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Myanmar Coast Mangroves
The Burmese or Myanmar Coast mangroves are an ecoregion in Burma, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh where there were once thick forests of mangroves but today most has been cleared, resulting in loss of habitat for wildlife. Location and description Mangroves were once common in the Irrawaddy River Delta and today exist in three distinct areas, Rakhine State, Ayeyarwady and Tanintharyi Regions, as well as Kutubdia and Moheshkhali islands in Bangladesh Flora The mangrove flora of Burma include ''Rhizophora'' and ''Xylocarpus'' mangrove trees, ''Sonneratias'', other Rhizophoraceae, ''Nypa fruticans'' and '' Phoenix paludosa''. Fauna The remaining mammals include a small group of wild Asian elephants in Rakhine State, while once common species of mammals and reptiles such as the tiger, the saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') and the mangrove terrapin (''Batagur baska'') have either disappeared or seriously reduced in number Bird life however is much richer including waterb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irrawaddy River
The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through the Irrawaddy Delta in the Ayeyarwady Region into the Andaman Sea. Its drainage basin of about covers a large part of Burma. After Rudyard Kipling's poem, it is sometimes referred to as ' The Road to Mandalay'. As early as the sixth century, the river was used for trade and transport. Having developed an extensive network of irrigation canals, the river became important to the British Empire after it had colonized Burma. The river is still as vital today, as a considerable amount of (export) goods and traffic moves by river. Rice is produced in the Irrawaddy Delta, irrigated by water from the river. In 2007, Myanmar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nypa Fruticans
''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adapted to the mangrove biome. The genus ''Nypa'' and the subfamily Nypoideae are monotypic taxa because this species is their only member. Description Unlike most palms, the nipa palm's trunk grows beneath the ground; only the leaves and flower stalk grow upwards above the surface. The leaves extend up to in height. The flowers are a globular inflorescence of female flowers at the tip with catkin-like red or yellow male flowers on the lower branches. The flower produces woody nuts arranged in a globular cluster up to across on a single stalk. The ripe nuts separate from the ball and float away on the tide, occasionally germinating while still water-borne. Fossil record While only one species of ''Nypa'' now exists, ''N. fruticans'', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beach Stone-curlew
The beach stone-curlew (''Esacus magnirostris'') also known as beach thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird that occurs in Australasia, the islands of South-east Asia. At and , it is one of the world's largest shorebirds. At a mean of in males and in females, it the heaviest living member of the Charadriiformes outside of the gull and skua families.''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), . It is less strictly nocturnal than most stone-curlews, and can sometimes be seen foraging by daylight, moving slowly and deliberately, with occasional short runs. It tends to be wary and fly off into the distance ahead of the observer, employing slow, rather stiff wingbeats. The beach stone-curlew is a resident of undisturbed open beaches, exposed reefs, mangroves, and tidal sand or mudflats over a large range, including coastal eastern Australia as far south as far eastern Victoria, the northern Australian coast and nearby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Sand Plover
The lesser sand plover (''Charadrius mongolus'') is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as lesser sand-plover, but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is "lesser sand plover". The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in ravines and river valleys (''kharadra'', "ravine"). The specific ''mongolus'' is Latin and refers to Mongolia which at the time of naming referred to a larger area than the present country. Taxonomy There are five races, and the large east Asian forms, ''C. m. mongolus'' and ''C. m. stegmanni'', are sometimes given specific status as Mongolian plover, ''Charadrius mongolus''. If the taxonomic split is accepted, lesser sand plover as then defined becomes ''Charadrius atrifrons'', including the three races ''atrifrons, pamirensis'' and ''schaeferi''. A study published in 2022 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronze-winged Jacana
The bronze-winged jacana (''Metopidius indicus'') is a wader in the family Jacanidae. It is found across South and Southeast Asia and is the sole species in the genus ''Metopidius''. Like other jacanas it forages on lilies and other floating aquatic vegetation, the long feet spreading out its weight and preventing sinking. The sexes are alike but females are slightly larger and are polyandrous, maintaining a harem of males during the breeding season in the monsoon rains. Males maintain territories, with one male in the harem chosen to incubate the eggs and take care of the young. When threatened, young chicks may be carried to safety by the male under his wings. Taxonomy and systematics The bronze-winged jacana was formally described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1790 and given the binomial name ''Parra indica''. He placed it in the genus ''Parra'' along with all the other jacanas. Latham had earlier included the species in a supplement to his ''A General Synopsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruddy Shelduck
