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North Tolsta
North Tolsta ( gd, Tolastadh bho Thuath) is a village in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, on the east side of the Isle of Lewis. North Tolsta is within the parish of Stornoway. Tolsta is notable for its long sandy beach Traigh Mhor At the end of Tolsta's long sandy beach there are five caves, only visitable during low tide. They are known locally as "The Caves of Life." The village of Bail' Ùr Tholastaidh (New Tolsta) is to the north. The village has a two churches and a post office and community shop ("Buth Tholastaidh"). History During World War I over 50% of the male population were in active service, 127 were mobilized. 50 of them died and left behind 19 widows, 54 fatherless children, and over 150 other dependants. Formed in 2005, Tolsta Community Development Limited is a community interest company based in the village. The company operates a wind turbine at Glen Tolsta; the profits are used to benefit the Tolsta community. The local primary school closed in Summer 2019 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Na H-Eileanan An Iar (UK Parliament Constituency)
(; ), formerly Western Isles, is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created in 1918. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. With around 21,000 registered voters, it has the smallest electorate of any constituency in the United Kingdom. It is expressly protected from being combined with other constituencies by the 2011 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act. History The constituency was formed by merging areas which were formerly within the Ross and Cromarty constituency and the Inverness-shire constituency. is Scottish Gaelic for the , which was the constituency's name prior to the 2005 general election. An identical constituency with the same name is used by the Scottish Parliament. Boundaries The constituency area is that of the Outer Hebrides, known also as , and the constituency has the smallest electorate in the United Kingdom, one-fifth of the size of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skua
The skuas are a group of predatory seabirds with seven species forming the genus ''Stercorarius'', the only genus in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas, the long-tailed skua, the Arctic skua, and the pomarine skua are called jaegers in North American English. The English word "skua" comes from the Faroese name for the great skua, , with the island of Skúvoy renowned for its colony of that bird. The general Faroese term for skuas is . The word "jaeger" is derived from the German word , meaning "hunter". The genus name ''Stercorarius'' is Latin and means "of dung"; because the food disgorged by other birds when pursued by skuas was once thought to be excrement. Skuas nest on the ground in temperate and Arctic regions, and are long-distance migrants. They have even been sighted at the South Pole. Biology and habits Outside the breeding season, skuas take fish, offal, and carrion. Many practice kleptoparasitism, which comprises up to 95% of the feeding metho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of The Outer Hebrides
The Hebrides were settled early on in the settlement of the British Isles, perhaps as early as the Mesolithic era, around 8500–8250 BC, after the climatic conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. There are examples of structures possibly dating from up to 3000 BC, the finest example being the standing stones at Callanish, but some archaeologists date the site as Bronze Age. Little is known of the people who settled in the Hebrides but they were likely of the same Celtic stock that had settled in the rest of Scotland. Settlements at Northton, Harris, have both Beaker & Neolithic dwelling houses, the oldest in the Western Isles, attesting to the settlement. Celtic Era The earliest written mention of the Outer Hebrides was by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus in 55 BC. He wrote that there was an island called Hyperborea (which means "Far to the North") where a round temple stood from which the moon appeared only a little distance above the earth every 19 year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis And Harris
Lewis and Harris ( gd, Leòdhas agus na Hearadh, sco, Lewis an Harris), or Lewis with Harris, is a single Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, divided by mountains. It is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British Isles, after Great Britain and the island of Ireland, with an area of , which is approximately 1% of the area of Great Britain. The northern two-thirds is called Lewis and the southern third Harris; each is frequently referred to as if it were a separate island. Etymology The island does not have a one-word name in either English or Scottish Gaelic, and is referred to as "Lewis and Harris", "Lewis with Harris", "Harris with Lewis" etc. Rarely used is the collective name of "the Long Island" ( gd, an t-Eilean Fada), although that epithet is sometimes applied to the entire archipelago of the Outer Hebrides, including the Uist group of islands and Barra. Geography Lewis–Harris boundary The boundary between Lewis and Harris runs fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and porpoises. Dolphins and porpoises may be considered whales from a formal, cladistic perspective. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla, which consists of even-toed ungulates. Their closest non-cetacean living relatives are the hippopotamuses, from which they and other cetaceans diverged about 54 million years ago. The two parvorders of whales, baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti), are thought to have had their last common ancestor around 34 million years ago. Mysticetes include four extant (living) families: Balaenopteridae (the rorquals), Balaenidae (right whales), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), and Eschrichtiidae (the grey whale). Odontocetes include the Monodontidae (beluga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porpoise
Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals and belugas than to the true dolphins. There are eight extant species of porpoise, all among the smallest of the toothed whales. Porpoises are distinguished from dolphins by their flattened, spade-shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins, and lack of a pronounced beak, although some dolphins (e.g. Hector's dolphin) also lack a pronounced beak. Porpoises, and other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even-toed ungulates. Porpoises range in size from the vaquita, at in length and in weight, to the Dall's porpoise, at and . Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism in that the females are larger than males. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Porpoises use echolocatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins), and the extinct Lipotidae (baiji or Chinese river dolphin). There are 40 extant species named as dolphins. Dolphins range in size from the and Maui's dolphin to the and orca. Various species of dolphins exhibit sexual dimorphism where the males are larger than females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not quite as flexible as seals, some dolphins can briefly travel at speeds of per hour or leap about . Dolphins use their conical teeth to capture fast-moving prey. They have well-developed hearing which is adapted for both air and water. It is so well developed that some can survive even if they are blind. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinniped
Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walrus), Otariidae (the eared seals: sea lions and fur seals), and Phocidae (the earless seals, or true seals). There are 34 extant species of pinnipeds, and more than 50 extinct species have been described from fossils. While seals were historically thought to have descended from two ancestral lines, molecular evidence supports them as a monophyletic lineage (descended from one ancestral line). Pinnipeds belong to the order Carnivora; their closest living relatives are musteloids (weasels, raccoons, skunks, and red pandas), having diverged about 50 million years ago. Seals range in size from the and Baikal seal to the and southern elephant seal male, which is also the largest member of the order Carnivora. Several species exh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Herring Gull
The European herring gull (''Larus argentatus'') is a large gull, up to long. One of the best-known of all gulls along the shores of Western Europe, it was once abundant. It breeds across Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and the Baltic states. Some European herring gulls, especially those resident in colder areas, migrate further south in winter, but many are permanent residents, e.g. in Ireland, Britain, Iceland, or on the North Sea shores. They have a varied diet, including fish, crustaceans, as well as some plants, and are also scavengers, consuming carrion and food left by or stolen from humans. While herring gull numbers appear to have been harmed in recent years, possibly by fish population declines and competition, they have proved able to survive in human-adapted areas and can often be seen in towns acting as scavengers. Taxonomy Their scientific name is from Latin. ''Larus'' appears to have referred to a gull or other large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kittiwake
The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red-legged" are used to distinguish the two species in North America, but in Europe, where ''Rissa brevirostris'' is not found, the black-legged kittiwake is often known simply as kittiwake, or more colloquially in some areas as tickleass or tickleace. The name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. The genus name ''Rissa'' is from the Icelandic name ''Rita'' for the black-legged kittiwake. Description The two species are indeed physically very similar. They have a white head and body, grey back, grey wings tipped solid black and a bright yellow bill. Black-legged kittiwake adults are somewhat larger (roughly in length with a wingspan of ) than red-legged kittiwakes ( in length with a wingspan around ). Other diff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crannog
A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were built on the shores and not inundated until later, crannogs were built in the water, thus forming artificial islands. Crannogs were used as dwellings over five millennia, from the European Neolithic Period to as late as the 17th/early 18th century. In Scotland there is no convincing evidence in the archaeological record of Early and Middle Bronze Age or Norse Period use. The radiocarbon dating obtained from key sites such as Oakbank and Redcastle indicates at a 95.4 per cent confidence level that they date to the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age. The date ranges fall ''after'' around 800 BC and so could be considered Late Bronze Age by only the narrowest of margins. Crannogs have been variously interpreted as free-standing wooden struct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stornoway
Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well as the third largest island town in Scotland after Kirkwall in Orkney and Lerwick in Shetland. The traditional civil parish of Stornoway, which includes various nearby villages, has a combined population of just over 10,000. The Comhairle nan Eilean Siar measures population in a different area: the ''Stornoway settlement'' area, Laxdale, Sandwick and Newmarket; in 2019, the estimated population for this area was 6,953. Stornoway is an important port and the major town and administrative centre of the Outer Hebrides. It is home to ''Comhairle nan Eilean Siar'' (the Western Isles Council) and a variety of educational, sporting and media establishments. Until relatively recently, observance of the Christian Sabbath (Sunday) has been associate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
