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Malabar Grey Hornbill
The Malabar gray hornbill (''Ocyceros griseus'') is a hornbill endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. They have a large beak but lack the casque that is prominent in some other hornbill species. They are found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut or coffee plantations. They move around in pairs or small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Their loud cackling and laughing call makes them familiar to people living in the region. Description The Malabar grey hornbill is a large bird, but at in length it is still the smallest of the Asian hornbills. It has a tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill. Males have a reddish bill with a yellow tip, while the females have a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the culmen. They show a broad whitish superciliary band above the eye, running down to the neck. They fly with a strong flap and glide flight and hop around heavily on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Latham (ornithologist)
John Latham (27 June 1740 – 4 February 1837) was an English physician, natural history, naturalist and author. His main works were ''A General Synopsis of Birds'' (1781–1801) and ''A General History of Birds'' (1821–1828). He was able to examine specimens of Australian birds that reached England in the final twenty years of the 18th century, and was responsible for providing English names for many of them. He named some of Australia's most famous birds, including the emu, sulphur-crested cockatoo, wedge-tailed eagle, superb lyrebird, Australian magpie, magpie-lark, white-throated needletail and pheasant coucal. Latham has been called the "grandfather" of Australian ornithology. He was also the first to describe the hyacinth macaw from South America. Biography John Latham was born on 27 June 1740 at Eltham in northwest Kent. He was the eldest son of John Latham (died 1788), a surgeon, and his mother, who was a descendant of the Sothebys, in Yorkshire. He was educated at Merc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nashik
Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh Mela, which is held every 12 years. According to the ''Ramayana'', Nashik is the location on the banks of the Godavari River where Lakshmana cut the nose of the demoness Shurpanakha. It is also called Panchavati. It was known as "Gulshanabad" during the Mughal period. History Mythology Nashik was known as "Padmanagar" during the Satya Yuga, "Trikantak" during the Treta Yuga, "Janasthana" during the Dvapara Yuga, and finally "Navashikh" or "Nashik" during the Kali Yuga, according to Hindu traditions. Nashik is significant in history, social life, and culture. The city is located on the banks of the Godavari River, making it a sacred site for Hindus around the world. During his 14-year exile from Ayodhya, Rama, the king of Ayod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Birds Of India
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or becomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ocyceros
''Ocyceros'' is a genus of birds in the family Bucerotidae. Established by Allan Octavian Hume in 1873, it contains several species that are limited to the Indian subcontinent. Description Hornbills in the genus ''Ocyceros'' are small Asian birds with curved triangular bills and grey plumage. As such, they are often called "grey hornbills". They have black and grey eye rings and their eyes are usually dark with black Iris (anatomy), irises. All of the species have different coloured bills: the Indian grey hornbill has a dark greyish bill, the Sri Lanka grey hornbill has a pale yellowish bill, and the Malabar grey hornbill has a more yellowish orange bill. Species The genus contains three species: References Ocyceros, Birds of South Asia Bird genera Taxa named by Allan Octavian Hume {{Bucerotiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moult
In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at specific times of the year, or at specific points in its life cycle. In medieval times, it was also known as "mewing" (from the French verb "muer", to moult), a term that lives on in the name of Britain's Royal Mews where the King's hawks used to be kept during moulting time before becoming horse stables after Tudor times. Moulting can involve shedding the epidermis (skin), pelage (hair, feathers, fur, wool), or other external layer. In some groups, other body parts may be shed, for example, the entire exoskeleton in arthropods, including the wings in some insects. Examples In birds In birds, moulting is the periodic replacement of feathers by shedding old feathers while producing new ones. Feathers are dead structures at maturit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudumalai
Mudumalai National Park is a national park in the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu in southern India. It covers at an elevation range of in the Nilgiri District and shares boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala. A part of this area has been protected since 1940. The national park has been part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve since 1986 and was declared a tiger reserve together with a buffer zone of in 2007. It receives an annual rainfall of about and harbours tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests with 498 plant species, at least 266 bird species, 18 carnivora, carnivore and 10 herbivore species. It is drained by the Moyar River and several tributaries, which harbour 38 fish species. Traffic on three public roads passing through the national park has caused significant roadkills of mammals, reptiles and amphibians. The park's northern part has been affected by several wildfires since 1999. History The word Mudumalai is a Tamil language, Tamil word with ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terminalia Crenulata
