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Passage Islands (Western Australia)
The Passage Islands ( es, Islas del Pasaje) are a group of four islands in the Falkland Islands of the South Atlantic Ocean. They lie off Dunnose Head, West Falkland, at the mouth of King George Bay. Description The largest of the group is Second Passage Island which is long from east to west and up to wide. Much of the coastline is characterised by cliffs up to high. The highest point is Sixtus Hill. Past overgrazing has caused erosion and reduced the cover of tussac. There are several ponds, one of which provides feeding habitat for waders and waterfowl. Third and Fourth Passage Islands are 800 m apart and low lying, rising to about . They were only briefly stocked with cattle in the 1960s and have good tussac coverage. Important Bird Area The Passage Islands group has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Birds for which the site is of conservation significance include Falkland steamer ducks, gentoo penguins (300 breeding pair ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic and the United States Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands, such as Isla de Mona, Mona, Culebra, Puerto Rico, Culebra, and Vieques, Puerto Rico, Vieques. It has roughly 3.2 million residents, and its Capital city, capital and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, most populous city is San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Spanish language, Spanish and English language, English are the official languages of the executive branch of government, though Spanish predominates. Puerto Rico ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falkland Steamer Duck
The Falkland steamer duck (''Tachyeres brachypterus'') is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap their wings and feet on the water in a motion reminiscent of an old paddle steamer. The Falkland steamer duck is one of only two bird species endemic to the Falkland Islands, the other being Cobb's wren. Taxonomy and systematics The Falkland steamer duck is part of the Anseriformes order and the Anatidae family alongside ducks, geese, and swans. It is in the genus ''Tachyeres'' with the three other species of steamer ducks, all found in South America. The Falkland steamer duck is most closely related to the flying steamer duck which can also be found in and around the Falkland Islands. It is believed that they might still be able to interbreed. A study from 2012 established that these two species are genetically indistinguishable. Howeve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of The Falkland Islands
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 Possible world, world ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islands Of The Falkland Islands
The following is a list of islands that form the Falkland Islands. Main islands Other islands Small archipelagos Jason Islands None of the Jason Islands are permanently inhabited. Highest islands List of Falkland Islands named after people This is a short list of islands, which are known to be named after someone. Until at least 1781, the Falklands as a whole were known as the Sebald or Sebaldine Island after Sebald de Weert, who sighted them and tried to make landfall on the Jason Islands in January 1600. * Beauchene Island - Jacques Gouin de Beauchêne * Dunbar Island * (East Falkland) Lafonia (peninsula) - Samuel Fisher Lafone * George Island - ? King George * Golding Island * Jason Islands * Keppel Island - Augustus Keppel * Saunders Island * Ruggles Island * Staats Island * Tyssen Islands - John Tyssen (1811–1893), British naval officer [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cobb's Wren
Cobb's wren (''Troglodytes cobbi'') is a fairly small (12-13.5 cm) wren which is endemic to the Falkland Islands. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the house wren (''Troglodytes aedon'') but is now commonly considered to be a separate species due to differences in plumage, voice, ecology and morphology. The scientific and common names commemorate Arthur Cobb, an author from the Falkland Islands. Description The plumage is brown, greyer on the head and breast and more rufous on the tail. There are dark bars on the flight feathers and tail. The bill is long, blackish and slightly curved. The main confusion species is the sedge wren which is smaller with a shorter bill, buff eyestripe and dark streaks on the back and head. Cobb's wrens have a number of buzzing calls and their song is a series of jumbled trills and whistles. The song can be heard from August to February and varies between individuals with different males having different song patterns. Behaviour The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackish Cinclodes
The blackish cinclodes (''Cinclodes antarcticus'') is a passerine bird of the genus '' Cinclodes'' belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the southern tip of South America including the Falkland Islands where it is known as the tussac-bird or tussock-bird. It is often very tame and will approach humans closely. Description It is 18 to 23 cm long. The sexes are similar and their plumage is almost entirely dark brown. The throat is slightly paler with some buff speckling, there is a hint of a pale stripe over the eye and there is a faint reddish-brown bar on the wing. The bill is quite long, stout and slightly downcurved with a pale yellow spot at the base (lacking in Falkland birds). The song and calls are loud and high-pitched. The trilling song may be uttered from a perch or in flight. Habitat and range The blackish cinclodes is a bird of coasts and islands, commonly found among rocks, kelp on beaches and in areas of tussac grass. The nomina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-bridled Finch
