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Hawar Islands
The Hawar Islands (; transliterated: ''Juzur Ḥawār'') are an archipelago of desert islands; all but one are owned by Bahrain, while the southern, small, and uninhabited Jinan Island (Arabic: جزيرة جينان; transliterated: ''Jazirat Jinan'') is administered by Qatar as part of its Al-Shahaniya municipality. The archipelago is situated off the west coast of Qatar in the Gulf of Bahrain of the Persian Gulf. Description The islands used to be one of the settlements of the Bahraini branch of the Dawasir who settled there in the early 19th century. The islands were first surveyed in 1820, when they were called the Warden's Islands, and two villages were recorded. They are now uninhabited, other than a police garrison and a hotel on the main island; access to all but Hawar island itself is severely restricted. Local fishermen are allowed to fish in adjacent waters and there is some recreational fishing and tourism on and around the islands. Fresh water has always been scarc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf Of Bahrain
The Gulf of Bahrain () is an inlet of the Persian Gulf on the east coast of Saudi Arabia, separated from the main body of water by the peninsula of Qatar. It surrounds the islands of Bahrain. The King Fahd Causeway crosses the western section of the Gulf of Bahrain, connecting Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. Geography The Gulf of Bahrain is a large bay lying on the west side of the Persian Gulf, between the peninsula of Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Midway between the northerly tip of Qatar and the coast of Saudi Arabia lies Bahrain, a group of six islands and many small islets. The Gulf of Bahrain thus has two openings to the Persian Gulf, the westernmost of which is spanned by a causeway leading to Saudi Arabia. The elongated southern portion of the Gulf of Bahrain forms the Gulf of Salwah. To the southeast of Bahrain Island, and close to the coast of Qatar, lie the Hawar Islands, now part of Bahrain. The King Fahd Causeway that connects Saudi Arabia to the island of Bahrain was inaugu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dugong
The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow (''Hydrodamalis gigas''), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. The dugong is the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The dugong is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats that support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands, and inter-reefal waters. The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong's contemporary stronghold. Like all modern sirenians, the d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity". To be selected, a World Heritage Site is nominated by its host country and determined by the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to be a unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable, having a special cultural or physical significance, and to be under a sufficient system of legal protection. World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains or wilderness areas, and others. A World Heritage Site may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humankind and serve as evidence of humanity's intellectual history on the planet, or it might be a place of grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Flamingo
The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Himalayas), the Middle East, the Levant, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. It was previously thought to be the same species as the American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber''), but because of coloring differences of its head, neck, body, and bill, the two flamingos are now most commonly considered separate species. The greater flamingo has no subspecies and is therefore monotypic. Description The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo, averaging tall and weighing . The largest male flamingos have been recorded to be up to tall and to weigh . Most of the plumage is pinkish-whit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Crested Grebe
The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The bird is characterised by its distinctive appearance, featuring striking black, orange-brown, and white plumage, and elaborate courtship display that involves synchronised dances and displays. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Colymbus cristatus''. It is now the type species of the genus '' Podiceps'' that was erected by the English naturalist John Latham in 1787. The type locality is Sweden. The scientific name comes from Latin: the genus name ''Podiceps'' is from , "vent" and , "foot", and is a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body; the specific name, ''cristatus'', means "crested". Subspecies Three subspecies are currently accepted: Description The great crested grebe is the largest speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osprey
The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant. As its other common names suggest, the osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and unique behaviour in hunting its prey. Because of its unique characteristics it is classified in its own taxonomic genus, ''Pandion'', and family, Pandionidae. Taxonomy The osprey was described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus under the name ''Falco haliaetus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridled Tern
