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Cuculus (boot)
''Cuculus'' is a genus of cuckoos which has representatives in most of the Old World, although the greatest diversity is in tropical southern and southeastern Asia. Taxonomy The genus ''Cuculus'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The genus name is the Latin word for "cuckoo". The type species is the common cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus''). Species The genus contains 11 species: * Black cuckoo, ''Cuculus clamosus'' * Red-chested cuckoo, ''Cuculus solitarius'' * Lesser cuckoo, ''Cuculus poliocephalus'' * Sulawesi cuckoo or Sulawesi hawk-cuckoo, ''Cuculus crassirostris'' * Indian cuckoo, ''Cuculus micropterus'' * Madagascar cuckoo, ''Cuculus rochii'' * African cuckoo, ''Cuculus gularis'' * Himalayan cuckoo, ''Cuculus saturatus'' * Oriental cuckoo, ''Cuculus optatus'' (formerly ''horsfieldi'') (split from ''C. saturatus'') * Sunda cuckoo, ''Cuculus lepidus'' (split from ''C. sat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Cuckoo
The common cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs. The adult too is a mimic, in its case of the sparrowhawk; since that species is a predator, the mimicry gives the female time to lay her eggs without being attacked. Taxonomy The species' binomial name is derived from the Latin ''cuculus'' (the cuckoo) and ''canorus'' (melodious; from ''canere'', meaning to sing). The cuckoo family gets its common name and genus name by onomatopoeia for the call of the male common cuckoo. The English word "cuckoo" comes from the Old French ''cucu'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Cuckoo
The African cuckoo (''Cuculus gularis'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa where it migrates within the continent, generally arriving and breeding in any one locality during the rainy season. A fairly common bird, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". Description left, The upper tail covers are grey like those of a common cuckoo, rather than blackish as in lesser or Madagascar cuckoos. 260px, Tail barring is complete, unlike the common cuckoo which has the outer rectrices incompletely barred. This is a medium-sized species with a long tail, with a total length of . Its dashing flight makes it resemble a bird of prey. The sexes are similar, the head, upper parts and wings being dark grey, the throat and breast pale grey and the belly white barred with dark grey. The tail is dark grey with dark barring and a white tip. The eye is yellow in the male and lig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by the arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching. With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes is the largest clade of birds and among the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates, representing 60% of birds.Ericson, P.G.P. et al. (2003Evolution, biogeography, and patterns of diversification in passerine birds ''J. Avian Biol'', 34:3–15.Selvatti, A.P. et al. (2015"A Paleogene origin for crown passerines and the diversification of the Oscines in the New World" ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 88:1–15. Passerines are divided into three clades: Acanthisitti (New Zealand wrens), Tyranni (suboscines), and Passeri (oscines or songbirds). The passeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brood Parasite
Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own, usually using egg mimicry, with eggs that resemble the host's. The evolutionary strategy relieves the parasitic parents from the investment of rearing young. This benefit comes at the cost of provoking an evolutionary arms race between parasite and host as they coevolve: many hosts have developed strong defenses against brood parasitism, such as recognizing and ejecting parasitic eggs, or abandoning parasitized nests and starting over. It is less obvious why most hosts do care for parasite nestlings, given that for example cuckoo chicks differ markedly from host chicks in size and appearance. One explanation, the mafia hypothesis, proposes that parasitic adults retaliate by destroying host nests where rejection has occurred; there is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symphyta) are commonly called caterpillars as well. Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes. Caterpillars of most species eat plant material ( often leaves), but not all; some (about 1%) eat insects, and some are even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products. For example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates. Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests. In fact, many moth species are best known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce, whereas the moths are obscure and do no direct harm. Conversely, various species of caterpi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Their blood is not totally contained in vessels; some circulates in an open cavity known as the haemocoel. Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. The total number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million; In: potentially over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans, which are dominated by another arthropod group, crustaceans, which recent research has indicated insects are nested within. Nearly all insects hatch from eggs. ... [...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] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cacomantis
''Cacomantis'' is a genus of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. The genus name is derived from the Greek ''kakos'' meaning evil or ill-boding and ''mantis'' for prophet and is derived from their association with "rains" being supposed to be predicted as also ill fortune and bad weather. Most of them have a round nostril and are mainly in brown and gray colours. The tails are graduated and barred. The bars are transverse in ''sonneratii'' and oblique in all others.Payne, RB (2005). The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press. p. 422 Taxonomy The genus ''Cacomantis'' was introduced in 1843 by the German naturalist Salomon Müller with the plaintive cuckoo as the type species. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek ''kakomantis'' meaning "prophet of doom". Species The genus contains ten species: * Pallid cuckoo, ''Cacomantis pallidus'' * White-crowned cuckoo, ''Cacomantis leucolophus * Chestnut-breasted cuckoo, ''Cacomantis castaneiventris'' * Fan-tailed cuckoo, ''Cacomantis flabelliformi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hierococcyx
Hierococcyx or hawk-cuckoos is a genus of birds in the family Cuculidae. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoos. It is sometimes included in the genus Cuculus. Species * Moustached hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx vagans'') * Large hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx sparverioides'') * Dark hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx bocki'') * Common hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx varius'') * Rufous hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx hyperythrus'') * Philippine hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx pectoralis'') * Malaysian hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx fugax'') * Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx nisicolor''), also known as the whistling hawk-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo found in north-eastern India, Myanmar, southern China and southeast Asia. Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo is a brood parasite. The chick ev ... (''Hierococcyx nisicolor'') References Cuculidae {{Cuculiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pallid Cuckoo
The pallid cuckoo (''Cacomantis pallidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, with some migration to the islands of Timor and Papua New Guinea. It is between 28 and 33 cm in size, with distinctive markings such as a dark bill, a dark eye with a gold eye-ring and olive grey feet which differentiate it from other cuckoos. The pallid cuckoo is similar in appearance to the oriental cuckoo (''Cuculus optatus''), with barred immature pallid cuckoos being often mistaken for oriental cuckoos. Taxonomy English ornithologist John Latham (ornithologist), John Latham described the pallid cuckoo in 1801 as ''Columba pallida'' "pale pigeon". Sources differ in the genera placement of this species. It is commonly placed in ''Cuculus'', but genetic evidence and its song support its placement in ''Cacomantis'', with its closest relative the white-crowned cuckoo (''Cacomantis leucolophus''). "Pallid cuckoo" has been desi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Cuckoo
The common cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs. The adult too is a mimic, in its case of the sparrowhawk; since that species is a predator, the mimicry gives the female time to lay her eggs without being attacked. Taxonomy The species' binomial name is derived from the Latin ''cuculus'' (the cuckoo) and ''canorus'' (melodious; from ''canere'', meaning to sing). The cuckoo family gets its common name and genus name by onomatopoeia for the call of the male common cuckoo. The English word "cuckoo" comes from the Old French ''cucu'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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