Brolga
The brolga (''Antigone rubicunda''), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane (bird), crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithology, ornithologist John Gould in his ''The Birds of Australia (Gould), Birds of Australia''. The brolga is a common, gregarious wetland bird species of tropical and south-eastern Australia and New Guinea. It is a tall, upright bird with a small head, long beak, slender neck, and long legs. Its plumage is mainly grey, with black wing tips, and it has an orange-red band on its head. The brolga's courting dance is similar to that of other cranes. The nest is built of wetland vegetation, either on an elevated piece of land or floating on shallow water in marshland, and usually two eggs are laid. Incubation takes 32 days, and the newly hatched young are precocial. The adult diet is omnivorous and includes plant matter, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. Although the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sarus Crane
The sarus crane (''Antigone antigone'') is a large nonmigratory Crane (bird), crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to , they are a conspicuous species of open wetlands in South Asia, seasonally flooded ''Dipterocarpus'' forests in Southeast Asia, and ''Eucalyptus''-dominated woodlands and grasslands in Australia. The sarus crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by its overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans, and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps, and dance-like movements. In India, they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crane (bird)
Cranes are a type of large bird with long legs and necks in the Family (biology), biological family Gruidae of the Order (biology), order Gruiformes. The family has 15 species placed in four genera which are ''Antigone (genus), Antigone'', ''Balearica'', ''Siberian crane, Leucogeranus'', and ''Grus (genus), Grus''. They are large birds with long necks and legs, a tapering form, and long secondary feathers on the wing that project over the tail. Most species have muted gray or white plumages, marked with black, and red bare patches on the face, but the crowned cranes of the genus ''Balearica'' have vibrantly-coloured wings and golden "crowns" of feathers. Cranes fly with their necks extended outwards instead of bent into an S-shape and their long legs outstretched. Cranes live on most continents, with the exception of Antarctica and South America. Some species and populations of cranes bird migration, migrate over long distances; others do not migrate at all. Cranes are solitary du ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grus (genus)
''Grus'' is a genus of large birds in the crane family. The genus ''Grus'' erected by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The name ''Grus'' is the Latin word for "crane". The German ornithologist Peter Simon Pallas was sometimes credited with erecting the genus in 1766 but the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled in 1956 that Brisson should have priority. The genus formerly included additional species. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus ''Grus'', as then defined, was polyphyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, the sandhill crane, the white-naped crane, the sarus crane and the brolga were moved to the resurrected genus ''Antigone'' that had been erected by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853. The Siberian crane was moved to the resurrected monotypic genus ''Leucogeranus''. Species The genus contains eight species: The HBW/BirdLife and Clements checklis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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White-naped Crane
The white-naped crane (''Antigone vipio'', formerly ''Grus vipio'', also known as the ''Daurian crane'' in Russian sources) is a bird in the crane family, Gruidae. It is a large bird measuring 112–125 cm (44–49 in) long, about 130 cm (4.3 ft) tall, and weighing about 5.6 kg (12 lb), with pinkish legs, a grey-and-white-striped neck, and a red face patch. Taxonomy The white-naped crane was formerly placed in the genus '' Grus'', but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus, as then defined, was polyphyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, four species: the sarus crane (''Antigone antigone''), the brolga (''Antigone rubicunda''), the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') and the white-naped crane (''Antigone vipio''), were placed in the resurrected genus '' Antigone'' that had originally been erected by German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853. Description The white-naped crane c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gamilaraay Language
The Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi language () is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup found mostly in south-eastern Australia. It is the traditional language of the Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi), an Aboriginal Australian people. It has been noted as endangered, but the number of speakers grew from 87 in the 2011 Australian Census to 105 in the 2016 Australian Census. Thousands of Australians identify as Gamilaraay, and the language is taught in some schools. Wirray Wirray, Guyinbaraay, Yuwaalayaay, Waalaraay and Gawambaraay are dialects; Yuwaalaraay/Euahlayi is a closely related language. Name The name Gamilaraay means '-having', with being the word for 'no'. Other dialects and languages are similarly named after their respective words for 'no'. (Compare the division between ''langues d'oïl'' and '' langues d'oc'' in France, distinguished by their respective words for 'yes'.) Spellings of the name, pronounced in the language itself, include Goomeroi; Kamilaroi; Gamil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Healesville Sanctuary
