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Dallas World Aquarium
The Dallas World Aquarium is a for-profit aquarium and zoo located in the West End Historic District of Dallas, Texas, USA. It aids conservation and education by housing many animals that are threatened or endangered as part of a cooperative breeding program with other zoos around the world. It has been an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1997 and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. History The aquarium was opened in October 1992 in an old 1924 warehouse that had been gutted and rebuilt on the inside. In 1997, "The Orinoco - Secrets of the River" opened in an adjacent warehouse that had been similarly gutted and transformed, and the alley between the two buildings became the divide between freshwater and saltwater exhibits. In May 2000, it purchased a vacant lot behind the original warehouse for its first new construction, the Mundo Maya exhibit, which opened in August 2004. In 2015 Ben Crair of the New Republic wrote an ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County with portions extending into Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall counties. With a 2020 census population of 1,304,379, it is the ninth most-populous city in the U.S. and the third-largest in Texas after Houston and San Antonio. Located in the North Texas region, the city of Dallas is the main core of the largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States and the largest inland metropolitan area in the U.S. that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The cities of Dallas and nearby Fort Worth were initially developed due to the construction of major railroad lines through the area allowing access to cotton, cattle and later oil in North and East Texas. The construction of the Interstate Highway System reinforced Dallas's prominen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pheasant Pigeon
The pheasant pigeon (''Otidiphaps nobilis'') is a species of large terrestrial pigeon. It is the only species of the monotypic genus ''Otidiphaps''. The pheasant pigeon is found in the primary rainforests of New Guinea and nearby islands. It ranges primarily over hilly and lower mountain areas, but can also be found in lowlands. Taxonomy and systematics The genus name makes reference to its similarities to the bustard family (Otidae). Its common name reflects its adaptation to living on the forest floor in the fashion of a South East Asian pheasant. Subspecies Commonly, there are four subspecies recognized that differ primarily in the presence or absence of a small crest and in the colour of the nape: * White-naped pheasant pigeon (''O. n. aruensis'') – Rothschild, 1928: Found on the Aru Islands, Vulnerable * Green-naped pheasant pigeon (''O. n. nobilis'') – Gould, 1870: Found on western New Guinea, Batanta and Waigeo Islands, Least concern. * Grey-naped pheasant pigeon (''O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venezuelan Troupial
The Venezuelan troupial (''Icterus icterus'') is the national bird of Venezuela. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico. Together with the orange-backed troupial and Campo troupial, it was previously part of a superspecies simply named the troupial that was split. Name The term ''troupial'' is from French ''troupiale'', from ''troupe'' (“troop”), so named because they live in flocks. The Latin name ''icterus'' is from Greek ἴκτερος (''íkteros'', “jaundice”); the ''icterus'' was a bird the sight of which was believed to cure jaundice, perhaps the Eurasian golden oriole. It also had the more general meaning "yellow bird", which is why the name was later given to this South American bird. Description Venezuelan troupials are fairly large in size, with a long tail and a bulky bill. It has a black head and upper breast. The feathers on the front of the neck and upper breast stick outward, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scarlet Ibis
The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant scarlet coloration makes it unmistakable. It is one of the two national birds of Trinidad and Tobago, and its Tupi–Guarani name, guará, is part of the name of several municipalities along the coast of Brazil. This medium-sized wader is a hardy, numerous, and prolific bird, and it has protected status around the world. Its IUCN status is Least Concern. The legitimacy of ''Eudocimus ruber'' as a biological classification, however, is in dispute. Traditional Linnaean taxonomy classifies it as a unique species, but some scientists have moved to reclassify it as a subspecies of a more general American ibis species, along with its close relative, the American white ibis (''Eudocimus albus''). Taxonomy The species wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guira Cuckoo
The guira cuckoo (''Guira guira'') is a gregarious bird found widely in open and semi-open habitats of northeastern, eastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northeastern Argentina. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Guira''. Taxonomy The guira cuckoo was described and illustrated in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his ''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae''. He used the name "Guira angatara". The word ''Güirá'' means "bird" in the Guarani language. Later ornithologists based their descriptions on Marcgrave's account: Francis Willughby in 1678, John Ray in 1713, Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760, and Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779. When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae'' in 1788 he included the guira cuckoo. He placed it with all the other cuckoos in the genus ''Cuculus'' and coined the binomial name ''Cuculus guira''. The guira cuckoo is now the only spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Oropendola
The green oropendola (''Psarocolius viridis'') is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in wooded habitats in the Amazon basin and Guianas of South America, and is generally common. Uniquely among the oropendolas, the green oropendola has a pale bill with an orange tip. Male oropendola weigh around 400 grams, while females are in the 200 gram range. This is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its status as being of "least concern". Description The male green oropendola grows to a length of about and the female about . The head, breast and back are pale olive green, the wings are greyish-green, and the rump and underparts are chestnut. The central feathers of the tail are black and the outer ones yellow. The beak has an orange tip, and its base and the adjoining areas of skin are yellowish. The irises are pale blue and there is an inconspicuous crest on the back of the head. Distribution ''P. viridis'' has a very wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curl-crested Jay
