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Prince Regent And Mitchell River Important Bird Area
The Prince Regent and Mitchell River Important Bird Area is a 7333 km2 tract of land comprising several contiguous protected areas in the north-west Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. It includes the Mitchell Plateau. Description The site consists of the Prince Regent National Park, Prince Regent, the Mitchell River National Park (Western Australia), Mitchell River and Lawley River National Parks, and the Camp Creek and Laterite Conservation Parks. The climate is monsoonal; the average annual rainfall of over 1200 mm is the highest in the north-west Kimberley, sustaining the richest patches of rainforest in the region. Because it has not been stocked with cattle, which damage woodland habitats, riverine vegetation and alluvium, alluvial flats, it carries relatively high densities of key bird species. Much of the country is rugged, constituted of Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges, Wunaamin Miliwundi sandstones. The Mitchell Platea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitta Iris
The rainbow pitta (''Pitta iris'') is a small passerine bird in the Pitta (genus), pitta Family (biology), family, Pitta, Pittidae, endemism, endemic to northern Australia, most closely related to the superb pitta of Manus Island. It has a velvet black head with chestnut stripes above the eyes, olive green upper parts, black underparts, a bright red belly and an olive green tail. An Australian Endemism in birds, endemic, it lives in the Seasonal tropical forest, monsoon forests and in some drier eucalypt forests. Like other pittas, the rainbow pitta is a secretive and shy bird. Its diet is mainly insects, arthropods and small vertebrates. Pairs defend territories and breed during the rainy season, as that time of year provides the most food for nestlings. The female lays three to five blotched eggs inside its large domed nest. Both parents defend the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Although the species has a small global range, it is locally common and the Internati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feral Cat
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk. Feral cats are devastating to wildlife, and conservation biologists consider them to be one of the worst invasive species on Earth. Attempts to control feral cat populations are widespread but generally of greatest impact within purpose-fenced reserves. Some animal rights groups advocate trap-neuter-return programs to prevent the feral cats from continuing to breed. Scientific evidence has demonstrated that TNR is not effective at controlling f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varied Lorikeet
The varied lorikeet (''Psitteuteles versicolor''), is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that is endemic to the northern coastal regions of Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Psitteuteles''. Taxonomy The first depiction of the species was included in a seminal folio by Edward Lear, the subject of his illustration has since been lost and it became recognised as the holotype. The image was published as the thirty sixth lithographic plate in September 1831, without a location or description, in his work '' Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots'' (1830–32) depicting live specimens in English zoological exhibitions and private collections. The name supplied in the caption was ''Trichoglossus versicolor'', with the subheading "Variegated Parrakeet". The source of the specimen, according to Richard Schodde (1997), was incorrectly determined as "Cape York", a location proposed by Gregory Mathews in 1912 and subsequently repeated. Schodde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut-backed Buttonquail
The chestnut-backed buttonquail (''Turnix castanotus'') is a species of bird in the family Turnicidae. It is endemic to Australia. Taxonomy John Gould described the species in 1840, from a specimen collected by Benjamin Bynoe, ship's surgeon of , from northwestern Australia, as ''Hemipodius castanotus''. English zoologist George Gray placed it in the genus ''Turnix'' in 1870. William Robert Ogilvie-Grant corrected the name to ''Turnix castanonota'' in 1889. Three subspecies were described by Gregory Mathews, but all are now considered as invalid and merely individual variants. Etymology "Chestnut-backed buttonquail" has been designated the official name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). The species name is derived from the Ancient Greek words ''kastanon'' "chestnut" and ''noton'' "back". Gould called it "chestnut-backed hemipode" in 1848, noting the colonists called it "thick-billed quail". The buttonquail species were generally known as "quail" (hence "chestnut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical And Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, And Shrublands
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi- humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes. Description Grassland is dominated by grass and other herbaceous plants. Savanna is grassland with scattered trees. Shrubland is dominated by woody or herbaceous shrubs. Large expanses of land in the tropics do not receive enough rainfall to support extensive tree cover. The tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are characterized by rainfall levels between per year. Rainfall can be highly seasonal, with the entire year's rainfall sometimes occurring within a couple of weeks. African savannas occur between forest or woodland regions and grassland regions. Flora includes acacia and baobab trees, grass, and low shrubs. Acacia trees lose their leaves in the dry season to conserve moisture, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kimberley Honeyeater
