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Apus Pallidus
The pallid swift (''Apus pallidus'') is a small bird, superficially similar to a barn swallow or Common house martin, house martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since the Swift (bird), swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles. Swifts have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces. The genus name ''Apus'' is Latin for a swift, thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow with no feet (from Ancient Greek α, ''a'', "without", and πούς, ''pous'', "foot"), and ''pallidus'' is Latin for "pale". They never settle voluntarily on the ground. Swifts spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks. They drink on the wing. Taxonomy The pallid swift was first described by English naturalist George Ernest Shelley in 1870. Description This long species is very similar to the common swift, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Ernest Shelley
Captain George Ernest Shelley (15 May 1840 – 29 November 1910) was an English geologist and ornithologist. He was a nephew of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley was educated at the Lycée de Versailles and served a few years in the Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment .... His books included ''A Monograph of the Cinnyridae, or Family of Sun Birds'' (1878), ''A Handbook to the Birds of Egypt'' (1872) and ''The Birds of Africa'' (5 volumes, 1896–1912) illustrated by J. G. Keulemans. (with bibliography of publications by G. E. Shelley) References External links * Illustrations appearing in Handbook to the Birds of Egypt 1840 births 1910 deaths English geologists English ornithologists Grenadier Guards officers Place of birth missing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
