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Barn-owl
Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. They also differ from the Strigidae in structural details relating in particular to the sternum and feet. Barn-owls are a wide-ranging family, although they are absent from northern North America, Saharan Africa, and large parts of Asia. They live in a wide range of habitats from deserts to forests, and from temperate latitudes to the tropics. Within these habitats, they live near agricultural areas with high amounts of human activity. The majority of the 20 living species of barn-owls are poorly known. Some, like the red owl, have barely been seen or studied since their discovery, in contrast to the common barn-owl, which is one of the best-known owl species in the world. However, some subspecies of the common barn-owl poss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barn Owl
The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalayas, most of Indonesia, and some Pacific Islands. It is also known as the common barn owl, to distinguish it from the other species in its family, Tytonidae, which forms one of the two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical owls (''Strigidae''). There are at least three major lineages of barn owl: the western barn owl of Europe, western Asia, and Africa; the eastern barn owl of southeastern Asia and Australasia; and the American barn owl of the Americas. Some taxonomic authorities classify barn owls differently, recognising up to five separate species; and further research needs to be done to resolve the disparate taxonomies. There is considerable variation of size and colour among the approximately 28 subspecies, but most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyto Novaehollandiae
The Australian masked owl (''Tyto novaehollandiae'') is a barn owl of Southern New Guinea and the non-desert areas of Australia. Taxonomy Described subspecies of ''Tyto novaehollandiae'' include: * ''T. n. calabyi'' I.J. Mason, 1983, (southern New Guinea) * ''T. n. castanops'' (Gould, 1837), Tasmanian masked owl (Tasmania and introduced to Lord Howe Island) * ''T. n. galei'' Mathews, 1914, (Cape York Peninsula) * ''T. n. kimberli'' (Mathews, 1912), Northern masked owl (northern mainland Australia) * ''T. n. melvillensis'' Mathews, 1912, (Tiwi Islands) * ''T. n. novaehollandiae'' (Stephens, 1826), (southern mainland Australia) * ''T. n. troughtoni'' N.W. Cayley, 1931, cave-nesting masked owl (Nullarbor Plain, validity doubtful) Description Brown feathers surround a white, heart-shaped mask. Their dorsal plumage is brown, aside from light gray spots on the upper back. Their front is white with brown spots. Their eye color varies from black to dark brown. The species have sexual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handbook Of Birds Of The World
The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series was edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A. Christie. All 16 volumes have been published. For the first time an animal class will have all the species illustrated and treated in detail in a single work. This has not been done before for any other group in the animal kingdom. Material in each volume is grouped first by family, with an introductory article on each family; this is followed by individual species accounts (taxonomy, subspecies and distribution, descriptive notes, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation, bibliography). In addition, all volumes except the first and second contain an essay on a particular ornithological theme. More than 200 renowned specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyto
''Tyto'' is a genus of birds consisting of true barn owls, grass owls and masked owls that collectively make up all the species within the subfamily Tytoninae of the barn owl family, Tytonidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Tyto'' was introduced in 1828 by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg with the western barn owl as the type species. The name is from the Ancient Greek ''tutō'' meaning "owl". The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') was formerly considered to have a global distribution with around 28 subspecies. In the list of birds maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) the barn owl is now split into four species: the western barn owl (''Tyto alba'') (10 subspecies), the American barn owl (''Tyto furcata'') (12 subspecies), the eastern barn owl (''Tyto javanica'') (7 subspecies) and the Andaman masked owl (''Tyto deroepstorffi''). This arrangement is followed here. Some support for this split was provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bay Owl
The bay owls (''Phodilus'') are a genus of Old World barn-owls. The defining characteristics of bay owls are their smaller bodies, in comparison to other barn owls, and their U- or V-shaped faces. These owls can be found in South to Southeast Asia, and parts of central Africa within forest and grassland ecosystems. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Phodilus'' was erected by the French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1830. Some taxonomists place two species in the genus, while others include three. The name is from the Ancient Greek ''phōs'' for "light" or "daylight" and ''deilos'' for "timid" or "cowardly". Most classification schemes recognize three extant species in this genus: Description Although bay owls are typically smaller, they bear resemblances to other barn owls. Other characteristics of the bay owl are groupings of feathers that resemble ears, and a divided face disk. Bay owls have also been attributed with U-or V-shaped faces. Their wings are rounde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phodilinae
