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Australian Zebra Finch
The Australian zebra finch or chestnut-eared finch (''Taeniopygia castanotis'') is the most common estrildid finch of Central Australia. It ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool humid south and some areas of the tropical far north. The bird has been introduced to Puerto Rico and Portugal. Due to the ease of keeping and breeding the zebra finch in captivity, it has become Australia’s most widely studied bird; by 2010, it was the most studied captive model passerine species worldwide, by a considerable margin. Taxonomy and phylogeny The Australian zebra finch was described in 1837 by John Gould as ''Amadina castanotis'', about two decades after the Sunda zebra finch (''T. guttata'') was described. For over a century and a half, the Australian and Sunda zebra finches were classified as a single species, ''Taeniopygia guttata''. They were split by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2016. The International Ornithological Congress followed suit in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, ''On the Origin of Species''. Early life Gould was born in Lyme Regis, the first son of a gardener. Both father and son probably had little education. After working on Dowager Lady Poulett's glass house, his father obtained a position on an estate near Guildford, Surrey, and then in 1818, Gould Snr became foreman in the Royal Gardens of Windsor. Gould then be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archistriatum
The arcopallium refers to regions of the avian brain which partially overlap regions homologous to the amygdala of mammals. These regions have formerly been referred to as archistriatum, and before this epistriatum or amygdaloid complex, and a recent change of nomenclature has divided the region into the arcopallium and posterior pallial amygdala. The new nomenclature, adopted in 2004, reflects a modern understanding that the avian brain is broadly similar to the mammalian brain, containing large regions homologous to the mammalian neocortex, claustrum, and pallial amygdala. The outdated nomenclature it replaced perceived the avian brain as consisting almost entirely of enlarged basal ganglia, to which more complex outer layers had been added during a progress toward mammalian intelligence.{{cite journal , vauthors=Reiner A, Perkel DJ, Bruce LL , title=Revised nomenclature for avian telencephalon and some related brainstem nuclei , journal=J. Comp. Neurol. , volume=473 , issue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clutch (eggs)
__NOTOC__ A clutch of eggs is the group of eggs produced by birds, amphibians, or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest. In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators (or removal by humans, for example the California condor breeding program) results in ''double-clutching''. The technique is used to double the production of a species' eggs, in the California condor case, specifically to increase population size. The act of putting one's hand in a nest to remove eggs is known as "dipping the clutch". Size Clutch size differs greatly between species, sometimes even within the same genus. It may also differ within the same species due to many factors including habitat, health, nutrition, predation pressures, and time of year. Clutch size variation can also reflect variation in optimal reproduction effort. In birds, clutch size can vary within a species due to various features (age and health of laying female, ability of male to supply food, and abundan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Egg
Bird eggs are laid by the females and range in quantity from one (as in condors) to up to seventeen (the grey partridge). Clutch size may vary latitudinally within a species. Some birds lay eggs even when the eggs have not been fertilized; it is not uncommon for pet owners to find their lone bird nesting on a clutch of infertile eggs, which are sometimes called wind-eggs. Anatomy All bird eggs contain the following components: * The embryo is the immature developing chick * The amnion is a membrane that initially covers the embryo and eventually fills with amniotic fluid, provides the embryo with protection against shock from movement * The allantois helps the embryo obtain oxygen and handles metabolic waste * The chorion, together with the amnion, forms the amniotic sac and encloses the amnion, vitellus, and the embryo * The vitellus, or yolk, is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg, containing most of its fat, minerals, and many of its proteins and blood vessels * The alb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extra-pair Copulation
Extra-pair copulation (EPC) is a mating behaviour in monogamous species. Monogamy is the practice of having only one sexual partner at any one time, forming a long-term bond and combining efforts to raise offspring together; mating outside this pairing is extra-pair copulation. Across the animal kingdom, extra-pair copulation is common in monogamous species, and only a very few pair-bonded species are thought to be exclusively sexually monogamous. EPC in the animal kingdom has mostly been studied in birds and mammals. Possible benefits of EPC can be investigated within non-human species, such as birds. In males, a number of theories are proposed to explain extra-pair copulations. One such hypothesis is that males maximise their reproductive success by copulating with as many females as possible outside of a pair bond relationship because their parental investment is lower, meaning they can copulate and leave the female with minimum risk to themselves. Females, on the other hand, ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opportunistic Breeder
