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Slettnes Nature Reserve
The Slettnes Nature Reserve is a 1158 ha protected area of land in Gamvik Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It borders the Arctic Barents Sea near the village of Gamvik on the northern coast of the Nordkinn Peninsula. The Slettnes Lighthouse lies within the reserve. Environment The reserve largely coincides with the 1230 ha Slettnes Ramsar site and the terrestrial component of the Slettnes Important Bird Area (IBA), designated as such by BirdLife International because it supports several bird species while they are breeding, overwintering or passing through on migration. Habitats in the IBA include fens, mires, springs and raised bogs, as well as tundra, the coast and neritic waters. The birds for which the IBA was designated include long-tailed ducks, common eiders, Steller's eiders, common scoters, yellow-billed loons, ruddy turnstones, Temminck's stints, little stints, red-necked phalaropes, black-legged kittiwakes, Arctic jaegers, pomarine jaegers, razorbills ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mountain tract". There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine tundra, and Antarctic tundra. Tundra vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra regions. The ecotone (or ecological boundary region) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline. The tundra soil is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. The soil also contains large amounts of biomass and decomposed biomass that has been stored as methane and carbon dioxide in the permafrost, making the tundra soil a carbon sink. As global warming heats the ecosystem and causes soil thawing, the permafrost carbon cycle accelerates and releases much of these soil-conta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pomarine Jaeger
The pomarine jaeger (''Stercorarius pomarinus''), pomarine skua, or pomatorhine skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migrant, wintering at sea in the tropical oceans. Taxonomy Its relationships are not fully resolved; its mitochondrial DNA is most similar to the great skua, but from morphology and behavior, it is closer to the lesser skuas (such as the parasitic jaeger). The most likely explanation is extensive hybridization between the great and one species of lesser skuas, which resulted in a hybrid population that eventually evolved into a distinct species, the pomarine jaeger; or alternatively between the pomarine and a species of Southern Hemisphere skua, with the great skua being the hybrid offspring, perhaps appearing as recently as the 15th century. Judging from characteristics of the skeleton and behavior, the former seems more likely, as the pomarine jaeger shares several similarities with the "Catharacta" skuas, while the great skua does ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Jaeger
The parasitic jaeger (''Stercorarius parasiticus''), also known as the Arctic skua, Arctic jaeger or parasitic skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species that breeds in Northern Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia and winters across the southern hemisphere. Kleptoparasitism is a major source of food for this species during migration and winter, and is where the name is derived from. Etymology The word "jaeger" is derived from the German word ''Jäger'', meaning "hunter". The English "skua" comes from the Faroese name ''skúgvur'' for the great skua, with the island of Skúvoy known for its colony of that bird. The general Faroese term for skuas is ''kjógvi'' . The genus name ''Stercorarius'' is Latin and means "of dung"; the food disgorged by other birds when pursued by skuas was once thought to be excrement. The specific ''parasiticus'' is from Latin and means "parasitic". Descripti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-legged Kittiwake
The black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Larus tridactylus''. The English name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. The genus name ''Rissa'' is from the Icelandic name ''rita'' for this bird, and the specific ''tridactyla'' is from Ancient Greek ''tridaktulos'', "three-toed", from ''tri-'', "three-" and ''daktulos'', "toe". In North America, this species is known as the black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from the red-legged kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as kittiwake. Range and distribution The black-legged kittiwake is a coastal bird of the arctic to subarctic regions of the world.del Hoyo, J; Elliott, A; Sargatal, J (1996). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol. 3''. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 622–6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-necked Phalarope
The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans. Taxonomy In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the red-necked phalarope in the first volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The coot-footed tringa". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a specimen that had been collected off the coast of Maryland. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the red-necked phalarope with the phalaropes and sandpipers in the genus '' Tringa''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Tringa lobata'' and cited Edwards' work. The red-necked phalarope is now placed in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Stint
