Moorhen Flea
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Moorhen Flea
The moorhen flea (''Dasypsyllus gallinulae'') is a flea originating from South America. It is now globally widespread. It is a large flea, easily identified because the male has two heavy horn-like spines on one of the genital flaps, and the female has a deep "bite" on the seventh sternite. It is found in bird nests, and is more likely to be found on the bird's body than, say, the chicken flea, which is normally found in the nest. The moorhen flea's many hosts include the common moorhen, Eurasian woodcock, grouse, European robin, goldcrest, willow tit, Eurasian treecreeper The Eurasian treecreeper or common treecreeper (''Certhia familiaris'') is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and ha ... and blackbirds. References Ceratophyllidae Insects described in 1878 Parasites of birds Insects of South America {{Flea-stub ...
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James Charles Dale
James Charles Dale (13 December 1791 – 6 February 1872) was an English naturalist who devoted almost all of his adult life to entomology. Family Dale was the only son of Dorset landowner James Dale of Glanvilles Wootton and his wife, Mary Kelloway Barton. Late in life, 28 December 1848, at Eltham Kent he married for the first time Lucy Marianne (1821-1875), eldest sister of Dr Henry Wylde. She is reported to have accompanied him on some of his expeditions. They were to have two sons, Charles William Dale (1851-1906) best known as a lepidopterist and dipterist but he also published notes on other insects including coleoptera, and Edward Robert Dale (1853-1903) who described himself as an entomologist and electrical engineer when the use of electricity was still in its infancy.Bernard Burke, ''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great ..., Volume 1'' Harrison, Pall Mall, London. 1894 Career Dale received his education at Wimborne Grammar School and Sidn ...
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Flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, are usually brown, and have bodies that are "flattened" sideways or narrow, enabling them to move through their hosts' fur or feathers. They lack wings; their hind legs are extremely well adapted for jumping. Their claws keep them from being dislodged, and their mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. They can leap 50 times their body length, a feat second only to jumps made by another group of insects, the superfamily of froghoppers. Flea larvae are worm-like, with no limbs; they have chewing mouthparts and feed on organic debris left on their hosts' skin. Genetic evidence indicates that fleas are a specialised lineage of parasitic scorpionflies (Mecoptera) ''sensu lato'', most closely related to the family Nannochor ...
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Sternum (arthropod)
The sternum (pl. "sterna") is the ventral portion of a segment of an arthropod thorax or abdomen. In insects, the sterna are usually single, large sclerites, and external. However, they can sometimes be divided in two or more, in which case the subunits are called sternites, and may also be modified on the terminal abdominal segments so as to form part of the functional genitalia, in which case they are frequently reduced in size and development, and may become internalized and/or membranous. For a detailed explanation of the terminology, see Kinorhynchs have tergal and sternal plates too, though seemingly not homologous with those of arthropods.Sørensen, M. V. et al. Phylogeny of Kinorhyncha based on morphology and two molecular loci. PLoS One 10, 1–33 (2015). Ventrites are externally visible sternites. Usually the first sternite is covered up, so that vertrite numbers do not correspond to sternid numbers. The term is also used in other arthropod groups such as crustaceans ...
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Chicken Flea
''Ceratophyllus gallinae'', known as the hen flea in Europe or the European chicken flea elsewhere, is an ectoparasite of birds. This flea was first described by the German botanist and entomologist Franz von Paula Schrank in 1803. Taxonomy ''Ceratophyllus gallinae'' was first described as ''Pulex gallinae'' by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1803 in the third volume of his ''Fauna Boica''. It was eventually moved to the genus '' Ceratophyllus'', which was described in 1832 by John Curtis, in his '' British Entomology''. In this genus, ''C. gallinae'' is a member of the nominate subgenus, ''Ceratophyllus''. Distribution These fleas are estimated to occupy a range of . Description The adult ''Ceratophyllus gallinae'' is some long, laterally flattened, and brown. It has a pair of simple eyes, a proboscis for sucking blood, and a characteristic four to six bristles on the femur of the hind leg. The basal segments of the legs do not bear spines. Hosts ''Ceratophyllus gallinae'' has ...
