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Lagunas De Mejía National Sanctuary
Lagunas de Mejía National Sanctuary (''Santuario Nacional Lagunas de Mejía'') is a protected area on the coastal plain of Peru, in Islay Province, Arequipa, in the mouth of the Tambo River. It is a sanctuary for migratory and resident birds, and was designated a Ramsar site in 1992. History In 1981, the Mejia Lagoons were being drained by the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture to convert the land to ricefields. A letter-writing campaign to the Peruvian government in protest, made by O.P. Pearson, M.P. Harris and R.A. Hughes among others, resulted in the declaration of the lagoons as a wildlife sanctuary for birds. The sanctuary was established on February 24 1984, covering an area of with the aim to protect local flora and fauna as well as to attract tourists. Geography The sanctuary is located on the southern coast of Peru, in the region of Arequipa, and belongs to the districts of Mejía and Dean Valdivia. It has a maximum elevation of 3.5 m above sea level, and compri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mejía District
Mejía District is one of six districts of the province Islay in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. Banco de Información Distrital''. Retrieved April 11, 2008. It is a popular summertime destination for vacationers from Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), .... References Districts of the Department of Arequipa Districts of the Islay province {{Arequipa-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanderling
The sanderling (''Calidris alba'') is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English ''sand-yrðling'', "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific, ''alba'', is Latin for "white". It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches. It is somewhat unlike other sandpipers in appearance, which has led to the suggestion that it should be placed into a monotypic genus ''Crocethia''. A more recent review (Thomas ''et al.'', 2004) indicates, however, that the sanderling is a fairly typical "stint" or small sandpiper and should be separated from the large knots with its closest relatives in a distinct genus. This bird is similar in size to a dunlin, but stouter, with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Blue Heron
The little blue heron (''Egretta caerulea'') is a small heron of the genus '' Egretta''. It is a small, darkly colored heron with a two-toned bill. Juveniles are entirely white, bearing resemblance to the snowy egret. During the breeding season, adults develop different coloration on the head, legs, and feet. They have a range that encompasses much of the Americas, from the United States to northern South America. Some populations are migratory. They can be found in both saltwater and freshwater ecosystems. Their preference for either one depends on where they live. Nesting behaviors are documented by numerous sources. The adults build nests in trees, in colonies with other bird species. The number of eggs laid varies from place to place. The young mature quickly, requiring little attention from adults after about nineteen days of age. Both young and adults are sometimes preyed on by other species. Adults hunt fish, crabs, and other small animals. As with clutch sizes, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowy Egret
The snowy egret (''Egretta thula'') is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, , which is a diminutive of , 'heron'. The species name ''thula'' is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, applied to this species in error by Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782.Jobling, 2010, p.143, 385 The snowy egret is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret, which has become established in the Bahamas. At one time, the plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand as decorations for women's hats. They were hunted for these plumes and this reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Now protected in the United States by law, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, this bird's population has rebounded. Description Adult snowy egrets are entirely white apart from the yellow lores between the long black bill and the eye, black legs, and bright yellow feet. The nape and neck bear l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cocoi Heron
The cocoi heron (''Ardea cocoi'') is a species of long-legged wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae found across South America. It has predominantly pale grey plumage with a darker grey crest. A carnivore, it hunts fish and crustaceans in shallow water. Taxonomy and evolution The cocoi heron was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1766 12th edition of Systema Naturae, 12th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', The origin of its species name is unknown, but may be related to the common name in Chile ''cuca'', which in turn denotes the bird's call note.Johnson AW. 1965. The Birds of Chile. Privately printed, Buenos Aires. It is more widely known in South America as ''garza mora'' or "black heron".Hancock J, Kushlan J. 1984. ''The Herons Handbook''. Croom Helm, 1st edition. The cocoi heron forms a superspecies with the similar Afro-Eurasian grey heron and North and Central American great blue heron, with all of these species showing similar skeletal morphology (biology), morp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Rail