The ruddy shelduck (''Tadorna ferruginea''), known in India as the Brahminy duck, is a member of the family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, in length with a wingspan of . It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, while the tail and the flight feathers in the wings are black, contrasting with the white wing-coverts. It is a migratory bird, wintering in the Indian subcontinent and breeding in southeastern Europe and central Asia, though there are small resident populations in North Africa. It has a loud honking call. The ruddy shelduck mostly inhabits inland water-bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The male and female form a lasting pair bond and the nest may be well away from water, in a crevice or hole in a cliff, tree or similar site. A clutch of about eight eggs is laid and is incubated solely by the female for about four weeks. The young are cared for by both parents and fledge about eight weeks after hatching. In central and eastern Asia, pop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great-billed Heron
The great-billed heron (''Ardea sumatrana'') is a wading bird of the heron family, resident from southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Description left, Juvenile The great-billed heron is a large bird, typically standing tall and weighing up to . It is larger than the purple heron, which it resembles in appearance, although it is larger and darker. The plumage is largely dark grey above. In flight, it has a uniform dark grey upperwing. The flight is slow, with its neck retracted. This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks. The species feeds in shallow water, spearing fish with its long, sharp bill. It will wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim. Distribution and habitat The great-billed heron has a very large range, occurring in much of coastal Southern Asia and Australasia including Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Its habitats are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Reef Heron
The Pacific reef heron (''Egretta sacra''), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia and Oceania. It occurs in two colour morphs with either slaty grey or pure white plumage. The sexes are similar in appearance. Taxonomy The Pacific reef heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's '' Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes and egrets in the genus '' Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea sacra''. Gmelin based his description on the "Sacred heron" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a specimen of a white morph that had been collected on Tahiti. The Pacific reef heron is now placed with 12 other species in the genus ''Egretta'' that was intr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Cormorant
The little cormorant (''Microcarbo niger'') is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian Subcontinent and extends east to Java, where it is sometimes called the Javanese cormorant. It forages singly or sometimes in loose groups in lowland freshwater bodies, including small ponds, large lakes, streams and sometimes coastal estuaries. Like other cormorants, it is often found perched on a waterside rock with its wings spread out after coming out of the water. The entire body is black in the breeding season but the plumage is brownish, and the throat has a small whitish patch in the non-breeding season. These birds breed gregariously in trees, often joining other waterbirds at heronries. Description The little cormorant is about long and only slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant (''Phalacrocorax fuscicollis''). The Indian cormorant has a n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oriental Darter
The Oriental darter (''Anhinga melanogaster'') is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water. It spears a fish underwater, bringing it above the surface, tossing and juggling it before swallowing the fish head first. The body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the colloquial name of snakebird. Like the cormorants, it has wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings held open to dry. Description The Oriental darter is like all other anhingas, a cormorant, cormorant-like species that has a very long neck. The structure of the neck is as in other species of darter with strongly developed muscles about a kink in the neck at the 8th and 9th vertebrae that allows it to be flexed and darted forward with rapid force to stab fish u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batagur Baska
The northern river terrapin (''Batagur baska'') is a species of riverine turtle native to Southeast Asia. It is classified Critically Endangered by the IUCN and considered extinct in much of its former range. Description The northern river terrapin is one of Asia's largest freshwater and brackwater turtles, reaching a carapace length of up to 60 cm and a maximum weight of 18 kg. Its carapace is moderately depressed, with a vertebral keel in juveniles. The plastron is large, strongly angulate laterally in the young, convex in the adult. The head is rather small, with a pointed and upwards-tending snout. The legs have band-like scales. The upper surface of the carapace and the soft parts are generally olive-brown, while the plastron is yellowish. Head and neck are brown with reddish bases. Males in breeding coloration have a black head and neck with a crimson or orange dorsal surface and red or orange forelegs. The colour of the pupils also changes during this period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 1996. It was hunted for its skin throughout its range up to the 1970s, and is threatened by illegal killing and habitat loss. It is regarded as dangerous to humans. The saltwater crocodile is considered to be the largest living reptile. Males can grow up to a length of , rarely exceeding , and a weight of . Females are much smaller and rarely surpass . It is also called the estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile, and informally as the saltie. A large and opportunistic hypercarnivorous apex predator, they ambush most of their prey and then drown or swallow it whole. They are capable of prevailing over almost any animal that enters their territory, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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