1.
Conservation status
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The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Various systems of conservation status exist and are in use at international, multi-country, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Also included are species that have gone extinct since 500 AD, when discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term threatened is a grouping of three categories, critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category, Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora aims to ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals. Many countries require CITES permits when importing plants and animals listed on CITES, in the European Union, the Birds and Habitats Directives are the legal instruments that evaluate the conservation status within the EU of species and habitats. NatureServe conservation status focuses on Latin America, United States, Canada, and it has been developed by scientists from NatureServe, The Nature Conservancy, and the network of natural heritage programs and data centers. It is increasingly integrated with the IUCN Red List system and its categories for species include, presumed extinct, possibly extinct, critically imperiled, imperiled, vulnerable, apparently secure, and secure. The system also allows ambiguous or uncertain ranks including inexact numeric ranks, NatureServe adds a qualifier for captive or cultivated only, which has a similar meaning to the IUCN Red List extinct in the wild status. The Red Data Book of the Russian Federation is used within the Russian Federation, in Australia, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 describes lists of threatened species, ecological communities and threatening processes. The categories resemble those of the 1994 IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria, prior to the EPBC Act, a simpler classification system was used by the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. Some state and territory governments also have their own systems for conservation status, in Belgium, the Flemish Research Institute for Nature and Forest publishes an online set of more than 150 nature indicators in Dutch. In Canada, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is a group of experts that assesses and designates which wild species are in danger of disappearing from Canada. Under the Species at Risk Act, it is up to the federal government, in China, the State, provinces and some counties have determined their key protected wildlife species. There is the China red data book, in Finland, a large number of species are protected under the Nature Conservation Act, and through the EU Habitats Directive and EU Birds Directive. In Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation publishes red lists of endangered species, india has the Wild Life Protection Act,1972, Amended 2003 and the Biological Diversity Act,2002. In Japan, the Ministry of Environment publishes a Threatened Wildlife of Japan Red Data Book, in the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality publishes a list of threatened species, and conservation is enforced by the Nature Conservation Act 1998. Species are also protected through the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives, in New Zealand, the Department of Conservation publishes the New Zealand Threat Classification System lists
2.
Least Concern
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A least concern species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as evaluated but not qualified for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, species cannot be assigned the Least Concern category unless they have had their population status evaluated. That is, adequate information is needed to make a direct, or indirect, since 2001 the category has had the abbreviation LC, following the IUCN2001 Categories & Criteria. However, around 20% of least concern taxa in the IUCN database use the code LR/lc, prior to 2001 least concern was a subcategory of the Lower Risk category and assigned the code LR/lc or. While least concern is not considered a red listed category by the IUCN, the number of animal species listed in this category totals 14033. There are also 101 animal subspecies listed and 1500 plant taxa, there are also two animal subpopulations listed, the Australasian and Southern African subpopulations of spiny dogfish. No fungi or protista have the classification, though only four species in those kingdoms have been evaluated by the IUCN, humans qualify for this category, and in 2008 were formally assessed as such by the IUCN
3.
IUCN Red List
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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the main authority on the conservation status of species. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, the IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world, the aim is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction. Major species assessors include BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, collectively, assessments by these organizations and groups account for nearly half the species on the Red List. The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every five years if possible, the 1964 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants used the older pre-criteria Red List assessment system. Plants listed may not, therefore, appear in the current Red List, IUCN advise that is best to check both the online Red List and the 1997 plants Red List publication. The 2006 Red List, released on 4 May 2006 evaluated 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, on 12 September 2007, the World Conservation Union released the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Russ Mittermeier, chief of Swiss-based IUCNs Primate Specialist Group, stated that 16,306 species are endangered with extinction,188 more than in 2006, the Red List includes the Sumatran orangutan in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean orangutan in the Endangered category. The study shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction, and 836 are listed as Data Deficient. The Red List of 2012 was released 19 July 2012 at Rio+20 Earth Summit, nearly 2,000 species were added, the IUCN assessed a total of 63,837 species which revealed 19,817 are threatened with extinction. With 3,947 described as endangered and 5,766 as endangered. At threat are 41% of amphibian species, 33% of reef-building corals, 30% of conifers, 25% of mammals, the IUCN Red List has listed 132 species of plants and animals from India as Critically Endangered. Extinct – No known individuals remaining, extinct in the wild – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range. Critically endangered – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, Endangered – High risk of extinction in the wild. Vulnerable – High risk of endangerment in the wild, near threatened – Likely to become endangered in the near future. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category, widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category. Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction, Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria
4.