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Common Moorhen
The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere it is likely the most common rail species, except for the Eurasian coot in some regions. The closely related common gallinule of the New World has been recognized as a separate species by most authorities, starting with the American Ornithologists' Union and the International Ornithological Committee in 2011. Name The name ''mor-hen'' has been recorded in English since the 13th century. The word ''moor'' here is an old sense meaning ''marsh''; the species is not usually found in moorland. An older name, common waterhen, is more descriptive of the bird's habitat. A "watercock" is not a male "waterhen" but the rail ...
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Eurasian Woodcock
The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes are set far back on its head to give it 360-degree vision and it probes in the ground for food with its long, sensitive bill, making it vulnerable to cold weather when the ground remains frozen. The male performs a courtship flight known as "roding" at dusk in spring. When threatened, the female can carry chicks between her legs, in her claws, or on her back while flying, though this is rarely witnessed. The world population is estimated to be 14 million to 16 million birds. Taxonomy The Eurasian woodcock was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the current binomial name ''Scolopax rusticola''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock. The specifi ...
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Grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondrial DNA sequence studies, and applied by the American Ornithologists' Union, ITIS, International Ornithological Congress, and others. Grouse inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, from pine forests to moorland and mountainside, from 83°N (rock ptarmigan in northern Greenland) to 28°N (Attwater's prairie chicken in Texas). Turkeys are closely related to grouse and are also classified in the tribe Tetraonini. The koklass pheasant is also closely allied with them. Description Grouse are heavily built like other Galliformes, such as chickens. They range in length from , and in weight from . Males are larger than females—twice as heavy in the western capercaillie, the largest member of the family. Grouse ha ...
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European Robin
The European robin (''Erithacus rubecula''), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in Great Britain & Ireland, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family. About in length, the male and female are similar in colouration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upper-parts and a whitish belly. It is found across Europe, east to Western Siberia and south to North Africa; it is sedentary in most of its range except the far north. The term ''robin'' is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American robin (''Turdus migratorius''), a thrush, and the Australasian robins of the family Petroicidae, the relationships of which are unclear. Taxonomy, etymology and systematics The European robin was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Motacilla rubecula''. Its specific epith ...
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Goldcrest
The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific names. The scientific name, ''R. regulus'', means king or knight. Several subspecies are recognised across the very large distribution range that includes much of the Palearctic and the islands of Macaronesia and Iceland. Birds from the north and east of its breeding range migrate to winter further south. This kinglet has greenish upper-parts, whitish under-parts, and has two white wingbars. It has a plain face contrasting black irises and a bright head crest, orange and yellow in the male and yellow in the female, which is displayed during breeding. It superficially resembles the common firecrest (''Regulus ignicapilla''), which largely shares its European range, but the latter's bronze shoulders and strong face pattern are distinctive. T ...
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Willow Tit
The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and off-white with a black cap and bib. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related marsh tit, which explains it breeding much further north. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. Taxonomy The willow tit was described in 1827 by the Swiss naturalist Thomas Conrad von Baldenstein under the trinomial name ''Parus cinereus montanus''. The type locality is the mountain forests in the Canton of Grisons, Switzerland. The willow tit is now placed in the genus ''Poecile'' that was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus name, ''Poecile'', is the Ancient Greek name for a now unidentifiable small bird, and the specific ''montanus'' is Latin for "of the mountains". ''Poecile'' was at one time treated as a ...
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Eurasian Treecreeper
The Eurasian treecreeper or common treecreeper (''Certhia familiaris'') is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long stiff tail feathers which help it creep up tree trunks. It can be most easily distinguished from the similar short-toed treecreeper, which shares much of its European range, by its different song. The Eurasian treecreeper has nine or more subspecies which breed in different parts of its range in the Palearctic. This species is found in woodlands of all kinds, but where it overlaps with the short-toed treecreeper in western Europe it is more likely to be found in coniferous forests or at higher altitudes. It nests in tree crevices or behind bark flakes, and favours introduced giant sequoia as nest sites where they are available. The female typically lays five or six p ...
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Common Blackbird
The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a local species. It breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few of the Asian subspecies are sometimes considered to be full species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. The adult male of the common blackbird (''Turdus merula merula'', the nominate subspecies), which is found throughout most of Europe, is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill and has a rich, melodious song; the adult female and juvenile have mainly dark brown plumage. This species breeds in woods and gardens, building a neat, cup-shaped nest, bound toge ...
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