Wild Arabia
''Wild Arabia'' is a British nature documentary series, first broadcast on BBC Two and BBC HD from 22 February to 8 March 2013. Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and narrated by Alexander Siddig, the three-part series focuses on the landscapes, wildlife and people of the Arabian Peninsula. Each episode is followed by a ten-minute ''Wild Arabia Diaries'' segment, illustrating the techniques used to film a particular subject. The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's "Continents" strand. It was preceded by ''Madagascar'' in 2011 and followed by '' Wild Brazil'' in 2014. The series premiered in Australia on 19 July 2015 on Nat Geo Wild National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T .... Episodes References External links * {{BBC Continents Series BBC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nature Documentary
A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on video taken in their natural habitat but also often including footage of trained and captive animals. Sometimes they are about wildlife or ecosystems in relationship to human beings. Such programmes are most frequently made for television, particularly for public broadcasting channels, but some are also made for the cinema medium. The proliferation of this genre occurred almost simultaneously alongside the production of similar television series. History In cinema Robert J. Flaherty's 1922 film ''Nanook of the North'' is typically cited as the first feature-length documentary. Decades later, Walt Disney Productions pioneered the serial theatrical release of nature-documentaries with its production of the True-Life Adventures series, a collection of fourteen full length and short subject nature films from 1948 to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Verreaux's Eagle
Verreaux's eagle (''Aquila verreauxii'') is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the Indian black eagle (''Ictinaetus malayensis''), which lives far to the east in Asia. It lives in hilly and mountainous regions of southern and eastern Africa (extending marginally into Chad), and very locally in West Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the southern Middle East. Verreaux's eagle is one of the most specialized species of accipitrid in the world, with its distribution and life history revolving around its favorite prey species, the rock hyraxes. When hyrax populations decline, the species have been shown to survive with mixed success on other prey, such as small antelopes, gamebirds, hares, monkeys and other assorted vertebrates. Despite a high degree of specialization, Verreaux's eagle has, from a conservation standpoint, been faring relatively well in historic times. One population of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
The blue-cheeked bee-eater (''Merops persicus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. The genus name ''Merops'' is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and ''persicus'' is Latin for "Persian". It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed and live year-round in the Sahel. This species occurs as a rare vagrant north of its breeding range, with most vagrants occurring in Italy and Greece. Taxonomy and systematics Two subspecies are recognized: *''Merops persicus persicus'' - Breeds in Asia, winters in East and Southern Africa. *''Merops persicus chrysocercus'' - Breeds in North Africa, winters in West Africa. This species is closely related to blue-tailed bee-eater, ''M. philippinus'' of East Asia, and the olive bee-eater of Africa, and has been treated as being the same species (conspecific). Description This spe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Apis Cerana
''Apis cerana'', the eastern honey bee, Asiatic honey bee or Asian honey bee, is a species of honey bee native to South, Southeast and East Asia. This species is the sister species of ''Apis koschevnikovi'' and both are in the same subgenus as the western (European) honey bee, ''Apis mellifera''. Engel, M.S. (1999) The taxonomy of recent and fossil honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: ''Apis''). ''Journal of Hymenoptera Research'' 8: pp. 165–196. ''A. cerana'' is known to live sympatrically along with ''Apis koschevnikovi'' within the same geographic location. ''Apis cerana'' colonies are known for building nests consisting of multiple combs in cavities containing a small entrance, presumably for defense against invasion by individuals of another nest.Nanork, P., et al. "Social parasitism by workers in queenless and queenright Apis cerana colonies." Molecular ecology 16.5 (2007): 1107-1114. The diet of this honey bee species consists mostly of pollen and nectar, or honey.Haydak, May ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eastern Imperial Eagle
