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White-fronted Bee-eater
The white-fronted bee-eater (''Merops bullockoides'') is a species of bee-eater widely distributed in sub-equatorial Africa. The species has a distinctive white forehead, a square tail, and a bright red patch on its throat. It nests in small colonies, digging holes in cliffs or earthen banks, and can usually be seen in low trees, waiting to hunt passing insects by making quick hawking flights or gliding down before hovering briefly to catch the prey. Description This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly coloured, slender bird, but with a distinctive black mask, white forehead, square tail and a bright red throat. The size is 23 cm (9 in.). The upperparts are green, with cinnamon underparts. The call is a deep squeak. File:Merops_bullockoides_1_Luc_Viatour.jpg, Perched on a branch White-fronted bee-eater (Merops Bullockoides) in flight Mlilwane.jpg , In flight Distribution White-fronted bee-eaters are found in the vast savannah regions of sub-equatorial Af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Smith (zoologist)
Sir Andrew Smith (3 December 1797 – 11 August 1872) was a British surgery, surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoology, zoologist. He is considered the father of zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, ''Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa''. Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire. He qualified in medicine at the University of Edinburgh obtaining an Doctor of Medicine, M.D. degree in 1819, having joined the Army Medical Services in 1816. South Africa 1820–1837 In 1820 he was ordered to the Cape Colony and was sent to Grahamstown to supervise the medical care of European soldiers and soldiers of the Cape Corps. He was appointed the Albany district surgeon in 1822 and started the first free dispensary for indigent patients in South Africa. He led a scientific expedition into the interior and was able to indulge in his interests of natural history and anthropology. On several occasions, he was sent by gov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that the study of kinship is the study of what Human, humans do with these basic facts of lifemating, gestation, Parenting, parenthood, socialization, siblingship etc. Human society is unique, he argues, in that we are "working with the same raw material as exists in the animal world, but [we] can conceptualize and categorize it to serve social ends." These social ends include the socialization of children and the formation of basic economic, political and religious groups. Kinship can refer both to the patterns of social relationships themselves, or it can refer to the study of the patterns of social relationships in one or more human cultures (i.e. kinship studies). Over its history, anthropology has developed a number of related concepts an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Sub-Saharan Africa
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merops (genus)
''Merops'' is a large genus of bee-eaters, a group of birds in the family (biology), family Meropidae, native to Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. The members of this family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air. All bee-eaters are in the genus ''Merops'' and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asiatic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae (in genera ''Nyctyornis'' and ''Meropogon''). The genus ''Merops'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The Type species#Use in zoology, type species is the European bee-eater. The genus name is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater". Taxonomy and systematics Twenty-eight species are recognized: Former species Formerly, some authorities also considered the following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern African Bird Atlas Project
The Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP) was conducted between 1987 and 1991.Harrison, J.A., Allan, D.G., Underhill, L.G., Herrmans, M., Tree, A.J., Parker, V. & Brown, C.J. (1997) ''The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Vols 1 and 2'', BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa Because a new bird atlas was started in southern Africa in 2007, the earlier project is now referred to as SABAP1. The new atlas project is known as the Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project, and is abbreviated to SABAP2. The project is ongoing, and is now managed by the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town. Most of the data capture happens through the application BirdLasser. The project is currently funded by BirdLife South Africa and the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Scope SABAP covered six countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. At the time, Mozambique was engulfed in a civil war, and had to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch, though it also applies to birds that spend almost their entire lives on the wing. This technique is called "flycatching" and some birds known for it are several Family (biology), families of "flycatchers": Old World flycatchers, monarch flycatchers, and tyrant flycatchers; however, some species known as "flycatchers" use other foraging methods, such as the grey tit-flycatcher. Other birds, such as Swift (bird), swifts, swallows, and nightjars, also take insects on the wing in continuous aerial feeding. The term "hawking" comes from the similarity of this behavior to the way Hawk, hawks take prey in flight, although, whereas Bird of prey, raptors may catch prey with their feet, hawking is the behavior of catching insects in the bill. Many birds have a combine ... [...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] |
Inclusive Fitness
Inclusive fitness is a conceptual framework in evolutionary biology first defined by W. D. Hamilton in 1964. It is primarily used to aid the understanding of how social traits are expected to evolve in structured populations. It involves partitioning an individual's expected fitness returns into two distinct components: direct fitness returns - the component of a focal individual’s fitness that is independent of who it interacts with socially; indirect fitness returns - the component that is dependent on who it interacts with socially. The direct component of an individual's fitness is often called its personal fitness, while an individual’s direct and indirect fitness components taken together are often called its inclusive fitness. Under an inclusive fitness framework direct fitness returns are realised through the offspring a focal individual produces independent of who it interacts with, while indirect fitness returns are realised by adding up all the effects our focal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooperative Breeding
Cooperative breeding is a social system characterized by alloparental care: offspring receive care not only from their parents, but also from additional group members, often called helpers. Cooperative breeding encompasses a wide variety of group structures, from a breeding pair with helpers that are offspring from a previous season, to groups with multiple breeding males and females ( polygynandry) and helpers that are the adult offspring of some but not all of the breeders in the group, to groups in which helpers sometimes achieve co-breeding status by producing their own offspring as part of the group's brood. Cooperative breeding occurs across taxonomic groups including birds, mammals, fish, and insects. Costs for helpers include a fitness reduction, increased territory defense, offspring guarding and an increased cost of growth. Benefits for helpers include a reduced chance of predation, increased foraging time, territory inheritance, increased environmental conditions and an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of birds in the family (biology), family Meropidae, containing three genera and thirty-one species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers. All have long down-turned Beak, bills and medium to long wings, which may be pointed or round. Male and female plumages are usually similar. As their name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat flying insects, especially bees and wasps, which are caught on the wing from an open perch. The insect's stinger is removed by repeatedly hitting and rubbing the insect on a hard surface. During this process, pressure is applied to the insect's body, thereby discharging most of the venom. Most bee-eaters are Social animal, gregarious. They form Bird colony, colonies, nesting in burrows tunnelled into vertical sandy banks, often at the side of a river or i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Monogamy In Mammalian Species
Social monogamy in mammals is defined as sexually mature adult organisms living in pairs. While there are many definitions of social monogamy, this social organization can be found in invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, fish, birds, mammals, and humans. It should not be confused with genetic monogamy, which refers to two individuals who only reproduce with one another. Social monogamy does not describe the sexual interactions or patterns of reproduction between monogamous pairs; rather it strictly refers to the patterns of their living conditions. Rather, sexual and genetic monogamy describe reproductive patterns. It is possible for a species to be both genetically monogamous and socially monogamous but it is more likely for species to practice social monogamy and not genetic monogamy. Social monogamy consists of, but is not limited to: sharing the same territory; obtaining food resources; and raising offspring together. A unique characteristic of monogamy is that unlike in p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Colony
A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony. Colonial nesting birds include seabirds such as auks and albatrosses; wetland species such as herons; and a few passerines such as weaverbirds, certain blackbirds, and some swallows. A group of birds congregating for rest is called a communal roost. Evidence of colonial nesting has been found in non- neornithine birds (Enantiornithes), in sediments from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Romania. Variations on colonial nesting in birds Approximately 13% of all bird species nest colonially. Nesting colonies are very common among seabirds on cliffs and islands. Nearly 95% of seabirds are colonial, leading to the usage, seabird colony, sometimes called a rookery. Many species of terns nest in colonies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