Taxonomy (biology)
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Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy, the broadest meaning of taxonomy is used here. The word taxonomy was introduced in 1813 by Candolle, in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, the term alpha taxonomy is primarily used today to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species. In earlier literature, the term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a value of acting as permanent stimulants. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a beta taxonomy, turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy, thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined beta taxonomy as the classification of ranks higher than species. This activity is what the term denotes, it is also referred to as beta taxonomy. How species should be defined in a group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as the species problem. The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy, by extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at higher taxonomic ranks, from subgenus and above only, than species. While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, earlier works were primarily descriptive, and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on criteria, the so-called artificial systems. Later came systems based on a complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as natural systems, such as those of de Jussieu, de Candolle and Bentham. The publication of Charles Darwins Origin of Species led to new ways of thinking about classification based on evolutionary relationships and this was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler and Engler, the advent of molecular genetics and statistical methodology allowed the creation of the modern era of phylogenetic systems based on cladistics, rather than morphology alone. Taxonomy has been called the worlds oldest profession, and naming and classifying our surroundings has likely been taking place as long as mankind has been able to communicate
5.
Animal
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Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia. The animal kingdom emerged as a clade within Apoikozoa as the group to the choanoflagellates. Animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently at some point in their lives and their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later in their lives. All animals are heterotrophs, they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance, most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago. Animals can be divided broadly into vertebrates and invertebrates, vertebrates have a backbone or spine, and amount to less than five percent of all described animal species. They include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, the remaining animals are the invertebrates, which lack a backbone. These include molluscs, arthropods, annelids, nematodes, flatworms, cnidarians, ctenophores, the study of animals is called zoology. The word animal comes from the Latin animalis, meaning having breath, the biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects, and humans. Aristotle divided the world between animals and plants, and this was followed by Carl Linnaeus, in the first hierarchical classification. In Linnaeuss original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia. Since then the last four have all been subsumed into a single phylum, in 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into two subkingdoms, Metazoa and Protozoa. The protozoa were later moved to the kingdom Protista, leaving only the metazoa, thus Metazoa is now considered a synonym of Animalia. Animals have several characteristics that set apart from other living things. Animals are eukaryotic and multicellular, which separates them from bacteria and they are heterotrophic, generally digesting food in an internal chamber, which separates them from plants and algae. They are also distinguished from plants, algae, and fungi by lacking cell walls. All animals are motile, if only at life stages. In most animals, embryos pass through a stage, which is a characteristic exclusive to animals. With a few exceptions, most notably the sponges and Placozoa and these include muscles, which are able to contract and control locomotion, and nerve tissues, which send and process signals
6.
Chordate
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Chordates are deuterostomes, as during the embryo development stage the anus forms before the mouth. They are also bilaterally symmetric coelomates, in the case of vertebrate chordates, the notochord is usually replaced by a vertebral column during development, and they may have body plans organized via segmentation. There are also additional extinct taxa, the Vertebrata are sometimes considered as a subgroup of the clade Craniata, consisting of chordates with a skull, the Craniata and Tunicata compose the clade Olfactores. Of the more than 65,000 living species of chordates, the worlds largest and fastest animals, the blue whale and peregrine falcon respectively, are chordates, as are humans. Fossil chordates are known from at least as early as the Cambrian explosion, Hemichordata, which includes the acorn worms, has been presented as a fourth chordate subphylum, but it now is usually treated as a separate phylum. The Hemichordata, along with the Echinodermata, form the Ambulacraria, the Chordata and Ambulacraria form the superphylum Deuterostomia, composed of the deuterostomes. Attempts to work out the relationships of the chordates have produced several hypotheses. All of the earliest chordate fossils have found in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna. Because the fossil record of early chordates is poor, only molecular phylogenetics offers a prospect of dating their emergence. However, the use of molecular phylogenetics for dating evolutionary transitions is controversial and it has also proved difficult to produce a detailed classification within the living chordates. Attempts to produce family trees shows that many of the traditional classes are paraphyletic. While this has been known since the 19th century, an insistence on only monophyletic taxa has resulted in vertebrate classification being in a state of flux. Although the name Chordata is attributed to William Bateson, it was already in prevalent use by 1880, ernst Haeckel described a taxon comprising tunicates, cephalochordates, and vertebrates in 1866. Though he used the German vernacular form, it is allowed under the ICZN code because of its subsequent latinization, among the vertebrate sub-group of chordates the notochord develops into the spine, and in wholly aquatic species this helps the animal to swim by flexing its tail. In fish and other vertebrates, this develops into the spinal cord, the pharynx is the part of the throat immediately behind the mouth. In fish, the slits are modified to form gills, a muscular tail that extends backwards behind the anus. This is a groove in the wall of the pharynx. In filter-feeding species it produces mucus to gather food particles, which helps in transporting food to the esophagus and it also stores iodine, and may be a precursor of the vertebrate thyroid gland
7.