The Kimberley honeyeater (''Territornis fordiana'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It was formerly lumped with the white-lined honeyeater but, based on a genetic analysis, it is now considered a separate species. Articles published in 2014 and 2015 provided evidence that the Kimberley and white-lined honeyeaters differ not only genetically, but also in song and foraging ecology. The specific epithet honours the Australian chemist and ornithologist Dr Julian Ralph Ford (1932-1987). Description The Kimberley honeyeater is similar in appearance to the white-lined honeyeater, having dark grey upperparts, light grey underparts, grey eyes, with dark grey below the eyes and a black beak. It is distinguished from the white-lined honeyeater by the lack of citrine edging on the upper surface of the remiges and , pale creamy-buff , and a milky-white belly. Distribution The Kimberley honeyeater is endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia, living in rainfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Grasswren
The black grasswren (''Amytornis housei''), known as dalal to the Wunambal people, is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Western Australia. Naturalist Frederick Maurice House discovered the black grasswren in 1901, as a part of a surveying party led by Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman through the Kimberley in northwestern Australia. He collected a single specimen. Alexander William Milligan, consulting ornithologist at the Western Australian Museum, named it after House when he described the species. The bird was not seen again until 1968, when Dan Freeman of the Natural History Museum led a party to the same area to find it. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation and open woodland, punctuated by large sandstone boulders and slabs. It inhabits the Mitchell River National Park in the Kimberley region of north-west WA. It has been classified as least concern. Bushfires have become more frequent, as has rainfall, which has altered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainbow Pitta
The rainbow pitta (''Pitta iris'') is a small passerine bird in the pitta family, Pittidae, endemic to northern Australia, most closely related to the superb pitta of Manus Island. It has a velvet black head with chestnut stripes above the eyes, olive green upper parts, black underparts, a bright red belly and an olive green tail. An Australian endemic, it lives in the monsoon forests and in some drier eucalypt forests. Like other pittas, the rainbow pitta is a secretive and shy bird. Its diet is mainly insects, arthropods and small vertebrates. Pairs defend territories and breed during the rainy season, as that time of year provides the most food for nestlings. The female lays three to five blotched eggs inside its large domed nest. Both parents defend the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Although the species has a small global range, it is locally common and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern. Taxo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-quilled Rock-pigeon
The white-quilled rock pigeon (''Petrophassa albipennis'') is a dark brown rock pigeon with a white patch on its wing. It has distinctive pale lines across its face curving above and below its eye. It is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is rock dweller found roosting on sandstone cliffs and towers in the Kimberley, WA and east of the Victoria River, NT. It is endemic to Australia. Taxonomy and systematics There are two species of rock pigeon in Australia, the white-quilled and the chestnut-quilled. Their name reflects their habitat specialisation of sandstone gorges and rocky escarpments. ''Petrophassa albipennis'' was identified and named by John Gould in 1841. It reflects the aptness of the name that no alternatives have ever been recorded. The genus name derives from Greek words: ''petros'' meaning rock (its preferred habitat) and ''phassa'' a wild pigeon giving ''Petrophassa,'' and the species name derives from the Latin ''albus'' meaning dull white and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut Rail
The chestnut rail (''Eulabeornis castaneoventris'') is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Eulabeornis''. It is found in the Aru Islands and northern Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ... mangrove forests. left, Early illustration by Broinowski References chestnut rail Birds of the Aru Islands Birds of the Northern Territory chestnut rail Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Gruiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Partridge Pigeon
The partridge pigeon (''Geophaps smithii'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss. Taxonomy and systematics The partridge pigeon is one of three species in the genus ''Geophaps''. Within the genus, the partridge pigeon is most closely related to the squatter pigeon, with these two species forming a clade that is sister to the spinifex pigeon. These three are most closely related to the crested pigeon. Alternative names for the partridge pigeon include bare-eyed bronzewing, bare-eyed partridge bronzewing, and bare-eyed partridge pigeon. Subspecies There are two subspecies, differing mainly in the colour of their orbital skin. The two subspecies are also sometimes treated as color morphs instead of races, making the species monotypic. * ''G. s. smithii –'' Jardine and Selby, 1830: The nominate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species have subspecies, but for those that do there must be at least two. Subspecies is abbreviated subsp. or ssp. and the singular and plural forms are the same ("the subspecies is" or "the subspecies are"). In zoology, under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the subspecies is the only taxonomic rank below that of species that can receive a name. In botany and mycology, under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, other infraspecific ranks, such as variety, may be named. In bacteriology and virology, under standard bacterial nomenclature and virus nomenclature, there are recommendations but not strict requirements for recognizing other important infraspecific ranks. A taxonomist decides whether ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
