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Lake Yamma Yamma
Lake Yamma Yamma is an ephemeral lake on the Cooper Creek system in the arid Channel Country of south-western Queensland, Australia. The lake, which is sometimes called Lake Mackillop, is the largest inland ephemeral lake in Queensland. Description The lake only holds water following major floods on Cooper Creek. When filled the lake covers . It fills to capacity only about once every 25–30 years, most recently in 2000. The lake waters are fresh immediately after filling, but become increasingly saline as the lake dries out. When dry, the lake bed's cracking grey clay soils support extensive grasslands dominated by rat's tail couch. Several ephemeral forbs grow among the couch following rain or minor flooding. The north-eastern section supports open lignum shrubland with patches of open woodland dominated by coolabah and Belalie.BirdLife International. (2011.) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lake Yamma Yamma. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/08/2011. Bir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sentinel-2
Sentinel-2 is an Earth observation mission from the Copernicus Programme that systematically acquires optical imagery at high spatial resolution (10 m to 60 m) over land and coastal waters. The mission is currently a constellation with two satellites, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B; a third satellite, Sentinel-2C, is currently undergoing testing in preparation for launch in 2024. The mission supports a broad range of services and applications such as agricultural monitoring, emergencies management, land cover classification or water quality. Sentinel-2 has been developed and is being operated by the European Space Agency, and the satellites were manufactured by a consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space in Friedrichshafen. Overview The Sentinel-2 mission has the following key characteristics: * Multi-spectral data with 13 bands in the visible, near infrared, and short wave infrared part of the spectrum * Systematic global coverage of land surfaces from 56° S to 84°&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide. It has a membership of more than 2.5 million people across 116 country partner organizations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy. BirdLife International has identified 13,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List authority for birds. As of 2015, BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinction ( critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). BirdLife International p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Pratincole
The Australian pratincole (''Stiltia isabella'') is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It breeds in Australia's interior; it winters to northern and eastern parts of the continent, Indonesia and New Guinea. It is a medium-sized nomadic shorebird which is commonly found in arid inland Australia. It breeds predominantly from south-western Queensland to northern Victoria and through central Australia to the Kimberley region in Western Australia. The Australian population is estimated at 60,000 individuals. They are a migratory species that generally move to the southern parts of their distribution range to breed during spring and summer. During winter they migrate to northern Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sulawesi and southern Borneo to over-winter.Geering, A., Agnew, L. & Harding, S. (2007). Shorebirds of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood. Although they are common, their occurrence is unpredictable and varies in location.Morcombe, M.(2003). Field guide to Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-tailed Nativehen
The black-tailed nativehen (''Tribonyx ventralis'') is a rail native to Australia. Description The black-tailed nativehen is a large dark bird, reaching about 38 cm in length and weighing around 400 g. This species possesses an erect tail and is endowed almost entirely with brownish-grey and green feathers. Its long legs and lower jaw are a striking pink-orange colour, as well as its eyes which are more of a bright orange colour. This species is not excessively vocal, its main call is an alarm 'kak' sound. They become noticeable when they are seen in small flocks on the ground. Their erect tails and social behaviour are reminiscent of domestic hens. Habitat This species is nomadic, following seasonal water sources. It is found year-round living near fresh and brackish water. Distribution The black-tailed nativehen is common throughout Australia, where it lives by permanent as well as intermittent water sources. It has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Teal
The grey teal (''Anas gracilis'') is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in Australia and New Zealand. Description It can be identified due to the presence of a crimson coloured iris in its eyes.Winter, M. (2018). Grey Teal. Wilderness Magazine, (September 2018). Retrieved from https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/grey-teal/ This crimson colour is relatively more prominent in adult males.[Marchant, S., & Higgins, P. (1990). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 1, Ratites to ducks; Part B Australian pelican to ducks. (pp. 1252-1281). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.] It is a mottled brown duck with white and green flashes on its wings. Males and females share the same colouration, in contrast to the related chestnut teal, whose male and female are strikingly different. The grey teal has almost identical colouration to the female chestnut teal and the grey can only be distinguished by its lighter coloured neck and paler face. Juveniles are paler than ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossy Ibis
The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill. Distribution This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean regions of the Americas. It is thought to have originated in the Old World and spread naturally from Africa to northern South America in the 19th century, from where it spread to North America. The glossy ibis was first found in the New World in 1817 (New Jersey). Audubon saw the species just once in Florida in 1832. It expanded its range substantially northwards in the 1940s and to the west in the 1980s. This species is migratory; most European birds winter in Africa, and in North America birds from north of the Carolinas w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-headed Stilt
The pied stilt (''Himantopus leucocephalus''), also known as the white-headed stilt, is a shorebird in the family Recurvirostridae. It is widely distributed with a large total population size and apparently stable population trend, occurring in Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Christmas Island, Indonesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the black-winged stilt (''H. himantopus''). Taxonomy ''Himantopus leucocephalus'' was the scientific name proposed by John Gould in 1837 who described a pied stilt from Australia. Description The pied stilt grows to a length of about with a wingspan of about . The back of the head and neck, the back and the upper surfaces of the wings are glossy greenish-black. The undersides of the wings are plain black and the remainder of the plumage is white, apart from the tail feathers which are tinged with grey. The long, thin legs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hardhead
The hardhead (''Aythya australis''), also known as the white-eyed duck, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. The common name "hardhead" has nothing to do with the density of the bird's skull, instead referring to the difficulty encountered by early taxidermists in processing the head. Hardheads are found in wetter, coastal regions of Australia, particularly in the south-east, but are known to disperse as far afield as New Guinea, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. Description Hardheads are smaller than most ducks, usually not reaching much more than 45 cm long but sometimes reaching 60 cm, and noticeably more rounded in overall form than most ducks. Both male and female are a fairly uniform chocolate-brown above, with rufous flanks and white undersides (which are often not visible if the duck is in the water). The trailing edges and almost the entire underside of the wings are white. In the male, the eyes are a striking white, in the female, brown. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven genera. The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo'') and the common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') are the only two species of the family commonly encountered in Britain and Ireland and "cormorant" and "shag" appellations have been later assigned to different species in the family somewhat haphazardly. Cormorants and shags are medium-to-large birds, with body weight in the range of and wing span of . The majority of species have dark feathers. The bill is long, thin and hooked. Their feet have webbing between all four toes. All species are fish-eaters, catching the prey by diving from the surface. They are excellent divers, and under water they propel themselves with their feet with help from their wings; some cormorant species have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seabird Colony
A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony. Colonial nesting birds include seabirds such as auks and albatrosses; wetland species such as herons; and a few passerines such as weaverbirds, certain blackbirds, and some swallows. A group of birds congregating for rest is called a communal roost. Evidence of colonial nesting has been found in non- neornithine birds ( Enantiornithes), in sediments from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Romania. Variations on colonial nesting in birds Approximately 13% of all bird species nest colonially. Nesting colonies are very common among seabirds on cliffs and islands. Nearly 95% of seabirds are colonial, leading to the usage, seabird colony, sometimes called a rookery. Many species of terns nest in colonies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Bustard
The Australian bustard (''Ardeotis australis'') is a large ground dwelling bird which is common in grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It stands at about high, and its wingspan is around twice that length. The species is nomadic, flying to areas when food becomes plentiful, and capable of travelling long distances. They were once widespread and common to the open plains of Australia, but became rare in regions that were populated by Europeans during the colonisation of Australia. The bustard is omnivorous, mostly consuming the fruit or seed of plants, but also eating invertebrates such as crickets, grasshoppers, smaller mammals, birds and reptiles. The species is also commonly referred to as the plains turkey, and in Central Australia as the bush turkey, particularly by Aboriginal people, who hunt it, although the latter name may also be used for the Australian brushturkey, as well as the orange-footed scrubfowl. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Pelican
The Australian pelican (''Pelecanus conspicillatus'') is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant in New Zealand. It is a predominantly white bird with black wings and a pink bill. It has been recorded as having the longest bill of any living bird. It mainly eats fish, but will also consume birds and scavenge for scraps if the opportunity arises. Taxonomy The Australian pelican was first described by Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin verb conspicere, meaning 'to behold', and refers to the 'spectacled' appearance created by its conspicuous eye markings. Description The Australian pelican is medium-sized by pelican standards, with a wingspan of . Weight can range from , although most of these pelicans weigh between .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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