Bird
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Birds, a subgroup of Reptiles, are the last living examples of Dinosaurs. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5 cm bee hummingbird to the 2.75 m ostrich. They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species, at ten thousand. Birds are the closest living relatives of crocodilians, the fossil record indicates that birds evolved from feathered ancestors within the theropod group of saurischian dinosaurs. True birds first appeared during the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago, Birds, especially those in the southern continents, survived this event and then migrated to other parts of the world while diversifying during periods of global cooling. Primitive bird-like dinosaurs that lie outside class Aves proper, in the broader group Avialae, have been found dating back to the mid-Jurassic period, around 170 million years ago. Birds have wings which are more or less developed depending on the species, the digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have evolved for swimming. Many species annually migrate great distances, Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and bird songs, and participating in such social behaviours as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous or, rarely, Birds produce offspring by laying eggs which are fertilised through sexual reproduction. They are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents, most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching. Some birds, such as hens, lay eggs even when not fertilised, songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Guano is harvested for use as a fertiliser, Birds prominently figure throughout human culture. About 120–130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry, the first classification of birds was developed by Francis Willughby and John Ray in their 1676 volume Ornithologiae. Carl Linnaeus modified that work in 1758 to devise the taxonomic classification system currently in use, Birds are categorised as the biological class Aves in Linnaean taxonomy. Phylogenetic taxonomy places Aves in the dinosaur clade Theropoda, Aves and a sister group, the clade Crocodilia, contain the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria
8.
Owl
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Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds and they are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica and some remote islands. Owls are divided into two families, the Strigidae family of owls, and the Tytonidae family of barn-owls. Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets—as are those of most other birds—so they must turn their entire heads to change views. As owls are farsighted, they are unable to see anything within a few centimeters of their eyes. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of feathers on the beak. Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good, Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270°. Owls have 14 neck vertebrae compared to seven in humans, which makes their necks more flexible, other anastomoses between the carotid and vertebral arteries support this effect. The smallest owl—weighing as little as 31 g and measuring some 13.5 cm —is the elf owl, around the same diminutive length, although slightly heavier, are the lesser known long-whiskered owlet and Tamaulipas pygmy owl. The largest owl by length is the great grey owl, which measures around 70 cm on average, however, the heaviest owls are two similarly sized eagle owls, the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakistons fish owl. These two species, which are on average about 2.53 cm shorter in length than the great grey, as noted above, their facial discs help owls to funnel the sound of prey to their ears. In many species, these discs are placed asymmetrically, for better directional location, Owl plumage is generally cryptic, although several species have facial and head markings, including face masks, ear tufts, and brightly coloured irises. These markings are more common in species inhabiting open habitats. Sexual dimorphism is a difference between males and females of a species. Reverse sexual dimorphism, when females are larger than males, has been observed across multiple owl species, the degree of size dimorphism varies across multiple populations and species, and is measured through various traits, such as wing span and body mass. Overall, female owls tend to be larger than males
9.
