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Brandberge
The Brandberge is a protected natural area in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, in the northwest of Halle. It is part of the ''Naturpark Unteres Saaletal'', a protected landscape area which extends along the River Saale from Halle to Nienburg. In the past it has been used for military exercises and winter sports; during the Nazi era, the first official ''Thingplatz'' arena was built there. Geography and geology The Brandberge covers an area of in the northwest of Halle, between Kröllwitz and Heide Nord, on the edge of the Hercynian strike; cold south-southwest winds channelled by the area have an important influence on local weather.Naturschutzgebiete in der Stadt Halle (Saale) : pdf on Brandberge The area is characterised by multiple groups of [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thingspiele
A ''Thingspiel'' (plural ''Thingspiele'') was a kind of multi-disciplinary outdoor theatre performance which enjoyed brief popularity in pre-war Nazi Germany during the 1930s. A Thingplatz or Thingstätte was a specially-constructed outdoor amphitheatre built for such performances. About 400 were planned, but only about 40 were built between 1933 and 1939. History The idea of the Thingspiel movement was that the Volk would gather for völkisch meetings and for theatre and propaganda presentations. A ''Thing'' was an ancient judicial as well as social gathering of Germanic peoples, in an outdoor setting. The ''Thing'' sites were to be built as much as possible in a natural setting, incorporating rocks, trees, bodies of water, ruins, and hills of some historical or mythic significance.Robert R. Taylor, ''The Word in Stone: The Role of Architecture in the National Socialist Ideology'', Berkeley: University of California, 1974, , pp. 213–14. The term ''Thingspiel'' was fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naturschutzgebiet
A ''Naturschutzgebiet'' (abbreviated NSG) is a category of protected area (nature reserve) within Germany's Federal Nature Conservation Act (the ''Bundesnaturschutzgesetz'' or ''BNatSchG''). Although often translated as 'Nature Reserve' in English, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) refers to them as 'Nature Conservation Areas'. It meets the criteria of an IUCN Category IV Habitat and Species Management Area.https://www.bfn.de/fileadmin/MDB/documents/themen/gebietsschutz/IUCN_Kat_Schutzgeb_Richtl_web.pdf Document of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation of Germany Points of law The use of the term ''Naturschutzgebiet'' or terms that could be confused with it for anything other than the legally protected areas is forbidden under this law. Signage Because legal restrictions are placed on activity within German nature reserves they have to be signed on the ground. Only by this means can e.g. walkers know that they are entering a nature reserve and may not e. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulsatilla Vulgaris
''Pulsatilla vulgaris'', the pasqueflower, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (biology), family (Ranunculaceae), found locally on calcareous grassland in Europe, and widely cultivated in gardens. It was considered part of the genus ''Anemone'', to which it is closely related. Several sources still list ''Anemone pulsatilla'' as the accepted name, with ''Pulsatilla vulgaris'' as a synonym (taxonomy), synonym. Other variations of its common name include European pasqueflower and common pasqueflower. The name may also be split in two - pasque flower. Description This herbaceous plant, herbaceous perennial plant develops upright rhizomes, which function as food-storage organs. Its leaves and stems are long, soft, silver-grey and hairy. It grows to high and when it is fruit-bearing up to . The roots go deep into the soil. The finely-dissected leaf, leaves are arranged in a rosette and appear with the bell-shaped flower in early spring. The purple flo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wader
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, forage for food crawling or burrowing in the mud and sand, usually small arthropods such as aquatic insects or crustaceans. The term "wader" is used in Europe, while "shorebird" is used in North America, where "wader" may be used instead to refer to long-legged wading birds such as storks and herons. There are about 210 species of wader, most of which live in wetland or coastal environments. Many species of Arctic and temperate regions are strongly migratory, but tropical birds are often resident, or move only in response to rainfall patterns. Some of the Arctic species, such as the little stint, are amongst the longest distance migrants, spending the non- breeding season in the southern hemisphere. Many of the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grass Snake
The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recognized, including: ''Natrix natrix helvetica'' ( Lacépède, 1789) was formerly treated as a subspecies, but following genetic analysis it was recognised in August 2017 as a separate species, ''Natrix helvetica'', the barred grass snake. Four other subspecies were transferred from ''N. natrix'' to ''N. helvetica'', becoming ''N. helvetica cettii'', ''N. helvetica corsa'', ''N. helvetica lanzai'' and ''N. helvetica sicula''. Description The grass snake is typically dark green or brown in colour with a characteristic yellow or whitish collar behind the head, which explains the alternative name ringed snake. The colour may also range from grey to black, with darker colours being more prevalent in colder regions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Crested Newt
