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Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
The Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail (formerly known as Pangani Forest Exploration Trail from August 1998 to May 2016) is a walkway next to Kilimanjaro Safaris at the Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, from which visitors can see African animals. It is about three-eighths of a mile in length. There are "research students" positioned at most locations to give information about the animals and answer questions. The attraction originally opened on April 22, 1998 as Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, but the name was changed to Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in August 1998. The attraction reverted to its original name on May 27, 2016. Animals * Angolan black-and-white colobus *Okapi *Arabian spiny mouse *Naked mole-rat * Pancake tortoise *Kenyan sand boa *Ball python *African bullfrog * Angolan python *Hippopotamus * Grevy's zebra * Meerkat *Western lowland gorilla Aviary * Red-and-yellow barbet * Hammerkop *Great blue turaco *Amethyst starling *Norther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the largest theme park in the world, covering . The park opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998, and was the fourth theme park built at the resort. The park is dedicated and themed around natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney. Disney's Animal Kingdom distinguishes itself from the rest of Walt Disney World's theme parks by featuring traditional attractions as well as hundreds of species of live animals. Special designs and provisions were incorporated throughout the park to protect the animals' welfare. The park is located on the western edge of the resort and is isolated from the other theme parks and properties to minimize external disruptions to the animals; as a result, the park's former nightt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meerkat
MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Radio Telescope in Africa, and the locally designed and built MeerKAT was incorporated into the first phase of the SKA. MeerKAT was launched in 2018. Along with the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA), also in South Africa, and two radio telescopes in Western Australia, the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), the MeerKAT is one of four precursors to the final SKA. History MeerKAT is a precursor for the SKA-mid array, as are the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA), the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Description It is located on the SKA site in the Karoo, and is a pathfinder for SKA-mid technologies and science. It was design ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taveta Golden Weaver
The Taveta weaver (''Ploceus castaneiceps''), also known as the Taveta golden weaver, is a species of bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It is found on the African savannah in Kenya and Tanzania. The name of the bird comes from the unique markings/coloration of the bird, as well as how these birds weave intricate nests. Description The male Taveta weaver is a vibrant golden yellow color; this color is duller on its back. The wings and tail are a greener color, whereas brown spots are located on the chest. The back of the head is red, and the bill, or beak, is black. The female is an olive color with paler streaks. In general, the Taveta weaver is a small bird, around the size of the finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ... and closely related to the sparrow. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purple Glossy Starling
The purple starling (''Lamprotornis purpureus''), also known as the purple glossy starling, is a member of the starling family of birds. Distribution and habitat It is a resident breeder in tropical Africa from Senegal and north Zaire east to Sudan and west Kenya. This common passerine is typically found in open woodland and cultivation. Description The adults of these stocky 22–23 cm long birds have a metallic purple head and body, and glossy green wings. They have a short tail and a yellow eye. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are much duller, with grey underparts and a brown iris. Behaviour This is a gregarious and noisy bird, with typical starling squeaks and chattering. Breeding The purple starling builds a nest in a hole. The normal clutch is two eggs. Feeding Like most starlings, the purple starling is omnivorous, eating fruit and insects. References *''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, {{Taxonbar, from=Q2964580 purple starling purpl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tambourine Dove
The tambourine dove (''Turtur tympanistria'') is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in woodlands and other thick vegetation in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Its range extends from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Kenya and southwards through eastern Africa to south-eastern South Africa, but it is absent from the drier areas of south-western Africa. There is a population on the Comoros Islands. This is very much a species of thick woodlands, including dense gardens and plantations of castor oil, cocoa and rubber. As such, this shy species is usually seen when flushed whilst feeding on the forest floor. The tambourine dove builds a frail stick nest low in a thicket or vine tangle, and lays two cream-coloured eggs. Both sexes incubate, although this task is performed mainly by the female, and the eggs hatch in 13 days with another 13–14 days to fledging. The chicks are fed regurgitated food. The tambourine dove is a small plump pigeon, typically 22 cm in l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-headed Buffalo Weaver
The white-headed buffalo weaver or white-faced buffalo-weaver (''Dinemellia dinemelli'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to East Africa. The buffalo part of its name derives from its habit of following the African buffalo, feeding on disturbed insects. Two subspecies are recognized. Taxonomy The white-headed buffalo weaver was first described by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell in 1845. Subspecies Two subspecies of the white-headed buffalo weaver are now recognized. *''D. d. dinemelli'' ( E. Rüppell, 1845), northern part of its range: Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, northern Kenya. *''D. d. boehmi'' ( A. Reichenow, 1885), southern part of its range: Kenya and Tanzania. Description The white-headed buffalo weaver is in length and in weight. In addition to its white head and underparts, the white-headed buffalo weaver has a vividly orange-red rump and undertail coverts. Its thighs are dark brown. Narrow white bands can be found on the win ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Olive Pigeon