True owl
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The true owls or typical owls are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order, here and this is unsupported by more recent research, but the relationships of the owls in general are still unresolved. This large family comprises around 189 living species in 25 genera, the typical owls have a cosmopolitan distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica. They tend to have large heads, short tails, cryptic plumage, the family is generally arboreal and obtain their food on the wing. The wings are large, broad, rounded, and long, as is the case with most birds of prey, in many owl species females are larger than males. Because of their habits, they tend not to exhibit sexual dimorphism in their plumage. The feathers are soft and the base of each is downy, the toes and tarsi are feathered in some species, and more so in species at higher latitudes. Numerous species of owls in the genus Glaucidium and the northern hawk-owl have eye patches on the backs of their heads, apparently to convince other birds they are being watched at all times. Numerous nocturnal species have ear-tufts, feathers on the sides of the head that are thought to have a camouflage function, the feathers of the facial disc are arranged in order to increase sound delivered to the ears. Hearing in owls is highly sensitive and the ears are asymmetrical allowing the owl to localise a sound in multiple directions, in addition to hearing, owls have massive eyes relative to their body size. Contrary to popular belief, however, owls cannot see well in dark and are able to see well in the day. Owls are generally nocturnal and spend much of the day roosting and they are often perceived as tame since they allow people to approach quite closely before taking flight, but they are instead attempting to avoid detection. The cryptic plumage and inconspicuous locations adopted are an effort to avoid predators, – probably subspecies of O. et sp. indet. Ibiza owl, Strigidae gen. et sp. indet, – prehistoric The supposed fossil heron Ardea lignitum was apparently a strigid owl, possibly close to Bubo. The Early–Middle Eocene genus Palaeoglaux from west-central Europe is sometimes placed here, in, Farner, D. S. King, J. R. & Parkes, Kenneth C
10.
Strix (genus)
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Strix is a genus of owls. They belong to the owl family, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owls. Common names are earless owls or wood owls though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, neotropical birds in the genus Ciccaba are sometimes included in Strix. These are medium-sized to largish, robustly-built and powerful owls and they do not have ear tufts and most are highly nocturnal woodland birds. Most live on small mammals, birds and reptiles, most owls in the Strix Genus vocalise through hooting and lack visible ears - this is how they are distinguished from other genera of owls. The Latin genus name Strix referred to a type of owl believed to suck the blood of infants. Although the genus Strix was established for the earless owls by Linnaeus in 1758, being a fairly generic type of strigid owl, they were probably the first truly modern Strigidae to evolve. However, it is not certain whether several of the species placed in this genus indeed belong here. Generally accepted in Strix are, Strix dakota – tentatively placed here Strix sp, Strix intermedia – may be paleosubspecies of S. aluco Strix brea Strix sp. Strix wintershofensis and Strix edwardsi, while being strigid owls, have not at present been reliably identified to genus, Strix ignota is sometimes erroneously considered a nomen nudum but this assumption is based on what appears to be a lapsus or misprint in a 1912 source. It may well belong into the present genus, but this requires confirmation, Strix perpasta does not appear to belong into this genus either. It is sometimes considered a synonym of a brown fish-owl paleosubspecies. UMMP V31030, a coracoid from Late Pliocene Rexroad Formation deposits of Kansas, some birds of prey from the Upper Pliocene of Kansas. Milne-Edwards, Alphonse, Recherches anatomiques et paléontologiques pour servir à lhistoire des oiseaux de la France. Mlíkovský, Jirí, Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1, paris, P. Oiseaux fossiles de France. In, Farner, D. S. King, J. R. & Parkes, Kenneth C
11.
Binomial nomenclature
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Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name, more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs, for example, humans belong to the genus Homo and within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. The formal introduction of system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus. But Gaspard Bauhin, in as early as 1623, had introduced in his book Pinax theatri botanici many names of genera that were adopted by Linnaeus. Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are common to these two codes, there are differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules. Similarly, both parts are italicized when a binomial name occurs in normal text, thus the binomial name of the annual phlox is now written as Phlox drummondii. In scientific works, the authority for a name is usually given, at least when it is first mentioned. In zoology Patella vulgata Linnaeus,1758, the original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica, the parentheses indicate that the species is now considered to belong in a different genus. The ICZN does not require that the name of the person who changed the genus be given, nor the date on which the change was made, in botany Amaranthus retroflexus L. – L. is the standard abbreviation used in botany for Linnaeus. – Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica, Rothmaler transferred it to the genus Hyacinthoides, the ICN does not require that the dates of either publication be specified. Prior to the adoption of the binomial system of naming species. Together they formed a system of polynomial nomenclature and these names had two separate functions. First, to designate or label the species, and second, to be a diagnosis or description, such polynomial names may sometimes look like binomials, but are significantly different. For example, Gerards herbal describes various kinds of spiderwort, The first is called Phalangium ramosum, Branched Spiderwort, is aptly termed Phalangium Ephemerum Virginianum, Soon-Fading Spiderwort of Virginia. The Latin phrases are short descriptions, rather than identifying labels, the Bauhins, in particular Caspar Bauhin, took some important steps towards the binomial system, by pruning the Latin descriptions, in many cases to two words. The adoption by biologists of a system of binomial nomenclature is due to Swedish botanist and physician Carl von Linné. It was in his 1753 Species Plantarum that he first began using a one-word trivial name together with a generic name in a system of binomial nomenclature. This trivial name is what is now known as an epithet or specific name
12.
