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Kāhu
The swamp harrier (''Circus approximans''), also known as the Australasian marsh harrier or Australasian harrier, is a large, slim bird of prey widely distributed across Australasia. In New Zealand, it is also known by the Māori name . It arrived in New Zealand within the last 700 years, replacing the larger species, the extinct New Zealand endemic Eyles's harrier. The swamp harrier belongs to the subfamily Circinae and genus ''Circus'', which are represented worldwide, except Antarctica. The subfamily and genus are derived from the characteristic behaviour of circling flight during courtship and hawking. Description The swamp harrier is largely dark brown, becoming lighter with age, and has a distinct white rump. It hunts by flying slowly, low to the ground, on upswept wings. The body length is , and the wingspan is . The recorded weights of adults range from . Females are significantly larger than the males. In New Zealand, 54 males averaged and 66 females averaged . Going ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamilton Zoo
Hamilton Zoo () is the main zoological garden of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. Covering , it is situated on Brymer Road in the Hamilton suburb of Rotokauri, on the outskirts of the metropolitan area towards the northwest. It is owned by the Hamilton City Council with the Department of Recreation and Welfare handling the day-to-day running of the site. Hamilton Zoo is the first zoo in New Zealand to become fully accredited by the Zoo and Aquarium Association. History The park was founded in 1969 as a Canned hunt, game farm, the Hilldale Game Farm. It was originally owned by Murray and Gloria Powell. They mainly raised game birds but there was also a small collection of exotic mammals and birds. The zoo become unprofitable and was facing closure in 1976 before the Hamilton City Council stepped in and bought the site, buildings, and stock. In 1984, the zoo again faced closure but due to public pressure the Council resolved to keep it open. Day-to-day running of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Magpie
The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea, and introduced to New Zealand, and the Fijian island of Taveuni. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subspecies. A member of the Artamidae, the Australian magpie is placed in its own genus ''Gymnorhina'' and is most closely related to the black butcherbird (''Melloria quoyi''). It is not closely related to the Eurasian magpie, which is a corvid. The adult Australian magpie is a fairly robust bird ranging from in length, with black and white plumage, gold brown eyes and a solid wedge-shaped bluish-white and black bill. The male and female are similar in appearance, but can be distinguished by differences in back markings. The male has pure white feathers on the back of the head where the female has white blending to grey feathers. With its long legs, the Australian magpie wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Prey Of Oceania
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 common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings 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 furthe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diurnal Raptors Of Australia
Diurnal ("day, daily") may refer to: General * Diurnal cycle, any pattern that recurs daily ** Diurnality, the behavior of animals and plants that are active in the daytime * Diurnal phase shift, a phase shift of electromagnetic signals * Diurnal temperature variation, a cycle of daily temperature change Astronomy * Diurnal arc, the time (expressed in right ascension) that it takes a planet etc. to move from its rising to its setting point * Diurnal motion, the apparent motion of stars around the Earth Astrology * Diurnal chart, a chart for a given date, based on the natal chart * Diurnal planet, a planet in a astrology of sect, sect for which the Sun is above the horizon See also *Salisbury Diurnal {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harriers (birds)
Harrier may refer to: Animals * Harrier (bird), birds in the genus ''Circus'' * Harrier (dog) Media * Harrier Comics, a defunct British publisher * ''Space Harrier'', a video game series Military * Harrier jump jet, an overview of the Harrier family: ** Hawker Siddeley Harrier, 1st generation Harrier ** British Aerospace Sea Harrier, maritime strike/air defence fighter ** McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, 2nd generation Harrier ** British Aerospace Harrier II, 2nd generation Harrier used by the UK * Hawker Harrier, experimental biplane torpedo bomber aircraft built in the 1920s Sport * Cross-country runner, sometimes referred to as harriers * Faythe Harriers GAA, Faythe Harriers, an Irish hurling team * Kidderminster Harriers F.C., an English football team * One of the following athletics clubs: ** Belgrave Harriers ** Birchfield Harriers ** Coventry Godiva Harriers ** Croydon Harriers ** Eryri Harriers; see Peris Horseshoe ** Hash House Harriers ** Herne Hill Harriers ** Hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handbook Of Australian, New Zealand And Antarctic Birds
The ''Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds'', known as ''HANZAB'', is the pre-eminent scientific reference on birds in the region, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean and subantarctic islands. It attempts to collate all that is known about each of the 957 species recorded. ''HANZAB'' is the largest project ever undertaken by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), also known as Birds Australia. It was prepared over 20 years by teams of full and part-time writers, editors and artists, and published by Oxford University Press in seven volumes between 1990 and 2006 (volumes 1 and 7 each in two parts). Contents of each volume # Ratites to Ducks (in two parts) (1990) 1408 pp. # Raptors to Lapwings (1993) 1048 pp. # Snipe to Pigeons (1996) 1086 pp. # Parrots to Dollarbird (1999) 1248 pp. # Tyrant-flycatchers to Chats (2001) 1272 pp. # Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes (2002) 1263 pp. # Boatbill to Starlings (in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fledging
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable condition in the nest, the nestling and fledging stage can be the same. For precocial birds, those that develop and leave the nest quickly, a short nestling stage precedes a longer fledging stage. All birds are considered to have fledged when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. A young bird that has recently fledged but is still dependent upon parental care and feeding is called a fledgling. People often want to help fledglings, as they appear vulnerable, but it is best to leave them alone. The USA National Phenology Network defines the phenophase (or life cycle stage) of fledged young for birds as "One or more young are seen recently departed from the nest. This includes young incapable of sustained flig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avian Incubation
Egg incubation is the process by which an egg, of oviparous (egg-laying) animals, develops an embryo within the egg, after the egg's formation and ovipositional release. Egg incubation is done under favorable environmental conditions, possibly by brooding and hatching the egg. Multiple and various factors are vital to the incubation of various species of animal. In many species of reptile for example, no fixed temperature is necessary, but the actual temperature determines the sex ratio of the offspring. In birds, the sex of offspring is genetically determined, but in many species a constant and particular temperature is necessary for successful incubation. Especially in poultry, the act of sitting on eggs to incubate them is called brooding. The action or behavioral tendency to sit on a clutch of eggs is also called broodiness, and most egg-laying breeds of poultry have had this behavior selectively bred out of them to increase production. Avian incubation A wide rang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roadkill
Roadkill is a wild animal that has been killed by collision with motor vehicles. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how they can be mitigated. History Essentially non-existent before the advent of mechanized transport, roadkill is associated with increasing automobile speed in the early 20th century. In 1920, naturalist Joseph Grinnell wrote of his observations in the state of California that "this is a relatively new source of fatality; and if one were to estimate the entire mileage of such roads in the state, the mortality must mount into the hundreds and perhaps thousands every 24 hours." In Europe and North America, deer are the animal most likely to cause vehicle damage. Causes The development of roads affects wildlife by altering and isolating habitat and populations, deterring the movement of wildlife, and resulting in extensive wildlife mortality. One writer states that "our insulate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptile
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. About 12,000 living species of reptiles are listed in the Reptile Database. The study of the traditional reptile orders, customarily in combination with the study of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. Reptiles have been subject to several conflicting Taxonomy, taxonomic definitions. In Linnaean taxonomy, reptiles are gathered together under the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), which corresponds to common usage. Modern Cladistics, cladistic taxonomy regards that group as Paraphyly, paraphyletic, since Genetics, genetic and Paleontology, paleontological evidence has determined that birds (class Aves), as members of Dinosauria, are more closely related to living crocodilians than to other reptiles, and are thus nested among re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterbird
A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabirds that inhabit marine environments. Some water birds (e.g. wading birds) are more terrestrial while others (e.g. waterfowls) are more aquatic, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment. These adaptations include webbed feet, beaks, and legs adapted to feed in the water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water. The term ''aquatic bird'' is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl. Some piscivorous birds of prey, such as ospreys, sea eagles, fish eagles, fish owls, and fishing owls, hunt aquatic prey but do not stay in water for long and live predominantly over dry land, and are not considered water birds. The term waterbird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pūkeko
The Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus''), commonly known as the pūkeko in New Zealand, is a striking and socially complex bird found in Oceania, including eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia. A member of the rail family, it is part of the diverse order Gruiformes, which includes species with similar characteristics such as cranes and other rail species. Within the Australasian swamphen species, five recognised subspecies exist, with ''P. p. melanotus'' being the most common and widely distributed in New Zealand. They display phenotypic characteristics typical of rails: relatively short wings and strong, elongated bills, adapted to its semi-aquatic lifestyle in wetlands. The swamphen is renowned for its distinctive blue-purple plumage, striking red frontal shield, and strong red legs. It is often found in swamps, marshes, and other wet lowland areas, though its habitat has expanded to include pastures, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
