Hemimacronyx
''Hemimacronyx'' is a proposed genus of birds in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae. It contains two species that are usually treated as belonging to two larger genera, ''Macronyx'' (in the case of Sharpe's longclaw) and ''Anthus'' (in the case of yellow-breasted pipit). The plumage of the two species is more similar to that of the longclaws and the golden pipit, having brown barred backs and bright yellow breasts and throats. They are presumed to be closely related to these two groups, but the split has not been widely recognised. Both species are found in open areas of Africa. They are both threatened with extinction due to human activities, principally habitat loss. * Sharpe's longclaw (''Hemimacronyx sharpei'') * Yellow-breasted pipit The yellow-breasted pipit (''Anthus chloris'') is a species of bird in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arabl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Motacillidae
The wagtails, longclaws, and pipits are a family, Motacillidae, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Around 70 species occur in five genera. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominantly found in Europe, Africa, and Asia, with two species migrating and breeding in Alaska. The pipits have the most cosmopolitan distribution, being found mostly in the Old World, but occurring also in the Americas and oceanic islands such as New Zealand and the Falklands. Two African species, the yellow-breasted pipit and Sharpe's longclaw, are sometimes placed in a separate seventh genus, '' Hemimacronyx'', which is closely related to the longclaws. Most motacillids are ground-feeding insectivores of slightly open country. They occupy almost all available habitats, from the shore to high mountains. Wagtails prefer wetter habitats than the pipits. A few species use forests, including the forest wagtail, and other species use forested mou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pipit
The pipits are a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family (biology), family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, except the driest deserts, rainforest and the mainland of Antarctica. They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Like their relatives in the family, the pipits are monogamy, monogamous and territory (animal), territorial. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Anthus'' was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The type species was later designated as the meadow pipit. The genus, generic name ''Anthus'' is the Latin word for a small bird of grasslands mentioned by Pliny the Elder. Molecular studies of the pipits suggested that the genus arose in East Asia around seven million y ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sharpe's Longclaw
Sharpe's longclaw (''Macronyx sharpei'') is a passerine bird in the longclaw family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and wagtails. It is endemic to Kenya. It is 16–17 cm long, with upperparts heavily marked with buff and rufous streaks, yellow underparts, and white outertail feathers in flight. This bird is endangered, with an estimated population of less than 20,000. Its grassland habitat is being replaced by cultivation and woodlots. The common name and Latin binomial name commemorate the British zoologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe. Taxonomy Sharpe's longclaw was described by the English ornithologist Frederick John Jackson in 1904 from specimens collected in the Mau Plateau area of Kenya. He coined the binomial name ''Macronyx sharpei''. Both the common name and the specific epithet honour the English ornithologist and museum curator Richard Bowdler Sharpe. The Sharpe's longclaw is a member of the family Motacillidae, which includes the pipits and wagtai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anthus
The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, except the driest deserts, rainforest and the mainland of Antarctica. They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Like their relatives in the family, the pipits are monogamous and territorial. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Anthus'' was introduced in 1805 by German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The type species was later designated as the meadow pipit. The generic name ''Anthus'' is the Latin word for a small bird of grasslands mentioned by Pliny the Elder. Molecular studies of the pipits suggested that the genus arose in East Asia around seven million years ago (Mya), during the Miocene, and that the genus had spread to the Americas, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Austin Roberts (zoologist)
Austin Roberts (3 January 1883 – 5 May 1948) was a South African zoologist. He is best known for his ''Birds of South Africa'', first published in 1940. He also studied the mammalian fauna of the region: his work ''The mammals of South Africa'' was published posthumously in 1951. The 7th edition of ''Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa'' which appeared in 2005, is the standard work on the region's birds. Biography Roberts, son of Alfred Roberts (church minister) and Marianne Fannin (naturalist and flower artist), was born in Pretoria and grew up in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He gained much of his early knowledge of zoology from Thomas Ayres (1828–1913), one of South Africa's first amateur ornithologists. Ayres taught Roberts to skin birds and small mammals as well as the importance of keeping accurate records on every specimen. He also encouraged Roberts to study birds systematically. Roberts worked as a clerk in the Potchefstroom branch of Standard Bank from 1901 to 1903 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Genus (biology)
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus '' Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. phylogenetic analysis should clearly demons ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bird
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. B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wagtail
Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus ''Dendronanthus'' which is closely related to ''Motacilla'' and sometimes included therein. The common name and genus names are derived from their characteristic tail pumping behaviour. Together with the pipits and longclaws they form the family Motacillidae. The willie wagtail (''Rhipidura leucophrys'') of Australia is an unrelated bird similar in coloration and shape to the Japanese wagtail. It belongs to the fantails. Taxonomy The genus ''Motacilla'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The type species is the white wagtail. ''Motacilla'' is the Latin name for the pied wagtail; although actually a diminutive of ''motare'', "to move about", from medieval times it led to the misunderstanding of ''cilla'' as "tail". At first glance, the wagtails appea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Macronyx
The longclaws are a genus, ''Macronyx'', of small African passerine birds in the family Motacillidae. Longclaws are slender, often colorful, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. They are ground nesters, laying up to four speckled eggs. They are named for their unusually long hind claws, which are thought to help in walking on grass. There are only between 10,000 and 19,000 Sharpe's longclaw left in Kenya. The genus ''Macronyx'' was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1827 with the Cape longclaw as the type species. The name combines the Classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ... words "long" or "great" and "claw". Species list The genus contains eight species: References External linksLongclaw videoson the Internet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yellow-breasted Pipit
The yellow-breasted pipit (''Anthus chloris'') is a species of bird in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, and pastureland. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... References External linksImage at ADW * Yellow-breasted pipit Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds yellow-breasted pipit Birds of Southern Africa yellow-breasted pipit Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Passeroidea-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Longclaw
The longclaws are a genus, ''Macronyx'', of small African passerine birds in the family Motacillidae. Longclaws are slender, often colorful, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. They are ground nesters, laying up to four speckled eggs. They are named for their unusually long hind claws, which are thought to help in walking on grass. There are only between 10,000 and 19,000 Sharpe's longclaw left in Kenya. The genus ''Macronyx'' was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1827 with the Cape longclaw as the type species. The name combines the Classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ... words "long" or "great" and "claw". Species list The genus contains eight species: References External linksLongclaw videoson the Internet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Golden Pipit
The golden pipit (''Tmetothylacus tenellus'') is a distinctive pipit of dry country grassland, savanna and shrubland in eastern Africa. It is native to Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, and has occurred as a vagrant to Oman, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The adult male, unlike most pipits, is very easy to identify. It is yellow below and yellow in the wings. From the front the yellow throat and breast with the dark band does resemble the yellow-throated longclaw or Pangani longclaw The Pangani longclaw (''Macronyx aurantiigula'') is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae, which includes the pipits and wagtails. It is found in Tanzania, Kenya and Somalia. The bird's natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or t ..., but neither have yellow wings (very obvious in flight) and both have a black line in the face. The female golden pipit is a fairly typical brown pipit but has a yellow underside to the wing. It is gold in colour. References Ext ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |