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Cuban Tody (Todus Multicolor)
The Cuban tody (''Todus multicolor'') is a bird species in the family Todidae that is restricted to Cuba and the adjacent islands. Description The species is characterized by small size with a length of and weighing . It has a large head relative to body size, and a thin, flat bill. Similar to other todies, the coloration of the Cuban tody includes an iridescent green dorsum, pale whitish-grey underparts, and red highlights. This species is distinguished by its pink flanks, red throat, yellow lores, and blue ear-patch. The bill is bicolored: black on the top and red on the bottom. Distribution and habitat The Cuban tody is a year-round resident of portions of Cuba and the islands just off the Cuban coast. Analysis of song variation suggests that the species is structured into two populations, corresponding to eastern and western Cuba. The tody, like many resident Cuban bird species, is a habitat generalist. It is known to live in dry lowlands, evergreen forests, coastal veget ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cayo Guillermo
Cayo Guillermo is a cay of the Jardines del Rey archipelago. It is located on the northern coast of Cuba, between the Bay of Dogs (''Bahia de Perros'') and the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Ciego de Ávila Province, and lies in the Morón municipality. History Sparsely inhabited in early years by fishermen and charcoal producers, the island gained fame in the 1960s with deep sea fishermen. The first resort was built in 1993 in an era described by critics as "tourist apartheid", as Cuban citizens were not allowed on the island unless they worked at the resorts serving tourists or had other specific permission. However this restriction was lifted after 2000 and Cubans who can afford motor transport often visit Playa Pilar on the island. Many staff who work in the hotels commute from the mainland towns of Morón and Ciego de Avila. Tourism The island is a popular tourist destination. One of the country's best beaches, the ''Playa Pilar'' (Pilar Beach) is located at the western ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, Africa and Asia, whereas the Mungotinae comprises 11 species native to Africa. The Herpestidae originated about in the Early Miocene and genetically diverged into two main genetic lineages between 19.1 and . Etymology The English word "mongoose" used to be spelled "mungoose" in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name is derived from names used in India for ''Herpestes'' species: or in classical Hindi; in Marathi; in Telugu; , and in Kannada. The form of the English name (since 1698) was altered to its "-goose" ending by folk etymology. The plural form is "mongooses". Characteristics Mongooses have long faces and bodies, small, rounded ears, short legs, and long, tapering tails. Most are brindled or grizzly; a few h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Birds Of Cuba
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Todus
''Todus'' is a genus of birds in the family Todidae, the todies, found in the Caribbean. It is the only extant genus within the family Todidae. The five species are small, near passerine birds of the forests of the Greater Antilles: Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba, with adjacent islands, have one species each, and Hispaniola has two, the broad-billed tody in the lowlands (including Gonâve Island) and the narrow-billed tody in the highlands. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Todus'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the Jamaican tody (''Todus todus'') as the type species. ''Todus'' is a Latin word for a small bird mentioned by the Roman playwright Plautus and the grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus. This name had earlier been used for the Jamaican tody by the Irish physician Patrick Browne in his book ''The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica'' which was published in 1756. Extant species Five species are recognized: Former species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puerto Rican Tody
The Puerto Rican tody (''Todus mexicanus'') is a bird endemic to Puerto Rico. It is locally known in Spanish as "San Pedrito" ("little Saint Peter") and "medio peso" ("half-dollar bird"). Taxonomy Todies are the closest relative to the motmots of Central America. It is thought that the Jamaican tody (''Todus todus'') gave rise to the Puerto Rican tody after hurricane dispersals, but the relationship between both species has not yet been confirmed. Studies show the ''Todus'' genus probably developed before the Pleistocene. Mitochondrial gene studies point to the motmots as their closest relative, although egg white protein electrophoresis studies suggest a relationship to kingfishers. The Puerto Rican tody's specific epithet, ''mexicanus'' (Latin for "from Mexico"), is a misnomer; it is thought that the ornithologist who first described it, René Lesson, erroneously wrote the type specimen's retrieval location as Mexico. The Puerto Rican tody makes up one of the five endemic '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broad-billed Tody
