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ÃŽle Des Pingouins
ÃŽle des Pingouins, or Penguin Island, is an uninhabited island in the subantarctic Crozet Archipelago of the southern Indian Ocean. With an area of only it is one of the smaller islands of the group. Administratively, it is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. It is an important nesting site for seabirds. Description ÃŽle des Pingouins lies at the western edge of the archipelago, of which it is the southernmost island, about 30 km southeast of ÃŽle aux Cochons (Pig Island) and 95 km west-southwest of ÃŽle de la Possession (Possession Island). It is small, much eroded by the sea, steep-sided, 4 km long and 1 km wide. Its surrounding coastal cliffs vary from 50 m to 300 m in height, making it virtually inaccessible by sea and rarely visited. It is free of introduced species, so has a relatively pristine biota compared with the other islands in the archipelago. Important Bird Area At least 29 bird species breed on the islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatole France
(; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Française, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament". France is also widely believed to be the model for narrator Marcel's literary idol Bergotte in Marcel Proust's ''In Search of Lost Time''. Early years The son of a bookseller, France, a bibliophile, spent most of his life around books. His father's bookstore specialized in books and papers on the French Revolution and was frequented by many writers and scholars. France studied at the Collège Stanislas, a private Catholic school, and after graduation he helped his father by working in his bookstore. After several years, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medium-billed Prion
Salvin's prion (''Pachyptila salvini''), also known as the medium-billed prion, is a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. Taxonomy Salvin's prion is a member of the genus ''Pachyptila'', and along with the blue petrel, they make up the prions. They in turn are members of the family Procellariidae, and the order Procellariiformes. The prions are small and typically eat just zooplankton;Maynard, B. J. (2003) however as a member of the Procellariiformes, they share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the prion are on top of the upper bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of The Crozet Islands
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 on 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 actually is and how the world would have be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue-eyed Shag
''Leucocarbo'' is a genus of birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae with the members commonly known as blue-eyed shags. This is a group of closely related cormorant taxa. Many have a blue, purple or red ring around the eye (not a blue iris); other shared features are white underparts (at least in some individuals) and pink feet. They are found around the colder parts of the Southern Hemisphere, especially near southern South America, Antarctica, and New Zealand. Many are endemic to remote islands. Determining which types are species and which are subspecies of what larger species is problematic; various recent authorities have recognized from 8 to 14 species and have placed them in a variety of genera. The common names are even more confusing, "like myriad footprints criss-crossing in the snow and about as easy to disentangle." Only one common name is given for most species here. Taxonomy The genus ''Leucocarbo'' was introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerguelen Tern
The Kerguelen tern (''Sterna virgata'') is a tern of the southern hemisphere. This seabird mainly breeds colonially in the Kerguelen Islands, as its common name implies. However, smaller colonies are also found in the Prince Edward Islands (i.e. Prince Edward and Marion) and Crozet Islands. The total number of individuals is from 3,500 to 6,500 birds, although there is no recent data from the main colony at Kerguelen. These birds do not inhabit Kerguelen proper, instead nesting on islets free of feral cats. During bad weather, they are known to abandon their colonies. Kerguelen terns are among the least-ranging of all typical terns. They generally do not reach far into the seas near their breeding grounds. These birds eat fish and marine invertebrates, especially those found in beds of the seaweed Macrocystis spp. They sometimes also hunt insects on land and catch fish from rivers on Kerguelen. There are two subspecies: *''S. v. mercuri'' (Voisin, 1971) – Crozet and Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Diving Petrel
The common diving petrel (''Pelecanoides urinatrix''), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlantic islands and islands of the subantarctic southern Indian Ocean, islands and islets off New Zealand and south-eastern Australian islands. Taxonomy The common diving petrel was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He placed it with the other petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria uriatrix''. Gmelin based his description on the "diving petrel" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in the second volume of his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham reported that they were found in great numbers in Queen Charlotte Sound at the northern end of South Island, New Zealand. The common diving petrel is now one of four petrels p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerguelen Petrel
The Kerguelen petrel (''Aphrodroma brevirostris'') is a small (36 cm long) slate-grey seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Aphrodroma''. It is a pelagic, circumpolar seabird of the Southern Ocean. It breeds on islands in the southern Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Taxonomy The Kerguelen petrel was formally described in 1831 by the French naturalist René Lesson. He placed it in the genus ''Procellaria'' that had been erected for the petrels by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria brevirostris''. The Kerguelen petrel was formerly included with the gadfly petrels in the genus '' Pterodroma'' but is now placed in the genus ''Aphrodroma'' that was introduced for the Kerguelen petrel by Storrs L. Olson in 2000. The name ''Aphrodroma'' combines the Ancient Greek ''aphros'' meaning "sea foam" with ''-dromos'' meaning "-racer".The specific epithet ''brevirostris'' is from the Latin ''brevis'' meaning "short ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Petrel
The blue petrel (''Halobaena caerulea'') is a small seabird in the shearwater and petrel family, Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus ''Halobaena'', but is closely allied to the prions. It is distributed across the Southern Ocean but breeds at a few island sites, all close to the Antarctic Convergence zone. Taxonomy The blue petrel was first described in 1777 by the German naturalist Georg Forster in his book ''A Voyage Round the World''. He had accompanied James Cook on Cook's second voyage to the Pacific. Forster did not give the blue petrel a binomial name, but when the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin updated Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae'' in 1789 he included a brief description of the bird, coined the binomial name ''Procellaria caerulea'' and cited Forster's book. The blue petrel is now the only species placed in the genus ''Halobaena'' that was introduced for the blue petrel in 1856 by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Giant Petrel
The northern giant petrel (''Macronectes halli''), also known as Hall's giant petrel, is a large predatory seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly, but is slightly north of, the similar southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''). Taxonomy The northern giant petrel was formally described in 1912 by the Australian born ornithologist Gregory Mathews as a subspecies of the southern giant petrel with the trinomial name ''Macronectes giganteus halli''. The specific epithet ''halli'' was chosen to honour the Australian ornithologist Robert Hall who had described the birds breeding on the Kerguelen Islands. The northern giant petrel is now considered to be a separate species and has the binomial name ''Macronectes halli''. It is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''makros'' meaning "great" and ''nēktēs'' meaning "swimmer". The name "petrel" refers to the Biblical account of Saint Peter walking on water, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
The Indian yellow-nosed albatross (''Thalassarche carteri'') is a member of the albatross family, and is the smallest of the mollymawks. In 2004, BirdLife International split this species from the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross; however Clements has not split it yet, and the SACC has not either, but recognises the need for a proposal. Taxonomy Mollymawks are a type of albatross that belong to the family Diomedeidae of the order Procellariiformes, along with shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. They share certain identifying features. They have nasal passages called naricorns attached to the upper bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. They make a stomach oil made of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators and as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They have a salt gland above the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey-headed Albatross
The grey-headed albatross (''Thalassarche chrysostoma'') also known as the gray-headed mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at high latitudes, further south than any of the other mollymawks. Its name derives from its ashy-gray head, throat and upper neck. Taxonomy Mollymawks are a type of albatross that belong to the family Diomedeidae from the order Procellariiformes, along with shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns, although the nostrils of an albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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