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Champagny Island
Champagny Island, known to the traditional owners as Nimenba, is an island off the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Located on the western side of Camden Sound and part of the Champagny Islands group within the Bonaparte Archipelago, the island encompasses an area of . The Aboriginal Australian traditional owners of the area are the Dambimangari peoples of the Worrorran languages group, whose name for the island is Nimenba. The island was named by Nicholas Baudin in 1801 after the French diplomat and statesman, Jean-Baptiste de Nompère de Champagny, 1st duc de Cadore. Birds found on the island include the brown quail, eastern reef egret, brown falcon, whimbrel, beach stone-curlew, sooty oystercatcher, bar-shouldered dove, Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo, rainbow bee-eater and the red-capped plover. It lies within the Camden Sound Marine Park that was gazetted in 2012 and covers an area of . The park is the second largest in Western Australia af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of . It is the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. the state has 2.76 million inhabitants percent of the national total. The vast majority (92 percent) live in the south-west corner; 79 percent of the population lives in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated. The first Europeans to visit Western Australia belonged to the Dutch Dirk Hartog expedition, who visited the Western Australian coast in 1616. The first permanent European colony of Western Australia occurred following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Reef Egret
The Pacific reef heron (''Egretta sacra''), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia and Oceania. It occurs in two colour morphs with either slaty grey or pure white plumage. The sexes are similar in appearance. Taxonomy The Pacific reef heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes and egrets in the genus '' Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea sacra''. Gmelin based his description on the "Sacred heron" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a specimen of a white morph that had been collected on Tahiti. The Pacific reef heron is now placed with 12 other species in the genus ''Egretta'' that was introduce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montgomery Reef
Montgomery Reef is a reef off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. It is situated at the south western end of Camden Sound and surrounds Yawajaba (Montgomery) Island. With its total area of (about in length), it is the world's largest inshore reef. The nearest populated place is Bardi, which is approximately to the south west. The reef lies approximately off shore, opposite Doubtful Bay to the east and Collier Bay to the south. It lies within the Camden Sound Marine Park, which was gazetted in 2012, covering an area of . The reef and island were named by Philip Parker King, the first European to sight the island, aboard , while exploring the area in 1818. King named the island after the ship's surgeon, Andrew Montgomery. King also named Doubtful Bay. Montgomery Reef has an unusual wide tidal range, up to . When the tide is out, vast lagoons, sandstone islets, and a central mangrove island are revealed. The outward movement of the tide forms a torrent of wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Regent National Park
Prince Regent National Park, formerly the Prince Regent Nature Reserve, is a protected area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 1978 the area was nominated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Land The national park covers a total area of and was created in 1964 to protect the catchment area of the Prince Regent River. The northern boundary of the national park abuts the southern boundary of the Mitchell River National Park creating a protected area of over . The landscape of the reserve ranges from lush rainforest to sandstone plains. The area contains gorges, waterfalls, cliffs and mountain ranges. Careening Bay, on Coronation Island, site of "The Mermaid Tree" (after , Philip Parker King's ship) is within the park. The boab tree was inscribed by the ship's carpenter when the vessel was deliberately careened (beached) in order to undertake repairs. Traditional Owners The Traditional Owners of the area round the river are the Worrorra peoples, but the park ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shark Bay
Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's official listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage Site reads: : History The record of Australian Aboriginal occupation of Shark Bay extends to years BP. At that time most of the area was dry land, rising sea levels flooding Shark Bay between BP and BP. A considerable number of aboriginal midden sites have been found, especially on Peron Peninsula and Dirk Hartog Island which provide evidence of some of the foods gathered from the waters and nearby land areas. An expedition led by Dirk Hartog happened upon the area in 1616, becoming the second group of Europeans known to have visited Australia. (The crew of the ''Duyfken'', under Willem Janszoon, had visited Cape York in 1606). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-capped Plover
The red-capped plover (''Charadrius ruficapillus''), also known as the red-capped dotterel, is a small species of plover. It breeds in Australia. This species is closely related to (and sometimes considered conspecific with) the Kentish plover, Javan plover, and white-fronted plover. Description Red-capped plovers have a white forehead and underparts. Their upperparts are mainly grey-brown. Adult males have a rufous or reddish-brown crown and hindneck. Adult females have a paler rufous and grey-brown crown and hindneck, with a pale loreal stripe. The upperwing of ''Charadrius ruficapillus'' shows dark brown remiges (flight feathers) and primary covert feathers with a white wingbar in flight. Its length is 14–16 cm (5.5–6.3 in) and its wingspan is 27–34 cm (10.6–13.4 in); it weighs 35–40 g (1.2–1.4 oz). Breeding plumage shows a red-brown crown and nape with black margins. Non-breeding plumage is duller and lacks the black margins. Distribution and habitat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainbow Bee-eater
