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Seekoei-vlei Nature Reserve
Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve is an expansive wetland spanning some 30 km2 (or 4,754 hectares) near the town of Memel in the Free State, South Africa. The area was declared a Ramsar site in 1999. It is unique for housing more than 250 species of birds, and the town of Memel is now a popular destination for bird enthusiasts, featuring bird hides and picnic facilities. It is also home to some hippopotamus, "seekoei" being the Afrikaans translation, as well as zebra. It lies nearly 2000 m above sea level near the Drakensberg escarpment and close to where the Free State, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal meet. Two parts of the Sneeuwberg Protected Environment connects with its south-western border. Wetland Just north of Memel, the Pampoenspruit meets the Klip River, a tributary of the Tugela River, in a 25-km2 swamp with consisting of a myriad of marshes, pools, floodplains, lakes, and grasslands that often flood during the rainy season. It is the largest inland wetland in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar, Mazandaran, Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971. Every three years, representatives of the contracting parties meet as the Ramsar Convention#Conference of the Contracting Parties, Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the wetland conservation, convention which adopts decisions (resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives. COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 2015. COP13 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in October 2018. List of wetlands of international importance The list of wetlands of international importan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-billed Stork
The yellow-billed stork (''Mycteria ibis''), sometimes also called the wood stork or wood ibis, is a large African wading stork species in the family Ciconiidae. It is widespread in regions south of the Sahara and also occurs in Madagascar. Taxonomy and evolution The yellow-billed stork is closely related to three other species in the genus ''Mycteria'': the American woodstork (''Mycteria americana''), the milky stork (''Mycteria cinerea'') and the painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala''). It is classified as belonging to one clade with these three other speciesPetersKahl, ''Ibis'' because they all display remarkable homologies in behavior and morphology. In one analytical study of feeding and courtship behaviours of the wood-stork family, M.P. Kahl attributed the same general ethology to all members of the genus ''Mycteria'', with relatively few species-specific variations. These four species are collectively referred to as the wood-storks, which should not be confused wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudd's Lark
Rudd's lark (''Heteromirafra ruddi'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is endemic to South Africa. Its natural habitat is high-altitude grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss. Taxonomy and systematics left, Bird in flight at Wakkerstroom, South Africa Formerly, some authorities have classified Rudd's lark as belonging to the genus ''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 found from Africa through South Asia to Australia. Taxonomy and systematics The phylogeny of lark ...''. Previously, some authorities have also considered Archer's lark to be a subspecies of Rudd's lark (as ''Heteromirafra ruddi archeri''). Alternate names for Rudd's lark include long-clawed lark, Rudd's long-clawed lark and South African long-clawed lark. The name "long-clawed lark" has been used to describe both Rudd's lark and Archer's lark. References External lin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basra Reed Warbler
The Basra reed warbler (''Acrocephalus griseldis'') is a "warbler" of the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is an endemic breeder in Southwestern Iran, East and southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Israel in extensive beds of papyrus and reeds. It is easily mistaken for the great reed warbler but is a bit smaller, has whiter underparts and has a narrower, longer and more pointed bill. It winters in East Africa. It is a very rare vagrant in Europe. The call is a gruff ''chaar'', deeper than a reed warbler's. It is found in aquatic vegetation in or around shallow, fresh or brackish water, still or flowing, mainly in dense reedbeds. It is found in thickets and bushland when migrating or wintering. In 2007, the species was discovered as a breeding bird in northern Israel. Due to the drainage of the Mesopotamian marshes throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, and the subsequent near destruction of its native habitat, the Basra reed warbler is considered an endangered species.Jabbar, M. T., & Jingxuan, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wattled Crane
