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Mirafra Apiata
The Cape clapper lark (''Corypha apiata'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It derives its name from the wing clapping which forms part of the display flight. The Cape clapper lark is a species of open grassland and savannah, also inhabiting karoo, fynbos and fallow agricultural land. Taxonomy The Cape clapper lark was originally placed in the genus ''Alauda''. This species and the Eastern clapper lark were formerly considered conspecific as the clapper lark (''M. apiata'') until split in 2009. The Cape clapper lark and the Eastern clapper lark are regarded as forming a superspecies with the flappet lark, which is found further to the north. Bar-tailed lark is another alternate name for the Cape clapper lark. The Cape clapper lark was formerly placed in the genus ''Mirafra''. It is one of several species that were moved to the resurrected genus ''Corypha'' based on the results of a large molecular genetic study by the Swedish ornithologist Per Alström a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurora, Western Cape
Aurora is a town on the west coast of South Africa situated 43 kilometres north-west of Piketberg Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ... and 29km south of Redelinghuys. Established in 1906, it was named after the Roman goddess of dawn. References {{West Coast District Municipality Populated places in the Bergrivier Local Municipality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Pierre Vieillot
Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collected himself in the West Indies and North America and South American species discovered but not formally named by Félix de Azara and his translator Sonnini de Manoncourt. He was among the first ornithologists to study changes in plumage and one of the first to study live birds. At least 77 of the genera erected by Vieillot are still in use. Biography Vieillot was born in Yvetot. He represented his family's business interests in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) on Hispaniola, but fled to the United States during the Haitian rebellions that followed the French Revolution. On Buffon's advice, he collected material for the , the first two volumes of which were published in France beginning in 1807. Vieillot returned to France for the last time in 1798, whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching. With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes is the largest order of birds and one of the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates, representing 60% of birds.Ericson, P.G.P. et al. (2003Evolution, biogeography, and patterns of diversification in passerine birds ''J. Avian Biol'', 34:3–15.Selvatti, A.P. et al. (2015"A Paleogene origin for crown passerines and the diversification of the Oscines in the New World" ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 88:1–15. Passerines are divided into three suborders: New Zealand wrens; Suboscines, primarily found in North and South America; and songbirds. Passerines originated in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird
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] |
Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe Khoemana (also known as !Orakobab or Korana) word is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, Karoo Supergroup, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of millions of years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters, and travelers on the way to the Highveld unanimously denounced it as a frightening place of great heat, great frosts, great floods, and great droughts. Today, it is still a place of great heat and frosts, and an annual rainfall of between 50 and 250 mm, though on some of the mountains i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fynbos
Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. The area continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it. Origin of the term The word '' fynbos'' is often taken literally to mean ''fine bush'', as in Afrikaans '' bos'' means '' bush'', whereas in this instance ''bush'' refers to the type of vegetation. Typical fynbos foliage is ericoid rather than ''fine''. The term in its pre-Afrikaans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alauda
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are known from the fossil record. The current genus name is from Latin ''alauda'', "lark". Pliny the Elder thought the word was originally of Celtic origin. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Alauda'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ... was subsequently designated as the Eurasian skylark. The genus ''Alauda'' has four extant and at least two extinct species. Formerly, many other species have al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Clapper Lark
The eastern clapper lark (''Corypha fasciolata'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It derives its name from the wing clapping which forms part of its display flight. Taxonomy and systematics The eastern clapper lark was formerly placed in the genus ''Mirafra''. It is one of several species that were moved to the resurrected genus ''Corypha'' based on the results of a large molecular genetic study by the Swedish ornithologist Per Alström and collaborators that was published in 2023. This species and the Cape clapper lark were formerly considered conspecific as the "clapper lark" (''M. apiata'') until split based on genetic analysis. The eastern clapper lark and the Cape clapper lark are regarded as forming a superspecies with the flappet lark (''Amirafra rufocinnamomea''), which is found further to the north. Subspecies Five subspecies are recognised: * ''C. f. reynoldsi'' ( Benson & Irwin, 1965) – north Namibia, north Botswana and southwest Zambia * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flappet Lark
The flappet lark (''Amirafra rufocinnamomea'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae that is widespread across Sub-Saharan Africa. The name flappet originates from the distinctive wing flapping sound made during its breeding season. Taxonomy and systematics The flappet lark and the Cape clapper lark are regarded as forming a superspecies with the Eastern clapper lark. The alternate name "cinnamon bush lark" is also an alternate name for the singing bush lark. The flappet lark was formerly placed in the genus ''Mirafra''. It is one of three species that were moved to the resurrected genus ''Amirafra'' based on the results of a large molecular genetic study by the Swedish ornithologist Per Alström and collaborators that was published in 2023. Subspecies Fifteen subspecies are recognised: * ''A. r. buckleyi'' ( Shelley, 1873) – south Mauritania and Senegal to north Cameroon * ''A. r. serlei'' (White, CMN, 1960) – southeast Nigeria * ''A. r. tigrina'' ( Oustalet, 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirafra
''Mirafra'' is a genus of lark in the family Alaudidae. Some ''Mirafra'' species are called "larks", while others are called "bush larks". They are all found in Africa except for the singing bush lark that is found through South Asia to Australia. Taxonomy The genus ''Mirafra'' was introduced in 1821 by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield to accommodate a single species, ''Mirafra javanica'' the singing bush lark, which is therefore considered as the type species. The derivation of the genus name is unknown. A 2023 molecular phylogenetic study of the lark family Alaudidae by the Swedish ornithologist Per Alström ''Per'' Johan Alström (born 9 April 1961) is a Swedish Professor of ornithology. He does research in Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, systematics, and evolution, with birds in Asia as a specialty. Alström works at the Department of Ecology and Genet ... and his collaborators found that the genus ''Mirafra'' contained deep internal genetic divergences. They theref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corypha (bird)
''Corypha'' is a genus of larks in the family Alaudidae. These species were formerly placed in the genus ''Mirafra''. They are widely distributed in open savannah-type habitats across sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy A 2023 molecular phylogenetic study of the lark family Alaudidae by the Swedish ornithologist Per Alström and his collaborators found that the genus ''Mirafra'' contained deep internal genetic divergences. They therefore split ''Mirafra'' into four genera, each corresponding to a major clade. For one of these clades they resurrected the genus ''Corypha'' that had originally been introduced in 1840 by the English zoologist George Gray with ''Alauda apiata'' Vieillot, 1816, the Cape clapper lark, as the type species. The name ''Corypha'' is from Ancient Greek κορυφος/''koruphos'', an unknown bird mentioned by the Greek author Hesychius of Alexandria that is usually assumed to be a lark. A comprehensive integrated study of the genus, published in 2024, combined a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Per Alström
''Per'' Johan Alström (born 9 April 1961) is a Swedish Professor of ornithology. He does research in Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, systematics, and evolution, with birds in Asia as a specialty. Alström works at the Department of Ecology and Genetics (Animal Ecology) at Uppsala University and at the Swedish Species Information Centre at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala. He has previously worked as e.g. Curator of Ornithology at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and been a guest researcher at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town and a visiting professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. He is chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Swedish Taxonomy Initiative and the Committee for Swedish Animal Names and Swedish focal point for thGlobal Taxonomy Initiativeunder the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the internatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
