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Drumkul
Drumkul, also spelt Dirumkul, is an artificial fresh water, freshwater lake in southern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in eastern Tajikistan. The lake and its surrounds have been identified by BirdLife International as a 380 km2 Important Bird Area (IBA). Description Drumkul lies some 75 km east of the provincial capital of Khorog, in the northern part of the Shugnanskiy ridge of the Pamir Mountains. The area has a semi-arid climate. The lake is 3345 m above sea level and was formed by damming the Dumdara River, a tributary of the Shohdara river, which is fed by meltwater from the glaciers of the Rushan Range, Rushan ridge. It is 3.5 km long, 200–300 m wide and has a maximum depth of 45 m. It contains submerged aquatic vegetation. Birds The site qualifies as an IBA because the lake and its environs support significant numbers of the populations of various bird species, either as residents, or as breeding or bird migration, passage migra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province
Gorno-Badakhshan, officially the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region,, abbr. / is an autonomous region in eastern Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains. It makes up nearly forty-five percent of the country's land area, but only two percent of its population.''Population of the Republic of Tajikistan as of 1 January 2008'', State Statistical Committee, Dushanbe, 2008 Name The official English name of the autonomous region is the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region. The name "Badakhshan" (russian: Бадахшан, Badakhshan; tg, Бадахшон, Badaxşon) is derived from the Sasanian title or . "Gorno-Badakhshan" literally means "mountainous Badakhshan" and is derived from the Russian name of the autonomous region, . The Russian abbreviation "GBAO" is also commonly used in English-language publications by national and international bodies such as the government of Tajikistan and the United Nations. History Prior to 1895, several semi-self governing statelet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Merganser
The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large seaduck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. Taxonomy The first formal description of the common merganser was by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He introduced the current binomial name ''Mergus merganser''. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird, and ''merganser'' is derived from ''mergus'' and ''anser'', Latin for "goose". In 1843 John James Audubon used the name "Buff-breasted Merganser" in addition to "goosander" in his book ''The Birds of America''. The three subspecies differ in only minor detail: * ''M. m. merganser'' – Linnaeus, 1758 is found throughout northern Europe and northern Asiatic Russia. * ''M. m. orientalis'' – Gould, 1845 (syn. ''M. m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rufous-streaked Accentor
The Altai accentor (''Prunella himalayana'') is a species of bird in the family Prunellidae. It is also known as the rufous-streaked accentor or Himalayan accentor. It breeds in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia; it winters in the southern Tian Shan and Himalayan ranges. Taxonomy The Altai accentor was described by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1842 and given the binomial name ''Accentor himalayanus''. The Altai accentor is now placed in the genus '' Prunella'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1816. The species is monotypic. This species, along with the alpine accentor, is sometimes separated from the other accentors into the genus ''Laiscopus''.HBW volume 10, page 496 Gallery File:Altai accentor sitting.jpg, Altai accentor in Pangot File:Altai accentor flock.jpg, Flock of Altai accentor in flight. From Pangot, Uttarakhand, India File:Altai Accentor Gnathang Valley Sikkim 28.04.2019.jpg, highly camouflaged when on ground at G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpine Accentor
The alpine accentor (''Prunella collaris'') is a small passerine bird in the family Prunellidae, which is native to Eurasia and North Africa. Taxonomy The Alpine accentor was described by the Austria naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1769. He coined the binomial name ''Sturnus collaris'' and specified the type locality as the Carinthia region of southern Austria. The specific epithet is from the Latin ''collaris'' "of the neck". This species is now placed in the genus '' Prunella'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1816. The Alpine accentor, along with the Altai accentor is sometimes separated from the other accentors, into the genus ''Laiscopus''. The word "accentor" is from post-classical Latin and means a person who sings with another. The genus name ''Prunella'' is from the German ''Braunelle'', "dunnock", a diminutive of ''braun'', "brown". Nine subspecies are recognised: * ''P. c. collaris'' (Scopoli, 1769) — southwest Europe to Sl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-winged Snowfinch
The white-winged snowfinch (''Montifringilla nivalis''), or snowfinch, is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is a sparrow rather than a true finch. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the white-winged snowfinch in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen but without specifying where it had been collected. He used the French name and the Latin ''Fringilla nivalis''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the white-winged snowfinch. Linnaeus included a brief description, used the bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himalayan Rubythroat