The white-bridled finch (''Melanodera melanodera''), also known as the canary-winged finch or black-throated finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Melanodera'' together with the yellow-bridled finch (''M. xanthogramma''). Formerly placed in the family Emberizidae, it is now considered a tanager. It is found in grassland in southernmost South America. There are two subspecies: ''M. m. melanodera'' in the Falkland Islands and ''M. m. princetoniana'' in southern Argentina and Chile. Description The male is grey-green above and yellow below with a grey head and upper breast. It has a black throat and mask which are bordered with white. There are large yellow patches in the wings and tail. Females are brown with dark streaks. They have yellow outer tail feathers and yellow fringes to the wing feathers. It is long. Birds on the mainland are smaller than those on the Falklands with a smaller bill and more yellow in the wings and tail. The call is a sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Striated Caracara
The striated caracara (''Phalcoboenus australis'') is a bird of prey of the family Falconidae. In the Falkland Islands, it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin (gentoo penguin). Description The adults' plumage is almost black in color, while the legs and lores are orange and the neck has silver striations. Chicks have chestnut down, which they lose after their first molt. Juveniles (i.e., after fledging until entering fourth year) have brown plumage with chestnut striations on nape and breast that deepen as they age. Full adult plumage is acquired after the fifth molt (i.e., entering fourth year), though the beak does not reach full adult coloration until the fifth year. Distribution and habitat The species breeds on coastal islands off Tierra del Fuego, through the Chilean fjords, and the outer islands of the Falklands archipelago. Although logistical challenges prohibit a comprehensive survey of the mainland population, the Falklands is thought t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Giant Petrel
The southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further south. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by the colour of their bill-tip: greenish in the southern and reddish in the northern. Taxonomy The southern giant petrel was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He placed it with all the other petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria gigantea''. Gmelin cited the "giant petrel" that had been described and illustrated in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The southern giant petrel is now placed with the northern giant petrel in the genus ''Macronectes'' that was introduced in 1905 by the American ornitholo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Rockhopper Penguin
The southern rockhopper penguin group (''Eudyptes chrysocome''), is a species of rockhopper penguin, that is sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as around the southern coasts of South America. Taxonomy In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the southern rockhopper penguin in the first volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen owned by Peter Collinson. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the southern rockhopper penguin with the red-billed tropicbird in the genus ''Phaethon''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Phaethon demersus'' and cited Edwards' work. The use of Linnaeus' binomial name was not adopted by later ornithologists, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gentoo Penguin
The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The earliest scientific description was made in 1781 by Johann Reinhold Forster with a type locality in the Falkland Islands. The species calls in a variety of ways, but the most frequently heard is a loud trumpeting, which the bird emits with its head thrown back. Names The application of "gentoo" to the penguin is unclear. '' Gentoo'' was an Anglo-Indian term to distinguish Hindus from Muslims. The English term may have originated from the Portuguese ''gentio'' ("pagan, gentile"). Some speculate that the white patch on the bird's head was thought to resemble a turban. It may also be a variation of another name for this bird, "Johnny penguin", with Johnny being in Spanish and sounds vaguely like gentoo. The Johnny rook, a predator, is likely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International. There are over 13,000 IBAs worldwide. These sites are small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in their character, habitat or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States the Program is administered by the National Audubon Society. Often IBAs form part of a country's existing protected area network, and so are protected under national legislation. Legal recognition and protection of IBAs that are not within existing protected areas varies within different countries. Some countries have a National IBA Conservation Strategy, whereas in others protection is completely lacking. History In 1985, following a specific request from the European Economic Community, Birdlife International ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
