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Plaine Des Chicots – Plaine D'Affouches Important Bird Area
Plaine des Chicots – Plaine d'Affouches Important Bird Area is a 3688 ha tract of land on the island of Réunion, a French territory in the western Indian Ocean. Description The IBA comprises a sloping plain extending northwards and downwards from the northern rim of the Mafate caldera, at an elevation of 2277 m on the summit of Roche Ecrite, towards Saint-Denis, the coastal capital of the island territory. The plain is divided by the gorge of the Saint-Denis River into the Plaine d’Affouches in the west and the Plaine des Chicots in the east. The higher part of the site is dominated by native alpine shrubland communities, from 1600 m to 1500 m by endemic ''Acacia heterophylla'' forest, and then native mixed mountain forest down to about 1000 m above sea level. Although the site is now a nature reserve, in the past it was stocked with Javan rusa deer for hunting. There is a popular walking track from Saint-Denis to Roche Ecrite across the Plaine d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptomeria
''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L.f.). It used to be considered by some to be endemic to Japan (see remark below under 'Endemism'), where it is known as . The tree is called Japanese cedar or Japanese redwood in English. It has been extensively introduced and cultivated for wood production on the Azores. Description ''Cryptomeria'' is a very large evergreen tree, reaching up to tall and trunk diameter, with red-brown bark which peels in vertical strips. The leaves are arranged spirally, needle-like, long; and the seed cones globular, diameter with about 20–40 scales. It is superficially similar to the related giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum''), from which it can be differentiated by the longer leaves (under in the giant sequoia) and smaller cones ( in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of Réunion
Importance is a property of entities that matter or make a difference. For example, World War II was an important event and Albert Einstein was an important person because of how they affected the world. There are disagreements in the academic literature about what type of difference is required. According to the causal impact view, something is important if it has a big causal impact on the world. This view is rejected by various theorists, who insist that an additional aspect is required: that the impact in question makes a value difference. This is often understood in terms of how the important thing affects the well-being of people. So on this view, World War II was important, not just because it brought about many wide-ranging changes but because these changes had severe negative impacts on the well-being of the people involved. The difference in question is usually understood counterfactually as the contrast between how the world actually is and how the world would have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Réunion Stonechat
The Réunion stonechat (''Saxicola tectes'') is a species of stonechat, endemic to the island of Réunion. This small passerine bird is common in clearings and open mountain bushlands there up to 2600 metres above the sea level, including in the plains around Piton de la Fournaise. Description Overall, the male is black above and white below, but also with a white supercilium (sometimes absent), half-collar, and greater covert patch, and a variable-sized orange patch on the breast. Females differ from males in being browner above, more buff-toned below, and often lacking the white greater covert patch. The white throat and (usually white) supercilium are the most prominent external differences from the African stonechat ''S. torquatus'', which has a wholly black head including the throat and supercilium.Urquhart, E., & Bowley, A. (2002): ''Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola''. Christopher Helm, London. Taxonomy and etymology It is a member of the common stonechat sup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Réunion Olive White-eye
The Réunion olive white-eye (''Zosterops olivaceus'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is found on Réunion. Its natural habitats are boreal forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Reunion olive white-eye in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen that had been brought to Paris from Île Bourbon (now Réunion), but which Brisson mistakenly believed had been collected in Madagascar. He used the French name ''Le grimpereau olive de Madagascar'' and the Latin ''Certhia Madagascariensis Olivaceus''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Natu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Réunion Grey White-eye
The Réunion grey white-eye (''Zosterops borbonicus'') is a small passerine from the family Zosteropidae, which is native to the islands of Réunion.Gill F. and Donsker D. (eds), Family Zosteropidae, in IOC World Bird Names (ver 6.2), International Ornithologists’ Union, 2016. UR/ref> Taxonomy The taxon ''mauritianus'', by most authorities previously considered a subspecies, is now usually considered a separate monotypic species, the Mauritius grey white-eye, (''Zosterops mauritianus''). Together, both species were called Mascarene white-eye.Otto Finsch: ''Zosteropidae (Volume 15)'', 1901. There is some uncertainty about the number of subspecies on Réunion, with most authorities only accepting a single, the nominate (''Z. b. borbonicus''), while some also accept ''Z. b. alopekion'', and ''Z. b. xerophilus''. When only a single Réunion subspecies is accepted, ''alopekion'' and ''xerophilus'' are considered to represent morphs of the nominate. Description It has a length ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Réunion Bulbul
