Geology
The River Soar divides the counties geologically. To the west is an extensive area of Triassic Mercia mudstones with outcrops of pre-Cambrian granite and sedimentary rock on the high ground of Charnwood reaching its highest point at Bardon Hill, 279 metres . In the far north-west there are areas of Triassic sandstone and Carboniferous coal measures close to the county boundary. To the east of the River Soar an area of Lower Lias clays supporting rich farmland extends from north to south. The...
BlueandYellow Macaw
ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES ararauna ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES ararauna t Native to forested lowland areas of Central and South America, from eastern Panama south through the Amazon basin to northern Bolivia and southeastern Brazil also on Trinidad One of the largest and gaudiest of all Lives in tropical forests, where it flies just above the canopy in Uses its massive bill to crack open tough nuts and hard seedcases Eats clay, possibly for important minerals and to aid digestion...
OFILE African Pygmy Falcon
Despite its small size, the pygmy falcon is a bold predator armed with sharp talons and a strong, hooked beak for catching and killing its prey. The male is easily distinguished from the female by his full-gray back, but has a similar white front and face. Like the female, the male has a barred tail and black flight feathers with white spots. The female pygmy falcon is mainly gray above and white below, including the forehead and face. She has a white neck ring and a rich, deep chestnut back....
The Relationship of the Origin of Flight to the Origin Of Birds
The origin of birds is, at its core, a matter of genealogy. That is, regardless of your systematic philosophy whether it be cladistic, phenetic, or eclectic avian ancestry is a question of phylogeny, or, more precisely, phylogenetic reconstruction. For most biologists, phylogenetic reconstruction has become more or less synonymous with phylogenetic sys-tematics or cladistics, whereby the distribution of attributes among taxa forms the primary raw data used to develop hy potheses of...
Bicolored mousewarbler
Sericornis nigro-rufa Salvadori, 1894, Moroka, New Guinea. OTHER COMMON NAMES English Black-backed mouse-warbler, mid-mountain mouse-babbler French Sericorne noir et roux German Schwarzrucken-Waldhuscher Spanish Ratona Semi Montanes. 5 in 12-13 cm c. 0.35 oz 10 g . Rufous underparts from chin to lower breast. Abdomen rufous or black, depending on subspecies. Upperparts are black, flanks brown. Scattered through central mountains of New Guinea. Solitary, in pairs or small groups. Active, rapidly...
Sharing The Caring
In spring, the male returns from the south to a nesting site. Good sites in a steep bank of sandy earth are used every year. When the female joins the male, they take turns to dig.A new tunnel may progress about 4 a day and take a week to complete. In spring, the male returns from the south to a nesting site. Good sites in a steep bank of sandy earth are used every year. When the female joins the male, they take turns to dig.A new tunnel may progress about 4 a day and take a week to complete....
Common paradise kingfisher
Tanysiptera galatea G. R. Gray, 1859, Manokwari, New Guinea. At least 15 subspecies, some elevated to species. English Galatea racquet-tail French Martin-chasseur a longs brins German Spatelliest Spanish Alci n Colilargo Com n. 13-17 in 33-43 cm , 1.9-2.4 oz 55-69 g . Spectacular medium-sized kingfisher, dark blue above, white below with shining blue crown, red bill and long blue central tail feathers with white racquets at the tip. New Guinea, west to main islands of Halmahera and Buru in...
American Black Vulture
ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES atratus ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES atratus eyesight allows this scavenger to look for food while soaring high in the sky I Though it searches out the most putrid food, it does not rely on smell to find a meal, as some vultures do Performs a useful sanitation service by cleaning up garbage dumps and removing dead animals from highways Found in the tropical and warm temperate regions of central and western Canada, throughout most of the U.S. and Mexico, and...
Bluefooted Booby
ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES nebouxii ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES nebouxii t Coastal and offshore i waters of western North and South America, I nesting on rocky coasts and islands from Baja California to Peru an isolated population of , about 10,000 pairs nests on Galapagos Islands I MP I ' - ' ' pil IB E Plunge-dives into the sea from 100' above to plunder the abundant shoals of fish found in tropical offshore waters Breeding pairs use brightly colored webbed feet and facial skin in ....
Radiographic Contrast Studies Of The Gastrointestinal Tract
The rapid digestive tract transit time of birds and the anatomy of their digestive tract make it possible to study the majority of the digestive tract using a single radiographic protocol. The digestive tract from the esophagus to the large intestine can be radiographically evaluated by administering contrast medium orally. The term UGI upper gastrointestinal tract contrast study is a misnomer in birds because the colon, and occasionally the cloaca, is also evaluated on these studies....
Bomolochos
Prapoloxo G A bird mentioned only once by Aristotle HA 617b16-18 , who calls it his third type of land-based Koloios q.v , described as 'little'. This seems primarily to be the Western Jackdaw Corvus monedula , which, when tamed, fully lives up to the name Bomolochos 'coarsely comical person ' by performing antics such as climbing toy ladders and imitating human speech. There is, however, one other Greek corvid that is the same size as the Jackdaw 32 cm 33-34 cm the Spotted Nutcracker...
Why should we set up nest boxes
Social development throughout Europe is proving a threat to bird life. In Scandinavia the rationalization of the forest industry has restricted populations of hole-nesting birds and elsewhere in Europe urbanisation and the intensification of agriculture have destroyed many natural habitats. By putting up nest boxes in suitable areas wc can do something to help conserve birds which are otherwise under pressure from the habitat changes wrought by man. Woodpeckers for example arc highly dependent...
Some Aspects Of Visible Migration
Visible migration is greatly influenced by the weather, especially wind direction and strength but also cloud cover. In Leicestershire and Rutland any significant northerly element in the wind reduces the amount of movement, and wind directions from between west and south-east seem to be the most productive. Anything more than a moderate breeze gives low counts, and clear skies can cause birds to pass over too high to be identified or even seen. Movements can intensify as rain approaches but...
Signs Of Illness
Some signs of illness in pet birds include a change in the appearance or number of droppings partially eaten food stuck to the bird's face or food has been regurgitated onto the cage floor labored breathing, with or without tail bobbing If your bird shows any of these signs, please contact your veterinarian's office immediately for further instructions. Your bird should be seen as soon as possible to rule out any illnesses. First Aid for Any emergency, severe insult to the body or excessive...
Puerto Rican tody
Todus mexicanus Lesson, 1838, Tampico and Vera Cruz, Mexico. Clearly an error todies do not occur in Mexico. French Todier de Puerto Rico German Gelbflankentodi Spanish Barrancol Puertorrique o. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 4.4 in 11 cm , wing chord 1.7 in 4.3 cm , weight male 0.22 oz 6.3 g , female 0.21 oz 5.9 g . The least colorful, smallest tody. Flanks yellow, no pink, no blue cheek patch, belly whitish. Sexual dimorphism in eye color slate males , white females . Juveniles have four maturation...
Goliath Heron
This is the tallest and largest heron in the world. It occurs at the edges of large lakes and swamps, where it can wade deeper than other herons. Other habitats include mudflats, mangrove swamps, rivers, and papyrus swamps. When not breeding, birds are either solitary or live in pairs. A Goliath I leron tends to fish over the same areas daily. It often hunts among thickly crowded floating vegetation on tropical waters or wades up to its belly in open water, either stalking slowly or standing...
American Harpy Eagle
ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES harpyja ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES harpyja i The heaviest bird of prey,with the largest feet and talons of any eagle snatch adult monkeys . and sloths from the treetops in midflight and raise a single chick once every three years its blend of brute force and ultra-sharp reflexes makes it one of the top rainforest predators Thinly distributed from the southern tip of costa Rica through the Amazon Basin to northern Argentina has vanished from many former haunts...
Positioning Technique For The Ventrodorsal Radiographic Study Of The Avian
Precut strips of paper tape, as described for the laterolateral radiographic study of the coelom, are prepared. For the ventrodorsal projection, the bird is placed on the positioning device in dorsal recumbency. The neck is placed in the guillotine and the head is adjusted to the straight rostrocaudal position. Further gentle traction is applied to the bird's body by extending the pelvic limbs slightly caudally and securing them with gauze to the positioning device's cleats. The wings are fully...
Alektor torideus toris tryon Ornis
iXiliTCOp, xopiosf C, -Topic , -xpixbv, G, gallus gallinaceus shortened to gallus when there is no possibility of confusion with Gallus meaning 'Gaul', gallina, pullus L 1 Virtually always the Domestic Fowl Alektor the cock bird poetic in Attic, but the normal word outside Attica and in later Greek , Alektryon in Attic down to the fourth century BC cf. Phrynichus 200 Fischer used for both cock and hen though Ornis often replaces it for the hen, sometimes along with defining adjectives such as...
A Review Of Past Studies
The pioneer of migration studies in the counties was R. Eric Pochin, who looked for evidence of passage in his observations of birds at Croft Hill between 1940 and 1952. He summarised his findings in the LROS Annual Report for 1952 Pochin 1953 , picking out clear movements of Starlings, Greenfinches, Linnets, Tree Pipits autumn flocks of 20 , Meadow Pipits, wagtails, warblers, Song Thrushes, Northern Wheatears, Common Redstarts, Robins, Dunnocks, hirundines and Common Swifts. The predominant...
Library Of Congress Cataloginginpublication Data
Grzimek, Bernhard. Tierleben. English Grzimek's animal life encyclopedia. 2nd ed. v. cm. Includes bibliographical references. Contents v. 1. Lower metazoans and lesser deuterosomes Neil Schlager, editor v. 2. Protostomes Neil Schlager, editor v. 3. Insects Neil Schlager, editor v. 4-5. Fishes I-II Neil Schlager, editor v. 6. Amphibians Neil Schlager, editor v. 7. Reptiles Neil Schlager, editor v. 8-11. Birds I-IV Donna Olendorf, editor v. 12-16. Mammals I-V Melissa C. McDade, editor v. 17....
Aigolios
oWAioc, and toc G, aegoJiosL Aristotle HA 592b9-15, 616b25-7 describes this owl as smaller than the Byas Eurasian Eagle Owl, Bubo bubo , being the size of a domestic Cock, hunting Jays, feeding at night and rarely visible by day, and living in rocks and caves. These details, however, contradict each other. The Eagle Owl itself 69 cm is no bigger than a Cock 65-75 cm , appears to be totally nocturnal, nests in rock crevices, and in Greece includes corvids such as Jays in its diet. No other...
Evolution and systematics Sfm
The Australian warblers resemble in appearance and ecology the Old World warblers Sylviidae . However, molecular studies show that they are more closely related to honeyeaters Meliphagidae and fairy-wrens Maluridae and are consequently part of the large Australian adaptive radiation of passerines. The pardalotes Pardalotus are closely related to the Acanthizidae and may be included in this family. The bristlebirds are sometimes placed in a separate subfamily Dasy-ornithinae , but the pilotbird...
Introduction They Who Talked With The Birds
Ever since humankind began to think in spiritual terms birds have symbolized spiritual states, angels and higher forms of being. Cave paintings from Lascaux, France show bird-men demonstrating the soul-flight or the spirit-flight of the shaman. Statuettes from Yugoslavia dated to 5300 BC feature the Bird-and-Snake Goddess. The Egyptian gods were frequently depicted as bird-men. In Greek, the word for bird is a synonym for messages from Heaven.1 In Taoism, birds carry the same meaning, while the...
The Significance of Protoavis
A particularly difficult question is whether this ensemble cast should rightly include the Texas fossils known as P.tex-ensis. These fossils, whose discovery was announced only in 1986, have had a troubled and controversial history. In a long series of published works, Sankar Chatterjee 1987, 1988, 1991,1995,1997a, 1998b, 1999 argued that the Protoavis fossils are not only those of a bird but from a bird that lived 75 million years before Archaeopteryx The fossils are generally attributed to...
HigherLevel Phylogeny of Extant Birds
Despite their paramount importance for stimulation of new research in avian systematics, the often-cited DNA-DNA hybridization studies of Sibley and Ahlquist 1990 have proven to be an unreliable basis for phylogenetic inferences Harshman 2007 . The higher-level phylogeny of neornithine birds remains incompletely understood, but some consensus has been reached in recent phylogenetic analyses, and provides a framework for an interpretation of fossil taxa Cracraft et al. 2004 Ericson et al. 2006...
Putative Ratite from the Eocene of Antarctica
Tambussi et al. 1994 reported a fragmentary distal tarsometatarsus of a reputed ratite bird from the late Eocene of the La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island in Antarctica see also Tambussi and Acosta Hospitaleche 2007 . Just because of its large size, this specimen certainly comes from a flightless bird, whose weight has been estimated at 60 kg Tambussi and Acosta Hospitaleche 2007 . The fossil differs, however, from the tarsometatarsus of all unambiguous ratites in the unusually large...
Black Tern
ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES niger ORDER FAMILY GENUS amp SPECIES niger This far-ranging tern has been known to feed up to 3 miles from its home colony s Though it pursues aquatic prey, it also plucks insects out of midair with its sleek, black bill Often mistaken for a bat due to its erratic, dipping flight and dark coloring Found in Scandinavia, Europe, western Asia and Africa also in North America, as well as Central and South America While its buoyant flight makes it look almost...
Mesozoic Neornithes
To set the following sections on Paleogene birds into a full context, the Mesozoic fossil record of Neornithes is briefly outlined in this chapter. In-depth information on Mesozoic nonneornithine birds can be found in Chiappe and Witmer 2002 and Chiappe 2007 . Hope 2002 reviewed the Mesozoic fossil record of putative Neornithes and listed the described taxa a similar table was published in Dyke 2001a . All of the specimens that were considered correctly identified by Hope 2002 are from late...
Indian vulture populations have declined precipitously
Griffon vultures of the genus Gyps were formerly very common throughout South and South-East Asia, with White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis considered one of the most abundant large birds of prey in the world. Vulture populations declined across much of the region in the first half of the twentieth century, but they remained common on the Indian subcontinent, where populations were maintained by an abundant supply of livestock carcasses. In the late 1990s, however, the Indian populations of...
Different Types of Bills
The beak, or bill, is a projecting structure of horn made out of the same material as the nails that grows as it is worn down. In the case of adult birds, bill size remains constant. The bill is joined to the skull in a way that allows for the movement of the lower mandible and, thus, the opening of the mouth. Most birds depend on their bills to get food. There M which differ in size, shape, k There is a close relationship between a bird's bill and its diet. Because the bill serves to pick up,...
Cygnus falconeri Parker
Cygnus falconeri Parker, 1865, Proc. zool. Soc. London, p. 752 types from Zeb-bug Cave, tibiotarsus, tarsometatarsus, toe phalanges, Brit. Mus. . Cygnus melitensis Falconer, 1868, Falconer pal. Mem., vol. 2, p. 300 same material . Mtddle Pleistocene cavc deposit . Malta Zebbug Cave Parker, 1865 Har Dalam cavern Bate, 1916, Proc. zool. Soc. London, Archaeocycnus lacustris DeVis, 1905 Sept. 30 , Ann. Queensland Mus., no. 6, p. 11, pi. 3, fig. 1-7 types from Lower Cooper, Kalamurina, Wankamaminna,...
iOFILE Adelie Penguin
The adelie penguin's streamlined body, flipperlike wings and short legs reflect the amount of time it spends in the icy seas around Antarctica. Robust wings are used to propel the penguin in fluid and graceful underwater flying at a speed of 3-6 mph. However, the penguin can put on rapid spurts of speed and reach 15 mph. Sturdy, webbed feet are set at the rear of the body and, with the stiff tail, help the penguin steer underwater. Robust wings are used to propel the penguin in fluid and...
Geocarbsulf
The GEOCARBSULF model is a recent combination of the much earlier models for carbon dioxide GEOCARB and oxygen isotope mass balance model . It is a computer model that takes account of the many factors thought to influence atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide. A computer model such as GEOCARBSULF must take account of forcings, processes that affect the oxygen levels. Chief among these are the rate of metamorphic and volcanic degassing of reduced carbon- and sulfur-containing gases, the rate of...
Anopaia
tvAsflttctor -ra lt G Homer Odyssey 1.319-20 says that Athena, after a visit to Telemachus, flew away like a bird 0 v0nC itt,anc since at least the time of Aristarchus in the second century BC there has been a dispute about the word vufluiuiis it adverbial meaning 'unseen', 'up through the smoke vents', or just 'upwards' , or is it the name of the bird which Athena resembled The Homeric scholia on the passage cf. Eustathius 1419.14-42 cite Aristarchus for maintaining the latter interpretation,...
Acknowledgements
This book has been written on behalf of the Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society LROS and would not have come to fruition without their generous financial support. It would also not have been possible without the contribution of many hundreds of individuals and organisations who have submitted records over the last 65 years for a full list of contributors, see Appendix 3. All royalties from this book will be donated to LROS. Other organisations that have been helpful in the...
Whitethroat
Sylvia communis Latham, 1787. OTHER COMMON NAMES English Common whitethroat, greater whitethroat French Fauvette grisette German Dorngrasm cke Spanish Curruca Zarcera. 5.5 in 14 cm 0.4-0.9 oz 10-24 g . Medium-sized warbler with gray-brown upperparts, whitish underparts, buffy flanks, gray male or brownish female cap and side of face, and a bright white throat. Folded wing shows significant rufous edging of coverts, secondaries and tertials. Long tail with white outer tail feathers. Breeds in...
Andean Condor
Soars at altitudes up to 18,000' and can spot an animal carcass from a distance of several miles Has the largest wing area of any bird nearly 6.5 sq. ft., allowing it to glide on rising air currents Can devour up to 15 lbs. of flesh at one sitting, but may eat so much it can't take off again Found high in the Andes mountains of western South America, over the grasslands of Argentina south of the Rio Negro and on the coasts of Peru and Chile Hanging like a huge kite on the breeze, the condor...
Family Anatidae Vigors
Analidae Leach Vigors, 1825 after Jan. , Trans. Linn. Soc. London, vol. 14, pp. 416, 498 family type Anas Linnaeus . Anatina Vigors, 1825, fide Gray. Anatinae Swainson, 1837, Natural history and classification of birds, vol. 2, pp. 189, 366 subfamily . Anatoideae Stejneger, 1885, Standard natural history, vol. 4, p. 136 superfamily . Anatoidae Hay, 1930 January , Carnegie Instn. Washington Publ., no. 390, vol. 2, p. 299 superfamily . Cyanina Vigors, 1825, fide Cray type Cygmis Bechstein ....
Acanthizidae
Class Aves Order Passeriformes Suborder Passeri Oscines Family Acanthizidae Tiny to medium-sized, generally dull brown birds with fine bills, inhabiting canopy down to ground 3.5-10 in 9-27 cm 0.25-2.5 oz 7-70 g Rainforests, eucalypt forests and woodlands, heathland and semi-arid woodland and scrub Extinct 1 species Endangered 2 species Vulnerable 6 species New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Southeast Asia to Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Southeast Asia...
Little grassbird
Megalurus gramineus Gould, 1865. OTHER COMMON NAMES English Little marshbird striated grassbird little reedbird marsh warbler French Megalure menue German Zwergschilfsanger. 5.1-5.9 in 13-15 cm . Medium-sized warbler with brownish upperparts, streaked dark pale grayish underparts finely streaked with dark brown. Flight feathers graduated, edged with white. Dense vegetation of marshes, reedbeds, swamps, occasionally mangroves. Solitary. Skulking. Song is three note, plaintive whistle. Flight is...
