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Siberian Crane
The Siberian crane (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus''), also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all snowy white, except for their black primary feathers that are visible in flight, and with two breeding populations in the Arctic tundra of western and eastern Russia. The eastern populations migrate during winter to China, while the western population winters in Iran and (formerly) in Bharatpur, India. Among the cranes, they make the longest distance migrations. Their populations, particularly those in the western range, have declined drastically in the 20th century due to hunting along their migration routes and habitat degradation. The world population was estimated in 2010 at about 3,200 birds, mostly belonging to the eastern population with about 95% of them wintering in the Poyang Lake basin in China, a habitat that may be altered by the Three Gorges Dam. Tax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career Bonaparte was the son of Lucien Bonaparte and Alexandrine de Bleschamp. Lucien was a younger brother of Napoleon I, making Charles the emperor’s nephew. Born in Paris, he was raised in Italy. On 29 June 1822, he married his cousin, Zénaïde, in Brussels. Soon after the marriage, the couple left for Philadelphia in the United States to live with Zénaïde's father, Joseph Bonaparte (who was also the paternal uncle of Charles). Before leaving Italy, Charles had already discovered a warbler new to science, the moustached warbler, and on the voyage he collected specimens of a new storm-petrel. On arrival in the United States, he presented a paper on this new bird, which was later named after Alexander Wilson. Bonaparte then set about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wattled Crane
The wattled crane (''Grus carunculata'') is a large bird found in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus ''Bugeranus''. Taxonomy The first formal description of the wattled crane was by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 under the binomial name ''Ardea carunculata''. Gmelin based his account on the "wattled heron" that had been described and illustrated by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1785. The specific epithet is from the Latin ''caruncula'' meaning "a small piece of flesh". The wattled crane was formerly placed in its own genus ''Bugeranus''. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus '' Grus'' within the crane family was not monophyletic and that the wattled crane was a sister species to a clade containing the blue crane and the demoiselle crane. In the resulting reorganization of the genera, the wattled crane was moved to the genus ''Grus''. Some taxonomists retain the wattl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tobol River
The Tobol (russian: Тобол, kk, Тобыл ''Tobyl'') is a river in Western Siberia (in Kazakhstan and Russia) and the main (left) tributary of the Irtysh. Its length is , and the area of its drainage basin is . History The Tobol River was one of the four important rivers of the Siberia Khanate. In 1428 the khan was killed in a battle with the forces of Abu'l-Khayr Khan at the Battle of Tobol. In the 16th century, the Tobol was the eastern terminus of the portage route leading westward to the rivers Vishera and Kama. Cities and towns on the Tobol * Lisakovsk in Kazakhstan * Rudni in Kazakhstan * Kostanay (formerly Nikolaevsk) in Kazakhstan * Kurgan in the Russian Federation * Yalutorovsk in the Russian Federation * Tobolsk in the Russian Federation, where the Tobol joins the Irtysh Main tributaries The largest tributaries of the Tobol are, from source to mouth: * Syntasty (left) * Ayat (left) * Uy (left) * Ubagan (right) * Iset (left) * Tura (left) * Tavda Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishim River
The Ishim (russian: Иши́м, Ishim; kk, Есіл, Esil) is a river running through Kazakhstan and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Its average discharge is . It is a left tributary of the Irtysh. The Ishim is partly navigable in its lower reaches. The upper course of the Ishim passes through Astana the capital of Kazakhstan. In Russia, the river travels through a vast marshland for its course, and has countless meanders and oxbow lakes. The river freezes from late November until March. Main tributaries The largest tributaries of the Ishim are, from source to mouth: * Qalqutan (right) * Zhabay (right) * Terisaqqan (left) * Aqqanburlyq (right) * Karasul (left) * Barsuk (right) In Astana According to the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Astana was chosen as the capital in part due to the presence of the river. The city is also divided into two sections, the Right (northern) Bank of the Ishim or the old town, and the Left (southern) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ob River
