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Yawri Bay
Yawri Bay is a bay on the coast of Sierra Leone on the Atlantic Ocean. Geography Yawri Bay opens to the south-west and is located about 25 km to the south of Freetown. The Banana Islands —including Dublin Island, Ricketts Island and Wolf Rock— as well as Mes-Meheux close to the headland, are located off the north-western point enclosing the bay. Environment The bay is a shallow coastal wetland with sheltered waters and some 60 km of foreshore. It has 9,000 ha of intertidal mudflats, backed by 25,000 ha of mangrove swamps interlaced with tidal creeks. The site has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of lesser flamingos, western reef egrets, pink-backed and great white pelicans, Eurasian oystercatchers, pied avocets, Eurasian curlews, bar-tailed and black-tailed godwits, red knots, curlew sandpipers, little terns and Timneh parrot The Timneh parrot (''Psittacus timneh''), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for separating the New World of the Americas (North America and South America) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Asia, and Europe). Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the Norse colonization of North America, Norse were the first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus's expedition ushered in an Age of Discovery, age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers, most notably Portuguese Empire, Portugal, Spanish Empire, Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pink-backed Pelican
The pink-backed pelican (''Pelecanus rufescens'') is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa and southern Arabian Peninsula, Arabia; it has also been Local extinction, extirpated from Madagascar. Taxonomy The pink-backed pelican was Species description, formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other pelicans in the genus ''Pelecanus'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Pelecanus rufescens''. Gmelin based his description on the "red-backed pelican" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham (ornithologist), John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham had been sent a specimen from West Africa. The specific epithet ''rufescens'' is Latin for "reddish". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Descri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of Sierra Leone
Importance is a property of entities that matter or make a difference. For example, World War II was an important event and Albert Einstein was an important person because of how they affected the world. There are disagreements in the academic literature about what type of difference is required. According to the causal impact view, something is important if it has a big causal impact on the world. This view is rejected by various theorists, who insist that an additional aspect is required: that the impact in question makes a value difference. This is often understood in terms of how the important thing affects the well-being of people. So in this view, World War II was important, not just because it brought about many wide-ranging changes but because these changes had severe negative impacts on the well-being of the people involved. The difference in question is usually understood counterfactually as the contrast between how the world is and how the world would have been withou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bays Of The Atlantic Ocean
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, circular bay with a narrow entrance. A ''fjord'' is an elongated bay formed by glacial action. The term ''embayment'' is also used for , such as extinct bays or freshwater environments. A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary of the Susquehanna River. Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada. Some large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology. The land surrounding a bay often reduces the strength of winds and blocks waves. Bays may have as wide a variety of shoreline characteristics as other shorelines. In some cases, bays have beaches, which "are usually characterized by a steep upper foreshore wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timneh Parrot
The Timneh parrot (''Psittacus timneh''), also known as the Timneh grey parrot or Timneh African grey parrot, is a West African parrot. Formerly classified as a subspecies of the grey parrot ''Psittacus erithacus timneh'', it is now considered a full species ''Psittacus timneh''. In aviculture, it is often referred to by the initials TAG and is commonly kept as a companion parrot. Taxonomy The Timneh parrot was formally described in 1844 by the British zoologist and collector Louis Fraser. He coined the binomial name ''Psittacus timneh'' and specified the type locality as "Timneh country, Sierra Leone". The Temne are an ethnic group that are predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The Timneh parrot was formerly classified as a subspecies of the grey parrot but is now treated as a separate species based on the results of a genetic and morphological study published in 2007. Two subspecies are recognised: * ''P. t. timneh'' Fraser, 1844 – south Guinea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Tern
The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Sterna albifrons''. It was moved to the genus '' Sternula'' when the genus '' Sterna'' was restricted to the larger typical terns. The genus name ''Sternula'' is a diminutive of ''Sterna'', 'tern', while the specific name ''albifrons'' is from Latin ''albus'', 'white', and ''frons'', 'forehead'. Distribution This bird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropical Europe, Asia, north and west Africa, and eastern Australia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia. Subspecies There are four subspecies. * The nominate ''S. a. albifrons'' occurs in Europe to North Africa and western Asia * ''S. a. guineae'' of western Africa * ''S. a. sinensis'' in eastern Asia (SE Russia to Japan, SE Asia, Philippines) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curlew Sandpiper
The curlew sandpiper (''Calidris ferruginea'') is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly bird migration, migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australia and New Zealand. It is a Vagrancy (biology), vagrant to North America. Taxonomy The curlew sandpiper was species description, formally described in 1763 by the Danish author Erik Pontoppidan under the binomial name ''Tringa ferrugineus''. It is now placed with 23 other sandpipers in the genus ''Calidris'' that was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalist Blasius Merrem. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ferruginea'' is from Latin ''ferrugo, ferruginis'', "iron rust" referring to its colour in breeding plumage. The curlew sandpiper is treated as monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Within the genus ''Calidris'' the curlew sandpiper i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Knot
The red knot or just knot (''Calidris canutus'') is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the ''Calidris'' sandpipers, second only to the great knot. Six subspecies are recognised. Their diet varies according to season; arthropods and larvae are the preferred food items at the breeding grounds, while various hard-shelled molluscs are consumed at other feeding sites at other times. North American breeders migrate to coastal areas in Europe and South America, while the Eurasian populations winter in Africa, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. This species forms enormous flocks when not breeding. Taxonomy, systematics, and evolution The red knot was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Tringa canutus''. One theory is that it gets its name and species epithet from King Cnut; the name would refer to the k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-tailed Godwit
The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times. Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened. The black-tailed godwit is the national bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bar-tailed Godwit
The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, and a long upturned bill. Bar-tailed godwits breed on Arctic coasts and tundra from Scandinavia to Alaska, and overwinter on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and New Zealand. The migration of the subspecies ''Limosa lapponica baueri'' across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to New Zealand is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird, and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal. The round-trip migration for this subspecies is over . Taxonomy The bar-tailed godwit was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Scolopax limosa''. It is now placed with three other godwits in the genus '' Limosa'' th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred to just as the "curlew", and in Scotland known as the "whaup" in Scots. Taxonomy The Eurasian curlew was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Scolopax arquata''. It is now placed with eight other curlews in the genus '' Numenius'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name ''Numenius'' is from Ancient Greek νουμήνιος, ''noumēnios'', a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associated with the curlew because it appears to be derived from ''neos'', "new" and ''mene'' "moon", referring to the crescent-shaped bill. The species name ''arquata'' is the Medieval Latin name for this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pied Avocet
The pied avocet (''Recurvirostra avosetta'') is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. The pied avocet is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Taxonomy The pied avocet was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', where it was given the binomial name of ''Recurvirostra avosetta''. This species gets its English and scientific names from the Venetian word ''avosetta''. It appeared first in Ulisse Aldrovandi's ''Ornithologia'' (1603). While the name may refer to black and white outfits once w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
