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West Point Island
West Point Island (originally known as Albatross Island; es, Isla Remolinos) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying in the north-west corner of the archipelago. It has an area of and boasts some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the Falklands. The island is owned by Roddy & Lily Napier and run as a sheep farm and tourist attraction. Description West Point Island lies off the north-west point of West Falkland. It is long with a maximum width of . Its dramatic west-facing cliffs are the highest in the Falklands, with the highest point at Cliff Mountain rising to . West Point Island Settlement, with its airstrip, lies on Westpoint Cove in the north-east. It is separated from West Falkland by a narrow channel called the Wooly Gut, which is a local reference to katabatic winds that often occur there. It lies south-east of the Jason Islands, the nearest being South Jason Island. History As with many locations around the Falkland Islands, in the early 19th century West P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there and occasional vagrants are found. Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and species of the genus ''Diomedea'' (great albatrosses) have the longest wingspans of any extant birds, reaching up to . The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but disagreement exists over the number of species. Albatrosses are highly efficient in the air, using dynamic soaring and slope soaring to cover great distances with little exertion. They feed on squid, fish, and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing, or diving. Albatrosses are colonial, nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands, often with several spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International. There are over 13,000 IBAs worldwide. These sites are small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in their character, habitat or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States the Program is administered by the National Audubon Society. Often IBAs form part of a country's existing protected area network, and so are protected under national legislation. Legal recognition and protection of IBAs that are not within existing protected areas varies within different countries. Some countries have a National IBA Conservation Strategy, whereas in others protection is completely lacking. History In 1985, following a specific request from the European Economic Community, Birdlife International ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of The Falkland Islands
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 Possible world, world ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islands Of The Falkland Islands
The following is a list of islands that form the Falkland Islands. Main islands Other islands Small archipelagos Jason Islands None of the Jason Islands are permanently inhabited. Highest islands List of Falkland Islands named after people This is a short list of islands, which are known to be named after someone. Until at least 1781, the Falklands as a whole were known as the Sebald or Sebaldine Island after Sebald de Weert, who sighted them and tried to make landfall on the Jason Islands in January 1600. * Beauchene Island - Jacques Gouin de Beauchêne * Dunbar Island * (East Falkland) Lafonia (peninsula) - Samuel Fisher Lafone * George Island - ? King George * Golding Island * Jason Islands * Keppel Island - Augustus Keppel * Saunders Island * Ruggles Island * Staats Island * Tyssen Islands - John Tyssen (1811–1893), British naval officer [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commerson's Dolphin
Commerson's dolphin (''Cephalorhynchus commersonii''), also referred to by the common names jacobita, skunk dolphin, piebald dolphin, panda dolphin, or tonina overa (in South America), is a small oceanic dolphin of the genus ''Cephalorhynchus''. Commerson's dolphin has two geographically-isolated but locally-common subspecies. The principal subspecies, ''C.c.commersonii'', has sharply-delineated black-and-white patterning and is found around the tip of South America. The secondary subspecies, ''C.c.kerguelenensis'', is larger than ''C.c.commersonii'', has a less-sharply delineated dark and light grey patterning with a white ventral band, and is found around the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean. The dolphin is named after French naturalist Dr Philibert Commerson, who first described them in 1767 after sighting them in the Strait of Magellan. Population and distribution Two disjunct subspecies of the dolphin are found in geographically disparate areas separated by 130° of l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-bridled Finch
The white-bridled finch (''Melanodera melanodera''), also known as the canary-winged finch or black-throated finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Melanodera'' together with the yellow-bridled finch (''M. xanthogramma''). Formerly placed in the family Emberizidae, it is now considered a tanager. It is found in grassland in southernmost South America. There are two subspecies: ''M. m. melanodera'' in the Falkland Islands and ''M. m. princetoniana'' in southern Argentina and Chile. Description The male is grey-green above and yellow below with a grey head and upper breast. It has a black throat and mask which are bordered with white. There are large yellow patches in the wings and tail. Females are brown with dark streaks. They have yellow outer tail feathers and yellow fringes to the wing feathers. It is long. Birds on the mainland are smaller than those on the Falklands with a smaller bill and more yellow in the wings and tail. The call is a short, high- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cobb's Wren
