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Colt Crag Reservoir
Colt Crag Reservoir is a relatively shallow reservoir in Northumberland, England adjacent to the A68 road, and north of Corbridge. The A68 road at this point runs along the course of Dere Street, a Roman road. History The reservoir was built at the end of the 19th century for the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company. The reservoir forms part of a series of reservoirs along the A68 which are connected by tunnels and aqueducts from Catcleugh Reservoir to Whittle Dene; from where drinking water is supplied to Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, and some surrounding areas. The reservoirs that form the chain are, from northwest to southeast: Catcleugh Reservoir → Colt Crag Reservoir → Little Swinburne Reservoir → Hallington Reservoirs → Whittle Dene. Flora and fauna Much of the reservoir is fringed by mature coniferous plantation, although birch and beech also grow here with bramble and raspberry providing much of the field layer. One of Colt Crag's main attractions are the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on three sides; by the Scottish Borders region to the north, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The fourth side is the North Sea, with a stretch of coastline to the east. A predominantly rural county with a landscape of moorland and farmland, a large area is part of Northumberland National Park. The area has been the site of a number of historic battles with Scotland. Name The name of Northumberland is recorded as ''norð hẏmbra land'' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, meaning "the land north of the Humber". The name of the kingdom of ''Northumbria'' derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the people south of the Humber Estuary. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallington Reservoirs
Hallington Reservoirs are located near the small village of Colwell, Northumberland, England on the B6342 road off the A68 road, and north of Corbridge. Hallington is actually two small reservoirs: Hallington Reservoir West and Hallington Reservoir East, which are separated by a dam. Water was first collected from the area by an aqueduct intercepting streams, which was built between 1857 and 1859 by the Whittle Dean Water Company. The work included a tunnel to allow the water to flow by gravity from the collecting area through a ridge of higher ground to the company's main reservoirs at Whittle Dene. An Act of Parliament was obtained in 1863 to build Hallington Reservoir, which also changed the company name to the Newcastle and Gaateshead Water Company. After some delays work started on construction in 1869, and the reservoir was completed in 1872. Water was fed from it to Whittle Dene through the existing aqueduct and tunnel. As the populations of Newcastle and Gateshead co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyctalus
''Nyctalus'' is a genus of vespertilionid bats commonly known as the noctule bats. They are distributed in the temperate and subtropical areas of Europe, Asia and North Africa. There are eight species within this genus: *Birdlike noctule, ''Nyctalus aviator'' *Azores noctule, ''Nyctalus azoreum'' *Japanese noctule, ''Nyctalus furvus'' *Greater noctule bat, ''Nyctalus lasiopterus'' *Lesser noctule, ''Nyctalus leisleri'' *Mountain noctule, ''Nyctalus montanus'' *Common noctule, ''Nyctalus noctula'' *Chinese noctule, ''Nyctalus plancyi'' See also *Microbat Microbats constitute the suborder Microchiroptera within the order Chiroptera (bats). Bats have long been differentiated into Megachiroptera (megabats) and Microchiroptera, based on their size, the use of echolocation by the Microchiroptera a ... References Bat genera Taxa named by Thomas Edward Bowdich {{Vespertilionidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipistrellus
''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian language, Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat"). The size of the genus has been considerably reduced as a result of work during the 1990s and 2000s, with genera such as ''Arielulus'', ''Hypsugo'', ''Falsistrellus'', ''Neoromicia'', ''Parastrellus'', ''Perimyotis'', ''Scotozous'', and ''Vespadelus'' being split off. Still, Molecular phylogenetics, molecular evidence suggests the genus is not monophyletic. Several other genera in the subfamily Vespertilioninae have also been merged with ''Pipistrellus'' in previous classifications. Species in the genus may be referred to as "pipistrelles" or "pipistrelle bats", though these terms are also used for species now placed in other genera, such as the western pipistrelle (''Parastrellus hesperus'') and eastern pipistrelle (''Perimyotis subflavus'') of North Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity. All belong to the caniform suborder of carnivoran mammals. The fifteen species of mustelid badgers are grouped in four subfamilies: four species of Melinae (genera ''Meles'' and ''Arctonyx'') including the European badger, five species of Helictidinae (genus ''Melogale'') or ferret-badger, the honey badger or ratel Mellivorinae (genus ''Mellivora''), and the American badger Taxideinae (genus ''Taxidae''). Badgers include the most basal mustelids; the American badger is the most basal of all, followed successively by the ratel and the Melinae; the estimated split dates are about 17.8, 15.5 and 14.8 million years ago, respectively. The two species of Asiatic stink badgers of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheatear
The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus ''Oenanthe''. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the northern wheatear has established a foothold in eastern Canada and Greenland and in western Canada and Alaska. Etymology The name "wheatear" is not derived from "wheat" or any sense of "ear", but is a folk etymology of "white" and "arse", referring to the prominent white rump found in most species. The genus name ''Oenanthe'' is derived from the Greek ''oenos'' (οἶνος) "wine" and ''anthos'' (ἄνθος) "flower". It refers to the northern wheatear's return to Greece in the spring just as the grapevines blossom. Taxonomy The genus ''Oenanthe'' was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with ''Oenanthe leucura'', the black wheatear, as the type species. The genus formerly included fewer sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whinchat
The whinchat (''Saxicola rubetra'') is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in central Africa. At one time considered to be in the thrush family, Turdidae, it is now placed in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. Both sexes have a strong supercilium, brownish upper parts mottled darker, a pale throat and breast, a pale buff to whitish belly, and a blackish tail with white bases to the outer tail feathers, but in the breeding season, the male has an orange-buff throat and breast. The whinchat is a solitary species, favouring open grassy country with rough vegetation and scattered small shrubs. It perches in elevated locations ready to pounce on the insects and other small invertebrates that form its diet. The nest is built by the female on the ground in coarse vegetation, with a clutch of four to seven eggs being laid. The hen incubates the eggs for about thirteen days and then both parents feed the nestlings. Fledging tak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meadow Pipit
The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isolated population also occurs in the Caucasus Mountains. It is migratory over most of its range, wintering in southern Europe, North Africa, and south-western Asia, but is resident year-round in western Europe, though even here many birds move to the coast or lowlands in winter. Taxonomy The meadow pipit was formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Alauda pratensis''. The type locality is Sweden. The meadow pipit is now the type species of the genus ''Anthus'' that was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The species is monotypic; no subspecies are recognised. The generic name ''Anthus'' is the Latin name for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the Otidimorphae, the other two being the turacos and the bustards. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species which are divided into 33 genera. The cuckoos are generally medium-sized slender birds. Most species live in trees, though a sizeable minority are ground-dwelling. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution; the majority of species are tropical. Some species are migratory. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Some species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species and giving rise to the metaphor ''cuckoo's egg'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Martins
''Delichon'' is a small genus of passerine birds that belongs to the swallow family and contains four species called house martins. These are chunky, bull-headed and short-tailed birds, blackish-blue above with a contrasting white rump, and with white or grey underparts. They have feathering on the toes and tarsi that is characteristic of this genus. The house martins are closely related to other swallows that build mud nests, particularly the ''Hirundo'' barn swallows. They breed only in Europe, Asia and the mountains of North Africa. Three species, the common, Siberian and Asian house martins, migrate south in winter, while the Nepal house martin is resident in the Himalayas year-round. The house martins nest in colonies on cliffs or buildings, constructing feather- or grass-lined mud nests. The typical clutch is two or three white eggs; both parents build the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. These martins are aerial hunters of small insects such as flies and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Crested Grebes
The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his '' Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Colymbus cristatus''. The great crested grebe is now the type species of the genus ''Podiceps'' that was erected by the English naturalist John Latham in 1787. The type locality is Sweden. The scientific name comes from Latin: the genus name ''Podiceps'' is from , "vent" and , "foot", and is a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body; the species name, ''cristatus'', means "crested". Three subspecies are recognised: * ''P. c. cristatus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Eurasia * ''P. c. infuscatus'' Salvadori, 1884 – Africa * ''P. c. australis'' Gould, 1844 – Australia, Tasmania, South Island of New Zealand Description The great cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raspberry
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with woody stems. World production of raspberries in 2020 was 895,771 tonnes, led by Russia with 20% of the total. Description A raspberry is an aggregate fruit, developing from the numerous distinct carpels of a single flower. What distinguishes the raspberry from its blackberry relatives is whether or not the torus ( receptacle or stem) "picks with" (i.e., stays with) the fruit. When picking a blackberry fruit, the torus stays with the fruit. With a raspberry, the torus remains on the plant, leaving a hollow core in the raspberry fruit. Raspberries are grown for the fresh fruit market and for commercial processing into individually quick frozen (IQF) fruit, purée, juice, or as dried fruit used in a variety of grocery products such as raspb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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