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Pied Kingfisher
The pied kingfisher (''Ceryle rudis'') is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies. Its black and white plumage and crest, as well as its habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish, make it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast, while females have a single broken breast band. They are usually found in pairs or small family groups. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail. Taxonomy and evolution The pied kingfisher was one of the many bird species originally described by Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'', who noted that it lived in Persia and Egypt. He named it ''Alcedo rudis''. The German naturalist Friedrich Boie erected the genus ''Ceryle'' in 1828. The name is from classical Greek ''kērulos'', an unidentified and probably mythical bird mentioned by Aristotle and o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chambal River
The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central India, Central and North India, Northern India, and thus forms part of the drainage system of the Ganges. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a brief time through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh state. It is a legendary river and finds mention in ancient Hindu scriptures. The Hindu epic Mahabharata refers to the Chambal River as Charmanyavati: originating from the blood of thousands of animals sacrificed by the King Rantideva. History During the Vedic era, the ancient name of Chambal river was Charmanvati, meaning the river on whose banks leather is dried. In due course of time, this river became famous as the river of ‘charman’ (skin) and was named as ''Charmanvati''. Origin, drainage and mouth The long Chambal River originates from the Bhadakla Falls in Janapav Hills on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hainan
Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea". The province has a land area of , of which Hainan Island is and the rest is over 200 islands scattered across three archipelagos: Zhongsha Islands, Zhongsha, Xisha Islands, Xisha and Nansha Islands, Nansha. It was part of Guangdong from 1950 to 1988, after which it was made a province of its own and was designated as a special economic zones of China, special economic zone by Deng Xiaoping, as part of the Chinese economic reform program. The Han Han Chinese, Chinese population, who compose a majority of the population at 82%, speak a wide variety of languages including Standard Chinese, Hainanese, Hainam Min, Yue Chinese, Cantonese, Hakka Chinese, etc. Indigenous peoples such as the Hlai people, Hlai, a Kra–Dai l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collared Kingfisher
The collared kingfisher (''Todiramphus chloris'') is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the white-collared kingfisher, black-masked kingfisher or mangrove kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia to Melanesia. A number of subspecies and subspecies groups have been split from this species including the Pacific kingfisher, the islet kingfisher, the Torresian kingfisher, the Mariana kingfisher, and the Melanesian kingfisher. Taxonomy The collared kingfisher was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux'' in 1780. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle''. This was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's descriptio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Kingfisher
The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter. This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank. Taxonomy The common kingfisher was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758 as ''Gracula atthis''. The modern binomial name derives from the Latin ', 'kingfisher' (from Greek , '), and ''Atthis'', a beautiful young woman of Lesbos, and favourite of Sappho. The genus '' Alcedo'' compri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crested Kingfisher
The crested kingfisher (''Megaceryle lugubris'') is a very large kingfisher that is native to parts of southern Asia. It is part of the kingfisher genus ('' Megaceryle'') with three other species: the giant kingfisher ('' Megaceryle maxima''), the ringed kingfisher ('' Megaceryle torquata''), and the belted kingfisher (''Megaceryle alcyon'') with which it forms a species complex. Description The crested kingfisher is a very large, stocky black and white bird, usually between tall, and weighs between . It has a large, pointed black bill with a yellowish-white tip and a large, shaggy black and white barred crest. It has finely barred black and white upperparts with flanks barred grey and white, while its belly is white with a black-speckled breastband. It has a white collar that starts at the bottom of the bill and goes to the back of the neck. The tail feathers are black with 6 to 8 white bars. Males and females are the same size but exhibit sexual dimorphism in their plumage. F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Migration
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The Arctic tern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Some species of Procellariiformes, tubenoses, such as albatrosses, circle the Earth, flying over the southern oceans, while others such as Manx shearwaters migrate between their northern breeding grounds and the southern ocean. Shorter migrations are common, while longer ones are not. The shorter migrations include altitudinal migrations on mountains, including the Andes and Himalayas. The timing of migration seems to be controlled primarily by changes in day length. Migrating birds navigate using celestial cues from the Sun and stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and mental maps. Histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and Borders of China, borders fourteen countries by land across an area of nearly , making it the list of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest country by land area. The country is divided into 33 Province-level divisions of China, province-level divisions: 22 provinces of China, provinces, 5 autonomous regions of China, autonomous regions, 4 direct-administered municipalities of China, municipalities, and 2 semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the country's capital, while Shanghai is List of cities in China by population, its most populous city by urban area and largest financial center. Considered one of six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilanesberg Game Reserve
The Pilanesberg National Park is located north of Rustenburg in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. The park borders on the Sun City (South Africa), Sun City entertainment complex. It is administered by the North West Parks and Tourism Board. The area lies in the root zone of an extinct volcano, and is defined by alternating ridges and valleys forming concentric rings, a geological formation that rises abruptly in the form of hills above the surrounding plains. The Pilanesberg is named for chief Pilane of the Kgafêla people, who ruled from Bogopane, Mmamodimokwana and eventually Mmasebudule during the 1800s. The 'Pilanesberg Alkaline Ring Complex' is the park's primary geological feature. This vast circular feature is geologically ancient, being the ring dikes that fed a completely eroded caldera created by volcanic eruptions some 1,200 million years ago. It is one of the largest volcanic complexes of its type in the world, the rare r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazinga Channel
The Kazinga Channel in Uganda is a wide, long natural channel that links Lake Edward and Lake George (Uganda), Lake George, which are part of the African Great Lakes system. The channel is a dominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The channel attracts a varied range of animals and birds, boasting one of the world's largest concentration of Hippopotamus, hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles. Lake George is a small lake with an average depth of only and which is fed by streams from the Rwenzori mountains. Its outflow is through the Kazinga Channel which drains into Lake Edward, with water levels fluctuating very little. In 2005, a large number of hippos were killed in the channel as a result of an anthrax outbreak, which occurs when animals eat remnants of vegetation during the driest months, leading to the absorption of bacterial spores that can live for decades in dry soil. The channel is described as a popular wildlife tourism area. External links * Strolli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gambia
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.Hoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A–Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publications. p. 11. . Its territory is on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, which flows through the centre of the country and empties into the Atlantic. The national namesake river demarcates the elongated shape of the country, which has an area of and a population of 2,769,075 people in 2024 which is a 47% population increase from 2013. The capital city is Banjul, which has the most extensive metropolitan area in the country. The second and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama. Arab Muslims, Arab Muslim merchants traded with indigenous West Africans in The Gambia throughout the 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Museum Wiesbaden
The Museum Wiesbaden is a two-branch museum of Art museum, art and Natural history museum, natural history in the Hesse, Hessian capital of Wiesbaden, Germany. It is one of the three Hessian State museums, in addition to the museums in Hessian State Museum, Kassel, Kassel and Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Darmstadt. History The foundation of the originally three museums traces back to the citizens of the city and to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who stayed in Wiesbaden in 1814/1815. In 1825 he persuaded the Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurter private collector Johann Isaac Gerning and Johann Christian Gerning to donate their extensive collections of works of art and antiquities to the Duchy of Nassau in return for the payment of an annuity for life. Under the responsibility of the newly founded associations, but controlled by the ducal government, the citizens of Wiesbaden and the region were able to quickly expand these collections. Together with the pieces of the ("Associat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