Cobb's wren (''Troglodytes cobbi'') is a fairly small (12-13.5 cm) wren which is endemic to the Falkland Islands. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the house wren (''Troglodytes aedon'') but is now commonly considered to be a separate species due to differences in plumage, voice, ecology and morphology. The scientific and common names commemorate Arthur Cobb, an author from the Falkland Islands. Description The plumage is brown, greyer on the head and breast and more rufous on the tail. There are dark bars on the flight feathers and tail. The bill is long, blackish and slightly curved. The main confusion species is the sedge wren which is smaller with a shorter bill, buff eyestripe and dark streaks on the back and head. Cobb's wrens have a number of buzzing calls and their song is a series of jumbled trills and whistles. The song can be heard from August to February and varies between individuals with different males having different song patterns. Behaviour The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackish Cinclodes
The blackish cinclodes (''Cinclodes antarcticus'') is a passerine bird of the genus ''Cinclodes'' belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the southern tip of South America including the Falkland Islands where it is known as the tussac-bird or tussock-bird. It is often very tame and will approach humans closely. Description It is 18 to 23 cm long. The sexes are similar and their plumage is almost entirely dark brown. The throat is slightly paler with some buff speckling, there is a hint of a pale stripe over the eye and there is a faint reddish-brown bar on the wing. The bill is quite long, stout and slightly downcurved with a pale yellow spot at the base (lacking in Falkland birds). The song and calls are loud and high-pitched. The trilling song may be uttered from a perch or in flight. Habitat and range The blackish cinclodes is a bird of coasts and islands, commonly found among rocks, kelp on beaches and in areas of tussac grass. The nominate subs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Striated Caracara
The striated caracara (''Phalcoboenus australis'') is a bird of prey of the family Falconidae. In the Falkland Islands, it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin (gentoo penguin). Description The adults' plumage is almost black in color, while the legs and lores are orange and the neck has silver striations. Chicks have chestnut down, which they lose after their first molt. Juveniles (i.e., after fledging until entering fourth year) have brown plumage with chestnut striations on nape and breast that deepen as they age. Full adult plumage is acquired after the fifth molt (i.e., entering fourth year), though the beak does not reach full adult coloration until the fifth year. Distribution and habitat The species breeds on coastal islands off Tierra del Fuego, through the Chilean fjords, and the outer islands of the Falklands archipelago. Although logistical challenges prohibit a comprehensive survey of the mainland population, the Falklands is thought t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-browed Albatross
The black-browed albatross (''Thalassarche melanophris''), also known as the black-browed mollymawk,Robertson, C. J. R. (2003) is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family. Taxonomy Mollymawks are albatrosses in the family Diomedeidae and order Procellariiformes, which also includes shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. These birds share certain identifying features. They have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns, although the nostrils on the albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as being an energy-rich food source for chicks and also for the adults during their long flights. The albatross also has a salt gland a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magellanic Penguin
The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen as far north as Espirito Santo. Vagrants have been found in El Salvador, the Avian Island in Antarctica, Australia, and New Zealand. It is the most numerous of the ''Spheniscus'' penguins. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Humboldt penguin, and the Galápagos penguins. The Magellanic penguin was named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who spotted the birds in 1520. The species is listed as being of Least Concern by the IUCN. Description Magellanic penguins are medium-sized penguins which grow to be tall and weigh between . The males are larger than the females, and the weight of both drops while the parents raise their young. Adults have black backs and white abdomens. There are two black bands between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Rockhopper Penguin
The southern rockhopper penguin group (''Eudyptes chrysocome''), is a species of rockhopper penguin, that is sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as around the southern coasts of South America. Taxonomy In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the southern rockhopper penguin in the first volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen owned by Peter Collinson. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the southern rockhopper penguin with the red-billed tropicbird in the genus ''Phaethon''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Phaethon demersus'' and cited Edwards' work. The use of Linnaeus' binomial name was not adopted by later ornithologists, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