Using the Proper Pencils
Hach brand of colored pencil has a different appearance when used. Hach pencil is made differently to create an unique effect. I can't easily answer which pencil is the best, or which one 1 like the most. It really depends on the final outcome and the look I want my work to have. Rarely will I use just one brand of pencil to complete a project. Any one of them alone is somewhat limited. I have found that by using a combination of pencils, I can create more variety in my techniques. This enables...
Aeiskops
G A subspecies of the Eurasian Scops Owl Otus scops cycladum that is mainly or exclusively resident in many areas of Greece Peloponnese, Aegean Islands, Crete . Aristotle notes HA 617b31-618a7 that those Scops Owls that reside in Greece all year long are called MlOK lJ'ne 'Always-Scops Owls' and are inedible, contrasting with others that appear just for one or two days in the autumn he adds that these latter, however, make good eating, being identical in everything except their superior girth...
List of Contributors
HERCULANO ALVARENGA Museu de Historia Natural de Taubate, Taubate, Brazil TATSURO ANDO Ashoro Museum of Paleontology, Hokkaido, Japan F. KEITH BARKER Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and, Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, USA ALYSSA BELL University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA ROBERT BERNER Yale University, New Haven, USA SARA BERTELLI Museum f r Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany ESTELLE BOURDON American Museum of Natural History,...
Bluecrowned motmot
Ramphastos momota Linnaeus, 1766, Cayenne. Twenty subspecies. OTHER COMMON NAMES English Lesson's motmot, Caribbean motmot, tawny-bellied motmot, blue-diademed motmot French Motmot houtouc German Blauscheitelmotmot Spanish Momoto Com n. 2.7-5.2 oz 77-148 g 15-17 in 38-44 cm . Black crown bordered with violet and turquoise. Black mask with turquoise above and below. Back of neck is rufous, back is green. Greenish underparts and black spot s on chest. Widest distribution of any motmot,...
arks as Islands
The wild things on this earth are not to do with as we please. They have been given to us in trust, and we must account for them to the generations which will come after us and audit our accounts. The last viable peregrine falcon populations anywhere in North America south of Alaska were those in national parks in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau, and West Texas. The discovery that populations of this and several other high-level predators were being decimated by DDT and other chlorinated...
Australia New Zealand and Antarctica
Likewise, very little is known about the Paleogene avifaunas of Australia, and most fossil birds from this period were described after the reviews by Vickers-Rich 1991 and Boles 1991 . The continent has no Paleocene fossil record of birds, and the only Eocene avian specimens stem from the deposits of the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna near Murgon Queensland , whose sediments are of flu-violacustrine origin and have a minimum age of 54.6 million years Boles 1999 . The Oligocene fossil...
OFILE African Fish Eagle
Adept at fishing, the keen-eyed African fish eagle spots prey from high on its perch, then dives to hook its victim using dagger-sharp talons. The skull is lightweight, with reduced jaws, large eye sockets A and no teeth, for better flight efficiency. Lacking full adult plumage, the brown, immature eagle is often confused with the osprey and palm-nut vulture. Lacking full adult plumage, the brown, immature eagle is often confused with the osprey and palm-nut vulture. The rough spicules on the...
The Significance of the Feathered Chinese Dinosaurs
The 1990s will go down in history as a time when one of the most significant fossil deposits ever discovered was brought to light. The Lower Yixian Formation Chaomidianzi Formation of some and allied rock units in western Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China, have yielded a wealth of fossil vertebrates, preserving in often astounding abundance an entire fauna in all its diversity Luo, 1999 Swisher et al., 1999 . The basal birds from these deposits are discussed in this volume by Zhou...
Positioning Techniques For Laterolateral And Ventrodorsal Radiographic Studies
Radiographic studies of the head include laterolateral and ventro-dorsal radiographic projections and, when necessary, oblique views. Small wedges of radiolucent foam may be of assistance for precise positioning of the head. For laterolateral and oblique projections, the patient is placed in a lateral recumbent position. Oblique radiographic projections require rotation of 15 to 30 degrees or less off the straight lateral projection. Oblique projections are described by the point of entrance of...