The bay owls (''Phodilus'') are a genus of Old World barn-owl Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with p ...s. The defining characteristics of bay owls are their smaller bodies, in comparison to other barn owls, and their U- or V-shaped faces. These owls can be found in South to Southeast Asia, and parts of central Africa within forest and grassland ecosystems. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Phodilus'' was erected by the French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1830. Some taxonomists place two species in the genus, while others include three. The name is from the Ancient Greek ''phōs'' for "light" or "daylight" and ''deilos'' for "timid" or "cowardly". Most classification schemes recognize three extant species in this genus: Description Although bay owls ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andros Island
Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consists of hundreds of small islets and cays connected by mangrove estuaries and tidal swamplands, together with three major islands: North Andros, Mangrove Cay, and South Andros. The three main islands are separated by bights, estuaries that trifurcate the island from east to west. It is long by wide at the widest point. Etymology The indigenous Lucayan people called the island ''Habacoa'' (or ''Babucca'') meaning "large upper outer land". Originally named ''Espiritu Santu'' by the Spanish, Andros Island was given its present name sometime early during the period of British colonial rule. Several eighteenth-century British documents refer to it as Andrews Island. A 1782 map refers to the island as San Andreas. The modern name is believed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chickcharney
The chickcharney (also known as the chickcharnie or chickcharnee) is a legendary creature in the folklore of Andros Island in the Bahama Islands. It is said to live in the forests, is furry or feathered, and about tall, with an ugly appearance resembling an owl. In common legend, if a traveler meets a chickcharney and treats it well, they will be rewarded with good luck, while treating a chickcharney badly will result in bad luck and hard times. Sightings have continued into the present. It is said that the birds make their nest by bringing several pine trees together and making their nest in the middle. Several of these tree formations have been sighted. ''Tyto pollens'' A forester from Oregon, Bruce G. Marcot, claimed in 1995 that the legend of the chickcharney is based on the prehistoric Bahamian barn owl ''Tyto pollens'', although the fossil remains have never been found on Andros and the youngest fossil bones are from a layer before the arrival of the first humans, the Luc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing, smell, and specially adapted eyesight. Some animals, such as cats and ferrets, have eyes that can adapt to both low-level and bright day levels of illumination (see metaturnal). Others, such as bushbabies and (some) bats, can function only at night. Many nocturnal creatures including tarsiers and some owls have large eyes in comparison with their body size to compensate for the lower light levels at night. More specifically, they have been found to have a larger cornea relative to their eye size than diurnal creatures to increase their : in the low-light conditions. Nocturnality helps wasps, such as ''Apoica flavissima'', avoid hunting in intense sunlight. Diurnal animals, including squirrels and songbirds, are active du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven primarily by the availability of food. It occurs mainly in the northern hemisphere, where birds are funneled onto specific routes by natural barriers such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Caribbean Sea. Migration of species such as storks, turtle doves, and swallows was recorded as many as 3,000 years ago by Ancient Greek authors, including Homer and Aristotle, and in the Book of Job. More recently, Johannes Leche began recording dates of arrivals of spring migrants in Finland in 1749, and modern scientific studies have used techniques including bird ringing and satellite tracking to trace migrants. Threats to migratory birds have grown with habitat destruction, especially of stopover and wintering sites, as wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyto Pollens
''Tyto pollens'' is an extinct giant barn owl which lived in the Bahamas during the last Ice Age. Description It is only known from the partial remains of three individuals which have been collected on the islands of Little Exuma (the site was misidentified as on Great Exuma in the original literature) and New Providence. Alexander Wetmore initially described the species from fossils of a single individual from Little Exuma site which are the holotype: a complete coracoid, a proximal end of the ulna, a major metacarpal lacking the proximal end and the complete femur. The femur is 81.2mm in length. Both palaeontological sites are from before the arrival of humans (the Lucayans) to the islands. 18,000 years ago, the sea level was 120 metres lower than today and the Bahamas existed as at least five major islands, with a land mass over 10 times the modern size. Both dig sites would have been part of the same island. The fossil assembly of the period indicates that the Bahamas were muc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