The Réunion bulbul (''Hypsipetes borbonicus'') is a species of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is endemic to Réunion. Taxonomy and systematics The Réunion bulbul was originally described in the genus ''Turdus''. Formerly, some authorities also considered the Mauritius bulbul to be a subspecies of the Réunion bulbul.Staub (1976), Gregory (2000), BLI (2008) Alternate names for the Réunion bulbul include the Bourbon thrush, olivaceous bulbul, Réunion black bulbul and Réunion merle. Description The appearance of the Réunion bulbul is similar to that of the Mauritius bulbul but is slightly smaller with a length of 22 cm. It is ashy gray with a blackish crest and the iris is conspicuously white. The bill and feet have an orange hue.Staub (1976) Behaviour and ecology Breeding The female lays two eggs in a cup-shaped nest during the southern summer. Food and feeding The Réunion bulbul is primarily . In February and March, it moves from areas of higher elevation, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher
The Mascarene paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone bourbonnensis'') is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion. There are two subspecies recognized: the nominate subspecies from Réunion, also known as the Réunion paradise flycatcher; and ''T. b. desolata'' ( Salomonsen, 1933) from Mauritius. The Mascarene paradise flycatcher was originally described in the genus ''Muscicapa'' and the subspecies ''T. b. desolata'' was originally described as a separate species. Description The Mascarene paradise flycatcher lacks the long tail shared by many members of the paradise flycatcher genus ''Terpsiphone'', and measures in length. The male has a black head with a grey neck-band, throat, breast and belly. The upperparts and tail are chestnut, and the wings are tipped black. The bill is bright blue, and the legs greyish. The female is smaller than the male, with a paler bill and a dark-grey head. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Réunion Cuckooshrike
The Réunion cuckooshrike (''Lalage newtoni'') is a passerine bird in the cuckooshrike family. It is endemic to the island of Réunion, where it is restricted to two areas of mountain forest in the north of the island. Males are dark grey above and pale grey beneath, while females have dark brown upper parts and a streaked breast. The population has been declining and the range contracting, being currently about , and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the species as " critically endangered", with the possibility that the bird could be wiped out by a tropical storm. Conservation efforts are being made by attempting to control the cats and rats which prey on the chicks, and this seems to have resulted in the population stabilising. Taxonomy Dutch naturalist François Pollen described the Réunion cuckooshrike in 1866. Description The Réunion cuckooshrike is a small arboreal bird. The plumage is dimorphic between the sexes. The male is grey coloured w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mascarene Swiftlet
The Mascarene swiftlet or Mauritius swiftlet (''Aerodramus francicus'') is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Mauritius and Réunion, and the populations on the two islands have recently been confirmed to differ subspecifically. The nominate race ''francicus'' is found on Mauritius and the recently described race ''saffordi'' occurs on Réunion. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, caves, arable land, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. Taxonomy The Mascarene swiftlet 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 swifts and swallows in the genus ''Hirundo'' and coined the binomial name ''Hirundo francica''. Gmelin based his description on "La petite hirondelle noire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audubon's Shearwater
Audubon's shearwater (''Puffinus lherminieri'') is a common tropical seabird in the petrel family. Sometimes known as the dusky-backed shearwater,Carboneras (1992) the specific epithet honours the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier. Certain populations are known variously as Baillon's shearwater, tropical shearwater, Bannerman's shearwater, Mascarene shearwater and Persian shearwater; some of these are considered distinct species by various authors. If they are all placed in ''P. lherminieri'', the North Atlantic little shearwater (otherwise often separated as ''P. baroli'') is generally included here too. Thus, these small shearwaters form a cryptic species complex. Description Audubon's shearwaters are on average in length—about half the size of the greater shearwater (''Puffinus gravis'')—and weigh 170 g. There is some variation between populations, and the normal size and weight range is and . The wingspan is , the tail is around long, the exposed cul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird 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 colonie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