''Terminalia elliptica'' (sin. ''Terminalia tormentosa'') is a species of ''Terminalia'' native to southern and southeast Asia in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.Sal and Saaj Deforestation in West Nepal"Terminalia Tomentosa"/ref> It is a prominent part of both dry and moist deciduous forests in southern India up to 1000 m. Common names are asna; saj or saaj; Indian laurel; ''marutham'' (Tamil); ''matti'' (Kannada); ain (Marathi); taukkyan (Burma); sadar, matti or marda (India); ''asana'' (Sri Lanka); and casually ''crocodile bark'' due to the characteristic bark pattern. It is a tree growing to 30 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 1 m. The fruit is ovoid, 3 cm long, with five wings not extending beyond the fruit apex.Flora of China''Terminalia''/ref> The bark is fire-resistant. The wood is coarse, fairly straight grained, dull to somewhat lustrous and without any smell or taste. The hardwood varies from light brown with few markings to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terminalia Bellirica
''Terminalia bellirica'', known as baheda, bahera, behada, beleric or bastard myrobalan (Arabic: beliledj بليلج, borrowed from Middle Persian Balilag), Persian بلیله (Balileh), Sanskrit: Vibhītaka बिभीतक, Aksha is a large deciduous tree in the Combretaceae family. It is common on the plains and lower hills in South and Southeast Asia, where it is also grown as an avenue tree. The basionym is ''Myrobalanus bellirica'' Gaertn. (Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 90, t. 97. 1791). William Roxburgh transferred ''M. bellirica'' to ''Terminalia'' as "''T. bellerica'' (Gaertn.) Roxb.". This spelling error is now widely used, causing confusion. The correct name is ''Terminalia bellirica'' (Gaertn.) Roxb. Leaves and seeds The leaves are about 15 cm long and crowded toward the ends of the branches. It is considered a good fodder for cattle. ''Terminalia bellirica'' seeds have an oil content of 40%, whose fatty acid methyl ester meets all of the major biodiesel requirements ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagerstroemia Microcarpa
''Lagerstroemia microcarpa'' is a flowering tree that is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range, located in southwestern India. Description The tree grows more than tall. It is easily distinguishable by its smooth white bark that peels off in large papery flakes. In the Western Ghats it naturally occurs in moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests, usually in openings. It is a light demanding tree in the later stages of its life. It has beautiful white flowers as well. Even though in the natural forests enormous specimens of ''Lagerstroemia microcarpa'' are abundant, seedlings are usually absent. As per Kerala Forest Research Institute, KFRI's research, every year this tree is known to produce millions of seeds out of which very few to none germinate on account of the non-viability of majority of seeds (due to the lack of a viable embryo, except rarely) and also the gap between seed dispersal and the rainy season. KFRI also found that the rate of natural regeneration is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malabar Grey Hornbill
The Malabar gray hornbill (''Ocyceros griseus'') is a hornbill endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. They have a large beak but lack the casque that is prominent in some other hornbill species. They are found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut or coffee plantations. They move around in pairs or small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Their loud cackling and laughing call makes them familiar to people living in the region. Description The Malabar grey hornbill is a large bird, but at in length it is still the smallest of the Asian hornbills. It has a tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill. Males have a reddish bill with a yellow tip, while the females have a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the culmen. They show a broad whitish superciliary band above the eye, running down to the neck. They fly with a strong flap and glide flight and hop around heavily on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seed Dispersal
In spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, such as the wind, and living (Biotic component, biotic) vectors such as birds. Seeds can be dispersed away from the parent plant individually or collectively, as well as dispersed in both space and time. The patterns of seed dispersal are determined in large part by the dispersal mechanism and this has important implications for the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations, as well as wikt:migration, migration patterns and species interactions. There are five main modes of seed dispersal: Gravitation, gravity, wind, ballistic, water, and by animals. Some plants are serotinous and only disperse their seeds in response to an environmental stimulus. These modes are typically inferred based on adaptations, such as wings or fle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill
The Sri Lanka grey hornbill (''Ocyceros gingalensis'') is a bird in the hornbill family and a widespread and common endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. Hornbills are a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World. Habitat The Sri Lanka grey hornbill is a gregarious bird found in forest habitats. Description The Sri Lanka grey hornbill is a large bird at in length. It has grey wings with black primary flight feathers, a grey back, and a brown crown. Its long tail is blackish with white sides, and the underparts are white. The long, curved bill has no casque. Sexes are similar, although the male has a cream-coloured bill, whereas the female's is black with a cream stripe. Immature birds have dark grey upperparts, a cream bill, and a tail with a white tip. Its flight is slow and powerful. Behaviour The female lays up to four white eggs in a tree hole blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