The wattled crane (''Grus carunculata'') is a large bird found in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus ''Bugeranus''. Taxonomy The first formal description of the wattled crane was by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 under the binomial name ''Ardea carunculata''. Gmelin based his account on the "wattled heron" that had been described and illustrated by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1785. The specific epithet is from the Latin ''caruncula'' meaning "a small piece of flesh". The wattled crane was formerly placed in its own genus ''Bugeranus''. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus '' Grus'' within the crane family was not monophyletic and that the wattled crane was a sister species to a clade containing the blue crane and the demoiselle crane. In the resulting reorganization of the genera, the wattled crane was moved to the genus ''Grus''. Some taxonomists retain the watt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whiskered Tern
The whiskered tern (''Chlidonias hybrida'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''khelidonios'', "swallow-like", from ''khelidon'', " swallow". The specific ''hybridus'' is Latin for ''hybrid''; Peter Simon Pallas thought it might be a hybrid of white-winged black tern and common tern, writing "''Sterna fissipes 'Chlidonias leucopterus''et Hirundine 'Sterna hirundo''natam''”. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details. ''C. h. hybrida'' breeds in warmer parts of Europe and the Palearctic (northwestern Africa and central and southern Europe to southeastern Siberia, eastern China and south to Pakistan and northern India). The smaller-billed and darker ''C. h. delalandii'' is found in east and south Africa, and the paler ''C. h. javanicus'' from Java to Australia. The tropical forms are resident, but European and Asian birds winter south to Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Masked Weaver
The southern masked weaver (''Ploceus velatus''), or African masked weaver, is a resident breeding bird species common throughout southern Africa. This weaver is very widespread and found in a wide range of habitats, including shrubland, savanna, grassland, open woodland, inland wetlands and semi-desert areas. It also occurs in suburban gardens and parks. Description The southern masked weaver is long with a short, strong, conical bill and pinkish brown legs. The adult male in breeding plumage has a black face, throat and beak, red eye, bright yellow head and underparts, and a plain yellowish-green back, The female has a pinkish-brown bill, brown or red-brown eye and is dull greenish-yellow, streaked darker on the upper back. The throat is yellowish, fading to off-white on the belly. The non-breeding male resembles the female but retains the red eye. The juvenile of this species is like the female. The call is a harsh swizzling, similar to other weavers. It also utters a sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cattle Egret
The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the western cattle egret and the eastern cattle egret. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus ''Egretta'', it is more closely related to the herons of '' Ardea''. Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised much of the rest of the world in the last century. It is a white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs. Cattle egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibis
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word for this group of birds. It also occurs in the scientific name of the cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') mistakenly identified in 1757 as being the sacred ibis. Description Ibises all have long, downcurved bills, and usually feed as a group, probing mud for food items, usually crustaceans. They are monogamous and highly territorial while nesting and feeding. Most nest in trees, often with spoonbills or herons. All extant species are capable of flight, but two extinct genera were flightless, namely the kiwi-like ''Apteribis'' in the Hawaiian Islands, and the peculiar '' Xenicibis'' in Jamaica. The word ''ibis'' comes from Latin ''ibis'' from Greek ἶβις ''ibis'' from Egyptian ''hb'', ''hīb''. Beekes, R. S. P. (2009) ''Etymological Diction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibises, but those families have been moved to other orders. Storks dwell in many regions and tend to live in drier habitats than the closely related herons, spoonbills and ibises; they also lack the powder down that those groups use to clean off fish slime. Bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Many species are migratory. Most storks eat frogs, fish, insects, earthworms, small birds and small mammals. There are 19 living species of storks in six genera. Various terms are used to refer to groups of storks, two frequently used ones being a ''muster'' of storks and a ''phalanx'' of storks. Storks tend to use soaring, gliding flight, which conserves energy. Soaring requires thermal air currents. Ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus'' are referred to as bitterns, and, together with the zigzag heron, or zigzag bittern, in the monotypic genus ''Zebrilus'', form a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae. Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks. The classification of the individual heron/egret species is fraught with difficulty, and no clear consensus exists about the correct placement of many species into either of the two major genera, '' Ardea'' and ''Egretta''. Similarly, the relationships of the genera in the family are not completely resolved. However, one species formerly considere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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