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Maharajah Jungle Trek
The Maharajah Jungle Trek is a themed wildlife trail attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is in the Asia themed land, the Kingdom of Anandapur. It shares this area with the Kali River Rapids white water raft ride and the Expedition Everest runaway train rollercoaster. Story The trail is themed as if it had once been the hunting grounds for a wealthy maharajah who enclosed the forest to allow for easier hunting and then some time later died in a hunting accident. The themed storyline continues with subsequent maharajahs (including the original maharajah's bachelor brother) transforming the area into a nature preserve where the villagers live in harmony with the animals therein. These maharajahs are memorialized on the walls of the tiger enclosure. The forest was, at one point, also run by imperial British visitors, as evidenced in the Western spelling on the sign at the entrance to the Jungle Trek, which r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the largest theme park in the world, covering . The park opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998, and was the fourth theme park built at the resort. The park is dedicated and themed around natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney. Disney's Animal Kingdom distinguishes itself from the rest of Walt Disney World's theme parks by featuring traditional attractions as well as hundreds of species of live animals. Special designs and provisions were incorporated throughout the park to protect the animals' welfare. The park is located on the western edge of the resort and is isolated from the other theme parks and properties to minimize external disruptions to the animals; as a result, the park's former nightt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehensile-tailed Skink
The Solomon Islands skink (''Corucia zebrata''), also known as prehensile-tailed skink, monkey-tailed skink, giant skink, zebra skink, and monkey skink, is an arboreal species of skink endemic to the Solomon Islands archipelago. It is the largest known extant species of skink. The Solomon Islands skink is completely herbivorous, eating many different fruits and vegetables including the pothos plant. It is one of the few species of reptile known to function within a social group or circulus. Both male and female specimens are known to be territorial and often hostile towards members not a part of their family group. ''Corucia'' is a monotypic genus, containing a single species. However, in 1997 it was determined that there are two subspecies of the Solomon Islands skink: the common monkey-tailed skink (''Corucia zebrata zebrata'') and the northern monkey-tailed skink (''Corucia zebrata alfredschmidti)''. Among other variances, the northern skink is smaller and has darker eye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicobar Pigeon
The Nicobar pigeon (''Caloenas nicobarica'', Car: ') is a bird found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus ''Caloenas'' alongside the extinct spotted green pigeon, and is the closest living relative of the extinct dodo and Rodrigues solitaire. Taxonomy In 1738, the English naturalist Eleazar Albin included a description and two illustrations of the Nicobar pigeon in his ''A Natural History of Birds''. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the Nicobar pigeon with all the other pigeons in the genus ''Columba''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Columba nicobarica'' and cited Albin's work. The species is now placed in the genus ''Caloenas'' erected by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840 with the Nicobar pigeon as th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mindanao Bleeding-heart
The Mindanao bleeding-heart (''Gallicolumba crinigera''), also known as Bartlett's bleeding heart dove, Barlett's bleeding heart pigeon and the hair-breasted bleeding heart, is a species of bird in the pigeon family. It is endemic to the Philippines on the islands of Mindanao, Basilan, Samar, Leyte and Bohol. It is so named because of a red blotch on its breast. The generic name derives from a fusion of the Latin ''gallus'' ("chicken") and ''columba'' ("pigeon"). Description and taxonomy The Mindanao bleeding-heart is about 29 cm in length and weighs 184–204 g. The forehead, crown, nape and mantle are metallic green, slightly duller on the forehead and sides of the head. The back to rump is a chocolate brown with fringes of green. The upper and central tail coverts are purplish brown, the chin and throat are white. Most striking is a blood red patch on the breast, hence the common name. The lower breast to the undertail is a rusty orange that is its darkest on the brea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cotton Pygmy Goose
The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal (''Nettapus coromandelianus'') is a small perching duck which breeds in Asia, Southeast Asia extending south and east to Queensland where they are sometimes called white-quilled pygmy goose. They are among the smallest waterfowl in the world and are found in small to large waterbodies with good aquatic vegetation. They are usually seen in pairs or larger groups of pairs, roosting and nesting on trees near water. They are strong fliers and are known to disperse widely, especially in winter. Their breeding season coincides with the rains. Taxonomy The cotton pygmy goose was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the ducks, swans and geese in the genus ''Anas'' and coined the binomial name ''Anas coromandeliana''. Gmelin based his description on "La Sarcelle de Coromandel" that had been described in 1783 by the Fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Argus
