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Phoeniculidae
The wood hoopoes or scimitarbills are a small African family, Phoeniculidae, of near passerine birds. They live south of the Sahara Desert and are not migratory. While the family is now restricted to Sub-Saharan Africa, fossil evidence shows that it once had a larger distribution. Fossils attributed to this family have been found in Miocene rocks in Germany. The wood hoopoes are related to the kingfishers, the rollers, and the hoopoe, forming a clade with this last according to Hackett ''et al.'' (2008). A close relationship between the hoopoe and the wood hoopoes is also supported by the shared and unique nature of their stapes. The wood hoopoes most resemble the true hoopoes with their long down-curved bills and short rounded wings. According to genetic studies, the two genera, '' Phoeniculus'' and '' Rhinopomastus'', appear to have diverged about ten million years ago, so some systematists treat them as separate subfamilies or even separate families. Description The wood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Wood Hoopoe
The green wood hoopoe (''Phoeniculus purpureus'') is a large, up to long tropical bird native to Africa. It is a member of the family Phoeniculidae, the wood hoopoes, and was formerly known as the red-billed wood hoopoe. Taxonomy In 1784 the English illustrator John Frederick Miller included a hand-coloured plate of the green wood hoopoe in his ''Icones animalium et plantarum''. He coined the binomial name ''Promerops purpureus'' and mistakenly specified the type locality (biology), type locality as eastern India. The green wood hoopoe is now one of five species placed in the genus ''Phoeniculus'' that was introduced in 1821 by the Polish zoologist Feliks Paweł Jarocki. Six subspecies are recognised: * ''P. p. senegalensis'' (Louis Pierre Vieillot, Vieillot, 1822) – south Senegal to south Ghana * ''P. p. guineensis'' (Anton Reichenow, Reichenow, 1902) – north Senegal and Gambia to Chad and Central African Republic * ''P. p. niloticus'' (Oscar Neumann, Neumann, 1903) – Sud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-headed Wood Hoopoe
The white-headed wood hoopoe (''Phoeniculus bollei'') is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. Etymology The bird's scientific species name ''bollei'' honors Carl August Bolle (1821–1909), a German naturalist and collector. Subspecies Subspecies include: * ''Phoeniculus bollei jacksoni'' (Hartlaub, 1858) — Ruwenzori Mountains to Sudan and Kenya * ''Phoeniculus bollei bollei'' — from Liberia to the Central African Republic * ''Phoeniculus bollei okuensis'' (Serle, 1949) — Cameroon ( Lake Oku) Distribution ''Phoeniculus bollei'' can be found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handbook Of The Birds Of The World
The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series was edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A. Christie. All 16 volumes have been published. For the first time an animal class will have all the species illustrated and treated in detail in a single work. This has not been done before for any other group in the animal kingdom. Material in each volume is grouped first by family, with an introductory article on each family; this is followed by individual species accounts (taxonomy, subspecies and distribution, descriptive notes, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation, bibliography). In addition, all volumes except the first and second contain an essay on a particular ornithological theme. More than 200 renowned sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Scimitarbill
The common scimitarbill (''Rhinopomastus cyanomelas'') is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots .... Description Adults are dark blue. As adults, their beaks are black but as juveniles, their beaks are grey. References External links * (Scimitarbilled woodhoopoe=) Common scimitarbill �Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Rhinopomastus Birds described in 1819 Taxa named by Louis Pierre Vieillot Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Bucerotiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Wood Hoopoe
The forest wood hoopoe (''Phoeniculus castaneiceps'') is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the .... References Phoeniculus Birds of the African tropical rainforest Birds described in 1871 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Bucerotiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoopoe
Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "Crest (feathers), crown" of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. Two living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years both extant species were lumped as a single species—''Upupa epops''. In fact, some taxonomists still consider the species to be Biological_specificity#Conspecific, conspecific. Some authorities also keep the African and Eurasian hoopoe together but split the Madagascar hoopoe. The Eurasian hoopoe is common in its range and has a large population, so it is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, their numbers are declining in Western Europe. Conversely, the hoopoe has been increasing in numbers at the tip of the South Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh. There are dozens of nesting pairs that remain resident all year round. Taxonomy The genus ''Upupa'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinopomastus
Scimitarbills (also spelt scimitar-bills) are three species of African bird belonging to the genus ''Rhinopomastus''. They are often classified in the woodhoopoe family, Phoeniculidae; however, genetic studies show that they diverged from the true woodhoopoes about 10 million years ago and so they are sometimes placed in a family of their own, the Rhinopomastidae. They are smaller than most woodhoopoes and their bills are strongly curved like a scimitar A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade of about 75 to 90 cm (30 to 36 inches) associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific swor ..., giving them their name. They are mostly glossy black in colour with a few white markings on the wings. While other woodhoopoes are gregarious birds which gather in flocks, the scimitarbills are usually seen alone or in pairs. They feed mainly on insects and other invertebrates, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoeniculus
''Phoeniculus'' is a genus of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. They are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy The genus ''Phoeniculus'' was introduced in 1821 by the Polish zoologist Feliks Paweł Jarocki with ''Upupa erythrorhynchus'' (John Latham (ornithologist), Latham) (the green wood hoopoe) as the type species. The genus name is a diminutive of the Ancient Greek φοινιξ/''phoinix'', φοινικος/''phoinikos'', the Phoenix (mythology), phoenix. The genus contains the following 5 species: Members of this genus have long, slightly down-curved, pointed bills with stout bases. Most spend the day in flocks of 5 to 12 birds, acrobatically climbing in trees or hanging underneath branches, sticking their bills into crevices in search of insects and other small arthropods. They may brace themselves with their long tails as woodpeckers do, but the tail feathers are not stiff like woodpeckers' and wear easily. Though their feet are strong, their floppy and boundin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near Passerine
Near passerines and higher land-bird assemblage are terms of traditional, pre-cladistic taxonomy that have often been given to tree-dwelling birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines (order Passeriformes) owing to morphological and ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Alfred Henry Garrod. Biology All near passerines are land birds. However, molecular data does not support the traditional arrangement; it is now clear that "near passerines" and "higher landbirds" are not synonymous. Per Ericson and colleagues, analyzing genomic DNA revealed a lineage comprising Passeriformes, Psittaciformes and Falconiformes. Orders Pterocliformes (sandgrouse), Columbiformes (pigeons), Cuculiformes (cuckoos), Caprimulgiformes (nightjars), and Apodiformes (swifts, hummingbirds) are no longer recognized as near passerines. The true near-passerine families are the Psittaciformes (parrots), the Falconiformes (falco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family (, : ) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family—or whether a described family should be acknowledged—is established and decided upon by active taxonomists. There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging a family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to a lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beak
The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and carrying objects, killing prey, or fighting), preening, courtship, and feeding young. The terms ''beak'' and '' rostrum'' are also used to refer to a similar mouth part in some ornithischians, pterosaurs, cetaceans, dicynodonts, rhynchosaurs, anuran tadpoles, monotremes (i.e. echidnas and platypuses, which have a bill-like structure), sirens, pufferfish, billfishes, and cephalopods. Although beaks vary significantly in size, shape, color and texture, they share a similar underlying structure. Two bony projections–the upper and lower mandibles–are covered with a thin keratinized layer of epidermis known as the rhamphotheca. In most species, two holes called ''nares'' lead to the respiratory system. Etymology Although the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilization, fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to egg incubation, incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. Most arthropods, vertebrates (excluding live-bearing mammals), and Mollusca, mollusks lay eggs, although some, such as scorpions, do not. Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water and are surrounded by a protective eggshell, shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e., breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth they use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering. The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark and was in size. Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