Flexible or opportunistic breeders mate whenever the conditions of their environment become favorable. Their ability and motivation to mate are primarily independent of day-length (photoperiod) and instead rely on cues from short-term changes in local conditions like rainfall, food abundance and temperature. Another factor is the presence of suitable breeding sites, which may only form with heavy rain or other environmental changes.WE Duellman, L Trueb. ''Biology of amphibians.'' The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994, p. 20 Thus, they are distinct from seasonal breeders that rely on changes in day length to induce entry into estrus and to cue mating, and continuous breeders like humans that can mate year-round. Other categories of breeders that perhaps can be subdivided under the heading "opportunistic" have been used to describe many species, such as many that are anurans like frogs. These include sporadic wet and sporadic dry, describing animals that breed sporadically not alway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Dispersal
Biological dispersal refers to both the movement of individuals (animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, etc.) from their birth site to their breeding site ('natal dispersal'), as well as the movement from one breeding site to another ('breeding dispersal'). Dispersal is also used to describe the movement of propagules such as seeds and spores. Technically, dispersal is defined as any movement that has the potential to lead to gene flow. The act of dispersal involves three phases: departure, transfer, settlement and there are different fitness costs and benefits associated with each of these phases. Through simply moving from one habitat patch to another, the dispersal of an individual has consequences not only for individual fitness, but also for population dynamics, population genetics, and species distribution. Understanding dispersal and the consequences both for evolutionary strategies at a species level, and for processes at an ecosystem level, requires understanding on th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taeniopygia Guttata -Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia-8
The zebra finches are two species of estrildid finch in the genus ''Taeniopygia'' found in Australia and Indonesia. They are seed-eaters that travel in large flocks. The species are: Previously, both species were classified as a single species, the zebra finch (''T. guttata''). However, they were split by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2016. The International Ornithological Congress followed suit in 2022 based on studies noting differences in plumage, mtDNA divergence, and assortative mating between both species in captivity. The zebra finch was first captured in 1801 during Nicolas Baudin's expedition to Australia. The Indonesian species was described in 1817 by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in his ''Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle'', where he gave it the scientific name ''Fringilla guttata''. The Australian species was then described in 1837 by John Gould as ''Amadina castanotis''. Its current genus, ''Taeniopygia'', was described in 1862 by Ludwig R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Geographic
Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclopaedia. It previously operated the Australian Geographic retail chain stores and Australian Geographic Travel and Australian Geographic Adventures. ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, originally titled ''Dick Smith's Australian Geographic'', is a bi-monthly geographical journal created by Dick Smith in 1986. The magazine focuses mainly on stories about Australia, or about Australian people in other countries. The six editions published each year are available by subscription and on newsstands. They include posters or sheet maps in each edition, as well as photographs and detailed technical illustrations. Australian Geographic also has a website that includes the entire magazine digital archive. Each year, a portion of the profits is prov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Journal Of The Linnean Society
The ''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a direct descendant of the oldest biological journal in the world, the ''Transactions of the Linnean Society''. It succeeded the earlier title in 1969. The journal specializes in evolution, and encompasses work across all taxonomic groups in all five kingdoms of living organisms. It includes all methods, whole-organism or molecular, practical or theoretical. The journal is published by the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle .... References External links * Linnean Society of London Biology journals English-language journals Publications with year of establishment missing {{biology-journal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult male bird, and a younger male may be called a cockerel. A male that has been castrated is a capon. An adult female bird is called a hen and a sexually immature female is called a pullet. Humans now keep chickens primarily as a source of food (consuming both their meat and eggs) and as pets. Traditionally they were also bred for cockfighting, which is still practiced in some places. Chickens are one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 23.7 billion , up from more than 19 billion in 2011. There are more chickens in the world than any other bird. There are numerous cultural references to chickens – in myth, folklore and religion, and in language and literature. Genetic studies have pointed to mult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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