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Wandown Important Bird Area
The Wandown Important Bird Area comprises a 48 km2 disjunct tract of remnant mallee habitat in northern Victoria, south-eastern Australia. It lies close to the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers, some 50 km south-east of the town of Robinvale and 75 km north-west of the city of Swan Hill. Description The Important Bird Area (IBA) consists of three separate properties: Wandown Flora and Fauna Reserve, Menzies Nature Conservation Reserve, and the Boundary Bend property owned and managed by Trust For Nature. The vegetation is dominated by mallee woodland and shrubland communities with patches of semiarid non-eucalypt woodland on calcareous dunes with loamy or sandy soils. The northernmost section of Boundary Bend is dominated by lignum and other non-mallee communities. The area has a warm, dry climate with mean maximum temperatures ranging from 33 °C in January to 15.7 °C in July, and mean annual rainfall of 320 mm.BirdLife Internatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malleefowl Mound
The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental care after the chicks hatch. It is the only living representative of the genus ''Leipoa'', though the extinct giant malleefowl was a close relative. Behaviour Malleefowl are shy, wary, solitary birds that usually fly only to escape danger or reach a tree to roost in. Although very active, they are seldom seen as they freeze if disturbed, relying on their intricately patterned plumage to render them invisible, or else fade silently and rapidly into the undergrowth (flying away only if surprised or chased). They have many tactics to run away from predators. Breeding Pairs occupy a territory, but usually roost and feed apart; their social behavior is sufficient to allow regular mating during the season and little else. In winter, the male s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former term specifically to displaced soil. Soil consists of a solid phase of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). Accordingly, soil is a three-state system of solids, liquids, and gases. Soil is a product of several factors: the influence of climate, relief (elevation, orientation, and slope of terrain), organisms, and the soil's parent materials (original minerals) interacting over time. It continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness, soil ecologists regard soil as an ecosystem. Most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut Quail-thrush
The chestnut quail-thrush (''Cinclosoma castanotum'') is a native Australian bird of the family Cinclosomatidae. These scrub birds are endemic to Australia and found in all states - barring Tasmania. They are relatively uncommon and are isolated to the semi-arid and arid fringes of the Australian interior. Description Similar in physical appearance to other species such as Cinclosoma cinnamomeum and ''C.c. punctatum'', the chestnut quail-thrush is a medium-sized bird that resides in the lower canopy and scrub of arid and semi-arid vegetation. The male is characterised by a rich, yellow chestnut breast, yellow to chestnut flank, with a black band that separates the white belly from the breast. The female differs with a deeper, lighter throat that lacks the black band that separates the belly from the chest, presenting an overall duller hue than the male. The difference in plumage and body size is attributed to the sexual dimorphism common amongst the Cinclosoma genus.OEH (2017 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Scrub-robin
The southern scrub robin (''Drymodes brunneopygia'') is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is endemic to Australia, where it occurs in mallee and heathland in the semi-arid southern parts of the continent, extending from Wyperfeld National Park in Victoria in the east through South Australia to the west coast between Kalbarri and the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. It is a relatively dull and large robin, adults being around in length, of which around a third is the tail feathers. Most of the plumage is grey, except for a dullish red tail and patterned black-and-white wings. The legs are unusually long for a passerine, and are frequently used to hop through the dense heathland that forms the bird's habitat, where it searches for insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flame Robin
The flame robin (''Petroica phoenicea'') is a small passerine bird native to Australia. It is a moderately common resident of the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Like the other two red-breasted ''Petroica'' robins—the scarlet robin and the red-capped robin—it is often simply called the ''robin redbreast''. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic. Measuring long, the flame robin has dark brown eyes and a small thin black bill. The male has a brilliant orange-red chest and throat, and a white patch on the forehead above the bill. Its upper parts are iron-grey with white bars, and its tail black with white tips. Female coloration is a muted grey-brown. Its song has been described as the most musical of its genus. The position of the flame robin and its Australian relatives on the passerine family tree is unclear; the Petroicidae are not closely related to either the European or American robins, but app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Honeyeater
