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Geophaps Scripta Scripta
''Geophaps'' is a small genus of doves in the order Columbiformes. Established by George Robert Gray, it contains three extant species. The plumage and distribution suggests that all species within the genus have formed from a common ancestor and that through adaptive radiation they have varied greatly in size, shape and ecology. Taxonomy The genus ''Geophaps'' was introduced in 1842 to accommodate the squatter pigeon (''Geophaps scripta'') by the English zoologist George Robert Gray. The genus name combines of the Ancient Greek ''geō'' meaning "ground" and ''phaps'', meaning "pigeon". Pigeons and doves are placed in their taxonomic groups based predominantly on structural characteristics. Pigeons feed their young by regurgitation and suck water while their beak is immersed. Males and females divide incubation duties. ''Geophaps'' pigeons are members of the family Columbidae, whose distribution is spread between three defined areas around the globe: the Americas; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinifex Pigeon
The spinifex pigeon (''Geophaps plumifera''), also known as the plumed-pigeon or gannaway pigeon, is one of four endemic Australian bird species within the genus ''Geophaps''. It occurs within a broader group known as bronzewing pigeons. This species is listed under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List category of "least concern". It most frequently occurs in arid and semi-arid habitats containing hummock-forming grasses of the genera ''Triodia (grass), Triodia'' and ''Plectrachne''. Taxonomy John Gould described the spinifex pigeon in 1842 and there have been several revisions at both the species and subspecies level. The current taxonomy was determined through a comprehensive examination of twelve variables in 712 specimens from 54 localities. Three subspecies are recognised: # Eastern spinifex pigeon (central eastern white-bellied subspecies) ''Geophaps plumifera leucogaster'' # North-western spinifex pigeon (north-western white-bellied subspecies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squatter Pigeons Cement Mills
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there were one billion slum residents and squatters globally. Squatting occurs worldwide and tends to occur when people who are poor and homeless find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing. It has a long history, broken down by country below. In developing countries and least developed countries, shanty towns often begin as squatted settlements. In African cities such as Lagos much of the population lives in slums. There are pavement dwellers in India and in Hong Kong as well as rooftop slums. Informal settlements in Latin America are known by names such as villa miseria (Argentina), pueblos jóvenes (Peru) and asentamientos irregulares (Guatemala, Uruguay). In Brazil, there are favelas in the major cities and land-based moveme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdaitcha
A kurdaitcha, or kurdaitcha man, also spelt gadaidja, cadiche, kadaitcha, karadji, or kaditcha, is a type of shaman amongst the Arrernte people, an Aboriginal group in Central Australia. The name featherfoot is used to denote the same figure by other Aboriginal peoples. The kurdaitcha may be brought in to punish a guilty party by death. The word may also relate to the ritual in which the death is willed by the kurdaitcha man, known also as bone-pointing. The word may also be used by Europeans to refer to the shoes worn by the kurdaitcha, which are woven of feathers and human hair and treated with blood. Background Among traditional Indigenous Australians there is no such thing as a belief in natural death. All deaths are considered to be the result of evil spirits or spells, usually influenced by an enemy. Often, a dying person will whisper the name of the person they think caused their death. If the identity of the guilty person is not known, a "magic man" will watch for a si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arandic Languages
Arandic is a family of Australian Aboriginal languages consisting of several languages or dialect clusters, including the Arrernte language, Arrernte (Upper Arrernte) group, Lower Arrernte language, Lower Arrernte (also known as Lower Southern Arrernte), Pertame language (also known as Southern Arrernte) and Kaytetye language, Kaytetye. Languages *Upper Arrernte (or just Arrernte) dialect cluster, with five or six main dialects, with the most dominant being Central or Eastern Arrernte, which is spoken in and around Alice Springs (Mparntwe) itself. * Lower Arrernte, also known as Alenjerrntarpe and Lower Southern Arrernte, was spoken by the people around the Finke River area, but it is now extinct. The last speaker was Brownie Doolan, from whom Gavan Breen managed to write up a dictionary of roughly 1000 words. According to AIATSIS, this was a clearly distinct language. *Pertame, also known as Southern Arrernte, is from the country south of Alice Springs, along the Finke River, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain Willem Joosten van Colster (or Coolsteerdt) sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape Arnhem is named after his ship, the ''Arnhem'', which itself was named after the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands. The area covers about and has an estimated population of 16,000, of whom 12,000 are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Two regions are often distinguished as East Arnhem (Land) and West Arnhem (Land), and North-east Arnhem Land is known to the local Yolŋu people as Miwatj. The region's service hub is Nhulunbuy, east of Darwin, set up in the early 1970s as a mining town for bauxite. Other major population centres are Yirrkala (just outside Nhulunbuy), Gunbalanya (formerly Oenpelli), Ramingining, and Maningrida. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aboriginal Australians
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands. The term Indigenous Australians refers to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders collectively. It is generally used when both groups are included in the topic being addressed. Torres Strait Islanders are ethnically and culturally distinct, despite extensive cultural exchange with some of the Aboriginal groups. The Torres Strait Islands are mostly part of Queensland but have a separate governmental status. Aboriginal Australians comprise many distinct peoples who have developed across Australia for over 50,000 years. These peoples have a broadly shared, though complex, genetic history, but only in the last 200 years have they been defined and started to self-identify as a single group. Australian Aboriginal identity has cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtship Display
A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), vocalizations, mechanical sound production, or displays of beauty, strength, or agonistic ability. Male display In some species, males will perform ritualized movements to attract females. The male six-plumed bird-of-paradise ( ''Parotia lawesii'') exemplifies male courtship display with its ritualized "ballerina dance" and unique occipital and breast feathers that serve to stimulate the female visual system. In ''Drosophila subobscura,'' male courtship display is seen through the male's intricate wing scissoring patterns and rapid sidestepping. These stimulations, along with many other factors, result in subsequent copulation or rejection. In other species, males may exhibit courtship displays that serve as both visual and auditory st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triodia (plant)
''Triodia'' is a large genus of hummock-forming bunchgrass endemic to Australia. They are known by the common name spinifex, although they are not a part of the coastal genus '' Spinifex''. Many of the soft-leaved members of this species were formerly included in the genus ''Plectrachne''. It is known as ''tjanpi'' in central Australia, and is used for basket weaving by the women of various Aboriginal Australian peoples. A multiaccess key (SpiKey) is available as a free application for identifying the ''Triodia'' of the Pilbara (28 species and one hybrid). Description ''Triodia'' is a perennial Australian tussock grass that grows in arid regions. Its leaves (30–40 centimetres long) are subulate ( awl-shaped, with a tapering point). The leaf tips, that are high in silica, can break off in the skin, leading to infections. Uses Spinifex has traditionally had many uses for Aboriginal Australians. The seeds were collected and ground to make seedcakes. Spinifex resin was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geophaps Smithii
The partridge pigeon (''Geophaps smithii'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss. Taxonomy and systematics The partridge pigeon is one of three species in the genus ''Geophaps''. Within the genus, the partridge pigeon is most closely related to the squatter pigeon, with these two species forming a clade that is sister to the spinifex pigeon. These three are most closely related to the crested pigeon. Alternative names for the partridge pigeon include bare-eyed bronzewing, bare-eyed partridge bronzewing, and bare-eyed partridge pigeon. Subspecies There are two subspecies, differing mainly in the colour of their orbital skin. The two subspecies are also sometimes treated as color morphs instead of races, making the species monotypic. * ''G. s. smithii –'' Jardine and Selby, 1830: The nominate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Crops
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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