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European Water Vole
The European water vole or northern water vole (''Arvicola amphibius''), is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair. In the wild, on average, water voles only live about five months. Maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years. Appearance Water voles reach in length, plus a tail which is about half the length of the body. Weights reported for adults are variable. It is possible for large, optimal adults to weigh as much as However, these are peak weights. Elsewhere, the mean body mass has been reported as , although this figure includes immature water voles. The minimum weight to successfully breed as well as to survive winter is reportedly in females and in males.Yavuz, Güliz, Ercüment Çolak, and Teoman Kankılıç. ''Investig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy". Many of his writings were in Latin; his name is rendered in Latin as and, after his 1761 ennoblement, as . Linnaeus was born in Råshult, the countryside of Småland, in southern Sweden. He received most of his higher education at Uppsala University and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published the first edition of his ' in the Netherlands. He then returned to Sweden where he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vole
Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of low-crowned with rounded cusps). They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America. Vole species form the subfamily Arvicolinae with the lemmings and the muskrats. There are approximately 155 different vole species. Description Voles are small rodents that grow to , depending on the species. Females can have five to ten litters per year, though with an average lifespan of three months and requiring one month to adulthood, two litters is the norm. Gestation lasts for three weeks and the young voles reach sexual maturity in a month. As a result of this biological exponential growth, vole populations can grow very large within a short time. A mating pair can produce a hundred more voles in a year. Voles outwardly resemble s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Mink
The European mink (''Mustela lutreola''), also known as the Russian mink and Eurasian mink, is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to Europe. It is similar in colour to the American mink, but is slightly smaller and has a less specialized skull. Despite having a similar name, build and behaviour, the European mink is not closely related to the American mink, being much closer to the European polecat and Siberian weasel (''kolonok'').MARMI, J., LÓPEZ-GIRÁLDEZ, J.F. & DOMINGO-ROURA, X. (2004). Phylogeny, Evolutionary History and Taxonomy of the Mustelidae based on Sequences of the Cytochrome b Gene and a Complex Repetitive Flanking Region. Zoologica Scripta, 33: 481 - 499 The European mink occurs primarily by forest streams unlikely to freeze in winter. It primarily feeds on voles, frogs, fish, crustaceans and insects. The European mink is listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered due to an ongoing reduction in numbers, having been calculated as declining more than 50% ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mustelid
The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in the suborder Caniformia of the order Carnivora. They comprise about 66 to 70 species in nine subfamilies. Variety Mustelids vary greatly in size and behaviour. The smaller variants of the least weasel can be under in length, while the giant otter of Amazonian South America can measure up to and sea otters can exceed in weight. Wolverines can crush bones as thick as the femur of a moose to get at the marrow, and have been seen attempting to drive bears away from their kills. The sea otter uses rocks to break open shellfish to eat. Martens are largely arboreal, while European badgers dig extensive tunnel networks, called setts. Only one mustelid has been domesticated; the ferret. Tayra are also kept as pets (although they requ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Kestrel
The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where no other kestrel species commonly occurs, it is generally just called "kestrel". This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America. It has colonized a few oceanic islands, but vagrant individuals are generally rare; in the whole of Micronesia for example, the species was only recorded twice each on Guam and Saipan in the Marianas. Description Common kestrels measure from head to tail, with a wingspan of . Females are noticeably larger, with the adult male weighing , around on average; the adult female weighs , around on average. They are thus small compared with other birds of prey, but larger than most songbirds. Like the other '' Fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons have thin, tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and change direction rapidly. Fledgling falcons, in their first year of flying, have longer flight feathers, which make their configuration more like that of a general-purpose bird such as a broad wing. This makes flying easier while learning the exceptional skills required to be effective hunters as adults. The falcons are the largest genus in the Falconinae subfamily of Falconidae, which itself also includes another subfamily comprising caracaras and a few other species. All these birds kill with their beaks, using a tomial "tooth" on the side of their beaks—unlike the hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey in the Accipitridae, which use their feet. The largest fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and females can grow to a total length of 75 cm (30 in), with a wingspan of 188 cm (6 ft 2 in), with males being slightly smaller.''Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide'' by Mikkola, H. Firefly Books (2012), This bird has distinctive ear tufts, with upper parts that are mottled with darker blackish colouring and tawny. The wings and tail are barred. The underparts are a variably hued buff, streaked with darker colouring. The facial disc is not very defined and the orange eyes are distinctive.Penteriani, V., & del Mar Delgado, M. (2019). ''The eagle owl''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Eurasian eagle-owls are found in many habitats, but are mostly birds of Mountain ecosystems, mountainous regions or other Rock (geolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strix (genus)
''Strix'' is a genus of owls in the typical owl family (Strigidae), one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owl (Tytonidae). Common names are earless owls or wood owls, though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and " wood owl" is also used as a more generic name for forest-dwelling owls. Neotropical birds in the genus '' Ciccaba'' are sometimes included in ''Strix''. These are medium-sized to large, robustly built, powerful owls. They do not have ear tufts and most are highly nocturnal woodland birds. Most prey on small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Most owls in the genus ''Strix'' can be distinguished from other genera of owls through their hooting vocalization and lack of visible ears. The Latin genus name ''Strix'' referred to a mythical vampiric owl-monster believed to suck the blood of infants. Although the genus ''Strix'' was established for the earless owls by Linnaeus in 1758, many applied the term to other o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barn Owl
The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalayas, most of Indonesia, and some Pacific Islands. It is also known as the common barn owl, to distinguish it from the other species in its family, Tytonidae, which forms one of the two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical owls (''Strigidae''). There are at least three major lineages of barn owl: the western barn owl of Europe, western Asia, and Africa; the eastern barn owl of southeastern Asia and Australasia; and the American barn owl of the Americas. Some taxonomic authorities classify barn owls differently, recognising up to five separate species; and further research needs to be done to resolve the disparate taxonomies. There is considerable variation of size and colour among the approximately 28 subspecies, but most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Buzzard
The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across much of the Palearctic as far as northwestern China (Tian Shan), far western Siberia and northwestern Mongolia.Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). ''Raptors of the world''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Over much of its range, it is a year-round resident. However, buzzards from the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere as well as those that breed in the eastern part of their range typically migrate south for the northern winter, many journeying as far as South Africa.Bildstein, K. L., & Zalles, J. I. (2005). ''Old World versus New World long-distance migration in accipiters, buteos, and falcons''. Birds of two worlds: the ecology and evolution of migration. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 154–167. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily are mainly woodland birds with long tails and high visual acuity. They hunt by dashing suddenly from a concealed perch. * In America, members of the ''Buteo'' group are also called hawks; this group is called buzzards in other parts of the world. Generally, buteos have broad wings and sturdy builds. They are relatively larger-winged, shorter-tailed and fly further distances in open areas than accipiters. Buteos descend or pounce on their prey rather than hunting in a fast horizontal pursuit. The terms ''accipitrine hawk'' and ''buteonine hawk'' are used to distinguish between the types in regions where ''hawk'' applies to both. The term ''"true hawk"'' is sometimes used for the accipitrine hawks in regions where ''buzzard'' i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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