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Sheldon Reservoir
Sheldon Lake is a reservoir on Carpenters Bayou in the San Jacinto River basin, 16 miles (26 km) northeast of downtown Houston, Texas. The reservoir was created in 1943 when the federal government built a dam to provide fresh water for shipbuilding and shipping industries on the Houston Ship Channel during World War II. After the war, the management of the reservoir was assumed by the City of Houston. In 1952, after the construction of the dam that creates Lake Houston, the city sold the reservoir to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for use as a waterfowl sanctuary and public fishing site. In 1984, the land around the reservoir was designated the Sheldon State Wildlife Management Area. Fish and plant populations Sheldon Lake has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Sheldon Lake include catfish, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and sunfish. Recreational uses Birdwatching ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harris County, Texas
Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth largest city in the United States. The county was founded in 1836 and organized in 1837. It is named for John Richardson Harris, who founded the town of Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou in 1826. According to the July 2021 census estimate, Harris County's population has shifted to 4,728,030 comprising over 16% of Texas's population. Harris County is included in the nine-county Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States. History Human remains date habitation to about 4000 BC. Other evidence of humans in the area dates from about 1400 BC, 1 AD, and later in the first millennium. The region became uninhabited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birdwatching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using formal scientific methods. Birding, birdwatching, and twitching The first recorded use of the term ''birdwatcher'' was in 1901 by Edmund Selous; ''bird'' was introduced as a verb in 1918. The term ''birding'' was also used for the practice of ''fowling'' or hunting with firearms as in Shakespeare's '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'' (1602): "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding." The terms ''birding'' and ''birdwatching'' are today used by some interchangeably, although some participants prefer ''birding'', partly because it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Conte's Sparrow
LeConte's sparrow (''Ammospiza leconteii'') is one of the smallest New World sparrow species in North America.Terres, J.K. (1980). The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf It is a very secretive bird that prefers to spend most of its time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. They are typically very difficult to flush, often only flushing at a distance of 1–3 m as they prefer to run across the ground.LeConte's sparrow. (n.d.). Retrieved September 2011, from Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Le_Contes_sparrow/lifehistory When they do emerge they rarely fly more than a foot or two above the grass and often descend again within a few meters.Vanner, M. (2004). ''The Encyclopedia of North American Birds''. Bath: Parragon Publishing. Because it is so rarely seen, there are still many gaps in knowledge about the LeConte's sparrow. Nests are often very hard to find, and individuals are more often iden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fish Crow
The fish crow (''Corvus ossifragus'') is a species of crow associated with wetland habitats in the eastern and southeastern United States. Taxonomy and etymology The fish crow was given its binomial name by the Scottish ornithologist Alexander Wilson in 1812, in the fifth volume of his ''American Ornithology''. The binomial is from Latin; ''Corvus'' means "raven", while ''ossifragus'' means "bone-breaker". It is derived from ''os'' or ''ossis'', meaning "bone", and ''frangere'', meaning "to break". The English-language common name ''fish crow'' also derives from Wilson, who ascribed the name to the crow's aquatic diet, as described to him by local fishermen. He distinguished the fish crow from John Bartram's ''great seaside crow'' by the former's diminutive size when compared to the American crow. The fish crow's taxonomic relation to other species of the ''Corvus'' genus is still poorly understood, but DNA sequencing indicates that it is most closely related to the pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vermilion Flycatcher
The vermilion flycatcher (''Pyrocephalus obscurus'') is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family found throughout South America and southern North America. It is a striking exception among the generally drab Tyrannidae due to its vermilion-red coloration. The males have bright red crowns, chests, and underparts, with brownish wings and tails. Females lack the vivid red coloration and can be hard to identify—they may be confused for the Say's phoebe. The vermilion flycatcher's song is a ', which is variable and important in establishing a territory. Riparian habitats and semi-open environments are preferred. As aerial insectivores, they catch their prey while flying. Their several months-long molt begins in summer. Despite being socially monogamous, vermilion flycatchers will engage in extra-pair copulation. They also practice within-species brood parasitism, whereby females lay their eggs in the nest of another individual. Females build shallow open cup nests and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ash-throated Flycatcher
