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Norfolk Golden Whistler
The Norfolk golden whistler (''Pachycephala pectoralis xanthoprocta''), also known as the Norfolk Island whistler or Norfolk Island thickhead, and locally as the “tamey”, is a small bird in the whistler family, Pachycephalidae. It is a subspecies of the Australian golden whistler and endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand. Description Males of the Norfolk Island subspecies differ from those of other subspecies in lacking the bright yellow, white and black markings and being similar to the females, though somewhat yellower. Relative to most other subspecies it is smaller, with a longer tail and heavier bill.Schodde & Mason, p.442. Distribution and habitat The whistler is restricted to Norfolk Island, where it is largely confined to the Mt Pitt section of the Norfolk Island National Park and remnant wooded areas within 2 km of the park. It inhabits shrubby understorey in subtropical rainforest, palm fores ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. Because of his 1840s seven-volume series ''The Birds of Australia (Gould), The Birds of Australia'' and its updates he has been considered the father of bird study in Australia, and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, ''On the Origin of Species''. Early life John Gould was born in Lyme Regis, the first son of a gardener. Both father and son probably had little education. After working on Dowager Lady Poulett's glass house, his father obtained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropical rainforests or temperate rainforests, but other types have been described. Estimates vary from 40% to 75% of all biotic community, biotic species being Indigenous (ecology), indigenous to the rainforests. There may be many millions of species of plants, insects and microorganisms still undiscovered in tropical rainforests. Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth" and the "medicine chest (idiom), world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there. Rainforests as well as endemic rainforest species are rapidly disappearing due to #Deforestation, deforestation, the resulting habitat loss and air pollution, pollution of the atmosphere. Definition Rainforests are cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Schodde
Richard Schodde, Order of Australia, OAM (born 23 September 1936) is an Australian botany, botanist and ornithology, ornithologist. Schodde studied at the University of Adelaide, where he received a Bachelor of Science, BSc (Hons) in 1960 and a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD in 1970. During the 1960s he was a botanist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO Division of Land Research and Regional Survey in Papua New Guinea. From 1970 to 1998 he was the foundation curator and director of the Australian National Wildlife Collection (ANWC) in the CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, following which he became a research fellow there. During this time he led the flora and fauna surveys that helped establish Kakadu National Park and the designation of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, wet tropics of north-eastern Queensland as Australia's first World Heritage Site. These surveys resulted in the accession of almost 50,000 specimens to the ANWC, as well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phillip Island (Norfolk Island)
Phillip Island is an island located south of Norfolk Island in the Southwest Pacific, and is part of the Norfolk Island group. It was named in 1788 by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King after Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. Phillip Island is part of the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island, and is included in Norfolk Island National Park, as is neighbouring Nepean Island and about 10 percent of Norfolk Island proper. A National Parks hut located near the centre of the island houses a small rotating group of around four people for much of the year. Otherwise the island is uninhabited. Phillip Island has an area of , measuring from west to east and from north to south, with the highest point, Jacky Jacky, being above sea level. It is roughly shaped like a hairdryer with the nozzle pointing east. The island is of volcanic origin, made of basaltic tuff and lava dating from the Miocene epoch. Phillip Island is included on the Register of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulnerable Species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or destruction of the species' home. Vulnerable habitat or species are monitored and can become increasingly threatened. Some species listed as "vulnerable" may be common in captivity (animal), captivity, an example being the military macaw. In 2012 there were 5,196 animals and 6,789 plants classified as vulnerable, compared with 2,815 and 3,222, respectively, in 1998. Practices such as cryoconservation of animal genetic resources have been enforced in efforts to conserve vulnerable breeds of livestock specifically. Criteria The International Union for Conservation of Nature uses several criteria to enter species in this category. A taxon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feral Cat
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become a local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments, and especially on islands where native animals did not evolve alongside predators. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization of animals, socialization, they usually remain aloof and reject human touch. Of the 700 million cats in the world, an estimated 480 million are feral. Feral cats are devastating to wildlife, and conservation biologists consider them to be one of the worst invasive species on Earth. They are included in the list of 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species, the world's 100 worst invasive alien species. Attempts to control feral cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is now found worldwide. The black rat is black to light brown in colour with a lighter underside. It is a generalist omnivore and a serious Pest (organism), pest to farmers because it feeds on a wide range of agricultural crops. It is sometimes kept as a pet. In parts of India, it is considered sacred and respected in the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnoke. Taxonomy ''Mus rattus'' was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for the black rat. Three subspecies were once recognized, but today are considered invalid and are now known to be actually Morph (zoology), color morphs: *''Rattus rattus rattus'' – roof rat *''Rattus rattus alexandrinus'' – Alexandrine rat *''Rattus rattus frugivorus'' – fruit rat Characteristics A ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norfolk Island Pine
''Araucaria heterophylla'' (synonym ''A. excelsa'') is a species of conifer. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island pine (or Norfolk pine) implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia. It is not a true pine, which belong to the genus ''Pinus'' in the family Pinaceae, but instead is a member of the genus ''Araucaria'' in the family Araucariaceae, which also contains the hoop pine and the monkey-puzzle tree. Members of ''Araucaria'' occur across the South Pacific, especially concentrated in New Caledonia (about due north of Norfolk Island), where 13 closely related species of similar appearance are found. It is sometimes called a star pine, Polynesian pine, triangle tree or living Christmas tree, due to its symmetrical shape as a sapling. History The first European known to have sighted Norfolk Island was Captain James Cook. In 1774, on his second voyage to the South Pacific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines a forest as, "Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a Canopy (biology), canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds ''in situ''. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban use." Using this definition, ''Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020'' found that forests covered , or approximately 31 percent of the world's land area in 2020. Forests are the largest Terrestrial ecosystem, terrestrial ecosystems of Earth by area, and are found around the globe. 45 percent of forest land is in the Tropical forest, trop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palm Tree
The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially called palm trees. Currently, 181 genera with around 2,600 species are known, most of which are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, arranged at the top of an unbranched stem, except for the Hyphaene genus, who has branched palms. However, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts. Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history, especially in regions like the Middle East and North Africa. A wide range of common products and foods are de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical zone#Temperate zones, temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° to 40° north and south. The horse latitudes lie within this range. Subtropical climates are often characterized by hot summers and mild winters with infrequent frost. Most subtropical climates fall into two basic types: humid subtropical climate, humid subtropical (Köppen climate classification: Cfa/Cwa), where rainfall is often concentrated in the warmest months, for example list of regions of China, Southeast China and the Southeastern United States, and Mediterranean climate, dry summer or Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa/Csb), where seasonal rainfall is concentrated in the cooler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pachycephala
''Pachycephala'' is a genus of birds native to Oceania and Southeast Asia. They are commonly known as typical whistlers. Older guidebooks may refer to them as thickheads, a literal translation of the generic name, which is derived from the Ancient Greek terms ''pachys'' "thick" + ''kephale'' "head". This lineage originated in Australo-Papua and later colonized the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos to the west and the Pacific archipelagos to the east. Taxonomy The genus ''Pachycephala'' was introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Vigors with the Australian golden whistler as the type species. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ''pakhus'' meaning "large" or "thick" and ''kephalē'' meaning "head". The genus contains 53 species: * Olive whistler, ''Pachycephala olivacea'' * Red-lored whistler, ''Pachycephala rufogularis'' * Gilbert's whistler, ''Pachycephala inornata'' * Mangrove whistler, ''Pachycephala cinerea'' * Green-backed whistler, ''Pachycephal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
