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Saffron Siskin
The saffron siskin (''Spinus siemiradzkii'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat destruction and the IUCN has assessed it as being a "least concern species". Description The saffron siskin grows to a length of about . Like other siskins, the colours of this bird are black, olive and yellow, with black wings with a prominent yellow band on the bases of the flight feathers and another on the wing coverts. The male differs from the male hooded siskin (''Spinus magellanicus'') in having an unstreaked, golden-olive back and bright yellow underparts. The female differs from the female hooded siskin by being altogether yellower, with yellow underparts rather than grey. Distribution and habitat The saffron siskin is endemic to southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It is an uncommon bird found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Von Berlepsch
Count Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch (29 July 1850 – 27 February 1915) was a German ornithologist who took an interest in the birds of South America. He also had a cousin named Baron Sittich Hans von Berlepsch (1857-1933) with whom he was often confused. This cousin had travelled to South America and was involved in bird conservation and he once sent back a French medal honoring the bird-collecting ornithologist for discovering a new hummingbird. Von Berlepsch was in touch with most European ornithologists and collectors of his time, often hosting them at his home. Life and work Berlepsch was born in Fahrenbach near Witzenhausen. He came from a Hessian family with a coat of arms that included five parrots. He was the first son of Karl von Berlepsch and his wife Johanna Margaretha Theodora who was the daughter of state-councillor Koch of Kassel. He was privately tutored at home, one of the tutors being Pastor Degering who created an early interest in orchids. At twelve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Union For Conservation Of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable". Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice and through building partners ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Described In 1883
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight Bird skeleton, skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 Order (biology), orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have Bird wing, wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the Flightless bird, loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemism, endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinus (genus)
''Spinus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the finch family. It contains the North and South American siskins and goldfinches, as well as two Old World species. Taxonomy The genus ''Spinus'' was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch with the type species by tautonomy as ''Fringilla spinus'' Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus, 1758, the Eurasian siskin. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek ''spínos'', a name for a now-unidentifiable bird. All of the species in the genus, except for the Tibetan serin, were formerly included in the genus ''Carduelis''. They were moved to the resurrected genus ''Spinus'' based on phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. The Tibetan serin was formerly placed in the genus ''Serinus''. The Eurasian siskin and the Tibetan serin are the only species from the Old World included in the group. The Tibetan serin is an Outgroup (cladistics), outgroup within ''Spinus'', having been the first to diverge. The remainde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage. The direct cause of most deforestation is agriculture by far. More than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machalilla National Park
Machalilla National Park () is a preserve in the Ecuadorian Manabí Province near Puerto López and the rural parish of Machalilla, a small fishing village in the vicinity of the park. Established in 1979, Machalilla National Park near Puerto Lopéz rests along the Pacific coast. It incorporates beaches, fog forest, dry forest, small islands and two larger islands, Salango and Isla de la Plata, the latter named for a legendary hoard of silver left by Sir Francis Drake.Smith, JulianMachalilla National Park and Vicinity. May 1998. Accessed August 2, 2007. In 1990 the park was named an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention. Wildlife includes armadillos, two species of monkeys and birds of more than 270 species.Dry Tropical Forests of Ecuador . Accessed August 2, 2007 Man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hooded Siskin
The hooded siskin (''Spinus magellanicus'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family (biology), family (Fringillidae), native to South America. It belongs to the putative clade of neotropical siskins in the genus ''Spinus (genus), Spinus sensu lato''. There are 11 subspecies, including the Santa Cruz hooded siskin (''S. m. santaecrucis'') of central and eastern Bolivia. This subspecies is sometimes considered to be a separate species. Description Hooded siskins are 10 to 14 cm in length. The male is largely green above and yellow below with a black head. It has a narrow yellow collar and a yellow rump. The tail is black with yellow sides to the base and the wings are black with a broad yellow band. Females are duller with a green-brown head, yellow-green breast and sides and a whitish belly. The twittering bird song, song may be uttered from a perch or in flight. It is varied and fast, and may contain imitations of other birds. Distribution and ecology It inhabits w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habitat Destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers. Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide. Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion, water and noise pollution are some examples. Loss of habitat can be preceded by an initial habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Władysław Taczanowski
Władysław Taczanowski (; 17 March 1819, in Jabłonna, Lublin Voivodeship – 17 January 1890, in Warsaw) was a Polish zoologist and collector of natural history who explored the Russian Far East and northern Africa. He specialized mainly in ornithology but also described numerous other taxa including reptiles and arachnids. Life A member of an old noble (''szlachta'') magnate family, Taczanowski, from the Poznań region Władysław studied in Lublin and managed the family farm after the death of his father. He then joined government service and served on special missions of the governor of Radom. He joined the Warsaw University Museum in 1855 and began to travel and train at other museums. In 1865 he joined Benedict Dybowski and Victor Godlewski on expeditions to Eastern Russia. In 1862 he succeeded Feliks Paweł Jarocki as curator. Taczanowski took part in an expedition to Algeria with Antoni Waga, Antoni S. Waga (1866–67) and wrote several significant studies including ''Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urban Area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbanism, the term "urban area" contrasts to rural areas such as villages and hamlet (place), hamlets; in urban sociology or urban anthropology, it often contrasts with natural environment. The development of earlier predecessors of modern urban areas during the urban revolution of the 4th millennium BCE led to the formation of human civilization and ultimately to modern urban planning, which along with other human activities such as exploitation of natural resources has led to a human impact on the environment. Recent historical growth In 1950, 764 million people (or about 30 percent of the world's 2.5 billion people) lived in urban areas. In 2009, the number of people living in urban areas (3.42 billion) surpassed the number living in rural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