The little stint (''Calidris minuta'' or ''Erolia minuta''), is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America and to Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''minuta'' is Latin for "small. Description Its small size, fine dark bill, dark legs and quicker movements distinguish this species from all waders except the other dark-legged stints. It can be distinguished from these in all plumages by its combination of a fine bill tip, unwebbed toes and long primary projection. The call is a sharp "stit". The breeding adult has an orange wash to the breast, a white throat and a strong white V on its back. In winter plumage identification is difficult. Juveniles have pale crown stripes and a pinkish breast. An apparent hybrid between th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temminck's Stint
Temminck's stint (''Calidris temminckii'') is a small wader. This bird's common name and Latin binomial commemorate the Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. Temminck's stint is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA) applies. Description These birds are very small waders, at length. They are similar in size to the little stint (''Calidris minuta'') but shorter legged and longer winged. The legs are yellow and the outer tail feathers white, in contrast to little stint's dark legs and grey outer tail feathers. This is a rather drab wader, with mainly plain brown upperparts and head, and underparts white apart from a darker breast. The breeding adult has some brighter rufous mantle feathers to relieve the generally undistinguished appearance. In winter plumage, the genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruddy Turnstone
The ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') is a small cosmopolitan wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus ''Arenaria''. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is a highly migratory bird, breeding in northern parts of Eurasia and North America and flying south to winter on coastlines almost worldwide. It is the only species of turnstone in much of its range and is often known simply as turnstone. Taxonomy The ruddy turnstone was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Tringa interpres''. The species is now placed together with the black turnstone in the genus '' Arenaria'' that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the ruddy turnstone as the type species. The genus name ''arenaria'' is from Latin ''arenarius'', "inhabiting s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-billed Loon
The yellow-billed loon (''Gavia adamsii''), also known as the white-billed diver, is the largest member of the loon or diver family. Breeding adults have a black head, white underparts and chequered black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage is drabber with the chin and foreneck white. Its main distinguishing feature is the long straw-yellow bill which, because the culmen is straight, appears slightly uptilted. It breeds in the Arctic and winters mainly at sea along the coasts of the northern Pacific Ocean and northwestern Norway; it also sometimes overwinters on large inland lakes. It occasionally strays well south of its normal wintering range, and has been recorded as a vagrant in more than 22 countries. This species, like all divers, is a specialist fish-eater, catching its prey underwater. Its call is an eerie wailing, lower pitched than the common loon. Taxonomy and etymology First described by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1859 based on a specimen collected i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Scoter
The common scoter (''Melanitta nigra'') is a large sea duck, in length, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic east to the Olenyok River. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''melas'', "black", and ''netta'', "duck". The species name is from Latin ''niger'' "shining black". The black scoter (''M. americana'') of North America and eastern Siberia is sometimes considered a subspecies of ''M. nigra''. Description It is characterised by its bulky shape and large bill. The male is all black with a bulbous bill which shows some yellow coloration around the nostrils. The female is a brown bird with pale cheeks, very similar to female black scoter. This species can be distinguished from other scoters, apart from black scoter, by the lack of white anywhere on the drake and the more extensive pale areas on the female. Vocalisations Black scoter and common scoter have diagnosably distinct vocalisations. Ecology It winters farther south in temperate zon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steller's Eider
Steller's eider (''Polysticta stelleri'') is a migrating Arctic diving duck that breeds along the coastlines of eastern Russia and Alaska. It is the rarest, smallest, and fastest flying of the eider species. Amongst the Inupiat, Steller's eider is known as the "bird that sat in the campfire", referring to the burnt-ish color of the male's belly. Due to the extensive contraction of its breeding range, the Alaska-breeding population of Steller's eider was listed as vulnerable in 1997 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN). The species is protected in Russia and the U.S. and is the subject of an ongoing recovery plan by the European Union and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Taxonomy Steller’s eider is in the family Anatidae along with other ducks, geese, and swans and is the only species in the genus Polysticta. Despite its name, it is more distantly related than all other extant eider species which are part of the Somateria genus. Steller's eider w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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