The African olive pigeon or Rameron pigeon (''Columba arquatrix'') is a pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in much of eastern and southern Africa from Ethiopia to the Cape. Populations also are found in western Angola, southwestern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen. It is locally common, although sizeable gaps in its distribution occur due to its habitat requirements. Description The adult male African olive pigeon is a large pigeon at in length and a weight of .''Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi'' by Stevenson & Fanshawe. Elsevier Science (2001), Its back and wings are maroon, with the shoulders heavily speckled with white spots. The underparts are maroon with heavy white spotting, and the head is grey with yellow patches around the eye, and a yellow bill. The neck plumage, used in display, is streaked maroon and white, the underwing and undertail are dark grey, and the feet are yellow. Females are very similar but somewhat d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue-bellied Roller
The blue-bellied roller (''Coracias cyanogaster'') is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across Africa in a narrow belt from Senegal to northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is resident, apart from some local seasonal movements, in mature moist savannah dominated by ''Isoberlinia'' trees. Taxonomy The blue-bellied roller was given the binomial name ''Coracias cyanogaster'' in 1816 by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier based on "Le Rollier à ventre bleu" that had been described and illustrated by François Levaillant in 1806. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek ''kuanos'' meaning "dark-blue" with ''gastēr'' meaning "belly". Levaillant mistaken believed that the specimen had been collected on the island of Java. The species is resident in West-Africa and the type location was later designated as Senegal. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Description The blue-bellied roller is a large bird, nearly the size of a jackda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Racket-tailed Roller
The racket-tailed roller (''Coracias spatulatus'') is a species of bird in the family Coraciidae. It is found in southern Africa from Angola, south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Tanzania to northern Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique. Taxonomy and systematics The racket-tailed roller was formally described in 1880 by the naturalist Roland Trimen under its current binomial name ''Coracias spatulatus'' from a specimen collected near the Zambezi River in southern Africa. The specific epithet ''spatulatus'' is Modern Latin meaning "spatulate" or "spoon-shaped". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the racket-tailed roller was most closely related to the purple roller (''Coracias naevius''). Alternate names for the racket-tailed roller include the Angola racket-tailed roller and Weigall's roller. Description The racket-tailed roller is so named for the conspicuous elongated outer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
The northern carmine bee-eater (''Merops nubicus'') is a brightly-coloured bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is found across northern tropical Africa, from Senegal eastwards to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the southern carmine bee-eater which has a carmine coloured throat rather than the blue throat of the northern species. Taxonomy The northern carmine bee-eater was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other bee-eaters in the genus ''Merops'' and coined the binomial name ''Merops nubicus''. Gmelin based his description on "Le guépier rouge à tête bleu" or "Guépier de Nubie" that had been described and illustrated in 1779 by French polymath Comte de Buffon in his multi-volume book ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux''. Buffon had been provided with a picture drawn by the Scottish trave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amethyst Starling
The violet-backed starling (''Cinnyricinclus leucogaster''), also known as the plum-coloured starling or amethyst starling, is a relatively small species (17 cm) of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Cinnyricinclus''. This strongly sexually dimorphic species is found widely in the woodlands and savannah forest edges of mainland sub-Saharan Africa. It is rarely seen on the ground, but instead found in trees and other locations away from the ground. Taxonomy The violet-backed starling was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1775 in his '' Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux''. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle'' which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Blue Turaco
The great blue turaco (''Corythaeola cristata'') is a bird species of the family Musophagidae. At in length, it is the largest species of turaco. It has predominantly grey-blue plumage with an upright blue-black crest around high. The male and female have similar plumage. It is widespread throughout the African tropical rainforest. Taxonomy French ornithologist Louis Vieillot described the great blue turaco as ''Musophaga cristata'' in 1816, before German ornithologist Ferdinand Heine placed in its own genus in 1860. The great blue turaco is the sole member of the subfamily Corythaeolinae within the turaco family. Its closest relatives are the go-away birds and plantain eaters of the genus ''Crinifer''. The common ancestor of both diverged from the ancestor of all other turaco species. "Great blue turaco" has been designated the official common name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). It is also called blue plantain eater. Description Generally, the great blu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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