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Seekoeivlei 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 (site designations, resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives. In 2022, COP15 was held in Montreal, Canada. List of wetlands of international importance The list of wetlands of international importance included 2,531 Ramsar site, Ramsar sites in Februa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-billed Stork
The yellow-billed stork (''Mycteria ibis'') is a large African stork species in the family Ciconiidae. It is widespread south of the Sahara and also occurs in Madagascar. Taxonomy and evolution The yellow-billed stork lies within the genus ''Mycteria'' along with three other extant species: the wood stork (''M. americana''), the milky stork (''M. cinerea'') and the painted stork (''M. leucocephala'').PetersKahl, ''Ibis'' Species within ''Mycteria'' display remarkable Homology (biology), homologies in behavior (e.g., feeding and courtship) and morphology (biology), morphology, with relatively few species-specific variations. Description This medium-sized stork stands tall.Hancock, et al. Its body is white with a short black tail that is glossed green and purple when freshly moulted. The beak, bill is deep yellow, slightly decurved at the end and with a rounder cross-section than in other stork species outside the ''Mycteria''. Feathers extend onto the head and neck just behind ... [...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 Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease .... 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''. 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. Social Behavior It is ... [...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 the Tigris–Euphrates river system in southwestern Iran, eastern and southern Iraq, Kuwait, though has also recently colonised wetlands in 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 is migratory, wintering 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wattled Crane
The wattled crane (''Grus carunculata'') is a large, threatened species of crane found in wetlands and grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia to South Africa. Some authorities consider it the sole member of the 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 o ... [...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''". Subspecies This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details. The tropical forms are resident, but European and Asian birds winter south to Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. A tagged whiskered tern was spotted at Manakudi Bird Sanctuary, Kanniyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, India in the month of April 2021.Two Tagged migratory birds spotted in salt pans in Manakudy bird reserve, The Hindu, Thiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu Edition, India, pp4, 12.04.2021. thehindu.com This species breeds in colonies on inland marshes, someti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Quail
The common quail (''Coturnix coturnix''), or European quail, is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India. With its characteristic call of three repeated chirps (repeated three times in quick succession), this species of quail is more often heard than seen. It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and is categorised by the IUCN as "least concern". It should not be confused with the Japanese quail (''Coturnix japonica)'', native to Asia, which, although visually similar, has a call that is very distinct from that of the common quail. Like the Japanese quail, common quails are sometimes kept as poultry. Taxonomy The common quail was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Tetrao coturnix''. The specific epithet ''coturnix'' is the Latin word for th ... [...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 sub-urban 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 sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cattle Egret
The cattle egret (formerly genus ''Bubulcus'') is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan clade of heron (family (biology), family Ardeidae) in the genus ''Ardea (genus), Ardea'' found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. According to the International Ornithologists' Union, IOC bird list, it contains two species, the western cattle egret and the eastern cattle egret, although some authorities regard them as a single species. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus ''Egretta'', it actually belongs to the genus ''Ardea (genus), Ardea''. Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it has undergone a rapid expansion in its range (biology), distribution and successfully Colonisation (biology), colonised much of the rest of the world in the last century. They are white birds adorned with buff feather, plumes in the breeding season. They nest in bird colony, colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibis
The ibis () (collective plural ibises; 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 western cattle egret (''Ardea 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 Flying and gliding animals, flight, but two extinct genera were flightless, namely the kiwi-like ''Apteribis'' in the Hawaiian Islands, and the peculiar ''Xenicibis xympithecus, Xenicibis'' in Jamaica. The word ''ibis'' comes from Latin ''ibis'' from Ancient Greek, Greek ἶβις ''ibis'' from Egy ... [...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 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 20 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. Ottomar Ansch� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heron
Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' 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 (genus), Ardea'' and ''Egretta''. Similarly, the relationships of the genus, genera in the family are not completely resolved. However, one species formerly considered to c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