The bridled tern (''Onychoprion anaethetus'')Sometimes the name is (wrongly?) spelled as ''S. anaestheta'', for instance in: is a seabird of the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus comes from ' meaning "claw" or "nail", and , meaning "saw". The specific ''anaethetus'' means "senseless, stupid". Description This is a medium-sized tern, at 30–32 cm in length and with a 77–81 cm wingspan similar to the common tern in size, but more heavily built. The wings and deeply forked tail are long, and it has dark grey upperparts and white underparts. The forehead and eyebrows are white, as is a striking collar on the hindneck. It has black legs and bill. Juvenile bridled terns are scaly grey above and pale below. This species is unlikely to be confused with any tern apart from the similarly dark-backed sooty tern and the spectacled tern from the Tropical Pacific. It is paler-backed than that sooty, (but n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caspian Tern
The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'') is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''hudro-'', "water-", and Latin ''progne'', "swallow". The specific ''caspia'' is from Latin and, like the English name, refers to the Caspian Sea. Description It is the world's largest tern with a length of , a wingspan of and a weight of . Adult birds have black legs, and a long thick red-orange bill with a small black tip. They have a white head with a black cap and white neck, belly, and tail. The upper wings and back are pale grey; the underwings are pale with dark primary feathers. In-flight, the tail is less forked than other terns, and wingtips are black on the underside. In winter, the black cap is still present (unlike many other terns), but with some white streaking on the forehead. The call is a loud heron-like croak. Distribu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Falcon
The sooty falcon (''Falco concolor'') is a medium-sized falcon breeding from northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region. The word sooty means to be covered in soot (ash), and is used to describe the color of the Sooty Falcon. Hence, the falcon gets its name from its color, the color of soot. Taxonomy The Sooty Falcon is part of the order Falconiformes, family Falconidae and genus '' Falco''. The sooty falcon belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus '' Hypotriorchis''. Eleonora's falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but while they certainly belong to the same clade, they do not seem to be sister species. Description This is an elegant bird of prey, 32–37 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. It is shaped like a large hobby or a small Eleonora's falcon, with its long pointed wings, long tail and slim body. The adults are blue-grey, and lack the black underwing coverts of the Eleo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-cheeked Tern
The white-cheeked tern (''Sterna repressa'') is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is found around the coasts on the Red Sea, around the Horn of Africa to Kenya, in the Persian Gulf and along the Iranian coast to Pakistan and western India. Behaviour Most of this species is migratory, although those in East Africa may remain there all year. It breeds in colonies of 10–200 pairs. These colonies can consist of a mixture of tern species. Distribution and Status The White-cheeked Tern is distributed along tropical and subtropical coasts of the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, but regional populations may face specific threats such as predation by invasive species and habitat degradation. Habitat The species inhabits tropical coasts and inshore waters, foraging mainly within of land over coral reefs. Its nest is a shallow scrape on rock, sand, gravel or coral islands, bare and exposed sandflats ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saunders's Tern
Saunders's tern (''Sternula saundersi''), sometimes known as the black-shafted tern, is a species of bird in the family Laridae. It is sparsely resident along the shores of the north-western Indian Ocean (namely southern Somalia, Arabian Peninsula, Socotra, Pakistan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and northern Sri Lanka). It is a close relative of the little tern, least tern, yellow-billed tern, and Peruvian tern. In non-breeding plumages, the Saunder's tern and the little tern may be almost indistinguishable. The two have been considered by some to be conspecific. Description Saunders's tern shares many of the features of its close relative, the little tern, including a white body, a black-tipped yellow bill, and a black cap with a white forehead patch. In its breeding plumage, it distinguishes itself with a straight-bordered forehead patch, possessing more black outer primaries, and duskier colored legs and feet in comparison to the bright yellow legs of the little tern. In n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Socotra Cormorant
The Socotra cormorant (''Phalacrocorax nigrogularis'') is a threatened species of cormorant that is endemic to the Persian Gulf and the south-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is also sometimes known as the Socotran cormorant or, more rarely, as the Socotra shag. Individuals occasionally migrate as far west as the Red Sea coast. Despite its name, it was only confirmed in 2005 that it breeds on the Socotra islands in the Indian Ocean.BirdLife International (2011). Species Factsheet: Phalacrocorax nigrogularis.' Retrieved 5 October 2011. The Socotra cormorant is an almost entirely blackish bird with a total length of about . In breeding condition, its forecrown has a purplish gloss and its upperparts have a slaty-green tinge, there are a few white plumes around the eye and neck and a few white streaks at the rump. Its legs and feet are black and its gular skin blackish. All these deviations from pure black are less marked outside the breeding season. There is little i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