The black honeyeater (''Sugomel nigrum'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The black honeyeater exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the male being black and white while the female is a speckled grey-brown; immature birds look like the female. The species is endemic to Australia, and ranges widely across the arid areas of the continent, through open woodland and shrubland, particularly in areas where the emu bush and related species occur. A nectar feeder, the black honeyeater has a long curved bill to reach the base of tubular flowers such as those of the emu bush. It also takes insects in the air, and regularly eats ash left behind at campfires. Cup-shaped nests are built in the forks of small trees or shrubs. The male engages in a soaring song flight in the mating season, but contributes little to nest-building or incubating the clutch of two or three eggs. Both sexes feed and care for the young. While the population appears to be decreasing, the black ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shy Heathwren
The shy heathwren (''Hylacola cauta'') is a species of small bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia. They inhabit mostly mallee woodland that has relatively dense shrub and heath understorey. Taxonomy Their taxonomic name was formerly ''Calamanthus cautus''—classing them as fieldwrens—until they were renamed in 2008. The generic name ''Hylacola'' derives from the Greek ''hylē'' 'woodland' and the Latin ''-cola'' 'dweller'. The specific epithet derives from the Latin ''cautus'' 'shy, wary'. Common names for the species include shy hylacola and mallee heathwren. Four subspecies have been recognised: the nominate subspecies ''Hylacola cauta cauta'' in South Australia and Victoria; ''H. c. macrorhynchus'' in New South Wales; ''H. c. halmaturina'' on Kangaroo Island; and ''H. c. whitlocki'' in Western Australia.Morcombe, Michael (2012) ''Field Guide to Australian Birds''. Pascal Press, Glebe, NSW. Revised edition. Gregory, P. (2020). "Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Striated Grasswren
The striated grasswren (''Amytornis striatus'') is a small, cryptically coloured ground-dwelling species of wren-like bird in the family Maluridae, endemic to Australia. It occupies a large discontinuous range across arid and semi-arid areas of western, central and southern Australia where it is associated with spinifex ('' Triodia'') grass. Description The striated grasswren is one of 13 species in the genus ''Amytornis'', commonly known as the grasswrens, found only in arid and semi-arid areas of Australia. All are small cryptic birds with long, usually cocked-tails, characterised by diagnostic distinctive interscapular gap in the feathering,Higgins, P. J.; Peter, J. M.; Steele, W. K. 2001. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds: Tyrant-flycatchers to Chats. Oxford University Press, Oxford. an enlarged auditory bulla (tympanic chambers) and ten rectrices. The striated grasswren is a slim, long-tailed grasswren with a slender pointed bill. The plumage is high ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regent Parrot
The regent parrot or rock pebbler (''Polytelis anthopeplus'') is a bird found in southern Australia. It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as in a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia. Seeds make up the bulk of its diet. Taxonomy A species of Psittaculidae, allied to the tribe Polytelini, a sister taxon to '' Polytelis swainsonii'', the superb parrot, and '' P. alexandrae'', the princess parrot. The epithet ''anthopeplus'' is derived from ancient Greek, a compound of ''anthos'', flower, and ''peplos'', robe. A 2017 molecular study placed the regent parrot as an early offshoot to the genus '' Aprosmictus'' and not as closely related to the other two species. There are two populations, morphologically similar though isolated, within the species distribution range of Southern Australia. These are described as subspec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malleefowl
The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental care after the chicks hatch. It is the only living representative of the genus ''Leipoa'', though the extinct giant malleefowl was a close relative. Behaviour Malleefowl are shy, wary, solitary birds that usually fly only to escape danger or reach a tree to roost in. Although very active, they are seldom seen as they freeze if disturbed, relying on their intricately patterned plumage to render them invisible, or else fade silently and rapidly into the undergrowth (flying away only if surprised or chased). They have many tactics to run away from predators. Breeding Pairs occupy a territory, but usually roost and feed apart; their social behavior is sufficient to allow regular mating during the season and little else. In winter, the male s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide. It has a membership of more than 2.5 million people across 116 country partner organizations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy. BirdLife International has identified 13,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List authority for birds. As of 2015, BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinction ( critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). BirdLife International p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Brushtail Possum
The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia and naturalised in New Zealand, and the second-largest of the possums. Like most possums, the common brushtail possum is nocturnal. It is mainly a folivore, but has been known to eat small mammals such as rats. In most Australian habitats, eucalyptus leaves are a significant part of the diet, but rarely the sole item eaten. Its tail is prehensile and naked on its lower underside. The four colour variations are silver-grey, brown, black, and gold. It is the Australian marsupial most often seen by city dwellers, as it is one of few that thrive in cities and a wide range of natural and human-modified environments. Around human habitations, common brushtails are inventive and determined foragers with a liking for fruit trees, vegetable g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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