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Los Flamencos National Reserve
Los Flamencos National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. The reserve covers a total area of in the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion and consists of seven separate sections. Climate The reserve has a desert climate with the temperature varying dramatically between day (average temperature high is ) and night (average low is ). Rain is more frequent in summer, with an average high of 3 millimeters. Sections Salar de Tara – Salar de Aguas Calientes This area is made up of two salt flats: Salar de Tara, located 120 kilometres east of San Pedro de Atacama and 440 kilometres northeast of Antofagasta, and Salar de Aguas Calientes, reaching an elevation of up to 4,860 meters above sea level.Earth Info, ''earth-info.nga.mil'' webpage: . In 1996, Salar de Tara was designated a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. It features both permanent and seasonal lakes. The largest o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antofagasta Region
The Antofagasta Region ( es, Región de Antofagasta, ) is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered to the north by Tarapacá, by Atacama to the south, and to the east by Bolivia and Argentina. The region's capital is the port city of Antofagasta; another one of its important cities is Calama. The region's main economic activity is copper mining in its giant inland porphyry copper systems. Antofagasta's climate is extremely arid, albeit somewhat milder near the coast. Nearly all of the region is devoid of vegetation, except close to the Loa River and at oases such as San Pedro de Atacama. Much of the inland is covered by salt flats, tephra and lava flows, and the coast exhibits prominent cliffs. The region was sparsely populated by indigenous Changos and Atacameños until massive Chilean immigration in conjunction with a saltpeter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carex Scoparia
''Carex scoparia'' is a species of sedge known by the common names broom sedge and pointed broom sedge. It should not be confused with the unrelated grass species known as "broom sedge," ''Andropogon virginicus''. Distribution This sedge is native to much of North America, including the southern half of Canada and most of the continental United States, from California to Maine. ''Carex scoparia'' can be found in many types of wetland habitat, from meadows to irrigation ditches, though it is adaptable to varying soils and hydrologic conditions. It is an introduced species in New Zealand and parts of Europe. Description ''Carex scoparia'' produces dense clumps of stems 20 centimeters to one meter tall with narrow grasslike leaves up to about 30 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a cluster or open array of several bullet-shaped spikes of flowers. The spikes are light green and age to tan or brown. The fruit is covered in a sac called a perigynium In botany, a perigynium (plura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservation Status
The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation status: not simply the number of individuals remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, and known threats. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, national and local levels as well as for consumer use. International systems IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation. Also included are species that have gone ext ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James's Flamingo
James's flamingo (''Phoenicoparrus jamesi''), also known as the puna flamingo, is a species of flamingo that lives at high altitudes in the Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina. It is named for Harry Berkeley James, a British naturalist who studied the bird. James's flamingo is closely related to the Andean flamingo, and the two species are the only members of the genus ''Phoenicoparrus''. The Chilean flamingo, Andean flamingo, and James's flamingo are all sympatric, and all live in colonies (including shared nesting areas).Mascitti, V. and Kravetz, F.O., "Bill Morphology of South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 104(1), 73. James's flamingo had been thought to be extinct until a population was discovered in a remote area in 1956.Johnson, A.W., Behn, F., and Millie, W.R. "The South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 60(5), 289-99 Description The James's flamingo is smaller than the Andean flamingo, and is about the same size as the Old World sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chilean Flamingo
The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was sometimes considered conspecific. The species is listed as near threatened by the IUCN. It breeds in South America from Ecuador and Peru to Chile and Argentina and east to Brazil; it has been introduced into the Netherlands. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound. These flamingos are mainly restricted to salt lagoons and soda lakes but these areas are vulnerable to habitat loss and water pollution. Description The plumage is pinker than the slightly larger greater flamingo, but less so than the Caribbean flamingo. It can be differentiated from these species by its grayish legs with pink joints ( tibiotarsal articulation), and also by the larger amount of black on the bill (more than half). Young chicks may have no sign of pink coloring whatsoever, but instead remain gray or p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andean Flamingo