The great argus (''Argusianus argus'') is a species of pheasant from Southeast Asia. It is not to be confused with the two species of closely related crested argus, genus ''Rheinardia''. Taxonomy Carl Linnaeus gave the great argus its specific name (zoology), specific name (from which its common name and genus name are derived) because of the intricate eye-like patterns on its wings, in reference to Argus Panoptes, Argus, a hundred-eyed giant in Greek mythology. There are two subspecies recognized: Nominate ''argus'' of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, and ''A. a. grayi'' of Borneo. William Beebe considered the two races to be distinct species, but they have since been lumped. Double-banded argus The double-banded argus (''Argusianus bipunctatus''), known only from a portion of a single primary flight feather, was long considered a potential second species. It was described in 1871 from this feather piece, found in a Hatmaking, millinery shipment imported to London. Its origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey-capped Emerald Dove
The common emerald dove (''Chalcophaps indica''), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The dove is also known by the names of green dove and green-winged pigeon. The common emerald dove is the state bird of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pacific emerald dove and Stephan's emerald dove were both considered conspecific. Taxonomy In 1743, the English naturalist George Edwards included a picture and a description of the common emerald dove in his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "Green Wing'd Dove". His drawing was made from a live bird at the home a merchant in Rotherhithe near London. Edwards was told that the dove had come from the East Indies. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the common emerald dove wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falcated Teal
The falcated duck or falcated teal (''Mareca falcata'') is a gadwall-sized dabbling duck from the east Palearctic (East Siberia and Mongolia to North Japan; wintering to India). Taxonomy The closest relative of this species is the gadwall, followed by the wigeons. The species was assigned to the proposed genus ''Mareca'' after its previous placement in the genus ''Anas'' was found to be paraphyletic in 2009. There are many species that have mitochondrial DNA lineages that are phylogenetically intermixed with other species, but studies have rarely tested the cause of such paraphyly. In a study that was conducted, there were tested two hypotheses that could explain mitochondrial paraphyly of Holarctic gadwalls (''Anas strepera'') with respect to Asian falcated ducks (''A. falcata''). First, hybridization could have resulted in falcated duck mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) introgressing into the gadwall gene pool. Second, gadwalls and falcated ducks could have diverged so recently that mt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metallic Starling
The metallic starling (''Aplonis metallica''), also known as the shining starling, is a bird in the starling family native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, Queensland and the Solomon Islands. Description The adult has brilliant red eyes, a long forked tail and green-glossed black plumage. Immatures are pale below with dark streaks. Behaviour They are very social and flocks of them build messy suspended globular nests in tall rain forest trees where they breed, possibly only during the wet season (north-west monsoon, October–March) (observed at Kokopo, East New Britain Province, 2016). They are not fearful of humans and their activity on the ground below, being well separated from them by altitude, but a loud noise will see them fly out in a tight formation, circle, then return to their nests. Their movement is very fast. During the early part of the 20th century, a flock (or flocks) were seen to migrate during AugustBanfield, E.J.Alike in Difference. ''Emu.'' Vol. 17, No. 4, 212-2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bar-headed Goose
The bar-headed goose (''Anser indicus'') is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It is known for the extreme altitudes it reaches when migrating across the Himalayas. Taxonomy The grey goose genus ''Anser'' has no other member indigenous to the Indian region, nor any at all to the Ethiopian, Australian, or Neotropical regions. Ludwig Reichenbach placed the bar-headed goose in the monotypic genus ''Eulabeia'' in 1852, though John Boyd's taxonomy treats both ''Eulabeia'' and the genus ''Chen'' as subgenera of ''Anser''. Description The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus ''Anser'' by the black bars on its head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. A mid-sized goose, it measures in total length and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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