The Virginia rail (''Rallus limicola'') is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae. These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen. They are also considered a game species in some provinces and states, though rarely hunted. The Ecuadorian rail is often considered a subspecies, but some taxonomic authorities consider it distinct. Description Adults are mainly brown, darker on the back and crown, with orange-brown legs. To walk through dense vegetation, they have evolved a laterally compressed body and strong forehead feathers adapted to withstand wear from pushing through vegetation. Virginia rails have the highest ratio of leg-muscle to flight-muscle of all birds (25% - 15% of body weight respectively). They have long toes used to walk on floating vegetation. Their tail is short and they have a long slim reddish bill. Their cheeks are grey, with a light stripe over the eye and a whitish throat. C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Moorhen
The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen, is a bird species in the Rail (bird), rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World, across Africa, Europe, and Asia. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests; generally it is one of the commonest Old World rail species, together with the Eurasian coot in some regions. Taxonomy The common moorhen was Species description, formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it in the genus ''Fulica (genus), Fulica'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Fulica chloropus''. The common moorhen is now one of five extant species placed in the genus ''Gallinula'' that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinnamon Teal
The cinnamon teal (''Spatula cyanoptera'') is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds, and feeds mostly on plants. The cinnamon teal duck is closely related to the north american dabbling duck.(Wilson et al.) Description The adult male has a cinnamon-red head and body with a brown back, a red eye and a dark bill. The adult female has a mottled brown body, a pale brown head, brown eyes and a grey bill and is very similar in appearance to a female blue-winged teal; however, its overall color is richer, the lores, eye line, and eye ring are less distinct. Its bill is longer and more spatulate. Male juvenile resembles a female cinnamon or blue-winged teal but their eyes are red.Dunn, J (2006) They are long, have a wingspan, and weigh .Floyd T (2008) They have 2 adult molts per year and a third molt in their first year. F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-cheeked Pintail
The white-cheeked pintail (''Anas bahamensis''), also known as the Bahama pintail or summer duck, is a species of dabbling duck that is spottily distributed throughout South America and the Caribbean. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' under its current scientific name. Taxonomy The white-cheeked pintail was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the current binomial name ''Anas bahamensis''. Linnaeus based his account on the "Ilathera duck" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in the first volume of his book ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'' that was published between 1729 and 1732. Three subspecies are recognised: * ''A. b. bahamensis'' Linnaeus, 1758 – West Indies and north South America * ''A. b. rubrirostris'' Vieillot, 1816 – south Ecuador and sout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Grebe
The great grebe (''Podiceps major'') is the largest species of grebe in the world. A disjunct population exists in northwestern Peru, while the main distribution is from extreme southeastern Brazil to Patagonia and central Chile. The population from southern Chile is considered a separate subspecies, ''P. m. navasi''. Taxonomy The great grebe was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1781 in his . The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the ', which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name ''Colymbus major'' in his catalogue of the ''Planches Enluminées''. Buffon mistakenly believed that his specimen had come from Cayenne in French Guiana. The great grebe is now placed in the genus ''Pod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-tufted Grebe
The white-tufted grebe (''Rollandia rolland''), also known as Rolland's grebe, is a species of grebe in the family Podicipedidae. Found in the southern and western South America, its natural habitat is freshwater lakes, ponds and sluggish rivers and streams. Taxonomy Three subspecies are recognised: *''R. r. chilensis'' (Lesson, 1828) – Southern and western Peru and southeast Brazil southwards to Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego. *''R. r. morrisoni'' (Simmons, 1962) – Lake Junin in the Andean highlands of central Peru. *''R. r. rolland'' (Gaimard, 1823) – Falkland Islands. The most notable difference between the subspecies is their sizes. ''R. r. rolland'' is almost flightless, and considerably larger (typically weighs about twice as much as ''R. r. chilensis'') and with deeper rufous underparts than the other two subspecies. ''R. r. chilensis'' and ''R. r. morrisoni'' are very similar, but the former is on average smaller than the latter. ''R. r. rolland'' also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey-headed Gull
The grey-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus''), also known as the grey-hooded gull, is a small species of gull which breeds patchily in South America and Africa south of the Sahara. It is not truly migratory, but is dispersive, becoming more widespread in winter. This species has occurred as a rare vagrant to the United States, Italy, and Spain. As is the case with many gulls, it had traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus''. Recent evidence suggests the South American and African populations may represent two separate cryptic species. Description The grey-headed gull is slightly larger than the black-headed gull at 42 cm length. The summer adult has a pale grey head, a grey body, slightly darker in tone than in black-headed gull, and red bill and legs. The black tips to the primary wing feathers have conspicuous white "mirrors". The underwing is dark grey with black wingtips. The grey hood is lost in winter, leaving just two dark smudges around and behind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