The broad-billed tody (''Todus subulatus'') is a species of bird in the family Todidae, and one of two Todus species found on Hispaniola, along with the narrow-billed tody. They are small insectivorous birds, characterized by their bright green feathers, pink flanks and red throats. They occur at elevations lower than 1700 meters and prefer drier habitats to that of wet rainforests. The broad-billed tody does not migrate and occupies very small territories. These birds are often seen hopping along perches, foraging for insects with their long bills among the leaves. Broad-billed todies have two principle vocalizations, the first being their general call which sounds like a whistle and the second call sounding more trilly, when they encounter a predator. They can also create a rattling noise by running wind through their feathers. Their breeding season runs from April to July, in which the female will lay one clutch of eggs, containing one to four eggs. The nestlings take three we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narrow-billed Tody
The narrow-billed tody (''Todus angustirostris'') is a species of bird in the family Todidae. It is one of two Todus species endemic to Hispaniola, a Caribbean island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Taxonomy and systematics The narrow-billed tody and the other Hispaniolan tody, the broad-billed (''T. subulatus''), were originally thought to share a recent common ancestor, because the other three todies are each the only one on different islands. However, phylogenetic analysis suggests that the narrow-billed tody descended from the Cuban tody (''T. multicolor'') and the broad-billed tody descended from the Puerto Rican tody (''T. mexicanus''). The separation between the lineages occurred two to three million years ago, before either ancestor colonized Hispaniola.Overton, L. C. (2020). Narrow-billed Tody (''Todus angustirostris''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamaican Tody
The Jamaican tody (''Todus todus'') is a species of bird in the genus ''Todus'' endemic to Jamaica. Local names for the Jamaican tody include ''rasta bird'', ''robin'' and ''robin redbreast''. Taxonomy It was thought that the genus ''Todus'' was established in 1760, after the split from the kingfisher from the genus ''Alcedo''. However, the exact historical relationship between the genus ''Todus'' and other close relatives was not confirmed until around 2004 when a paper was published on the molecular phylogenic relationships for the tody species. Mitochondrial DNA and nuclear gene sequences were used to discover the heterogeneity among genes in these species. Genus ''Todus'' is monophyletic and a relatively old group based on divergence approximations. Todies are closer to the '' Baryphthengus'' and '' Hylomanes'' genera, from the family Momotidae, than the '' Ceryle'' and ''Chloroceryle'' genera, from the family Alcedinidae. The family Todidae likely derived from a motmot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, and language. Humans are highly social and tend to live in complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship networks to political states. Social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which bolster human society. Its intelligence and its desire to understand and influence the environment and to explain and manipulate phenomena have motivated humanity's development of science, philosophy, mythology, religion, and other fields of study. Although some scientists equate the term ''humans'' with all members of the genus ''Homo'', in common usage, it generally refers to ''Homo sapiens'', the only extant member. Anatomically moder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mixed-species Foraging Flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These are different from feeding aggregations, which are congregations of several species of bird at areas of high food availability. While it is currently unknown how mixed-species foraging flocks originate, researchers have proposed a few mechanisms for their initiation. Many believe that nuclear species play a vital role in mixed-species flock initiation. Additionally, the forest structure is hypothesized to play a vital role in these flocks' formation. In Sri Lanka, for example, vocal mimicry by the greater racket-tailed drongo might have a key role in the initiation of mixed-species foraging flocks, while in parts of the American tropics packs of foraging golden-crowned warblers might play the same role. Composition Mixed-species foraging ... [...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] |
Ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences of biogeography, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology, and natural history. Ecology is a branch of biology, and it is not synonymous with environmentalism. Among other things, ecology is the study of: * The abundance, biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment * Life processes, antifragility, interactions, and adaptations * The movement of materials and energy through living communities * The successional development of ecosystems * Cooperation, competition, and predation within and between species * Patterns of biodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes Ecology has practical applications in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource managemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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