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Birmingham Botanical Gardens (United Kingdom)
The Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a botanical garden situated in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. The gardens are located south-west of Birmingham city centre at . Designed in 1829, the gardens are Grade II* listed in Historic Englands's Register of Parks and Gardens, and retain many original features and layout, which was designed by the landscape gardener and horticulturalist John Claudius Loudon. The site is notable for its range of glasshouses and gardens, which display a wide variety of plants and birds. Birmingham Botanical Gardens is managed by Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural Society, a registered charity. The gardens are open daily to the public with paid admission. History When Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural Society was formed in 1829, the intention was to develop a botanical garden. The chosen site for Birmingham Botanical Gardens was an 18-acre area of the Calthorpe estate, named Holly Bank Farm. The gardens were designed in 1829 by J. C. Loudon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family and the Gillott family who refused to allow factories or warehouses to be built in Edgbaston, thus making it attractive for the wealthier residents of the city. It then came to be known as "where the trees begin". One of these private houses is grade one listed and open to the public. The majority of Edgbaston that falls under the B15 postcode finds itself being part of the Calthorpe Estate. The estate is an active conservation area, and it is here that the areas most prized properties are situated. The exclusivity of Edgbaston is down to its array of multi-million listed Georgian and Victorian villas, making it one of the most expensive postcodes outside of London. Edgbaston boasts facilities such as Edgbaston Cricket Ground, a Test mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Watt Junior
James Watt junior, FRS (5 February 1769 – 2 June 1848) was a Scottish engineer, businessman and activist. Early life He was born on 5 February 1769, the son of James Watt by his first wife Margaret Miller, and half-brother of Gregory Watt. He was educated at Winson Green near Birmingham, by the Rev. Henry Pickering. His father was unable to find a better school, though dissatisfied with his son's progress. At age 15 Watt spent a year at the Bersham Ironworks of John Wilkinson; and then went to Geneva. There he lodged with Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure, and knew Marc-Auguste Pictet and Jean-André Deluc. Subsequently, he studied German in Eisenach. In Manchester In 1788 Watt returned to England and a position in the textile trade in Manchester. Initially he worked at Taylor & Maxwell, makers of fustian, where Charles Taylor was a partner. Watt worked there in the counting-house. He was then employed by the Manchester radical Thomas Walker, changing jobs just before t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Starlings are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas, as well as North America, Hawaii, and New Zealand, where they generally compete for habitats with native birds and are considered to be invasive species. The starling species familiar to most people in Europe and North America is the common starling, and throughout much of Asia and the Pacific, the common myna is indeed common. Starlings have strong feet, their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious. Their preferred h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lovebird
Lovebird is the common name for the genus ''Agapornis'', a small group of parrots in the Old World parrot family Psittaculidae. Of the nine species in the genus, all are native to the African continent, with the grey-headed lovebird being native to the African island of Madagascar. Social and affectionate, the name comes from the parrots' strong, monogamous pair bonding and the long periods which paired birds spend sitting together. Lovebirds live in small flocks and eat fruit, vegetables, grasses, and seeds. Black-winged lovebirds also eat insects and figs, and black-collared lovebirds have a special dietary requirement for native figs, making them difficult to keep in captivity. Some species are kept as pets, and several coloured mutations have been selectively bred in aviculture. The average lifespan is 20 to 30 years. Description Lovebirds are in length, up to 24 cm in wingspan with 9 cm for a single wing and in weight. They are among the smallest parrots, char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tragopan
''Tragopan'' is a bird genus in the pheasant family Phasianidae. Member of the genus are commonly called "horned pheasants" because males have two brightly colored, fleshy horns on their head that can be erected during courtship displays. The habit of tragopans to nest in trees is unique among phasianids. Taxonomy The genus ''Tragopan'' was introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1829 for the satyr tragopan. The name ''tragopan'' is a mythical horned purple-headed bird mentioned by the Roman authors Pliny and Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less .... The genus contains five species. References Bird genera Taxa named by Georges Cuvier {{Galliformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monk Parakeet
The monk parakeet (''Myiopsitta monachus''), also known as the Quaker parrot, is a species of true parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is a small, bright-green parrot with a greyish breast and greenish-yellow abdomen. Its average lifespan is 20–30 years. It originates from the temperate to subtropical areas of Argentina and the surrounding countries in South America. Self-sustaining feral populations occur in many places, mainly in North America and Europe. Taxonomy The monk parakeet was described by French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, in 1780 in his ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux''. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle'', which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name, but in 1783, Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azure-winged Magpie
