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Botanic Park And Salina Reserve Important Bird Area
The Botanic Park and Salina Reserve Important Bird Area comprises two separate sites on Grand Cayman, one of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea. Description Both sites lie in the East End district of Grand Cayman. The 50 ha Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park in the centre of the island contains fragments of native dry forest and shrubland, with a lake and ''Conocarpus erectus'' dominated wetlands. The Botanic Park site is also largely surrounded by the Frank Sound Forest IBA. Salina Reserve, lying inland from the north-east coast, is a 125 ha freshwater herbaceous wetland. It is surrounded by a fringe of '' Typha'' sedgeland and ''Conocarpus'' shrubland, with 135 ha of ''Swietenia mahagoni'' dominated dry forest on the northern boundary. The reserve lies over the northern part of the largest freshwater lens in the eastern part of the island and is not easily accessible. Birds The two sites, with a combined area of 276 ha, hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swietenia Mahagoni
''Swietenia mahagoni'', commonly known as American mahogany, Cuban mahogany, small-leaved mahogany, and West Indian mahogany, is a species of ''Swietenia'' native to South Florida in the United States and islands in the Caribbean including the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. It is the species from which the original mahogany wood was produced. Mahogany is grown as a plantation tree and sold in timber markets in Kerala, India. ''Swietenia mahagoni'' is listed as "Threatened" in the Preservation of Native Flora of Florida Act. It is the national tree of the Dominican Republic. Discovery and uses The earliest recorded use of ''S. mahagoni'' was in 1514. This date year was carved into a rough-hewn cross placed in the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in Santo Domingo (now the capital of the Dominican Republic), at the beginning of the building's construction. Completed about 1540, it is the oldest church in the West Indies, and its interior was ornamented with car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vitelline Warbler
The vitelline warbler (''Setophaga vitellina'') is a songbird species in the New World warbler family (Parulidae). It is found in the Cayman Islands and on the Swan Islands in Honduras. Taxonomy This species is part of the large New World warbler genus Setophaga. Currently, there are three subspecies described: *''S. v. nelsoni'', (Bangs, 1919), Swan Islands *''S. v. vitellina'', (Cory, 1886), Grand Cayman Island *''S. v. crawfordi'', (Nicoll, 1901), Little Cayman and Cayman Brac These subspecies differ noticeably in underpart coloration and head patterning. Some taxonomists have considered this species conspecific with the North American prairie warbler. However, a genetic study confirmed its species status, while reaffirming a close relationship between the two species. Description This species bears a stark resemblance to the prairie warbler, sharing its streaking on the belly, yellow-green back, and subtle yellow wingbars, differing with the intensity of the black streaks. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yucatan Vireo
The Yucatan vireo (''Vireo magister'') is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae. Closely related to the red-eyed vireo, its plumage a duller overall. It measures . It has a stout, hooked bill that is gray, paler at the base. A broad white eyebrow contrasts with a dull gray crown. A broad dark stripe runs through the brown eye. Upperparts are a dull olive gray. Throat and underparts are whitish. The wings and tail are dark with olive green margins. Legs and feet are grayish blue. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and heavily degraded former forest. It is found in Belize, Honduras, Mexico, as well as on Grand Cayman. There is a well-documented record from High Island, Texas, in 1984, but this is the only record for the United States. Four subspecies are recognized, the large number reflecting its distribution amongst far-flung islands and a small strip of the mainland. * ''Vireo magister magister'' – ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thick-billed Vireo
The thick-billed vireo (''Vireo crassirostris'') is a small songbird. It breeds in the West Indies in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Tortuga (Haiti), Tortuga Island in Haiti and on cays off the coast of Cuba. It occasionally can be found as a vagrant to south Florida in the United States. The subspecies ''V. c. approximans'' of Providencia Island is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the mangrove vireo (''V. pallens'') or as a separate species, the Providencia vireo. Breeding This vireo frequents bushes and shrubs in tropical thickets. The grass-lined nest is a neat cup shape, attached to a fork in a tree or bush branch. 2-3 dark-spotted white Egg (biology), eggs are laid. Both the male and female incubate the eggs. Description The thick-billed vireo is approximately 14 cm in length. Its head and back are a greyish olive, and the underparts are buffy white. The wings and tail are dark, and there are two white wing bars on each wing. The eyes have da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caribbean Elaenia
The Caribbean elaenia (''Elaenia martinica'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae found in the West Indies and parts of Central America. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and heavily degraded former forest. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Caribbean elaenia in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected on the island of Martinique. He used the French name ''Le gobe-mouche hupé de la Martinique'' and the Latin ''Muscicapa Martinicana cristata''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-crowned Pigeon
The white-crowned pigeon (''Patagioenas leucocephala'') is a fruit and seed-eating species of bird in the dove and pigeon family Columbidae. It is found primarily in the Caribbean. John James Audubon painted these pigeons, including the watercolour painting in his work, '' Birds of America'', published in the early 19th century. Taxonomy In the first half of the 18th century the white-crowned pigeon was described and illustrated by several naturalists including John Ray in 1713, Hans Sloane in 1725 and Mark Catesby in 1731. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the white-crowned pigeon with all the other pigeons in the genus ''Columba''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Columba leucocephala'' and cited the earlier authors. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek ''leukos'' meaning "white" and ''-kephalos'' meaning "-headed". Although Linnaeus gave the location a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Indian Whistling Duck
The West Indian whistling duck (''Dendrocygna arborea'') is a whistling duck that breeds in the Caribbean. Alternative names are black-billed whistling duck and Cuban whistling duck. Distribution The West Indian whistling duck is widely scattered throughout the West Indies, including a large breeding population in the Bahamas, and smaller numbers in Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Hispaniola (both the Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Puerto Rico. It is largely sedentary, apart from local movements, which can be 100 km or more. Description The West Indian whistling duck is the largest and darkest of the whistling ducks. With a length of and female weighs from and male weights from , this species is about the size of a mallard.Carboneras, C. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). ''West Indian Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna arborea)'', version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International. There are over 13,000 IBAs worldwide. These sites are small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in their character, habitat or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States the Program is administered by the National Audubon Society. Often IBAs form part of a country's existing protected area network, and so are protected under national legislation. Legal recognition and protection of IBAs that are not within existing protected areas varies within different countries. Some countries have a National IBA Conservation Strategy, whereas in others protection is completely lacking. History In 1985, following a specific request from the European Economic Community, Birdlife International ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide. It has a membership of more than 2.5 million people across 116 country partner organizations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy. BirdLife International has identified 13,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List authority for birds. As of 2015, BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinction ( critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). BirdLife International p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lens (hydrology)
In hydrology, a lens, also called freshwater lens or Ghyben-Herzberg lens, is a convex-shaped layer of fresh groundwater that floats above the denser saltwater and is usually found on small coral or limestone islands and atolls. This aquifer of fresh water is recharged through precipitation that infiltrates the top layer of soil and percolates downward until it reaches the saturated zone. The recharge rate of the lens can be summarized by the following equation: R = p-ET Where R is the recharge rate in meters, p is precipitation (m), and ET is evapotranspiration (m) of water. With higher amounts of recharge, the hydraulic head is increased, and a thick freshwater lens is maintained through the dry season. Lower rates of precipitation or higher rates of interception and evapotranspiration will decrease the hydraulic head, resulting in a thin lens.Bailey, Ryan T., John W. Jenson, and Arne E. Olsen. ''An atoll freshwater lens algebraic model for groundwater management in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