The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to long. Its back and sides are dark brown, while the belly is yellow to orange with dark blotches. Males develop a conspicuous jagged crest on their back and tail during the breeding season. The northern crested newt spends most of the year on land, mainly in forested areas in lowlands. It moves to aquatic breeding sites, mainly larger fish-free ponds, in spring. Males court females with a ritualised display and deposit a spermatophore on the ground, which the female then picks up with her cloaca. After fertilisation, a female lays around 200 eggs, folding them into water plants. The larvae develop over two to four months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juveniles (efts). Both larvae and land-dwelling newts mainly feed on different ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natterjack Toad
The natterjack toad (''Epidalea calamita'') is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length, and are distinguished from common toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back and parallel paratoid glands. They have relatively short legs, which gives them a distinctive gait, contrasting with the hopping movement of many other toad species. Natterjacks have a very loud and distinctive mating call amplified by the single vocal sac found under the chin of the male. Life history Natterjacks live for up to 15 years, and feed mainly on insects, especially beetles. At night, they move around open terrain with sparse vegetation, and their tracks can often be seen in loose sand. They move considerable distances each night, enabling the species to colonize new habitats very quickly. Reproduction The natterjack toad spawns between the end of April and July, laying strings of eggs in shallow, warm pools. Because the natterjack toad is oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians (tuatara). As of March 2022, the Reptile Database includes about 11,700 species. In the traditional Linnaean classification system, birds are considered a separate class to reptiles. However, crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other living reptiles, and so modern cladistic classification systems include birds within Reptilia, redefining the term as a clade. Other cladistic definitions abandon the term reptile altogether in favor of the clade Sauropsida, which refers to all amniotes more closely related to modern reptiles than to mammals. The study of the traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. The earliest known proto-reptiles originated around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial animal, terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this. The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely on their skin. They are superficially similar to reptiles like lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes and do not require water bodies in which to breed. With their complex reproductive needs and permeable skins, amphibians are often ecological indicators; in re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diving Bell Spider
The diving bell spider or water spider (''Argyroneta aquatica'') is the only species of spider known to live almost entirely under water. It is the only member of the genus ''Argyroneta''. When out of the water, the spider ranges in colour from mid to dark brown, although the hairs on the abdomen give it a dark grey, velvet-like appearance. It is native to freshwater habitats in Europe and Asia. Uniqueness of aquatic behavior ''A. aquatica'' is the only known species of spider that spends almost all its life underwater, including resting, catching and eating prey, mating, egg laying, and overwintering. It only briefly surfaces to replenish its oxygen supply and occasionally will bring prey to the surface. There are several other spiders that are semiaquatic, either periodically living underwater or willing to dive. For example, certain '' Desis'' species spend the high tide in an air-filled underwater retreat made from silk and forage on land in the intertidal zone during low ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrike
Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, ''Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as butcherbirds because of their feeding habits. The common English name shrike is from Old English , alluding to the shrike's shriek-like call. Distribution, migration, and habitat Most shrike species have a Eurasian and African distribution, with just two breeding in North America (the loggerhead and northern shrikes). No members of this family occur in South America or Australia, although one species reaches New Guinea. The shrikes vary in the extent of their ranges, with some species, such as the great grey shrike, ranging across the Northern Hemisphere; to the Newton's fiscal, which is restricted to the island of São Tomé. They inhabit open habitats, especially steppe and savannah. A few species of shrikes are forest dwell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Stonechat
The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. Taxonomy and systematics The European stonechat was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Motacilla rubicola''. This species is now placed in the genus ''Saxicola'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. The English name derives from its call, sounding like two stones knocked together. The scientific name ''Saxicola'' means "rock-dweller", from Latin ''saxum'' meaning "a rock" and ''incola'' meaning "dwelling in". The specific epithet combines the Latin ''rubus'' meaning "brambles" with ''incola''. The subspecies name ''hibernans'' refers to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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