Healesville Sanctuary, formally known as the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary, is a zoo specialising in native Australian animals. It is located at Healesville in rural Victoria, Australia, and has a history of breeding native animals. It is one of only two places to have successfully bred a platypus, the other being Sydney's Taronga Zoo. It also assists with a breeding population of the endangered helmeted honeyeater. The zoo is set in a natural bushland environment where paths wind through different habitat areas showcasing wallabies, wombats, dingoes, kangaroos, and over 200 native bird varieties. Guided tours, bird shows and information areas are available to visitors. History Dr Colin MacKenzie (knighted in 1929) set up the Institute of Anatomical Research in 1920 on of land formerly part of the Aboriginal reserve known as Coranderrk. The Reserve passed to the Healesville Council in 1927 and became the ''Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary'' in 1934. The first platyp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crake
Rails (avian family Rallidae) are a large, cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized terrestrial and/or semi-amphibious birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity in its forms, and includes such ubiquitous species as the crakes, coots, and gallinule; other rail species are extremely rare or endangered. Many are associated with wetland habitats, some being semi-aquatic like waterfowl (such as the coot), but many more are wading birds or shorebirds. The ideal rail habitats are marsh areas, including rice paddies, and flooded fields or open forest. They are especially fond of dense vegetation for nesting.Horsfall & Robinson (2003): pp. 206–207 The rail family is found in every terrestrial habitat with the exception of dry desert, polar or freezing regions, and alpine areas (above the snow line). Members of Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. Numerous unique island species are known. Name "Rail" is the anglicized respelling of the French ''râle'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies, which are explained as a result of convergent evolution. The arrangement of the members of a polyphyletic group is called a polyphyly .. [Source for pronunciation.] It is contrasted with monophyly and paraphyly. For example, the biological characteristic of warm-bloodedness evolved separately in the ancestors of mammals and the ancestors of birds; "warm-blooded animals" is therefore a polyphyletic grouping. Other examples of polyphyletic groups are algae, C4 photosynthesis, C4 photosynthetic plants, and Xenarthra#Evolutionary relationships, edentates. Many taxonomists aim to avoid homoplasies in grouping taxa together, with a goal to identify and eliminate groups that are found to be polyphyletic. This is often the stimulus for major re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Molecular Phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to determine the processes by which diversity among species has been achieved. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree. Molecular phylogenetics is one aspect of molecular systematics, a broader term that also includes the use of molecular data in taxonomy and biogeography. Molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution correlate. Molecular evolution is the process of selective changes (mutations) at a molecular level (genes, proteins, etc.) throughout various branches in the tree of life (evolution). Molecular phylogenetics makes inferences of the evolutionary relationships that arise due to molecular evolution and results in the construction of a phylogenetic tree. History The theoretical fra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morphology (biology)
Morphology (from Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ) "form", and λόγος (lógos) "word, study, research") is the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes aspects of the outward appearance (shape, structure, color, pattern, size), as well as the form and structure of internal parts like bones and organs, i.e., anatomy. This is in contrast to physiology, which deals primarily with function. Morphology is a branch of life science dealing with the study of the overall structure of an organism or taxon and its component parts. History The etymology of the word "morphology" is from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "form", and (), meaning "word, study, research". While the concept of form in biology, opposed to function, dates back to Aristotle (see Aristotle's biology), the field of morphology was developed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1790) and independently by the German anatomist and physiologist Karl Fried ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Molecular Phylogenetics
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to determine the processes by which diversity among species has been achieved. The result of a molecular phylogenetics, phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree. Molecular phylogenetics is one aspect of molecular systematics, a broader term that also includes the use of molecular data in Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and biogeography. Molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution correlate. Molecular evolution is the process of selective changes (mutations) at a molecular level (genes, proteins, etc.) throughout various branches in the tree of life (evolution). Molecular phylogenetics makes inferences of the evolutionary relationships that arise due to molecular evolution and results in the construction of a phylogenetic tre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union
The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions, making it Australia's oldest national birding association. In 1996, the organisation adopted the trading name of Birds Australia for most public purposes, while retaining its original name for legal purposes and as the publisher of its journal, the ''Emu''. In 2012, the RAOU merged with Bird Observation & Conservation Australia to form BirdLife Australia. The RAOU was the instigator of the Atlas of Australian Birds project. It also published (in association with Oxford University Press) the encyclopaedic '' Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds''. Its quarterly colour membership magazine was ''Wingspan''. The RAOU is the Australian Partner of BirdLife International, and had ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |