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Striped Pipit
The striped pipit (''Anthus lineiventris'') is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae, which is native to Africa southwards of the equator. Range and habitat It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, DRC, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is rocky areas in dry to mesic savanna. Taxonomy and systematics The striped pipit forms a species complex with the African rock pipit. Subspecies There are two subspecies: * ''A. l. stygium'' Clancey, 1952 – Angola, Kenya, DRC, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa * ''A. l. lineiventris'' Sundevall, 1851 – Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini Description left, The nominate subspecies in Ithala Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal It is a large pipit, ranging from 17 to 18 centimeters in length and weighing 31-37 grams. The wing coverts have yellow-green edges, and the underparts are olive brown with dark brown streaking. Voice A loud, pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
__NOTOC__ The Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, previously known as the Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden, is a botanical reserve in western Roodepoort, near Johannesburg, South Africa. History The garden was formally established in 1982 as the Transvaal National Botanic Gardens, at which time it was the 14th of South Africa's National Botanical Gardens. It was opened to the public in 1987 as the Witwatersrand National Botanical Gardens, on the occasion of the handing over of some 120 ha of farm Roodekrans by the Krugersdorp Town Council for inclusion in the reserve. Though one of the youngest of South Africa's National Botanical Gardens, the site has been popular with visitors for many decades before its proclamation. The garden has a restaurant, gift shop and bird hide overlooking a small dam. Up to March 2015 it operated a nursery which cultivated native South African plants. The Garden has been recognised as one of the most beautiful botanical garden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ecological niche. Thus "habitat" is a species-specific term, fundamentally different from concepts such as Biophysical environment, environment or vegetation assemblages, for which the term "habitat-type" is more appropriate. The physical factors may include (for example): soil, moisture, range of temperature, and Luminous intensity, light intensity. Biotic index, Biotic factors include the availability of food and the presence or absence of Predation, predators. Every species has particular habitat requirements, habitat generalist species are able to thrive in a wide array of environmental conditions while habitat specialist species require a very limited set of factors to survive. The habitat of a species is not necessarily found in a ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshoppers are typically ground-dwelling insects with powerful hind legs which allow them to escape from threats by leaping vigorously. Their front legs are shorter and used for grasping food. As hemimetabolous insects, they do not undergo complete metamorphosis; they hatch from an egg into a Nymph (biology), nymph or "hopper" which undergoes five moults, becoming more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage. The grasshopper hears through the tympanal organ which can be found in the first segment of the abdomen attached to the thorax; while its sense of vision is in the compound eyes, a change in light intensity is perceived in the simple eyes (ocelli). At high population densities and under certain environmental conditions, som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthropod
Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metamerism (biology), metameric) Segmentation (biology), segments, and paired jointed appendages. In order to keep growing, they must go through stages of moulting, a process by which they shed their exoskeleton to reveal a new one. They form an extremely diverse group of up to ten million species. Haemolymph is the analogue of blood for most arthropods. An arthropod has an open circulatory system, with a body cavity called a haemocoel through which haemolymph circulates to the interior Organ (anatomy), organs. Like their exteriors, the internal organs of arthropods are generally built of repeated segments. They have ladder-like nervous systems, with paired Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral, ventral Ventral nerve cord, nerve cord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, Thorax (insect anatomy), thorax and abdomen (insect anatomy), abdomen), three pairs of jointed Arthropod leg, legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antenna (biology), antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. The insect nervous system consists of a insect brain, brain and a ventral nerve cord. Most insects reproduce Oviparous, by laying eggs. Insects Respiratory system of insects, breathe air through a system of Spiracle (arthropods), paired openings along their sides, connected to Trachea#Invertebrates, small tubes that take air directly to the tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in ves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycatchers. Thrushes are small to medium-sized ground living birds that feed on insects, other invertebrates, and fruit. Some unrelated species around the world have been named after thrushes due to their similarity to birds in this family. Characteristics Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds that inhabit wooded areas and often feed on the ground. The smallest thrush may be the shortwings, which have ambiguous alliances with both thrushes and Old World flycatchers. The lesser shortwing averages . The largest thrush is the great thrush at and ; the larger, commonly recognized blue whistling thrush is an Old world flycatcher. The Amami thrush might, however, grow larger than the great thrush. Most species are gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covert Feather
A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind the bird's eye which cover the ear opening (the ear of a bird has no external features). Tail coverts The uppertail and undertail coverts cover the base of the tail feathers above and below. Sometimes these coverts are more specialised. The "tail" of a peacock is made of elongated uppertail coverts. Wing coverts The upperwing coverts fall into two groups: those on the inner wing, which overlay the secondary flight feathers, known as the secondary coverts, and those on the outer wing, which overlay the primary flight feathers, the primary coverts. Within each group, the feathers form a number of rows. The feathers of the outermost, largest, row are termed greater (primary-/secondary-) coverts; those in the next row are the median (primar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipit
The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, except the driest deserts, rainforest and the mainland of Antarctica. They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Like their relatives in the family, the pipits are monogamous and territorial. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Anthus'' was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The type species was later designated as the meadow pipit. The generic name ''Anthus'' is the Latin word for a small bird of grasslands mentioned by Pliny the Elder. Molecular studies of the pipits suggested that the genus arose in East Asia around seven million years ago (Mya), during the Miocene, and that the genus had spread to the Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipit Striped Alan Manson 2011 06 18 ItalaGR
The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, except the driest deserts, rainforest and the mainland of Antarctica. They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Like their relatives in the family, the pipits are monogamous and territorial. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Anthus'' was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The type species was later designated as the meadow pipit. The generic name ''Anthus'' is the Latin word for a small bird of grasslands mentioned by Pliny the Elder. Molecular studies of the pipits suggested that the genus arose in East Asia around seven million years ago (Mya), during the Miocene, and that the genus had spread to the America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swaziland
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where it shares a border with Mozambique. At no more than north to south and east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld. The population is composed primarily of ethnic Swazis. The prevalent language is Swazi (''siSwati'' in native form). The Swazis established their kingdom in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Ngwane III. The country and the Swazi take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule the country was expanded and unified; its boundaries were drawn up in 1881 in the midst of the Scramble for Africa. After the Second Boer War, the kingdom, under the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sundevall
Carl Jakob Sundevall (22 October 1801 in Högestad – 2 February 1875) was a Swedish zoologist. Sundevall studied at Lund University, where he received a Ph.D. in 1823. After traveling to East Asia, he studied medicine, graduating as a Doctor of Medicine in 1830. He was employed at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, from 1833, and was professor and keeper of the vertebrate section from 1839 to 1871. He wrote ''Svenska Foglarna'' (1856–87), which described 238 species of birds observed in Sweden. He classified a number of birds collected in southern Africa by Johan August Wahlberg. In 1835, he developed a phylogeny for the birds based on the muscles of the hip and leg that contributed to later work by Thomas Huxley. He then went on to examine the arrangement of the deep plantar tendons in the bird's foot. This latter information is still used by avian taxonomists. Sundevall was also an entomologist and arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phillip Clancey
Phillip Alexander Clancey (26 September 1917 – 18 July 2001) was a leading authority on the ornithology of South Africa. Background and education Phillip Clancey was born, brought up and educated in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art where his artistic skills were developed. Military service Clancey served in the 51st (Highland) Division with the Allied forces in Sicily and Italy during World War II, narrowly escaping death and being deafened in one ear by an artillery explosion. Following his death in 2001, Clancey's military medals, together with his "Gill Memorial Medal" were auctioned by City Coins, Cape Town, in 2006, on behalf of the Clancey Estate. These medals, including the Gill Memorial Medal were purchased on the auction by David R. Bennett - Chairman of the Durban Natural Science Museum Trust, and the medals now form part of the Bennett Military Medal Collection. Clancey's group of six military medals are to (Service Number) 913613 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