Benjamin Smith Barton
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Benjamin Smith Barton was an American botanist, naturalist, and physician. Bartons father, Rev. Thomas Barton, was an Irish immigrant from Carrickmacross who opened a school near Norristown and his mother was Esther Rittenhouse, sister of astronomer David Rittenhouse. Between the years 1780-1782, Barton studied at York Academy in Lancaster, two years later, he attended the College of Philadelphia School of Medicine, studying medicine under Dr. Thomas Shippen, and attended Dr. Benjamin Rushs lectures in 1785. Young Barton also accompanied his uncle, David Rittenhouse who had commissioned to survey the western boundary of Pennsylvania in 1785. The young Bartons travels aroused a lifelong interest in Native Americans, in 1786 Barton transferred to the University of Edinburgh, where he studied for two years before leaving due to financial difficulties, disagreements with two professors, and without a degree. Historians have erroneously claimed that Barton then studied at the University of Göttingen, returning to Philadelphia in 1789, Barton practiced medicine. In 1790 he was elected to a fellowship at Philadelphias College of Physicians and that same year, he succeeded Adam Kuhn as professor of Natural History and Botany at the College of Philadelphia. The College and its medical school merged with the University of Pennsylvania the following year, two years later, Barton was also elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In early 1796 Barton succeeded Samuel Powel Griffitts, and became Professor of Materia Medica, embarrassed by his lack of credentials, Barton purchased a degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Christian-Albrechts University at Kiel in August 1796. In 1813, Barton succeeded to the professorship of the Theory and Practice of Medicine following the death of Benjamin Rush, even as he continued to lecture in natural history and botany. Concurrently with his position, he served as a physician at Pennsylvania Hospital from 1798 through his death in 1815. Barton corresponded with throughout the United States and Europe. In 1803 Barton published Elements of botany, or Outlines of the history of vegetables. Bartons work in history and botany was often assisted by William Bartram, the traveler, botanist. Bartram provided the illustrations of North American plants for Bartons 1803 Elements of Botany, from 1798-1804, Barton published a work on medicinal plants, Collections for An Essay Towards a Materia Medica of the United-States. From 1802-1805 Barton edited the Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal, Barton was also interested in anatomy and zoology, and in 1796, published his Memoir Concerning the Fascinating Faculty Which Has been Ascribed to the Rattle-Snake. He was the editor of the Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal, Barton was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814. While he was not the first to make this claim, he may have been the first to suggest a significant age to the mounds, lacking evidence, Barton nevertheless speculated that Native Americans originated in Asia
13.
Synonym (taxonomy)
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For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies. This name is no longer in use, it is now a synonym of the current scientific name which is Picea abies, unlike synonyms in other contexts, in taxonomy a synonym is not interchangeable with the name of which it is a synonym. In taxonomy, synonyms are not equals, but have a different status, for any taxon with a particular circumscription, position, and rank, only one scientific name is considered to be the correct one at any given time. A synonym cannot exist in isolation, it is always an alternative to a different scientific name, given that the correct name of a taxon depends on the taxonomic viewpoint used a name that is one taxonomists synonym may be another taxonomists correct name. Synonyms may arise whenever the same taxon is described and named more than once, independently. They may also arise when existing taxa are changed, as when two taxa are joined to one, a species is moved to a different genus. To the general user of scientific names, in such as agriculture, horticulture, ecology, general science. A synonym is a name that was used as the correct scientific name but which has been displaced by another scientific name. Thus Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the term as a name which has the same application as another. In handbooks and general texts, it is useful to have mentioned as such after the current scientific name. Synonyms used in this way may not always meet the strict definitions of the synonym in the formal rules of nomenclature which govern scientific names. Changes of scientific name have two causes, they may be taxonomic or nomenclatural, a name change may be caused by changes in the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, representing a change in taxonomic, scientific insight. A name change may be due to purely nomenclatural reasons, that is, based on the rules of nomenclature, the earliest such name is called the senior synonym, while the later name is the junior synonym. One basic principle of zoological nomenclature is that the earliest correctly published name, synonyms are important because if the earliest name cannot be used, then the next available junior synonym must be used for the taxon. Objective synonyms refer to taxa with the type and same rank. For example, John Edward Gray published the name Antilocapra anteflexa in 1855 for a species of pronghorn, however, it is now commonly accepted that his specimen was an unusual individual of the species Antilocapra americana published by George Ord in 1815. Ords name thus takes precedence, with Antilocapra anteflexa being a subjective synonym. Objective synonyms are common at the level of genera, because for various reasons two genera may contain the type species, these are objective synonyms
14.
