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RSPB Fairburn Ings
Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve is a protected area in West Yorkshire, England, noted for its avian biodiversity. The reserve has recorded around 280 bird species, remarkable for an inland site in the United Kingdom. This is explained by the site being on migration routes as well as the diversity of habitats. History It was designated a local nature reserve in 1957 under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act (1949). Since the late 1970s it has been managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on behalf of the local naturalists who set it up. Geography The reserve is in the Lower Aire Valley, south and west of Fairburn, near Castleford. It includes the whole of Fairburn & Newton Ings SSSI. It is also a Statutory Bird Sanctuary (one of only 10 in England) with a focus mainly on wildfowl and waders, although many other birds can be seen. The word ''ings'' (singular ''ing'') is of Old Norse origin and means "damp or marshy land that floods", a referenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mute Swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to the largest populations outside of its native range, with additional smaller introductions in Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less vocal than other swan species. Measuring in length, this large swan is wholly white in plumage with an orange beak bordered with black. It is recognizable by its pronounced knob atop the beak, which is larger in males. Taxonomy The mute swan was first formally described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin as ''Anas olor'' in 1789, and was transferred by Johann Matthäus Bechstein to the new genus ''Cygnus'' in 1803. Both ''cygnus'' and ''olor'' mean "swan" in Latin; ''cygnus'' is a variant form of ''cycnus'', a borrowing from Greek ''kyknos'', a word o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wildfowl
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on the water surface, and in some cases diving in at least shallow water. The family contains around 174 species in 43 genera. (The magpie goose is no longer considered to be part of the Anatidae and is now placed in its own family, Anseranatidae.) They are generally herbivorous, and are monogamous breeders. A number of species undertake annual migrations. A few species have been domesticated for agriculture, and many others are hunted for food and recreation. Five species have become extinct since 1600, and many more are threatened with extinction. Description and ecology The ducks, geese, and swans are small- to large-sized birds with a broad and elongated general body plan. Diving species vary from this in being rounder. Extant spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corn Bunting
The corn bunting (''Emberiza calandra'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. This is a large bunting with heavily streaked buff-brown plumage. The sexes are similar but the male is slightly larger than the female. Its range extends from Western Europe and North Africa across to northwestern China. Taxonomy The corn bunting was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' and retains its original binomial name of ''Emberiza calandra''. The type locality is Sweden. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a bunting. The specific ''calandra'' is from Ancient Greek ''kalandros'', the calandra lark. The corn bunting has sometimes been placed in its own monotypic genus ''Miliaria''. Two subspecies are recognised: * ''E. c. calandra'' Linnaeus, 1758 – northwest Africa, Canary Islands and Europe to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reed Bunting
The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a bunting. The specific ''schoeniclus'' is from Ancient Greek ''skhoiniklos'', a now unknown waterside bird. It breeds across Europe and much of the Palearctic. Most birds migrate south in winter, but those in the milder south and west of the range are resident. It is common in reedbeds and also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and cultivation. For example, it is a component of the purple moor grass and rush pastures, a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe. Taxonomy The common reed bunting was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bullfinch
Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds. True bullfinches The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus ''Pyrrhula''. These birds are restricted to the Old World, and they include the following: * Eurasian bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula pyrrhula'' * Brown bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula nipalensis'' * White-cheeked bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula leucogenis'' * Orange bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula aurantiaca'' * Red-headed bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula erythrocephala'' * Grey-headed bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula erythaca'' * Azores bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula murina'' New World tanagers There is an unrelated group of New World birds also named as bullfinches because of their superficial resemblances to the above species. These passerines were placed in the large bunting and American "sparrow" family Emberizidae, but are now considered tanagers (Thraupidae). Four are in the genus ''Loxigilla'': * Puerto Rican bullfinch, ''Loxigilla portoricensis'' * Greater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linnet
The common linnet (''Linaria cannabina'') is a small passerine bird of the finch family, Fringillidae. It derives its common name and the scientific name, ''Linaria'', from its fondness for hemp seeds and flax seeds—flax being the English name of the plant from which linen is made. Taxonomy In 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus included the common linnet in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name, ''Acanthis cannabina''. The species was formerly placed in the genus ''Carduelis'' but based on the results of a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences published in 2012, it was moved to the genus ''Linaria'' that had been introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. The genus name ''linaria'' is the Latin for a linen-weaver, from ''linum'', "flax". The species name ''cannabina'' comes from the Latin for hemp. The English name has a similar root, being derived from Old French ''linette'', fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Sparrow
The Eurasian tree sparrow (''Passer montanus'') is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult. This sparrow breeds over most of temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia, where it is known as the tree sparrow, and it has been introduced elsewhere including the United States, where it is known as the Eurasian tree sparrow or German sparrow to differentiate it from the native unrelated American tree sparrow. Although several subspecies are recognised, the appearance of this bird varies little across its extensive range. The Eurasian tree sparrow's untidy nest is built in a natural cavity, a hole in a building or the disused nest of a European magpie or white stork. The typical clutch is five or six eggs which hatch in under two weeks. This sparrow feeds mainly on seeds, but invertebrates are also consumed, particularl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Song Thrush
The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry. The song thrush breeds in forests, gardens and parks, and is partially bird migration, migratory with many birds wintering in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; it has also been introduced into New Zealand and Australia. Although it is not threatened globally, there have been serious population declines in parts of Europe, possibly due to changes in farming practices. The song thrush builds a neat mud-lined bird nest#Cup, cup nest in a bush or tree and lays four to five dark-spotted blue bird egg, eggs. It is omnivorous and has the habit of using a favourite stone as an "anvil" on which to break open the shells of land snail, snails. Like other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skylark
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are known from the fossil record. The current genus name is from Latin ''alauda'', "lark". Pliny the Elder thought the word was originally of Celtic origin. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Alauda'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The type species was subsequently designated as the Eurasian skylark. The genus ''Alauda'' has four extant and at least two extinct species. Formerly, many other species have also been considered to belong to the genus. Extant species The genus contains four species: Extinct species * †''Alauda xerarvensis'' (late Pliocene of Varshets, Bulgaria) * †''Alauda tivadari'' (late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary) Former species Previ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Turtle Dove
The European turtle dove (''Streptopelia turtur'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter. Taxonomy The European turtle dove was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other pigeons in the genus ''Columba'' and coined the binomial name ''Columba turtur''. The specific epithet ''turtur'' is the Latin word for a turtle dove. Linnaeus gave the locality as "India". This was an error and the type locality has been designated as England. The species is now placed in the genus '' Streptopelia'' that was introduced in 1855 by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Four subspecies are recognised: * European turtle dove (''S. t. turtur'') ( Linnaeus, 1758) – Europe, Madeira and the Canary Islands to wester ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Partridge
The grey partridge (''Perdix perdix''), also known as the gray-legged partridge, English partridge, Hungarian partridge, or hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The scientific name is the Latin for "partridge", and is itself derived from Ancient Greek ''perdix''. Description The grey partridge is a rotund bird, brown-backed, with grey flanks and chest. The belly is white, usually marked with a large chestnut-brown horse-shoe mark in males, and also in many females. Hens lay up to twenty eggs in a ground nest. The nest is usually in the margin of a cereal field, most commonly winter wheat. Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan: The only major and constant difference between the sexes is the so-called cross of Lorraine on the tertiary coverts of females—these being marked with two transverse bars, as opposed to the one in males. These are present after around 16 weeks of age when the birds have moult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesotrophic Lake
The Trophic State Index (TSI) is a classification system designed to rate water bodies based on the amount of biological productivity they sustain. Although the term "trophic index" is commonly applied to lakes, any surface water body may be indexed. The TSI of a water body is rated on a scale from zero to one hundred. Under the TSI scale, water bodies may be defined as: * oligotrophic (TSI 0–40, having the least amount of biological productivity, "good" water quality); * mesotrophic (TSI 40–60, having a moderate level of biological productivity, "fair" water quality); or * eutrophic to hypereutrophic (TSI 60–100, having the highest amount of biological productivity, "poor" water quality). The quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other biologically useful nutrients are the primary determinants of a water body's TSI. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus tend to be limiting resources in standing water bodies, so increased concentrations tend to result in increased p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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