The curl-crested jay (''Cyanocorax cristatellus'') is a jay from South America. This New World jay is a beautiful and large (35 cm/14 in overall) bird with predominantly dark blue back, an almost black head and neck, and snow-white chest and underparts. They have a pronounced curled crest rising from just behind the beak; the crest is on average larger in males, but the sexes are generally quite similar. The voice is a loud, ''gray, graa, gray-gray-gray'', sometimes repeated 8-10 times. They sound similar to crow. Curl-crested jays are native to the cerrados of central and southern and the caatinga of northeastern Brazil. In the southeast Amazon Basin, curl-crested jay ranges into the upstream headwater regions adjacent to the northwestern cerrado. In the west, the extreme headwaters of the west-flowing Guaporé River on the Brazil-Bolivia are home. For the southeast Amazon, the north-flowing rivers that limit the range are the Tapajós on the west, the Xingu River, then th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crested Oropendola
The crested oropendola (''Psarocolius decumanus''), also known as the Suriname crested oropendola or the cornbird, is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in lowland South America east of the Andes, from Panama and Colombia south to northern Argentina, as well as on Trinidad and Tobago. If the genus ''Gymnostinax'' for the Montezuma oropendola and its closest relatives were considered valid, this species would probably belong in that genus (Price & Lanyon 2002). It is a common bird, seen alone or in small flocks foraging in trees for large insects, fruit, seeds and some nectar. The male is 46 cm long and weighs 300 g; the smaller female is 37 cm long and weighs 180 g. The plumage of the crested oropendola has a musty smell due to the oil from the preen gland. Description Adult males are mainly black with a chestnut rump and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a long narrow crest which is often d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut-eared Aracari
The chestnut-eared aracari or chestnut-eared araçari (''Pteroglossus castanotis'') is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics Two subspecies of chestnut-eared aracari are recognized, the nominate ''P. c. castanotis'' (Gould, 1834) and ''P. c. australis'' ( Cassin, 1867). Description The chestnut-eared aracari is long and weighs . Males and females have the same bill coloration, though the female's bill is shorter. The bills of nominate subspecies adults have a yellow line at the base and a mostly black mandible. The maxilla has a black stripe on the culmen, a triangle of black narrowing toward the tip, orange-yellow between them, and black and ivory markings on the edge that look like teeth. Adult males have a black crown and upper nape, a chestnut lower nape, a dark green back, and a red rump. They have blue facial skin and the sides of their face a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
The Victoria crowned pigeon (''Goura victoria'') is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and red irises. It is part of a genus ( ''Goura'') of four unique, very large, ground-dwelling pigeons native to the New Guinea region. The bird may be easily recognized by the unique white tips on its crests and by its deep 'whooping' sounds made while calling. Its name commemorates the British monarch Queen Victoria. Description The Victoria crowned pigeon is a deep blue-grey colour with a small, black mask. Its feather crest (the signature feature of crowned pigeons other than their size) is conspicuously white-tipped. On the wing coverts is a row of feathers that are a paler blue-gray with maroon tips. These form a distinct wing bar. The chest is a deep purple-maroon color. As in all crowned pigeons, melanism has been observed. The other two crowned pigeons are somewhat superficially similar, but only the western crowned pigeon overlaps in range w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wompoo Fruit Dove
The wompoo fruit dove (''Ptilinopus magnificus''), also known as wompoo pigeon, is one of the larger fruit doves native to New Guinea and eastern Australia. Taxonomy and systematics Subspecies There are generally 7-8 recognised subspecies, although some authorities recognise as few as 5. * ''P. m. magnificus – Temminck, 1827:'' * ''P. m. keri – :'' * ''P. m. alaris – :'' * ''P. m. assimilis – :'' * ''P. m. poliura – :'' * ''P. m. interposita – :'' * ''P. m. septentrionalis – :'' * ''P. m. puella – :'' Description This dove measures up to , but are generally far smaller in northern regions. It has purple plumage around its neck, chest and upper belly. Its lower belly is yellow and it has green underparts. The sexes are similar and the juveniles have a duller and greener plumage compared to adults. Notwithstanding their bright plumage, they are hard to see amongst the forest canopy, thanks to their unobtrusive, quiet habits. Their call sounds like ''wollack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Crowned Pigeon
The western crowned pigeon (''Goura cristata''), also known as the common crowned pigeon or blue crowned pigeon, is a large, blue-grey pigeon with blue lacy Crest (feathers), crests over the head and dark blue mask feathers around its eyes. Both sexes are almost similar but males are often larger than females. It is on average 70 cm (28 in) long and weighs 2.1 kg (4.6 lbs). Along with its close and very similar-looking relatives the Victoria crowned pigeon, Sclater's crowned pigeon, and Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon, it is one of the largest members of the pigeon family. The western crowned pigeon is found in and is endemism in birds, endemic to the lowland rainforests of northwestern New Guinea; the other species of crowned pigeon inhabit different regions of the island. The diet consists mainly of fruits and seeds. Hunted for food and its plumes, it remains common only in remote areas. Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range and overhunting in some areas, the we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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