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Pyrenestes
The seedcrackers are the genus ''Pyrenestes'' of the estrildid finches family. These birds are found in Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov .... They are gregarious seed eaters with short, very thick, grey bills. All have crimson on the face and tail. Species The members are: References *Clement, Harris and Davis, ''Finches and Sparrows'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q751284 . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-bellied Seedcracker
The black-bellied seedcracker (''Pyrenestes ostrinus'') is a bird species of the family Estrildidae. They live in most Central African countries and inhabit tropical rainforest. The species comprises individuals with different physical appearance which are grouped into three categories (small, large and mega bill size). Adults are mainly Seed predation, granivorous but diet preference varies with bill size and food availability. Black-bellied seedcrackers also exhibit very distinctive colorations with bright patches of black and red, making them easy to identify in the field. Overall, little is known about this species apart from its range, but intensive studies are currently looking at bill size variations among individuals and their effects on behaviors. __TOC__ Taxonomy Black-bellied seedcracker is one of the 27 African species of finch out of 141 worldwide. They are thought to originate from India and South Asia and would have expanded in Africa over time with Plate tect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crimson Seedcracker
The crimson seedcracker (''Pyrenestes sanguineus'') is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of . It is found in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the species as being of least concern. Description The crimson seedcracker grows to a length of about . It is a plump bird with a domed head and a broad, sharply-pointed bill. The plumage on the upper parts is dark brown or brownish-black while the head, sides of neck, face, chin, throat, breast and flanks are glossy crimson-red. The outer tail feathers are brown, and the rump and the central pair of tail feathers are crimson. The underparts are dark brown, the bill is steel blue, the eye is brown, the eyelids white and the legs are brown or olive-brown. The sexes are similar except that the upper parts of the female are a paler shad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyrenestes
The seedcrackers are the genus ''Pyrenestes'' of the estrildid finches family. These birds are found in Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov .... They are gregarious seed eaters with short, very thick, grey bills. All have crimson on the face and tail. Species The members are: References *Clement, Harris and Davis, ''Finches and Sparrows'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q751284 . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Seedcracker
The lesser seedcracker or Nyasa seedcracker (''Pyrenestes minor'') is a fairly common species of estrildid finch found in eastern Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of and is found in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the species as being of least concern. Description The lesser seedcracker grows to a length of about . The male plumage is brown tinged with olive, apart from the forehead, crown, side of face, chin, throat and upper breast which are bright red, and the rump and central tail feathers which are deep blood red. The underparts are paler than the upper parts. The female is similar but has a smaller area of red on the face and crown. The short, broad beak is black, the brown eye is surrounded by a white eye ring, and the legs are greyish-brown or dark grey. The juvenile is similar to the adults but the colours are more muted. This species could be confused with the bla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estrildid Finch
Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "finch" being included in the common names of some species, they are not closely related to birds with this name in other families, such as the Fringillidae, Emberizidae or Passerellidae. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short, thick, but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but vary widely in plumage colours and patterns. All estrildids build large, domed nests and lay five to ten white eggs. Many species build roost nests. Some of the firefinches and pytilias are hosts to the brood-parasitic indigobirds and whydahs, respectively. Most are sensitive to cold and require warm, usually tropical, habitats, although a few, such as the eastern alpine mannikin, mountain firetail, red-browed f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William John Swainson
William John Swainson FLS, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swainson was born in Dover Place, St Mary Newington, London, the eldest son of John Timothy Swainson the Second (1756–1824), an original fellow of the Linnean Society. He was cousin of the amateur botanist Isaac Swainson.Etymologisches Worterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen by H. Genaust. Review by Paul A. Fryxell ''Taxon'', Vol. 38(2), 245–246 (1989). His father's family originated in Lancashire, and both grandfather and father held high posts in Her Majesty's Customs, the father becoming Collector at Liverpool. William, whose formal education was curtailed because of an impediment in his speech, joined the Liverpool Customs as a junior clerk at the age of 14."William Swainson F.R.S, F.L.S., Naturalist and Artist: Diaries 1808–1838: Sicily, Malta, Greece, Italy and Brazil." G .M. Swainson, Palmerston, NZ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa, African countries and territories that are situated fully in that specified region, the term may also include polities that only have part of their territory located in that region, per the definition of the United Nations (UN). This is considered a non-standardized geographical region with the number of countries included varying from 46 to 48 depending on the organization describing the region (e.g. UN, WHO, World Bank, etc.). The Regions of the African Union, African Union uses a different regional breakdown, recognizing all 55 member states on the continent - grouping them into 5 distinct and standard regions. The term serves as a grouping counterpart to North Africa, which is instead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seed Predation
Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source,Hulme, P.E. and Benkman, C.W. (2002) "Granivory", pp. 132–154 in ''Plant animal Interactions: An Evolutionary Approach'', ed. C.M. Herrera and O. Pellmyr. Oxford: Blackwell. . in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable. Granivores are found across many families of vertebrates (especially mammals and birds) as well as invertebrates (mainly insects); thus, seed predation occurs in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems. Seed predation is commonly divided into two distinctive temporal categories, pre-dispersal and post-dispersal predation, which affect the fitness of the parental plant and the dispersed offspring (the seed), respectively. Mitigating pre- and post-dispersal predation may involve different strategies. To counter seed predation, plants have evolved both physical defenses ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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