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Samar Crow
The Samar crow (''Corvus samarensis''), formerly known as the small crow, is a passerine bird in the genus ''Corvus'' of the family Corvidae. It is endemic to the islands of Samar and Mindanao in the Philippines. However, it has not been recorded in Mindanao since the 1980s. Its natural habitats are primary tropical moist lowland forest. It is now extremely rare and likely endangered. It is threatened by habitat loss and hunting. Description and taxonomy The Samar crow is a small, short-tailed crow with bare facial skin and a distinctive whirring flight style. It is found in pristine primary forests. Its call is described as a high pitched squeal not typical for a crow. It may be distinguished from the Sierra Madre crow by its shorter and thinner bill, more intense black plumage, and darker gray feathers on the base of its neck. Its call is also described as lower pitched than that of the Sierra Madre crow. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Slender-billed cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Beal Steere
Joseph Beal Steere (9 February 1842 – 7 December 1940) was an American ornithologist. Life and career Steere was born in Rollin, Michigan, the son of William Millhouse and Elizabeth Cleghorn (Beal) Steere. He received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1868 and a B. of Law in 1870. Shortly after his graduation he entered upon an extensive tour to make collections for the University Museum. His mother's cousin, Rice A. Beal—owner and publisher of the ''Ann Arbor Courier''—agreed to pay for the expedition if Steere would write letters from his journey to be published in the ''Courier''. He spent about eighteen months on the Amazon River and its tributaries, making collections in zoology, botany, and archaeology. He crossed the Andes and continued his collections in various parts of Peru. He then sailed for China and the island of Formosa (Taiwan). He went on another scientific expedition in 1887 to the Philippines where he made an extensive collection of birds, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described. Theoretical implications Monotypic taxa present several important theoretical challenges in biological classification. One key issue is known as "Gregg's Paradox": if a single species is the only member of multiple hierarchical levels (for example, being the only species in its genus, which is the only genus in its family), then each level needs a distinct definition to maintain logical structure. Otherwise, the different taxonomic ranks become effectively identical, which creates problems for organizing biological diversity in a hierarchical syste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Birds Of The Philippines
This article is one of a series providing information about endemism among birds in the world's various zoogeographic zones. Patterns of endemism The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines has a checklist of the birds of the Philippines which follows the IOC World Bird List. Of these 260 bird species endemic to the Philippines. Many of these are restricted to specific islands, particularly Luzon, Mindanao, and Palawan.''A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines'', Robert S. Kennedy et al., Oxford University Press, 2013. The number of endemic species recognized in the Philippines has increased in recent years, mainly due to " splits" of species and, to a much lesser extent, due to the discovery of previously unknown species. An example of splitting is the division of the erstwhile species Philippine hawk-owl (''Ninox scutulata'') into seven species, now called by the name of this-or-that boobook (Luzon boobook, Mindoro boobook, etc. see the list below). Another example is the split of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corvus
''Corvus'' is a widely distributed genus of passerine birds ranging from medium-sized to large-sized in the family Corvidae. It includes species commonly known as crows, ravens, and rooks. The species commonly encountered in Europe are the carrion crow, hooded crow, common raven, and rook; those discovered later were named "crow" or "raven" chiefly on the basis of their size, crows generally being smaller. The genus name is Latin for "raven". The 46 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents except South America, and several islands. The ''Corvus'' genus makes up a third of the species in the family Corvidae. The members appear to have evolved in Asia from the corvid stock, which had evolved in Australia. The collective name for a group of crows is a "flock" or a "murder". Recent research has found some crow species capable of not only tool use, but also tool construction. Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illegal Logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a protected area; the cutting down of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. Illegal logging is a driving force for a number of environmental issues such as deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss which can drive larger-scale environmental crises such as climate change and other forms of environmental degradation. Illegality may also occur during transport, such as illegal processing and export (through smuggling, fraudulent declaration to customs); the tax avoidance, avoidance of taxes and other charges, and fraudulent certification. These acts are often referred to as "wood laundering". Illegal logging is driven by a number of economic forces, such as demand for raw materials, land grabbing and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samar Island Natural Park