The azure-winged magpie (''Cyanopica cyanus'') is a bird in the crow family. It is 31–35 cm long and similar in overall shape to the Eurasian magpie (''Pica pica'') but is more slender with proportionately smaller legs and bill. It belongs to the genus ''Cyanopica''. It has a glossy black top to the head and a white throat. The underparts and the back are a light grey-fawn in colour with the wings and the feathers of the long (16–20 cm) tail an azure blue. It inhabits various types of coniferous (mainly pine) and broadleaf forest, including parks and gardens in the eastern populations. Distribution and habitat It occurs over a large region of eastern Asia in China, Korea, Japan, and north into Mongolia and southern Siberia. The Iberian magpie from southwestern and central parts of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and Portugal was formerly thought to be conspecific, but recent genetic analysis has shown them to be distinct at species level. Behaviour and ecolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himalayan Monal
The Himalayan monal (''Lophophorus impejanus''), also called Impeyan monal and Impeyan pheasant, is a pheasant native to Himalayan forests and shrublands at elevations of . It is part of the family Phasianidae and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the danphe or danfe, and state bird of Uttarakhand, India, where it is known as monal. The scientific name commemorates Lady Mary Impey, the wife of the British chief justice of Bengal, Sir Elijah Impey. Description It is a relatively large-sized pheasant. The bird is about long. The male weighs up to and the female . The adult male has multicoloured plumage throughout, while the female, as in other pheasants, is more subdued in colour. Notable features in the male include a long, metallic green crest, coppery feathers on the back and neck, and a prominent white rump that is most visible when the bird is in flight. The tail feathers of the male are uniformly ruf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-cheeked Turaco
The white-cheeked turaco (''Menelikornis leucotis'') is a species of bird in the family Musophagidae. It is found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. A mid-sized species, it measures about in length, including a tail of , and weighs about .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . This species is the most commonly raised turaco in captive conditions. Distribution and habitat The white-cheeked turaco is native to Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, where it is found in ''Podocarpus'' and juniper forests in the highland regions. Subspecies There are two subspecies, the nominate subspecies ''M. l. leucotis'' found in the ''Podocarpus'' forests of Eritrea, Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan and ''M. l. donaldsoni'' found in south-central Ethiopia south of the Rift Valley and in the extreme west of Somalia. The latter is quite distinct in plumage colour - the eastern population is separated from the larger population by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dicksonia Arborescens
''Dicksonia arborescens'', the Saint Helena tree fern, is a characteristic plant of the "tree fern thicket" vegetation of the highest parts of the central ridge of the island of Saint Helena. It is the type species of the genus ''Dicksonia''. It is important as a major component of a vegetation type that is one of the last remnants of the native vegetation. Many of the other endemic plants of this vegetation germinate as seedlings on the trunks of the tree fern, which thus acts as a nursery for the native flora. The genus ''Dicksonia'' contains several species widely dispersed around the world. L'Héritier described the Saint Helena species in 1789, from cultivated specimens he saw while living in London. The species is most closely related to '' Dicksonia berteriana,'' native to the Juan Fernández Islands west of Chile. See also * Flora of St Helena The flora of Saint Helena, an isolated island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is exceptional in its high level of endemism and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dicksonia Antarctica
''Dicksonia antarctica'', the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania. Anatomy and biology These ferns can grow to in height, but more typically grow to about , and consist of an erect rhizome forming a trunk. They are very hairy at the base of the stipe (adjoining the trunk) and on the crown. The large, dark green, roughly-textured fronds spread in a canopy of in diameter. The shapes of the stems vary as some grow curved and there are multi-headed ones. The fronds are borne in flushes, with fertile and sterile fronds often in alternating layers. The "trunk" of this fern is merely the decaying remains of earlier growth of the plant and forms a medium through which the roots grow. The trunk is usually solitary, without runners, but may produce offsets. They can be cut down and, if they are kept moist, the top portions can be replanted and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybrid (biology)
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in blending inheritance), but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are. Species are reproductively isolated by strong barriers to hybridisation, which include genetic and morphological differences, differing times of fertility, mating behaviors and cues, and physiological rejection of sperm cells or the developing embryo. Some act before fertilization and others after it. Similar barriers exist in plants, with differences in flowering tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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_p471_-_PLATE_54_-_Dicksonia_Arborescens.jpg "Click for more on -> Dicksonia Arborescens")
