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Whitehead's Trogon
Whitehead's trogon (''Harpactes whiteheadi'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to the island of Borneo, where it is an uncommon in primary mountain forest. One of Borneo's largest trogons at long, it is sexually dimorphic. The male is crimson on the head, , and underparts, with a black throat and grey chest; the rest of his are cinnamon-coloured. The female is similarly patterned, but cinnamon-brown where the male is scarlet. The species was first described for science by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1888, who named it for British explorer and collector John Whitehead. There are no subspecies. It is primarily an insectivore, but also eats various plant materials, including fruits and seeds. Other than the timing of its breeding—typically between April and June—little is known about its breeding biology. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates Whitehead's trogon as a near-threatened species. While its population numbers have not bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Bowdler Sharpe
Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English zoologist and ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his career he published several monographs on bird groups and produced a multi-volume catalogue of the specimens in the collection of the museum. He described many new species of bird and also has had species named in his honour by other ornithologists including Sharpe's longclaw (''Macronyx sharpei'') and Sharpe's starling (''Poeoptera sharpii''). Biography Richard was born in London, the first son of Thomas Bowdler Sharpe. His grandfather, Reverend Lancelot Sharpe was Rector of All Hallows Staining. His father was a publisher on Skinner Street and was best known for being the publisher of ''Sharpe's London Magazine'', an illustrated periodical (weekly but monthly from 1847). His care from the age of six was under an aunt, Magdalen Wallace, widow of the headmaster at Gramm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iris (anatomy)
In humans and most mammals and birds, the iris (plural: ''irides'' or ''irises'') is a thin, annular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupil, and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. Eye color is defined by the iris. In optical terms, the pupil is the eye's aperture, while the iris is the diaphragm. Structure The iris consists of two layers: the front pigmented fibrovascular layer known as a stroma and, beneath the stroma, pigmented epithelial cells. The stroma is connected to a sphincter muscle (sphincter pupillae), which contracts the pupil in a circular motion, and a set of dilator muscles ( dilator pupillae), which pull the iris radially to enlarge the pupil, pulling it in folds. The sphincter pupillae is the opposing muscle of the dilator pupillae. The pupil's diameter, and thus the inner border of the iris, changes size when constricting or dilating. The outer border of the iris does not change size. The constricti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leaf Insect
The family Phylliidae (often misspelled Phyllidae) contains the extant true leaf insects or walking leaves, which include some of the most remarkably camouflaged leaf mimics (mimesis) in the entire animal kingdom. They occur from South Asia through Southeast Asia to Australia. Earlier sources treat Phylliidae as a much larger taxon, containing genera in what are presently considered to be several different families. Characteristics Leaf insects are camouflaged, taking on the appearance of leaves. They do this so accurately that predators often are not able to distinguish them from real leaves. In some species, the edge of the leaf insect's body has the appearance of bite marks. To further confuse predators, when the leaf insect walks, it rocks back and forth, mimicking a real leaf being blown by the wind. The scholar Antonio Pigafetta probably was the first Western person to document the creature, though it was known to people in the tropics for a long time. Sailing with Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stick Insect
The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as Devil's darning needles, although this name is shared by both dragonflies and crane flies. They can be generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects, with phasmids in the family Phylliidae called leaf insects, leaf-bugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek ', meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to their resemblance to vegetation while in fact being animals. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect; still, many species have one of several secondary lines of defense in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. Stick insects from the genera ''Phryganistria'', ''Ctenomorpha'', and ''Phobaeticus'' include the world's long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locust
Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious. No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions; this has evolved independently in multiple lineages, comprising at least 18 genera in 5 different acridid subfamilies. Normally, these grasshoppers are innocuous, their numbers are low, and they do not pose a major economic threat to agriculture. However, under suitable conditions of drought followed by rapid vegetation growth, serotonin in their brains triggers dramatic changes: they start to breed abundantly, becoming gregarious and nomadic (loosely described as migratory) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshoppers are typically ground-dwelling insects with powerful hind legs which allow them to escape from threats by leaping vigorously. As hemimetabolous insects, they do not undergo complete metamorphosis; they hatch from an egg into a nymph or "hopper" which undergoes five moults, becoming more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage. The grasshopper hears through the tympanal organ which can be found in the first segment of the abdomen attached to the thorax; while its sense of vision is in the compound eyes, the change in light intensity is perceived in the simple eyes (ocelli). At high population densities and under certain environmental conditions, some grasshopper species can change color and behavior and form swarms. Under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is contrasted with hawking insects from the air or chasing after moving insects such as ants. Gleaning, in birds, does not refer to foraging for seeds or fruit. Gleaning is a common feeding strategy for some groups of birds, including nuthatches, tits (including chickadees), wrens, woodcreepers, treecreepers, Old World flycatchers, Tyrant flycatchers, babblers, Old World warblers, New World warblers, Vireos and some hummingbirds and cuckoos. Many birds make use of multiple feeding strategies, depending on the availability of different sources of food and opportunities of the moment. Techniques and adaptations Foliage gleaning, the strategy of gleaning over the leaves and branches of trees and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sallying
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch, though it also applies to birds that spend almost their entire lives on the wing. This technique is called "flycatching" and some birds known for it are several families of "flycatchers": Old World flycatchers, monarch flycatchers, and tyrant flycatchers. Other birds, such as swifts, swallows, and nightjars, also take insects on the wing in continuous aerial feeding. The term "hawking" comes from the similarity of this behavior to the way hawks take prey in flight, although, whereas raptors may catch prey with their feet, hawking is the behavior of catching insects in the bill. Many birds have a combined strategy of both hawking insects and gleaning them from foliage. Flycatching The various methods of taking insects have been categorized as: gleaning (per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunda Cuckooshrike
The Sunda cuckooshrike (''Coracina larvata'') is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it occurs on Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f .... References Sunda cuckooshrike Birds of Malesia Sunda cuckooshrike Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Campephagidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitehead's Broadbill
Whitehead's broadbill (''Calyptomena whiteheadi'') is a species of bird in the family Calyptomenidae. It is endemic to mountain ranges of north-central Borneo, where it mainly inhabits montane forests and forest edges at elevations of . It is long, with males weighing and females weighing . Males are vivid green and have a black throat patch, black spots on the and back of the neck, and black markings and streaking all over the body. The tails and flight feathers are also blackish. Females are smaller and lack the black markings on the head and . Juveniles look similar to adults but have fewer black markings. Described by the British ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1887, Whitehead's broadbill is named after the British explorer John Whitehead. It mainly feeds on fruit and supplements its diet with insects. Breeding probably occurs from March to June, with clutches containing one or two eggs. Although it is classified as being of least concern by the International Unio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunda Laughingthrush
The Sunda laughingthrush (''Garrulax palliatus'') is a bird species in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...s. It is threatened by human activity such as hunting, logging, and trapping. Description The length of its body is characterized as medium size, about 24–25cm. Diet The Sunda laughingthrush primarily eats insects (including beetles, moths, and caterpillars) and seeds. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q2667868 Garrulax Birds of Borneo Birds of Malaysia Birds of Sumatra Birds described in 1850 Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Taxonomy articles created ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush
The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus treacheri'') is a species of bird in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae endemic to Borneo. Described by the British ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe as a distinct species in 1879, it was subsequently considered a subspecies of the chestnut-capped laughingthrush until 2007, when it was again raised to species status by the ornithologists Nigel Collar and Craig Robson. It is long, with a chestnut brown head and chin, with grey feathering on the top of the head. The and the side of the neck are slaty-grey, with a long white wing patch. The throat, breast, and upper belly are dull yellowish-brown, with purer grey and a reddish-brown , lower belly, and thighs. It has a yellow half eye-ring behind and below the eye, while the tail has a blackish tip. Both sexes look similar, while juveniles are duller than adults. The species inhabits montane and hill forest, forest edge, disturbed vegetation, and cultivated areas in mount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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