The Andean flamingo (''Phoenicoparrus andinus'') is a species of flamingo native to the Andes mountains of South America. Until 2014, it was classified in genus ''Phoenicopterus''. It is closely related to James's flamingo, and the two make up the genus ''Phoenicoparrus''. The Chilean flamingo, Andean flamingo, and James' flamingo are all sympatric, and all live in colonies (including shared nesting areas).Mascitti, V. and Kravetz, F.O., "Bill Morphology of South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 104(1), 73. Description It is distinguished from other flamingos by its deeper lower mandible and the very long filtering filaments on the maxilla. It is the largest flamingo in the Andes and is one of the two heaviest living flamingos alongside the taller greater flamingo. Reportedly body mass of the Andean flamingo has ranged from , height from and wingspan from . The flamingo has a pale pink body with brighter upperparts, deep vinaceous-pink lower neck, breast, and wing coverts. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puna Tinamou
The puna tinamou (''Tinamotis pentlandii'') also known as Pentland's tinamou, is a member of the most ancient groups of bird families, the tinamous. This species is native to southern South America.Clements, J. (2007) The binomial name of the species commemorates the Irish natural scientist Joseph Barclay Pentland (1797–1873) by Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1837. The IUCN list this species as Least Concern, with an occurrence range of .BirdLife International (2008) Taxonomy This is a monotypic species. All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. Unlike other ratites, tinamous can fly, although in general, they are not strong fliers. All ratites evolved from prehistoric flying birds, and tinamous are the closest living relative of these birds.Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003) Description The puna tinamou is approximately in length. Its upper parts are brown spotted with white, and its breast is blue-grey, and its belly is rufous. Its head is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andean Gull
The Andean gull (''Chroicocephalus serranus'') is a species of gull in the family Laridae. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus''. It is found in the Andes in mountainous regions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is unusual for a gull in that it breeds inland in mountain areas. It may be variously found around rivers, freshwater lakes, saline marshes, and pastureland. Description At long, the Andean gull is large for a black-headed gull (it is the largest gull with that kind of plumage in the Americas). It is the largest species in the genus ''Chroicocephalus'' and has a dark hood, a pale grey back and a pattern of black and white on its primaries. Distribution and habitat The Andean gull is known from Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia where it breeds in mountainous areas, usually at elevations of over . In areas with harsh winters it migrates to lower elevations in winter, sometim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horned Coot
The horned coot (''Fulica cornuta'') is a species of bird found in the Andes of South America. It was described by Bonaparte in 1853 based on a specimen collected in Bolivia. For a long time it was known only from the type specimen. Description Horned coot males average a little larger than the female. With a total length of and a reported body mass from , it averages slightly smaller than the related giant coot as the second largest coot and the third largest extant species of rail.Jaramillo, A. Burke, P., & Beadle, D. (2003). ''Birds of Chile.'' Christopher Helm. ''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), .Taylor, P. B. (1996). Horned Coot (Fulica cornuta). pp. 209 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. (1996). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Vol. 3. Hoatzins to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. While most coots have a horny shield on the forehead, the horned coot has three wattles in both sexes. The central watt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andean Goose
The Andean goose (''Chloephaga melanoptera'') is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022 It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 24, 2022 Taxonomy and systematics The Andean goose's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and BirdLife International's '' Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) place it in genus ''C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwin's Rhea
Darwin's rhea or the lesser rhea (''Rhea pennata'') is a large flightless bird, the smaller of the two extant species of rheas. It is found in the Altiplano and Patagonia in South America. Description The lesser rhea stands at tall. Length is and weight is . Like most ratites, it has a small head and a small bill, the latter measuring , but has long legs and a long neck. It has relatively larger wings than other ratites, enabling it to run particularly well. It can reach speeds of 60 km/h (37 mph), enabling it to outrun predators. The sharp claws on the toes are effective weapons. Their feathers are similar to those of ostriches, in that they have no aftershaft.Perrins, C. (1987) Their plumage is spotted brown and white, and the upper part of their tarsus is feathered. The tarsus is long and has 18 horizontal plates on the front. Etymology It is known as ''ñandú petiso'', or ''ñandú del norte'', in Argentina, where the majority live. Other names are ''suri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vicuña
The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which lives at lower elevations. Vicuñas are relatives of the llama, and are now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their coats. Vicuñas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every three years and has to be caught from the wild. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña's wool is very soft and warm. The Inca valued vicuñas highly for their wool, and it was against the law for anyone but royalty to wear vicuña garments; today, the vicuña is the national animal of Peru and appears on the Peruvian coat of arms. Both under the rule of the Inca and today, vicuñas have been protected by law, but they were heavily hunted in the in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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