} The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's List of rivers by length, seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya (river), Biya and Katun (river), Katun which have their origins in the Altai Mountains. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Yenisei and the Lena River, Lena). Its flow is north-westward, then northward. The main city on its banks is Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia, and the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, third-largest city in Russia. It is where the Trans-Siberian Railway crosses the river. The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary. Names The internationally known name of the river is based on the Russian name ''Обь'' (''Obʹ'' ). Possibly from Proto-Indo-Iranian language, Proto-Indo-Iranian ''Ap (water), *Hā́p-'', "river, water" (compare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.Ural Mountains Encyclopædia Britannica on-line The mountain range forms part of the conventional boundary between the regions of and |
Red-crowned Crane
The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity. Description Adult red-crowned cranes are named for a patch of red bare skin on the crown, which becomes brighter during the mating season. Overall, they are snow white in color with black on the wing secondaries, which can appear almost like a black tail when the birds are standing, but the real tail feathers are actually white. Males are black on the cheeks, throat, and neck, while females are pearly gray in these spots. The bill is olive green to a greenish horn, the legs are slate to grayish black, and the iris is dark brown.Archibald G.W. & Meine, C.D. 1996. ''Family Gruidae (Cranes)''. In: del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J. (Eds.). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown (anatomy)
The crown is the top portion of the head behind the vertex. The anatomy of the crown varies between different organisms. The human crown is made of three layers of the scalp above the skull. The crown also covers a range of bone sutures, and contains blood vessels and branches of the trigeminal nerve. The structure of the human crown provides a protective cavity for the brain and optimizes the crown's ability to ensure the neocortex is safe. Different parts of the neocortex, such as the frontal lobe and the parietal lobe, are protected by the meninges and bone structures. Other organisms, such as whales, have their blowholes on their crown, causing a flattened head shape. Some bird species have a crest located on their crown, used for communication and courtship. Macroevolution of the human crown has led to different structures between modern and archaic human species, such as significant changes to the cranial vault. The human crown is prone to different injuries and disord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covert (feather)
A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind the bird's eye which cover the ear opening (the ear of a bird has no external features) Tail coverts The uppertail and undertail coverts cover the base of the tail feathers above and below. Sometimes these coverts are more specialised. The "tail" of a peacock is made of very elongated uppertail coverts. Wing coverts The upperwing coverts fall into two groups: those on the inner wing, which overlay the secondary flight feathers, known as the secondary coverts, and those on the outerwing, which overlay the primary flight feathers, the primary coverts. Within each group, the feathers form a number of rows. The feathers of the outermost, largest, row are termed greater (primary-/secondary-) coverts; those in the next row ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alula
The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The alula is the freely moving first digit, a bird's "thumb", and typically bears three to five small flight feathers, with the exact number depending on the species. There also are minor covert feathers overlying the flight feathers. Like the larger flight feathers found on the wing's trailing edge, these alula feathers are asymmetrical, with the shaft running closer to anterior edge. Function In most situations, the alula is held flush against the wing; however, it can be manipulated. When flying at slow speeds or landing, the bird moves its alula slightly upwards and forward, which creates a small slot on the wing's leading edge. This functions in the same way as the slats on the wing of an aircraft, allowing the wing to achieve a higher tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oka Nature Reserve
Oka Nature Reserve (russian: Окский заповедник) (also Oksky, or Okskiy) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) located in the Meschera lowlands, the floodplain of the Oka River and the Pra River. With extensive lowland rivers and forested peatlands, the reserve is an important area for waterfowl and waders. The reserve hosts breeding centers for bison and for crane. The site is situated in the Spassky District, Ryazan Oblast, about 60 km northeast of the city of Ryazan. In 1994, the "Flood plains of Rivers Pra and Oka" was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance. The site was designated a UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) reserve in 1978. The reserve was formally established in 1935, and covers an area of . Topography The Oka Reserve has a terrain that is mostly forested peatlands (about 90%), swamps (5%), and dryland (5%). The floodplains are along the Pra, which is a tributary of the Oka. The Oka area feature more meadows, with for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
