Gray-headed Kingfisher
The grey-headed kingfisher (''Halcyon leucocephala'') is a species of kingfisher that has a wide distribution from the Cape Verde Islands off the north-west coast of Africa to Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, east to Ethiopia, Somalia and southern Arabia and south to South Africa. Taxonomy The first formal description of the grey-headed kingfisher was by the German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller in 1776. He coined the binomial name ''Alcedo leucocephala''. The current genus ''Halcyon'' was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William John Swainson in 1821. The name of the genus is from the classical Greek ''alkuōn'', a mythical bird, generally associated with the kingfisher. The specific epithet ''leucocephala'' is from the classical Greek ''leukos'' meaning "white" and ''-kephalos'' for "-headed". Five subspecies are recognised: * ''H. l. acteon'' ( Lesson, R, 1830) – Cape Verde Islands * ''H. l. leucocephala'' (Statius Müller, PL, 1776) – Senegal and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Samburu National Reserve
The Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya. On the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve. The park is 165 km² in size and is situated 350 kilometers from Nairobi. It ranges in altitude from 800 to 1230 m above sea level. Geographically, it is located in Samburu County. In the middle of the reserve, the Ewaso Ng'iro flows through doum palm groves and thick riverine forests. It provides water, without which the game in this arid region could not survive. The Samburu National Reserve was one of the two areas in which conservationists George and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness, made famous in the best-selling book and award-winning movie ''Born Free''. The Elephant Watch Camp, of which Saba Douglas-Hamilton is director, lies within the park. The Samburu National Reserve is also the home of Kamunyak, a lioness famous for adopting oryx calves. Habitat Samburu National Reserve can be entered v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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René Lesson
René-Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. Biography Lesson was born at Rochefort, and entered the Naval Medical School in Rochefort at the age of sixteen. He served in the French Navy during the Napoleonic Wars; in 1811 he was third surgeon on the frigate ''Saale'', and in 1813 was second surgeon on the ''Regulus''.Persée Un pharmacien de la marine et voyageur naturaliste : R.-P Lesson In 1816 Lesson changed his classification to . He served on Duperrey's round-the-wo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Birds Of The Middle East
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 swimming. Bird ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Birds Of Sub-Saharan Africa
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 swimming. Birds ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Birds Of Cape Verde
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight Bird skeleton, skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the Common ostrich, 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 Flightless bird, loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemism, endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Halcyon (genus)
''Halcyon'' () is a genus of the tree kingfishers, near passerine birds in the subfamily Halcyoninae. Taxonomy The genus ''Halcyon'' was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William John Swainson in 1821. He named the type species as the woodland kingfisher (''Halcyon senegalensis''). "Halcyon" is a name for a bird in Greek legend generally associated with the kingfisher. There was an ancient belief that the bird nested on the sea, which it calmed in order to lay its eggs on a floating nest. Two weeks of calm weather were therefore expected around the winter solstice. This myth leads to the use of halcyon as a term for peace or calmness. The genus contains 12 species: * However, other sources, including Fry & Fry, lump the genera ''Pelargopsis'', '' Syma'' and '' Todirhamphus'' into ''Halcyon'' to make a much larger grouping. Geographic distribution The genus ''Halcyon'' in the current sense consists mainly of species resident in sub-Saharan Africa, with a couple ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Halcyon Leucocephala MHNT ZOO 2010 11 160 RdN Santiago Cap-Vert
Halcyon is a name originally derived from Alcyone of Greek mythology. Halcyon or Halcyone may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''Halcyon'' (TV series), a Virtual Reality murder mystery on SyFy * ''The Halcyon'', British period drama on ITV Games * Halcyon (console), a video-game console * ''Halcyon'' (role-playing game), an indie role-playing game * Halcyon, a fictional star system in the action role-playing game ''The Outer Worlds'' Music * Halcyon Records, a record label founded by Marian McPartland Albums * ''Halcyon'' (album), a 2012 Ellie Goulding album, also the title song * '' Halcyon (Best Of)'', a 2005 album by Orbital * ''Halcyon'', a 1996 EP by Solstice Songs * "Halcyon" (Chicane song), 2000 * "Halcyon" (Delphic song), 2010 * "Halcyon" (Orbital song), 1992 * "Halcyon", by Andy Moor, 2005 * "Halcyon", by ATB from '' Dedicated'', 2002 * "Halcyon", by Enter Shikari from ''Common Dreads'', 2009 * "Halcyon", by Glass Towers, 2013 * "Halcyo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Greater Honeyguide
The greater honeyguide (''Indicator indicator'') is a bird in the family Indicatoridae, paleotropical near passerine birds related to the woodpeckers. Its English and scientific names refer to its habit of guiding people to bee colonies. Claims that it also guides non-human animals are disputed. The greater honeyguide is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa. It is found in a variety of habitats that have trees, especially dry open woodland, but not in the West African jungle. Description The greater honeyguide is about 20 cm long and weighs about 50 g. Like all African honeyguides, it has bold white patches on the sides of the tail. The male has dark grey-brown upperparts and white underparts, with a black throat. The wings are streaked whitish, and there is a yellow shoulder patch. The bill is pink. The female is duller and lacks the black throat. Her bill is blackish. Immature birds are very distinctive, having olive-brown upperparts with a white rump and yellow th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Monitor Lizard
Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recognized. Monitor lizards have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. The adult length of extant species ranges from in some species, to over in the case of the Komodo dragon, though the extinct varanid known as megalania (''Varanus priscus'') may have been capable of reaching lengths more than . Most monitor species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known. While most monitor lizards are carnivorous, eating eggs, smaller reptiles, fish, birds, insects, and small mammals, some also eat fruit and vegetation, depending on where they live. Distribution The various species cover a vast area, occurring through Africa, the Indian subcontinent, to China, the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan, s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Woodland Kingfisher
The woodland kingfisher (''Halcyon senegalensis'') is a tree kingfisher that is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. Taxonomy The Southern Africa naturalist Carl Linnaeus included the woodland kingfisher with the binomial name ''Alcedo senegalensis'' in the twelfth edition of his '' System Natureul'' which was published in 1766. Linnaeus based his formal description on "Le Grand Martin-Pescher du Sénégal" that the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson had described and illustrated in 1760. The current genus ''Halcyon'' was introduced by the English naturalist and artist William John Swainson in 1821, with the woodland kingfisher as the type species. Three subspecies are recognised: * ''H. s. fuscopileus'' Reichenow, 1906 – Sierra Leone to south Nigeria and south to DR Congo and north Angola * ''H. s. senegalensis'' (Linnaeus, 1766) – Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and north Tanzania * ''H. s. cyanoleuca'' (Vieillot, 1818) – south Angola and west ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brown-hooded Kingfisher
The brown-hooded kingfisher (''Halcyon albiventris'') is a species of bird in the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It has a brown head and blackish and turquoise wings. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, living in woodland, scrubland, forest edges, and also suburban areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern. Taxonomy This species was described as ''Alcedo albiventris'' by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1786. Four subspecies are recognised: ''Halcyon albiventris albiventris'', ''H. a. orientalis'', ''H. a. prentissgrayi'' and ''H. a. vociferans''. Subspecies ''hylophila'' and ''erlangeri'' have also been described, but they are not considered distinct enough. Description The brown-hooded kingfisher is about long. The head is brown, with blackish streaks. There is a broad buffy collar above the brownish-black mantle. The wing coverts are mostly brownish-black, and the secondary flight feathers are turquoise. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |