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Sanjay National Park
Sanjay National Park (Guru Ghasidas National Park) is a national park in Koriya district of Chhattisgarh and Sidhi, Singrauli districts of Madhya Pradesh state, India. It covers an area of and is a part of the Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve. It is located in the Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests ecoregion. Flora The national park is mostly composed of tropical forests of Sakhua (''Shorea robusta'') trees (aka: śāl trees). Fauna The Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, Spotted deer, Sambar deer, wild boar, Nilgai, Chinkara, Civet, Porcupine, Monitor lizard, and 309 species of birds are found here. Among the many birds here are the Golden Hooded Oriole, Racket-tailed Drongo, Indian pitta, Rufous treepie, Lesser adjutant, Red-headed vulture, Cenareous vulture, White-rumped vulture, Egyptian vulture and Nightjar. Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve All of Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve used to be in Madhya Pradesh, before Chhattisgarh was carved out of it in 2000. A large part of this area is no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park, also known as SGNP, is an protected area in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in 1969 with its headquarters situated at Borivali. The 2400-year-old Kanheri caves, sculpted by monks out of the rocky basaltic cliffs, lie within the park. The rich flora and fauna of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park attract more than 2 million visitors every year. History The area of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park has a long written history dating back to the 4th Century BCE. In Ancient India, Sopara and Kalyan were two ports in its vicinity that traded with ancient civilisations such as Greece and Mesopotamia. The land route between these two ports was partially passing through this forest. The Kanheri caves, located centrally in the park, were important Buddhist learning centres and pilgrimage sites sculpted by Buddhist monks (using primitive sculpting tools) between the 9th and the 1st centuries BCE. They were chiselled out of a massive basaltic rock outcr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotted Deer
The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, male chital reach and females at the shoulder. While males weigh , females weigh around . It is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females, and antlers are present only on males. The upper parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots. The abdomen, Rump (animal), rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. The antlers, three-pronged, are nearly long. Etymology The vernacular name "chital" (pronounced ) comes from ''cītal'' ( hi, चीतल), derived from the Sanskrit Language, Sanskrit word ' (चित्रल), meaning "variegated" or "spotted". The name of the cheetah has a similar origin. Variations of "chital" include "cheetal" and "cheetul" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rufous Treepie
The rufous treepie (''Dendrocitta vagabunda'') is a treepie, native to the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. It is a member of the crow family, Corvidae. It is long tailed and has loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. It is found commonly in open scrub, agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. Like other corvids it is very adaptable, omnivorous and opportunistic in feeding. Description The sexes are alike and the main colour of the body is cinnamon with a black head and the long graduated tail is bluish grey and is tipped in black. The wing has a white patch. The only confusable species is the grey treepie which however lacks the bright rufous mantle. The bill is stout with a hooked tip. The underparts and lower back are a warm tawny-brown to orange-brown in colour with white wing coverts and black primaries. The bill, legs and feet are black. The widespread populations show variations and several subspecies are recognized. The nom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Pitta
The Indian pitta (''Pitta brachyura'') is a passerine bird native to the Indian subcontinent. It inhabits scrub jungle, deciduous and dense evergreen forest. It breeds in the forests of the Himalayas, hills of central and western India, and migrates to other parts of the peninsula in winter. Although very colourful, it is usually shy and hidden in the undergrowth where it picks insects on the forest floor. It has a distinctive two note whistling call which is heard at dawn and dusk. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List as the population is considered large. Taxonomy The Indian pitta was first known in England after an illustration by an Indian artist was sent by Edward Bulkley to James Petiver and given the name of "Ponnunky pitta" (in Telugu: పొన్నంకి పిట్ట). This illustration was included by William Derham at the end John Ray's posthumous ''Synopsis methodica avium'' which was published in 1713. The bird was again described and illustrated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Racket-tailed Drongo
The greater racket-tailed drongo (''Dicrurus paradiseus'') is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dicruridae. They are conspicuous in the forest habitats often perching in the open and by attracting attention with a wide range of loud calls that include perfect imitations of many other birds. One hypothesis suggested is that these vocal imitations may help in the formation of mixed-species foraging flocks, a feature seen in forest bird communities where many insect feeders forage together. These drongos will sometimes steal insect prey caught or disturbed by other foragers in the flock and another idea is that vocal mimicry helps them in diverting the attention of smaller birds to aid their piracy. They are diurnal but are active well before dawn and late at dusk. Owing to their widespread distribution and distinctive regional variation, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Golden Oriole
The Indian golden oriole (''Oriolus kundoo'') is a species of oriole found in the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. The species was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Eurasian golden oriole, but is now considered a full species. Adults can be told apart from the Eurasian golden oriole by the black of the eye stripe extending behind the eye. Taxonomy and systematics The Indian golden oriole was described by the English naturalist William Henry Sykes in 1832 and given the binomial name '' Oriolus kundoo''. Although initially described as a separate species, the Indian golden oriole was usually treated as a subspecies of the Eurasian golden oriole. In 2005, the ornithologists Pamela Rasmussen and John Anderton in their ''Birds of South Asia'' decided to treat the two varieties as separate species based on the differences in morphology, plumage, calls and the fact that the two varieties do not intergrade. Support for this split was provided by a molecular phylogenetic ... [...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] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monitor Lizard
Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recognized. Monitor lizards have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. The adult length of extant species ranges from in some species, to over in the case of the Komodo dragon, though the extinct varanid known as megalania (''Varanus priscus'') may have been capable of reaching lengths more than . Most monitor species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known. While most monitor lizards are carnivorous, eating eggs, smaller reptiles, fish, birds, insects, and small mammals, some also eat fruit and vegetation, depending on where they live. Distribution The various species cover a vast area, occurring through Africa, the Indian subcontinent, to China, the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old World Porcupine
The Old World porcupines, or Hystricidae, are large terrestrial rodents, distinguished by the spiny covering from which they take their name. They range over the south of Europe and the Levant, most of Africa, India, and Southeast Asia as far east as Flores. Although both the Old World and New World porcupine families belong to the infraorder Hystricognathi of the vast order Rodentia, they are quite different and are not particularly closely related. Characteristics Old World porcupines are stout, heavily built animals, with blunt, rounded heads, fleshy, mobile snouts, and coats of thick cylindrical or flattened spines, which form the whole covering of their bodies, and are not intermingled with ordinary hairs. The habits of most species are strictly terrestrial. They vary in size from the relatively small long–tailed porcupine with body lengths of , and a weight of , to the much larger crested porcupines, which are long, discounting the tail, and weigh from . The various ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civet
A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversity is found in southeast Asia. The best-known species is the African civet, ''Civettictis civetta'', which historically has been the main species from which a musky scent used in perfumery, also referred to as "civet", was obtained. Naming The common name is used for a variety of carnivoran mammal species, mostly of the family Viverridae. The African palm civet (''Nandinia binotata'') is genetically distinct and belongs in its own monotypic family, Nandiniidae. Civets are also called "toddycats" in English, "Mara Patti" in Malayalam, "musang" in Malay and Indonesian, and ''urulǣvā'' () in Sinhalese. There can be confusion among speakers of Malay because the indigenous word "musang" has been mistakenly applied to foxes by printed media in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinkara
The chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), also known as the Indian gazelle, is a gazelle species native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Taxonomy The following six subspecies are considered valid: * Deccan chinkara (''G. b. bennettii'') (Sykes 1831) – ranges from South India, from the Ganges Valley (east to the borders of West Bengal) south at least to Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Deccan Plateau; * Gujarat chinkara ''(G. b. christii)'' ( Blyth, 1842) – ranges from the desert lowlands of Pakistan, western India, Rann of Kutch, Kathiawar, Saurastra region and as far east of Ahmedabad district in Gujarat; * Kennion gazelle, eastern jebeer gazelle or Baluchistan gazelle (''G. b. fuscifrons'') ( Blanford, 1873) – occurs in eastern Iran, (southeast and along the Makran coast, Sistan and Baluchistan) southern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province to Sindh and northwestern India, Rajasthan, also the darkest subspecies; * Bushehr gazelle (''G. b. karamii'') ( Groves, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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