The eastern imperial eagle (''Aquila heliaca'') is a large bird of prey that breeds in southeastern Europe and extensively through West and Central Asia. Most populations are migratory and winter in northeastern Africa, the Middle East and South and East Asia. Like all eagles, the eastern imperial eagle is a member of the family Accipitridae. Furthermore, its well feathered legs mark it as a member of the subfamily Aquilinae. It is a large, dark-colored eagle, with a resemblance to other members of the genus '' Aquila'' but it is usually the darkest species in its range.Forsman, D. (1999). ''The raptors of Europe and the Middle East: a handbook of field identification''. London: T & AD Poyser. This is an opportunistic predator that mostly selects smallish mammals as prey but also a fairly large proportion of birds, reptile and other prey types, including carrion. Compared to other ''Aquila'' eagles, it has a strong preference for the interface of tall woods with plains and other op ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Common Greenshank
The common greenshank (''Tringa nebularia'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas'', a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific ''nebularia'' is from Latin ''nebula'' "mist". Like the Norwegian ''Skoddefoll'', this refers to the greenshank's damp marshy habitat. Relatives Its closest relative is the greater yellowlegs, which together with the spotted redshank form a close-knit group. Among them, these three species show all the basic leg and foot colours found in the shanks, demonstrating that this character is paraphyletic. They are also the largest shanks apart from the willet, which is altogether more robustly built. The greater yellowlegs and the common greenshank share a coarse, dark, and fairly crisp breast pattern as well as much black on the shoulders and back in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus'' are referred to as bitterns, and, together with the zigzag heron, or zigzag bittern, in the monotypic genus ''Zebrilus'', form a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae. Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks. The classification of the individual heron/egret species is fraught with difficulty, and no clear consensus exists about the correct placement of many species into either of the two major genera, '' Ardea'' and ''Egretta''. Similarly, the relationships of the genera in the family are not completely resolved. However, one species formerly considered ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arabian Fat-tailed Scorpion
''Androctonus crassicauda'', the Arabian fat-tailed scorpion, is a species of dangerous scorpion usually found in North Africa and the Middle East. Description ''Androctonus crassicauda'' is a generalist desert species, an Old World scorpion. Adults can vary in colour from a light brown to reddish to blackish-brown, to black. They can grow to over in length. Distribution and habitat This species is found mainly in the Palaearctic region, in such countries as Turkey, Iran, and other southwestern Asian nations. ''A. crassicauda'' lives in the ruins of old, neglected structures, and was considered a potential hazard for troops during the Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ... conflict, though it was an unaggressive species that had no reports of stings. It ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rüppell's Fox
Rüppell's fox (''Vulpes rueppellii''), also called Rüppell's sand fox, is a fox species living in desert and semi-desert regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and southwestern Asia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008. It is named after the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell. Description Rüppell's fox is a small fox, measuring in total length, including a tail measuring long. There is no pronounced sexual dimorphism, but males appear slightly larger than females. Both sexes are reported to have an average weight of . Their coat is sandy with some brown, ticked with numerous white hairs, and fading from reddish along the middle of the back to pure white on the animal's underparts and on the tip of its tail. The flanks are also paler. The head has a more rusty tone on the muzzle and forehead, with dark brown patches on the sides of the muzzle, stretching up towards the eyes. The chin and the sides of the face are white. The whiskers are long, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lesser Egyptian Jerboa
The lesser jerboa (''Jaculus jaculus'') is a small rodent of Africa and the Middle East. Its diet consists mainly of seeds and grasses. Description A small rodent, it is sometimes likened to a tiny kangaroo due to its incredibly large hind legs, and hopping form of locomotion. The lesser Egyptian jerboa has three toes on each of its hind feet and a very long tail, used for balance when jumping. It has large eyes and ears and a rather stubby snout, and its coat is a pale or dark sandy colour with a paler underside. Biology The lesser Egyptian jerboa is a strictly nocturnal species, feeding on seeds, insects, succulent parts of desert grasses, and fungi (desert truffles ''Terfezia'' species), which it detects using its acute sense of smell. Amazingly, it does not need to drink in order to survive the arid desert conditions, relying on its food to provide it with all its water needs. The lesser Egyptian jerboa can travel long distances in search of food, up to ten kilometres a da ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |