddling on damp ground Habitat The sleepy or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battus Philenor
''Battus philenor'', the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, Retrieved April 19, 2018. is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. Caterpillars are often black or red, and feed on compatible plants of the genus '' Aristolochia''. They are known for sequestering acids from the plants they feed on in order to defend themselves from predators by being poisonous when consumed. The adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers. Some species of '' Aristolochia'' are toxic to the larvae, typically tropical varieties. While enthusiasts have led citizen efforts to conserve pipevine swallowtails in their neighborhoods on the West coast, the butterfly has not been the subject of a formal program in conservation or protected in legislation. The butterfly is however of "Special Concern" in Michigan, which is on the North ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though molecular evidence suggests that they likely originated in the Cretaceous. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, and like other holometabolous insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, expands its wings to dry, and flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scarlet Tanager
The scarlet tanager (''Piranga olivacea'') is a medium-sized American songbird. Until recently, it was placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), but it and other members of its genus are now classified as belonging to the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species' plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family, although the ''Piranga'' species lacks the thick conical bill (well suited to seed and insect eating) that many cardinals possess. The species resides in thick deciduous woodlands and suburbs. Etymology The genus name ''Piranga'' is from Tupi ''Tijepiranga'', the name for an unknown small bird, and the specific ''olivacea'' is from Neo-Latin ''olivaceus'', "olive-green". Description The scarlet tanager, a mid-sized passerine, is marginally the smallest of the four species of ''Piranga'' that breed north of the Mexican border. It can weigh from , with an average of during breeding and an average of at the beginning of migration. Scar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyrrhuloxia
The pyrrhuloxia or desert cardinal (''Cardinalis sinuatus'') is a medium-sized North American songbird found in the American southwest and northern Mexico. This distinctive species with a short, stout bill and red crest and wings, and closely resembles the northern cardinal and the vermilion cardinal, which are in the same genus. Taxonomy The desert cardinal is one of three birds in the genus '' Cardinalis'' in the family Cardinalidae, a group of passerine birds found in North and South America. Its name of pyrrhuloxia – once part of its scientific name – comes from Greek terms describing its coloration (πυρρος = = reddish or orange) and the shape of its bill (λοξος = = oblique). The common name, desert cardinal, refers to it inhabiting the southwest, and often arid regions, of the North American continent. Description The desert cardinal is a medium-sized song bird; the length for both sexes is about 8.3 in (21 cm), while the typical weight is 0. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Phalarope
The red phalarope or grey phalarope (''Phalaropus fulicarius'') is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, migrates mainly on oceanic routes, wintering at sea on tropical oceans. Taxonomy In 1750, the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the red phalarope in the third volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The Red-footed Tringa". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from the Hudson Bay area of Canada by James Isham. When the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition in 1758, he included the red phalarope and placed it with phalaropes and sandpipers in the genus ''Tringa''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Tringa fulicaria'' and cited Edwards' work. The red phalarope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
