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Black-eared Cuckoo
The black-eared cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx osculans'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Found across Australia, it migrates to eastern Indonesia and southern New Guinea. They are usually observed by themselves or in a pair as they don't raise their own young, rather they leave eggs in another species nest to be raised by host. Description Adult weight on average 30 grams and are 19 to 20 cm long,Simpson, K and Day, N. 1998. The Claremont Field guide to the Birds of Australia, Penguin with dull greyish-brown back with distinctive black eye-stripe from the bill to the neck. Rump is pale white and breasts area is pale salmon in colour.Pizzey and Knight 2007. The Field guide to the Birds of Australia, eight edition. HarperCollins Feet and legs are black, eyes are brown, bill is black tail is grey/brown on top, with white tips, while underneath the tail is cream with brownish bars. What distinguishes it from other small sized cuckoo species in Australia is that it d ... [...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] |
Diptera
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced mechanosensory organs known as halteres, which act as high-speed sensors of rotational movement and allow dipterans to perform advanced aerobatics. Diptera is a large order containing an estimated 1,000,000 species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies and others, although only about 125,000 species have been described. Flies have a mobile head, with a pair of large compound eyes, and mouthparts designed for piercing and sucking (mosquitoes, black flies and robber flies), or for lapping and sucking in the other groups. Their wing arrangement gives them great maneuverability in flight, and claws and pads on their feet enable them to cling to smooth surfaces. Flies undergo complete metamorphosis; the eggs are often laid on the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Australia
Australia and its offshore islands and territories have 898 recorded bird species as of 2014. Of the recorded birds, 165 are considered vagrant or accidental visitors, of the remainder over 45% are classified as Australian endemics: found nowhere else on earth. It has been suggested that up to 10% of Australian bird species may go extinct by the year 2100 as a result of climate change. Australian species range from the tiny weebill to the huge, flightless emu. Many species of Australian birds will immediately seem familiar to visitors from the Northern Hemisphere: Australian wrens look and act much like northern wrens, and Australian robins seem to be close relatives of the northern robins. However, the majority of Australian passerines are descended from the ancestors of the crow family, and the close resemblance is misleading: the cause is not genetic relatedness but convergent evolution. For example, almost any land habitat offers a nice home for a small bird that specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysococcyx
''Chrysococcyx'' is a genus of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. The genus ''Chrysococcyx'' was erected by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826 with the African emerald cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx cupreus'') as the type species. The name ''Chrysococcyx '' combines the Ancient Greek χρυσος ''khrusos'' meaning "gold" and κοκκυξ ''kokkux'' "cuckoo". Some authorities split the principally Australo-Papuan taxa into the genus ''Chalcites''. The genus contains the following species: ;Afro-Asian * Diederik cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx caprius'') * African emerald cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx cupreus'') * Yellow-throated cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx flavigularis'') * Klaas's cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx klaas'') * Asian emerald cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx maculatus'') * Violet cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus'') ;Australo-Papuan * Horsfield's bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx basalis'') * Shining bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx lucidus'') * White-eared bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx meyerii'') * Litt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrubwrens
''Sericornis'' is a genus of small, mainly insectivorous birds, the scrubwrens in the family Acanthizidae. Despite the similarity in shape and habits, the true wrens (Troglodytidae) are a quite unrelated group of passerines. The genus previously contained additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study of the scrubwrens in 2018, several species were moved to the resurrected genus '' Aethomyias'' and the yellow-throated scrubwren was placed in its own monotypic genus ''Neosericornis''. The genus contains eight species: * Large-billed scrubwren, ''Sericornis magnirostris'' * Tropical scrubwren or Beccari's scrubwren, ''Sericornis beccarii'' - sometimes included in ''S. magnirostris'' * Large scrubwren, ''Sericornis nouhuysi'' * Spotted scrubwren, ''Sericornis maculatus'' - previously included in ''S. frontalis'' * Tasmanian scrubwren or brown scrubwren, ''Sericornis humilis'' - previously included in ''S. frontalis'' * Atherton scrubwren, ''S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acanthiza
''Acanthiza'' is a genus of passeriform birds, most endemic to Australia, but with two species (''A. murina'' and ''A. cinerea'') restricted to New Guinea. These birds are commonly known as thornbills. They are not closely related to species in the hummingbird genera '' Chalcostigma'' and ''Ramphomicron'', which are also called thornbills. They are found primarily in Australia and have a thin long beak. Colloquially the thornbill is sometimes referred to as a “tit” by locals, but in reality the Australian continent lacks any true tits, albeit ''Acanthiza'' species do show some similarities with tits in their behavior. They have a similar role as small insect-eating birds with titmice and kinglets. Like tits, Thornbills live in small groups foraging amidst trees and shrubs, and feed in a similar manner. Cooperative breeding is recorded from most species except the brown and Tasmanian thornbills. The habitat preferences of the group vary from dense forest to open saltbush a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Redthroat
The redthroat (''Pyrrholaemus brunneus'') is a small, mostly ground-dwelling species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to Australia, occurring mostly in arid and semi-arid areas containing acacia and chenopod shrublands. The species has a distinctive red throat patch and is able to mimic the calls of numerous other bird species. Taxonomy The first formal description of the redthroat was by the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1841 under the present binomial name ''Pyrrholaemus brunneus''. The name of the genus ''Pyrrholaemus'' is from classical Greek ' meaning 'flame-coloured' or 'red' and ' for 'throat'. The specific epithet ' is modern Latin for 'brown'. The redthroat is a small passerine bird within the family Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers. The Acanthizidae were once regarded as a subfamily within the family Pardalotidae; although current revisions place the Acanthizidae in their own family, sister to the Pardalotid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speckled Warbler
The speckled warbler (''Pyrrholaemus sagittatus'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. Taxonomy The speckled warbler was first described by English physician and ornithologist John Latham in 1801. It was earlier grouped with the scrubwrens in ''Sericornis'' and then in the monotypic genus ''Chthonicola''. Morphological similarities and DNA studies now place it as a sister taxon with the redthroat in the genus ''Pyrrholaemus''.Gardner, J.L., Trueman, J.W.H., Ebert, D., Joseph, L. and Magrath, R.D. (2010). "Phylogeny and evolution of the Meliphagoidea, the largest radiation of Australasian songbirds." ''Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 55(3): 1087–1102. It is monotypic, having no subspecies.Gregory, P. (2020). "Speckled Warbler (Pyrrholaemus sagittatus), 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 Ornitho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by the arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching. With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes is the largest clade of birds and among the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates, representing 60% of birds.Ericson, P.G.P. et al. (2003Evolution, biogeography, and patterns of diversification in passerine birds ''J. Avian Biol'', 34:3–15.Selvatti, A.P. et al. (2015"A Paleogene origin for crown passerines and the diversification of the Oscines in the New World" ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 88:1–15. Passerines are divided into three clades: Acanthisitti (New Zealand wrens), Tyranni (suboscines), and Passeri (oscines or songbirds). The passeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brood Parasite
Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own, usually using egg mimicry, with eggs that resemble the host's. The evolutionary strategy relieves the parasitic parents from the investment of rearing young. This benefit comes at the cost of provoking an evolutionary arms race between parasite and host as they coevolve: many hosts have developed strong defenses against brood parasitism, such as recognizing and ejecting parasitic eggs, or abandoning parasitized nests and starting over. It is less obvious why most hosts do care for parasite nestlings, given that for example cuckoo chicks differ markedly from host chicks in size and appearance. One explanation, the mafia hypothesis, proposes that parasitic adults retaliate by destroying host nests where rejection has occurred; there is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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