The ash-throated flycatcher (''Myiarchus cinerascens'') is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. Taxonomy First described in 1851 by George Newbold Lawrence from a specimen collected in western Texas in the United States, the ash-throated flycatcher was initially given the scientific name ''Tyrannula cinerascens''. The species was mistakenly described again in 1851 as ''Tyrannula mexicanus'' — an error that was corrected in 1859 when Philip Lutley Sclater analyzed the tyrant flycatchers known from Mexico and realized that both scientific names referred to the same species. During the same analysis, Slater moved the ash-throated flycatcher from the genus ''Tyrannula'' to its current genus, ''Myiarchus''. In the past, the ash-throated flycatcher has sometimes been considered to be conspecific with Nutting's flycatcher, but there are morphological and vocal differences between the two. There is disagreement as to whether the two species hybridize. The ash-throated f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least Bittern
The least bittern (''Ixobrychus exilis'') is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas. Taxonomy The least bittern was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes, storks and bitterns in the genus '' Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea exilis''. Gmelin based his description on the "minute bittern" from Jamaica that had been included by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham did not specify how he had obtained the specimen. The least bittern is now one of ten species placed in the genus ''Ixobrychus'' that was introduced in 1828 by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow. The specific epithet ''exilis'' is Latin meaning "l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Purple Gallinule
The purple gallinule (''Porphyrio martinicus'') is a swamphen in the genus ''Porphyrio''. It is in the order Gruiformes, meaning "crane-like", an order which also contains cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail (bird), rail species, placing it into the family Rallidae. It is also known locally as the yellow-legged gallinule. The specific name ''martinica'' denotes "of Martinique". Description The purple gallinule is a medium-sized rail, measuring in length, spanning across the wings and weighing . Males, averaging in mass, are slightly larger than females, at on average. An adult purple gallinule has purple-blue Feather, plumage that will shine green and turquoise when in good lighting. Adults also have a pale blue shield on their forehead, which connects with the red and yellow bill. Darkness or low light can dim the bright purple-blue plumage of the adult to make them look dusky or brownish, although the forehead shield color differentiates them from simi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibis
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word for this group of birds. It also occurs in the scientific name of the cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') mistakenly identified in 1757 as being the sacred ibis. Description Ibises all have long, downcurved bills, and usually feed as a group, probing mud for food items, usually crustaceans. They are monogamous and highly territorial while nesting and feeding. Most nest in trees, often with spoonbills or herons. All extant species are capable of flight, but two extinct genera were flightless, namely the kiwi-like ''Apteribis'' in the Hawaiian Islands, and the peculiar '' Xenicibis'' in Jamaica. The word ''ibis'' comes from Latin ''ibis'' from Greek ἶβις ''ibis'' from Egyptian ''hb'', ''hīb''. Beekes, R. S. P. (2009) ''Etymological Dicti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neotropic Cormorant
The neotropic cormorant or olivaceous cormorant (''Nannopterum brasilianum'') is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the United States south through Mexico and Central America to southern South America, where it is called by the indigenous name of ''biguá''. It also breeds on the Bahamas, Cuba and Trinidad. It can be found both at coasts (including some mangrove areas) and on inland waters. There are at least two subspecies: ''N. b. mexicanum'' from Nicaragua northwards and ''N. b. brasilianum'' further south. In Peru the neotropic cormorant is used by the Uru people for fishing. Taxonomy The neotropic cormorant was documented in 1658 by the Dutch naturalist Willem Piso after travels in Brazil. This formed the basis for the formal description and naming of the species by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. He placed it with the petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anhinga
The anhinga (; ''Anhinga anhinga''), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word ''anhinga'' comes from ''a'ñinga'' in the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". The origin of the name is apparent when swimming: only the neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis. The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (''Anhinga melanogaster''), African (''Anhinga rufa''), and Australian (''Anhinga novaehollandiae'') darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak. Distribution and migration ''Anhinga'' species are found all over the world in warm shallow waters. The American anhinga has been subdivided into two subspecies, ''A. a. anhinga'' and ''A. a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roseate Spoonbill
The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own genus - ''Ajaia''. A 2010 study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues found that the roseate and yellow-billed spoonbills were each other's closest relatives, and the two were descended from an early offshoot from the ancestors of the other four spoonbill species. They felt the genetic evidence meant it was equally valid to consider all six to be classified within the genus ''Platalea'' or alternatively the two placed in the monotypic genera ''Platibis'' and ''Ajaia'', respectively. However, as the six species were so similar morphologically, keeping them within the one genus made more sense. Description The roseate spoonbill is long, with a wingspan and a body mass of . The tarsus measures , the culmen mea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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