The Samar Island Natural Park, in Samar, is the largest contiguous tract of old-growth forest in the Philippines. It is the country's largest terrestrial protected area, with an area of . The buffer is spread north to south over the island's three provinces (Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Samar province) and totals , about a third of the entire island of Samar. The park includes some of the island's well-known natural landmarks and landscapes which have been earlier designated for protection, namely the former Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park, the former Calbiga Caves Protected Landscape, the former Taft Forest Wildlife Sanctuary, the former Jicontol Watershed Forest Reserve and the former Bulosao Watershed Forest Reserve. It has a large biodiversity. It is a center of plant and animal diversity and endemism in the Philippines containing a number of threatened species belonging to the Eastern Visayas and Mindanao biogeographic region. Samar Island Natural Park was declared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippine Jungle Crow
The Philippine jungle crow (''Corvus philippinus'') is a species of crow endemic to the Philippines. It is a generalist and found across a wide range of habitats including near human settlements. It was formerly as subspecies of the Large-billed crow but has now been designated as a distinct species. Description and taxonomy EBird describes this as "Large crow endemic to the Philippines; note its relatively long, daggerlike bill with curved top. Entirely black with some glossiness evident in good lighting. Compare with smaller Palawan, Samar, and Sierra Madre Crows in areas of overlap. A frequent scavenger, feeding on carrion, leftover food from humans, and food stolen from other birds. Often gangs up to attack and chase other birds, especially raptors. Occurs in a wide range of habitats including woodlands, urban landscapes, agricultural fields, and open scrub forests. Call varies, generally a harsh or croaking crow." The Philippine jungle crow was formally described in 1853 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interspecific Competition
Interspecific competition, in ecology, is a form of competition in which individuals of ''different'' species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem (e.g. food or living space). This can be contrasted with mutualism, a type of symbiosis. Competition between members of the same species is called intraspecific competition. If a tree species in a dense forest grows taller than surrounding tree species, it is able to absorb more of the incoming sunlight. However, less sunlight is then available for the trees that are shaded by the taller tree, thus interspecific competition. Leopards and lions can also be in interspecific competition, since both species feed on the same prey, and can be negatively impacted by the presence of the other because they will have less food. Competition is only one of many interacting biotic and abiotic factors that affect community structure. Moreover, competition is not always a straightforward, direct, interaction. Interspecific competition may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegetation, or "slash", is then left to dry, usually right before the rainiest part of the year. Then, the Biomass (ecology), biomass is burned, resulting in a nutrient-rich layer of ash which makes the Soil fertility, soil fertile, as well as temporarily eliminating weed and pest species. After about three to five years, the plot's productivity decreases due to depletion of nutrients along with weed and pest invasion, causing the farmers to abandon the field and move to a new area. The time it takes for a swidden to recover depends on the location and can be as little as five years to more than twenty years, after which the plot can be slashed and burned again, repeating the cycle. In Bangladesh and India, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunda Crow
The Sunda crow (''Corvus enca''), formerly known as the slender-billed crow, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae, in the genus ''Corvus''. It is found from Malaysia to Borneo. The violet crow has been shown to be distinct genetically and separated as ''Corvus violaceus''. The small crow has been split as ''Corvus samarensis'' and the Palawan crow has also been split as ''Corvus pusillus''. Taxonomy The Sunda crow was formally described in 1821 by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield based on a specimen collected on the Indonesian island of Java. He coined the binomial name ''Fregilus enca''. The specific epithet ''enca'' is a Javanese word for a crow. Two subspecies are recognised: * ''C. e. compilator'' Richmond, 1903 – Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, west Sumatran islands and Borneo * ''C. e. enca'' ( Horsfield, 1821) – Java and Bali Former subspecies now treated as separate species: * Sulawesi crow (''Corvus celebensis'') * Samar crow (''Corvus samarensis'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated as subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same ("the subspecies is" or "the subspecies are"). In zoology, under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the subspecies is the only taxonomic rank below that of species that can receive a name. In botany and mycology, under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, other infraspecific name, infraspecific ranks, such as variety (botany), variety, may be named. In bacteriology and virology, under standard International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes, bacterial nomenclature and virus clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Ornithologists' Union
The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip .... It links basic and applied research and nurtures education and outreach activities. Specifically, the IOU organizes and funds global congresses on ornithology at regular intervals, sets up and supports commissions and committees on various aspects of avian biology and conservation, and initiates and backs other international ornithological activities with specific aims consistent with its own mission and goal. It discloses the names and professional affiliations of its members on its website to encourage international collaboration and networking. The IOU acts as the Ornithology Section of the International Union of Biologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
