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Revis Hill Prairie
Revis Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as ''Revis Hill Prairie Nature Preserve'', is a state park located six miles south of Easton in Mason County, Illinois. It is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) as a tallgrass prairie nature preserve and as a fish and wildlife area managed for deer hunting. History Revis Hill is managed as a fragile ecosystem of loess, a loose, powdered loamy soil type formed from silt ground fine by glaciation and other events. After the loess was wind-deposited on the terrain of what became southern Mason County, Illinois to form a low hill, it was subject to rapid erosion and Revis Hill was dissected by ravines that drained into nearby Salt Creek. Most of the Illinois hill prairie ecosystems that resembled Revis Hill were lost to the moldboard plow. Revis Hill re-entered the public domain and was dedicated by the state of Illinois as a natural area in August 1973. Land management practices utilized at Revis Hil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mason County, Illinois
Mason County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 14,666. Its county seat is Havana. The county is named in honor of George Mason, a member of the Virginia legislature who campaigned for the adoption of the United States Bill of Rights. History Mason County was created in 1841 out of portions of Tazewell and Menard counties. File:Mason County 1841.png, Mason County at the time of its creation in 1841 Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (4.3%) is water. Mason County is bound on the south by the Sangamon River, and on the west by the Illinois River. These rivers join at the county's southwest tip. The soil covering much of Mason County is very sandy. This was formed during the melting of the Wisconsin Glacier about 10,000 years ago. Meltwater from the glacier deposited large amounts of sand in a delta region near at the junction of the Sangamon and Illin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Ridge State Forest
Sand Ridge State Forest is a conservation area located in the U.S. state of Illinois. Containing , it is the largest state forest in Illinois. It is located in northern Mason County. The nearest town is Manito, Illinois, and the nearest numbered highway is U.S. Highway 136. It is located on a low bluff, or "sand ridge", overlooking the Illinois River, hence the name. The sand ridge is believed to be an artifact of the post-glacial Kankakee Torrent. The Sand Ridge State Forest largely dates back to 1939, when the state of Illinois purchased parcels of submarginal sandy farmland for conservation purposes. The Civilian Conservation Corps planted pine trees on much of the land. Today, the state forest contains of dryland oak-hickory woodlands, of pine woodlands, and of open fields and sand prairies. Endemic species include the prickly pear cactus, ''Opuntia'', more familiar to Mexicans and residents of the U.S. Southwest. The Sand Ridge State Forest contains the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phasmatodea
The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as Devil's darning needles, although this name is shared by both dragonflies and crane flies. They can be generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects, with phasmids in the family Phylliidae called leaf insects, leaf-bugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek ', meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to their resemblance to vegetation while in fact being animals. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect; still, many species have one of several secondary lines of defense in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. Stick insects from the genera '' Phryganistria'', '' Ctenomorpha'', and '' Phobaeticus'' include the world's l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Hognose Snake
The western hognose snake (''Heterodon nasicus'') is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America. Etymology The specific name, ''nasicus'', is from the Latin ''nasus'' ("nose"), in reference to the upturned snout. The subspecific name, ''gloydi'', is in honor of American herpetologist Howard K. Gloyd (1902–1978).Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Heterodon nasicus gloydi'', p. 102; ''Heterodon nasicus kennerlyi'', p. 140). The subspecific (or specific) name, ''kennerlyi'', is in honor of American naturalist Caleb Burwell Rowan Kennerly (1829–1861). Common names Common names for ''Heterodon nasicus'' include blow snake, bluffer, faux viper, plains hognose snake, prairie hognose snake, spoonbill snake, spreadhead snake, Texas hognose snake, Texas rooter, and western hognose snake. Taxonomy Some auth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bluebird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. Bluebirds have blue, or blue and rose beige, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there is no noticeable difference in size. Taxonomy and species The genus ''Sialia'' was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1827 with the eastern bluebird (''Sialia sialis'') as the type species. A molecular phylogenetic study using mitochondrial sequences published in 2005 found that ''Sialia'', '' Myadestes'' (solitaires) and '' Neocossyphus'' (African ant-thrushes) formed a basal clade in the family Turdidae. Within ''Sialia'' the mountain bluebird was sister to the eastern bluebird. The genus contains three species: Behavior Bluebirds are territorial and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Martin
The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean countries and across the Palearctic to the Pacific Ocean. It is a Holarctic species also found in North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, South America, and the Indian Subcontinent. Taxonomy This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and originally named ''Hirundo riparia''; the description consisted of the simple "''H rundocinerea, gula abdomineque albis''" – "an ash-grey swallow, with white throat and belly" – and the type locality was simply given as "Europa". The specific name means "of the riverbank"; it is derived from the Latin ''ripa'' "riverbank". The pale martin of northern India and southeastern China ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkey Vulture
The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts. Like all New World vultures, it is not closely related to the Old World vultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The two groups strongly resemble each other because of convergent evolution; natural selection often leads to similar body plans in animals that adapt independently to similar conditions. The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings inf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitetail Deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced to New Zealand, all the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico), and some countries in Europe, such as the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Romania and Serbia. In the Americas, it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate. In North America, the species is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains as well as in southwestern Arizona and most of Mexico, except Lower California. It is mostly displaced by the black-tailed or mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') from that point west except for mixed deciduous riparian corridors, river valley bottomlands, and lower foothills of the northern Rocky Mountain region from Wyoming west to eastern Washington and eastern Oregon and north to northea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agalinis Skinneriana
''Agalinis skinneriana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae known by the common names Skinner's gerardia, Skinner's false foxglove and pale false foxglove. It is native to North America, where it occurs in Ontario south to Missouri and Louisiana.''Agalinis skinneriana''. Center for Plant Conservation. Description This plant is an annual herb with four-angled stems growing up to 40 centimeters tall. The linear leaves are oppositely arranged and each is up to 2.5 centimeters long. The is a of pi ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oak Savanna
An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Mediterranean area. These savannas were maintained historically through wildfires set by lightning, humans, grazing, low precipitation, and/or poor soil. Although there are pockets of oak savanna almost anywhere in North America where oaks are present, there are three major oak savanna areas: 1) California, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon in the west; 2) Southwestern United States and northern Mexico; and 3) the prairie/forest border of the Midwestern United States. There are also small areas of oak savannas in other parts of the world. (See also Eastern savannas of the United States for information on pine savannas of the U.S. South.) Midwestern oak savannas The oak savannas of the Midwestern United States form a transition zone be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goat Prairie
{{Short description, Type of grassland Goat prairies, sometimes termed hill prairies, or dry prairies are found mainly along the valley of the Upper Mississippi River in the Driftless Area, but can occur elsewhere. Normally a variant of tallgrass prairie, they are found on south-southwest-facing slopes, which receive considerable winter sun, causing a frequent freeze-thaw cycle. Bedrock generally lies not too far below. Left to themselves, they are subject to natural fire which rejuvenates the ecosystem. Open grasslands along this stretch of the Mississippi are rapidly colonized by mixed forests. However, the low moisture content of the slopes, the winter freeze-thaw cycle, and the thin layer of soil help to keep goat prairies free of trees. Human suppression of natural fire has greatly reduced their numbers. For publicly owned goat prairies, fire has been carefully set and contained. Eastern Red-cedar tend to be the invading species of tree. See also * rincon Sources"Prairie gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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