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St Helens Important Bird Area
St Helens Important Bird Area comprises four separate sites, with a collective total area of 24 km2, in the vicinity of the town of St Helens on the northern part of the east coast of Tasmania, south-eastern Australia. Description The sites constituting the Important Bird Area (IBA) are Paddys and St Helens Islands, the 9 km Maurouard Beach on the adjacent coast, with the Peron Dunes backing the beach, and the inner parts of Georges Bay. The islands are granitic with rocky shorelines and are home to seabird colonies. The beach is sandy and exposed to the ocean. The bay has intertidal flats that provide feeding habitat for waders, or shorebirds.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: St Helens (Tasmania). Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/10/2011. Birds The set of sites has been identified by BirdLife International as an IBA because it supports over 1% of the world populations of Pacific gulls (Paddys Island), little penguins (wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hooded Plover444
A hood is a kind of headgear that covers most of the head and neck, and sometimes the face. Hoods that cover mainly the sides and top of the head, and leave the face mostly or partly open may be worn for protection from the environment (typically cold weather or rain), for fashion, as a form of traditional dress or uniform, or in the case of knights, an armoured hood is used for protection against bladed weapons. In some cases, hoods are used to prevent the wearer from seeing where they are going (e.g., in cases where a prisoner is hooded). Hoods with eye holes may be used for religious purposes to prevent the wearer from being seen. In the case of Ku Klux Klan members, terrorists, or criminals such as robbers, a hood with eye holes helps prevent identification. Etymology The word traces back to Old English ''hod'' "hood," from Proto-Germanic *''hodaz'' (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian ''hod'' "hood," Middle Dutch ''hoet'', Dutch ''hoed'' "hat," Old High German ''huot'' "helmet, hat, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Gull
The Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus'') is a very large gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a result of competition from the kelp gull, which has "self-introduced" since the 1940s. Much larger than the ubiquitous silver gull, and nowhere near as common, Pacific gulls are usually seen alone or in pairs, loafing around the shoreline, steadily patrolling high above the edge of the water, or (sometimes) zooming high on the breeze to drop a shellfish or sea urchin onto rocks. Diet The gulls' diet consists of a number various fish species and invertebrates. They frequently consume crabs, most often the species ''Ovalipes australiensis'' and ''Paragrapsus gaimardii.'' They also commonly eat '' Platycephalus bassensis'' (sand flatheads) and cephalapods, both of which are sourced from their regular consumption of waste from fish which hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of Tasmania
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 world would have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kelp Gull
The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, parts of Australia (where it overlaps with the Pacific gull), and New Zealand (where it is known as the black-backed gull, the southern black-backed gull, mollyhawk – particularly the juveniles, or by its Māori name ''karoro''). ''L. d. vetula'' (known as the Cape gull) is a subspecies occurring around Southern Africa. The specific name comes from the Dominican Order of friars, who wear black and white habits. Description The kelp gull superficially resembles two gulls from further north in the Atlantic Ocean, the lesser black-backed gull and the great black-backed gull and is intermediate in size between these two species. This species ranges from in total length, from in wingspan and from in weight. Adult males and females weigh on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caspian Tern
The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'') is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''hudros'', "water", and Latin ''progne'', "swallow". The specific ''caspia'' is from Latin and, like the English name, refers to the Caspian Sea. Description It is the world's largest tern with a length of , a wingspan of and a weight of . Adult birds have black legs, and a long thick red-orange bill with a small black tip. They have a white head with a black cap and white neck, belly, and tail. The upper wings and back are pale grey; the underwings are pale with dark primary feathers. In-flight, the tail is less forked than other terns, and wingtips are black on the underside. In winter, the black cap is still present (unlike many other terns), but with some white streaking on the forehead. The call is a loud heron-like croak. Distribu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Diving-petrel
The common diving petrel (''Pelecanoides urinatrix''), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlantic islands and islands of the subantarctic southern Indian Ocean, islands and islets off New Zealand and south-eastern Australian islands. Taxonomy The common diving petrel was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He placed it with the other petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria uriatrix''. Gmelin based his description on the "diving petrel" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in the second volume of his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham reported that they were found in great numbers in Queen Charlotte Sound at the northern end of South Island, New Zealand. The common diving petrel is now one of four petrels place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-tailed Shearwater
The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested. It is a migratory species that breeds mainly on small islands in Bass Strait and Tasmania and migrates to the Northern Hemisphere for the boreal summer. Taxonomy This shearwater appears to be related to the sooty and great shearwaters, which are also blunt-tailed, black-billed species, but its precise relationships are obscure (Austin, 1996; Austin ''et al.'', 2004). These are among the larger species of shearwater, which have been moved to a separate genus, ''Ardenna'' based on a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA (Penhallurick & Wink, 2004). Ecology Each parent feeds the single chick for 2–3 days and then leaves for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-faced Storm-petrel
The white-faced storm petrel (''Pelagodroma marina''), also known as white-faced petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Pelagodroma''. Description The white-faced storm petrel is in length with a wingspan. It has a pale brown to grey back, rump and wings with black flight feathers. It is white below, unlike other north Atlantic petrels, and has a white face with a black eye mask like a phalarope. Its plumage makes it one of the easier petrels to identify at sea. Behaviour The white-faced storm petrel is strictly pelagic outside the breeding season, and this, together with its often-remote breeding sites, makes this petrel a difficult bird to see from land. Only in severe storms might this species be pushed into headlands. There have been a handful of western Europe records from France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It has a direct gliding flight and will patter on the water surface as i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hooded Plover
The hooded dotterel or hooded plover (''Thinornis cucullatus'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is endemic to southern Australia, where it inhabits ocean beaches and subcoastal lagoons. There are two recognised subspecies which form isolated eastern and western populations. The eastern subspecies is of greater conservation concern, with listings varying from Vulnerable in South Australia and Victoria to Critically Endangered in New South Wales. Taxonomy The hooded dotterel was placed in genus ''Charadrius'' but in the early 2000s it was reclassified into the genus ''Thinornis'', along with shore plover (''Thinornis novaeseelandiae''). In 2000 the number of mature individuals was estimated at 7,000. Alternative common names include: hooded plover, hoody, ''pluvier à camail'' (in French), ''kappenregenpfeifer'' (in German), and ''chorlito encapuchado'' (in Spanish). Subspecies Two subspecies of the hooded dotterel are now recognised. * ''T. c. cucullatus'' (V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairy Tern
The fairy tern (''Sternula nereis'') is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as " Vulnerable" by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is " Critically Endangered". There are three subspecies: * Australian fairy tern, ''Sternula nereis nereis'' (Gould, 1843) – breeds in Australia * New Caledonian fairy tern, ''Sternula nereis exsul'' ( Mathews, 1912) – breeds in New Caledonia * New Zealand fairy tern, ''Sternula nereis davisae'' ( Mathews & Iredale, 1913) – breeds in northern New Zealand Description The fairy tern is a small tern with a white body and light bluish-grey wings.A small black patch extends no further than the eye and not as far as the bill. In the breeding plumage both the beak and the legs are yellowish-orange. During the rest of the year the black crown is lost, being mostly replaced by white feathers, and the beak becomes black at the tip and the base. The sexes look alike and the plumage of immature birds is similar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pied Oystercatcher
The pied oystercatcher (''Haematopus longirostris'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher (''H. finschi'') occurs in New Zealand. Description The name "oystercatcher" is something of a misnomer for this species, because they seldom eat oysters, which are found mainly on rocky coastlines. Pied oystercatchers frequent sandy coastlines, where they feed mainly on bivalve molluscs, which are prised apart with their specially adapted bill. These adaptations allow the Pied oystercatchers to slip their bills between the ventral edges of these shelled organisms, further allowing them to sever the shells and reach the edible flesh inside. This Australian species is easily recognized by the characteristic 5–8 cm long orange-red beak, slender pink legs and black and white plumage. With the wings extended, a white wing-stripe is also visible. The male and female sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Penguin
The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian little penguin (''Eudyptula novaehollandiae'') from Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand is considered a separate species by a 2016 study and a 2019 study. Taxonomy The little penguin was first described by German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster in 1781. Several subspecies are known, but a precise classification of these is still a matter of dispute. The holotypes of the subspecies ''E. m. variabilis'' and ''Eudyptula minor chathamensis'' are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The white-flippered penguin (''E. m. albosignata'' or ''E. m. minor morpha albosignata'') is currently considered by most taxonomists to be a colour morph or subspecies of ''Eudyptula minor.'' In 2008, Shirihai treated th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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