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Silver-backed Butcherbird
The silver-backed butcherbird (''Cracticus argenteus'') is a small, shrike-like bird. It is almost identical to the grey butcherbird (''C. torquatus'') of which it considered by some authorities to be a subspecies, ''C. torquatus argenteus''. The species was first described by ornithologist John Gould in 1836 as ''Cracticus argenteus''. Description The silver-backed butcherbird looks similar to the Grey butcherbird, except its back is lighter and silvery. This species is snappy and fearless, diving at humans and dogs near the nest. It may attack other birds like the spangled drongo or common koel. Diet It is a part-time predator but insects are also taken. It feeds on small lizards such as skinks and mice along with small birds that it snares and plucks out of the sky. References silver-backed butcherbird Birds of the Northern Territory Endemic birds of Australia silver-backed butcherbird The silver-backed butcherbird (''Cracticus argenteus'') is a small, shri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, ''On the Origin of Species''. Early life Gould was born in Lyme Regis, the first son of a gardener. Both father and son probably had little education. After working on Dowager Lady Poulett's glass house, his father obtained a position on an estate near Guildford, Surrey, and then in 1818, Gould Snr became foreman in the Royal Gardens of Windsor. Gould then be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrike
Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, ''Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as butcherbirds because of their feeding habits. The common English name shrike is from Old English , alluding to the shrike's shriek-like call. Distribution, migration, and habitat Most shrike species have a Eurasian and African distribution, with just two breeding in North America (the loggerhead and northern shrikes). No members of this family occur in South America or Australia, although one species reaches New Guinea. The shrikes vary in the extent of their ranges, with some species, such as the great grey shrike, ranging across the Northern Hemisphere; to the Newton's fiscal, which is restricted to the island of São Tomé. They inhabit open habitats, especially steppe and savannah. A few species of shrikes are forest dwell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Butcherbird
The grey butcherbird (''Cracticus torquatus'') is a widely distributed species endemic to Australia. It occurs in a range of different habitats including arid, semi-arid and temperate zones. It is found across southern Australia, but is absent from the deserts of central Australia and the monsoon tropics of northern Australia. It has a characteristic "rollicking" birdsong. It appears to be adapting well to city living, and can be encountered in the suburbs of many Australian cities including Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. The grey butcherbird preys on small vertebrates including other birds. Other birds in the same family include the Australian magpie, the currawongs, woodswallows and other members of the butcherbird genus ''Cracticus''. Taxonomy The grey butcherbird was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name ''Lanius torquatus''. Closely related species include the silver-backed butcherbird (''Cracticus argenteus'') and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spangled Drongo
The spangled drongo (''Dicrurus bracteatus'') is a bird of the family Dicruridae. It is the only drongo to be found in Australia, where it can be recognised by its black, iridescent plumage and its characteristic forked tail. It feeds on insects and small vertebrates. It has complex and varied calls and is a mimic of the sounds it hears. It arrives in Queensland in late spring and breeds high in an isolated tree, producing three to five young each year. Description Its basically black plumage is iridescent with blue and purple highlights. Its eyes are crimson. The most remarkable characteristic of its appearance is its tail, which is described by Morcombe as "long, outcurved and forked" and on first examination looks like its feathers are crossed over – like crossing your fingers. Young drongos lack the highlights and spots and their eyes are dark brown. Behaviour The spangled drongo displays uninhibited and sometimes comical behaviour as it swoops and perches in search of i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Koel
The common koels are three species of cuckoos. They have commonly been considered conspecific under the scientific name ''Eudynamys scolopaceus'', but are increasingly treated as separate species: * Asian koel, ''Eudynamys scolopaceus''. * Black-billed koel, ''Eudynamys melanorhynchus''. * Pacific koel, ''Eudynamys orientalis''. ** Australian koel The Pacific koel (''Eudynamys orientalis''), also known as the eastern koel or formerly Common Koel, is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. In Australia, it is colloquially known as the ''rainbird'' or ''stormbird'', as its call is usua ..., ''Eudynamys (orientalis) cyanocephalus''. {{Animal common name Birds by common name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Predation
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the host) and parasitoidism (which always does, eventually). It is distinct from scavenging on dead prey, though many predators also scavenge; it overlaps with herbivory, as seed predators and destructive frugivores are predators. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often concealed. When prey is detected, the predator assesses whether to attack it. This may involve ambush or pursuit predation, sometimes after stalking the prey. If the attack is successful, the predator kills the prey, removes any inedible parts like the shell or spines, and eats it. Predators are adapted and often highly specialized for hunting, with acute senses such as vision, hearing, or smell. Many predatory animals, both vertebrate and inv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions. Description Skinks look like lizards of the family Lacertidae (sometimes called ''true lizards''), but most species of skinks have no pronounced neck and relatively small legs. Several genera (e.g., ''Typhlosaurus'') have no limbs at all. This is not true for all skinks, however, as some species such as the red-eyed crocodile skink have a head that is very distinguished from the body. These lizards also have legs that are relatively small proportional to their body size. Skinks' skulls are covered by substantial bony scales, usually matching up in shape and size, while overlapping. Other gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cracticus
''Cracticus'' is a genus of butcherbirds native to Australasia. They are large songbirds, being between in length. Their colour ranges from black-and-white to mostly black with added grey plumage, depending on the species. They have a large, straight bill with a distinctive hook at the end which is used to skewer prey. They have high-pitched complex songs, which are used to defend their essentially year-round group territories: unlike birds of extratropical Eurasia and the Americas, both sexes sing prolifically. Taxonomy The genus ''Cracticus'' was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with the hooded butcherbird (''Cracticus cassicus'') as the type species. The name is from the Ancient Greek ''kraktikos '' meaning "noisy" or "clamorous". Together with three species of currawong (''Strepera'') and two species of ''Peltops'', the black butcherbird (''Melloria quoyi''), and the Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen''), they form the subfamil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of The Northern Territory
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. Birds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Birds Of Australia
This article is one of a series providing information about endemism among birds in the world's various zoogeographic zones. For an overview of this subject see Endemism in birds. Patterns of endemism Family-level endemism is prominent in Australia. The Australasian biogeographic region has the highest number of endemic families of any zoogeographic region except the Neotropics, and many of these families are endemic to Australia itself — the country therefore stakes a strong claim to be the world's greatest hotspot of bird endemism. Australian endemic and near-endemic families The Australian endemic families are: * Emu (Dromaiidae), a well-known monotypic family; the emu is found in rural areas throughout the continent * Plains-wanderer (Pedionomidae), a monotypic family; plains-wanderer is restricted to arid inland areas in the southeast of Australia * Lyrebirds (Menuridae), two forest-dwelling species of southeast Australia * Scrub-birds (Atrichornithidae), two fore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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