The rainbow bee-eater (''Merops ornatus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. Taxonomy The rainbow bee-eater is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia and is monotypic. Its closest relative is most likely the olive bee-eater (''Merops superciliosus'') of southern and eastern Africa, but molecular phylogenetic analysis places the rainbow bee-eater as closest relative with the European bee-eater (''M. apiaster''). It was first described by John Latham in 1801. The generic name is Ancient Greek ''merops'' which means 'bee-eater' and the specific epithet is Latin ''ornatus'' 'ornate, adorned'. Description Rainbow bee-eaters are brilliantly coloured birds that grow to be in length, including the elongated tail feathers, and weighing . The upper back and wings are green in colour, and the lower back and under-tail coverts are bright blue. The undersides of the wings and primary flight feathers are rufous to copper with green edges and tipped with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo
Horsfield's bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx basalis'') is a small cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Its size averages 22g and is distinguished by its green and bronze iridescent colouring on its back and incomplete brown barring from neck to tail. Horsfield's bronze cuckoo can be destiguished from other bronze cuckoos by its white eyebrow and brown eye stripe. The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is common throughout Australia preferring the drier open woodlands away from forested areas. Taxonomy The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is one of five Australian species in the genus ''Chrysococcyx'' (formerly ''Chalcites'') a type of parasitic bird, that parasitises fairy-wrens primarily to raise their young. Diet and behaviour The main diet of the Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is insects and they are nomadic, travelling to different regions of Australia to breed and find food. Small insects are taken from leaves, branches, caught on the wing and in breeding season, Horsfield's bronze cuckoos feed each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bar-shouldered Dove
The bar-shouldered dove (''Geopelia humeralis'') is a species of long tailed dove native to Australia and Southern New Guinea. It is protected under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974''. It is a medium-sized pigeon varying in size from . Its voice is a distinctive and melodious "cook-a-wook" or "coolicoo". Description The dove has a blue-grey breast with chequered brown-bronze wings. The nape is similar to that of the peaceful dove in that the nape feathers are striated but differs in that the bar-shouldered dove does not have striated throat feathers like the peaceful dove. Furthermore, the nape feathers are copper in colour. These doves are also often confused with the introduced and common spotted turtle dove. The eye ring tends to be grey but red-brown when breeding. The juveniles are duller in colour. Doves are often found in pairs, groups or large loose flocks and are seen commonly feeding on the ground feeding on seeds. Flight is direct and swift and wings w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Oystercatcher
The sooty oystercatcher (''Haematopus fuliginosus'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its feathers are black. It has a red eye, eye ring and bill, and pink legs. Taxonomy John Gould described the sooty oystercatcher in 1845. Its species name is the Latin adjective ''fuliginosus'', "sooty". Two subspecies are recognised, the nominate from the coastline of southern Australia and subspecies ''ophthalmicus'' from northern Australia. The southern subspecies is larger and heavier than the northern. The northern one, with a more yellowish eye ring, is found from the Kimberleys across the top of the country to Mackay in central Queensland. There is considerable overlap, as the southern subspecies has been found up to Cape York. Subspecies ''ophthalmicus'' has been thought distinctive enough to warrant species status and needs further inv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beach Stone-curlew
The beach stone-curlew (''Esacus magnirostris'') also known as beach thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird that occurs in Australasia, the islands of South-east Asia. At and , it is one of the world's largest shorebirds. At a mean of in males and in females, it the heaviest living member of the Charadriiformes outside of the gull and skua families.''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), . It is less strictly nocturnal than most stone-curlews, and can sometimes be seen foraging by daylight, moving slowly and deliberately, with occasional short runs. It tends to be wary and fly off into the distance ahead of the observer, employing slow, rather stiff wingbeats. The beach stone-curlew is a resident of undisturbed open beaches, exposed reefs, mangroves, and tidal sand or mudflats over a large range, including coastal eastern Australia as far south as far eastern Victoria, the northern Australian coast and nearby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Whimbrel
The Eurasian whimbrel or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This species and the Hudsonian whimbrel have recently been split, although some taxonomic authorities still consider them to be conspecific. Taxonomy The Eurasian whimbrel was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Scolopax phaeopus''. It is now placed with the curlews in the genus '' Numenius'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name ''Numenius'' is from Ancient Greek ''noumenios'', a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associated with the curlews because it appears to be derived from ''neos'', "new" and ''mene'' "moon", referring to the crescent-shaped bill. The specific epithet ''phaeopus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