The Himalayan rubythroat (''Calliope pectoralis'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is closely related to the Siberian rubythroat which however lacks the distinctive white tail-tips and white tail bases. It was also previously considered conspecific with the Chinese rubythroat, together called the white-tailed rubythroat. It is found along the Himalayan ranges from Afghanistan to Myanmar. Three subspecies are recognized across its wide range. Taxonomy The first formal description of the Himalayan rubythroat was by the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1837. He coined the binomial name ''Calliope pectoralis''. The species was given the English name "white-tailed rubythroat" and moved to the genus ''Luscinia''. A large molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus ''Luscinia'' was not monophyletic. The genus was therefore split and several species including the white-tailed rubythroat were moved to the reinsta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wallcreeper
The wallcreeper (''Tichodroma muraria'') is a small passerine bird found throughout the high mountains of the Palearctic from southern Europe to central China. It is the only extant member of both the genus ''Tichodroma'' and the family Tichodromidae. Taxonomy and systematics There is some disagreement among ornithologists as to where the wallcreeper belongs in the taxonomic order. Initially, Linnaeus placed it in the family Certhiidae, along with the treecreepers. The wallcreeper is placed in a monotypic family Tichodromadidae by, amongst others, Clements 2007, while other authorities such as Dickinson 2003 put it in the monotypic Tichodromadinae, a subfamily of the nuthatch family Sittidae. In either case, it is very closely related to the nuthatches. A 2016 phylogenetic study of members in the superfamily Certhioidea suggests it is a sister of the Sittidae. At least one other species of wallcreeper is known from the fossil record, ''Tichodroma capeki'' (Late Miocene of Polgard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulphur-bellied Warbler
The sulphur-bellied warbler (''Phylloscopus griseolus'') is a species of leaf-warbler found in the Palearctic region (Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russian Federation entral Asian Russia Tajikistan and Turkmenistan). It was earlier also known by the name of olivaceous leaf-warbler. Like other leaf-warblers, it gleans insects from small branches and leaves. It is found in rocky hill and scrub forest habitats. The species is found in small groups and has a tendency to forage low in the vegetation, sometimes even hopping on the ground. It has a single note ''cheep'' call. Gallery File:Sulpher-bellied Warbler (Phylloscopus griseolus) W IMG 4562.jpg, In Hyderabad, India File:Sulpher-bellied Warbler (Phylloscopus griseolus) W IMG 4560.jpg, In Hyderabad, India File:Sulphur Bellied Warbler.jpg, Vasai, Maharashtra, India File:Sulpher-bellied Warbler (Phylloscopus griseolus) at Sindhrot near Vadodara, Gujrat Pix 174.jpg, At Sindhrot in Vadodara District of Gujarat, In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hume's Lark
Hume's short-toed lark (''Calandrella acutirostris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in south-central Asia from Iran and Kazakhstan to China. Taxonomy and systematics The name commemorates the British naturalist Allan Octavian Hume who described the species. The alternate name short-toed lark may also be used for three other species in the genus ''Calandrella''. The alternate name lesser short-toed lark should not be confused with the species of the same name, '' Alaudala rufescens''. Other alternate names for Hume's short-toed lark include Hume's lark and Karakoram short-toed lark. Subspecies Two subspecies are recognized: * ''C. a. acutirostris'' - Hume, 1873: Found from north-eastern Iran and eastern Kazakhstan to western China * Tibet short-toed lark (''C. a. tibetana'') - Brooks, WE, 1880: Originally described as a separate species. Found from north-eastern Pakistan to Tibetan Plateau Description Hume's short-toed lark is similar in size an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-billed Chough
The Alpine chough (), or yellow-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax graculus'') is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus '' Pyrrhocorax''. Its two subspecies breed in high mountains from Spain eastwards through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia and Nepal, and it may nest at a higher altitude than any other bird. The eggs have adaptations to the thin atmosphere that improve oxygen take-up and reduce water loss. This bird has glossy black plumage, a yellow beak, red legs, and distinctive calls. It has a buoyant acrobatic flight with widely spread flight feathers. The Alpine chough pairs for life and displays fidelity to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. It builds a lined stick nest and lays three to five brown-blotched whitish eggs. It feeds, usually in flocks, on short grazed grassland, taking mainly invertebrate prey in summer and fruit in winter; it will readily approach tourist sites to find supplementary f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snow Pigeon
The snow pigeon (''Columba leuconota'') is a species of bird in the genus ''Columba'' in the family Columbidae from hilly regions of central Asia. They are grey, black, pale brown and white birds and two subspecies are recognised: ''C. l. leuconota'' occurs in the western Himalayas from western Afghanistan to Sikkim and ''C. l. gradaria'' occurs in the mountains of eastern Tibet and from eastern Nan Shan (Qinghai) to Yunnan and extreme northern Myanmar. The birds forage in open country in pairs or small groups, feeding on grain, buds, shoots, berries and seeds. They roost at night on cliffs, breeding in crevices where they build untidy stick nests and lay a clutch of usually two white eggs. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the bird's conservation status as being of least concern. Description Snow pigeons have a blackish head contrasting with a white neck collar and white underparts shading into ashy on the abdomen. Their backs are brownish-grey with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