Spotted owl
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The spotted owl is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of forests in western North America. Nests can be between 12 to 60 metres high and usually two eggs. It is an owl, which feeds on small mammals. Three subspecies are recognized, ranging in distribution from British Columbia to Mexico, the spotted owl is under pressure from habitat destruction throughout its range, and is currently classified as near threatened. The spotted owl has a length of 43 cm, wingspan of 114 cm. Its eggs are a little over 50 mm long, and are white, the spotted owl is similar in appearance to the barred owl but has cross-shaped markings on the underparts, whereas the barred owl is alternately barred on the breast and streaked on the belly. Barred owls are larger and grayer than spotted owls, in recent years the California and northern subspecies of spotted owl have been displaced by barred owls, which are more aggressive, have a broader diet and occur in more varied habitats. Though the two species may hybridize in areas where displacement is occurring, they are quite distinct. The northern spotted owl has a contiguous range from southwestern British Columbia south through western Washington and Oregon to Marin County. Spotted owls occur in a variety of hardwood and coniferous forest habitats, preferably in closed-canopy, uneven-aged, late-successional, the Mexican subspecies may also make use of chaparral and pinyon woodlands, including areas in deep, steep-walled canyons with little canopy cover. The California subspecies uses unlogged, complex early seral forests created by wildfire for foraging, large trees seem to constitute preferred nesting and roosting habitat for all three subspecies, and canopy cover greater than 40% is generally sought out. Substantial tall shrub cover is a characteristic of spotted owl habitat. Spotted owls can be found at elevations of 70–6,600 feet for the subspecies, at 1, 000–8,500 feet for the California subspecies. All subspecies appear to value the proximity of water sources, Spotted owl home ranges are generally large but of variable size, with extents of 661–14,169 acres, depending on subspecies, habitat, and prey availability. Home ranges are smaller in the season than in the nonbreeding season. Spotted owls do not build their own nests, instead making use of found in trees, deadwood and snags. Some nest sites are used repeatedly, Spotted owls most often choose the same type of cover selected for nesting sites for daytime roosting
15.
Great horned owl
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The great horned owl, also known as the tiger owl or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed owl in the Americas. The great horned owl is one of the earliest nesting birds in North America, the great horned owl is generally colored for camouflage. The underparts of the species are light with some brown horizontal barring. All subspecies are darkly barred to some extent along the sides as well, there is a variable sized white patch on the throat. South American horned owls typically have a white throat patch, often unseen unless actively displaying. The skin of the feet and legs, though almost entirely obscured by feathers, is black, even tropical great horned owls have feathered legs and feet. The feathers on the feet of the horned owl are the second longest known in any owl. The bill is dark gunmetal-gray, as are the talons, all great horned owls have a facial disc. This can be reddish, brown or gray in color and is demarked by a dark rim culminating in bold and this species horns are tufts of feathers, called plumicorns. The purpose of plumicorns is not fully understood, but the theory that they serve as a cue in territorial and socio-sexual interactions with other owls is generally accepted. The great horned owl is the heaviest extant owl in Central and South America and is the second heaviest owl in North America, after the closely related and it is heavily built, with a barrel-shaped body, a large head and broad wings. Adult great horned owls range in length from 43 to 64 cm, with an average of 55 cm, females are somewhat larger than males. Mean body weight is 1,608 g for females and 1,224 g for males, depending on subspecies, maximum weight can reach 2,503 g. The wing chord length is 297–400 mm, the tail, being relatively short as is typical of most owls, is 175 to 252 mm long. The legs, feet and talons are large and powerful. The average foot span of a fully spread foot, from talon to talon, is around 20 cm, Great horned owls can apply at least 300 pounds per square inch of crushing power in their talons, a PSI considerably greater than the human hand is capable of exerting. In some big females, the power of the great horned owl may be comparable to much larger raptor species such as the golden eagle
16.
Missouri River
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The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the fourth longest river system. For over 12,000 years, people have depended on the Missouri River and its tributaries as a source of sustenance and transportation. More than ten major groups of Native Americans populated the watershed, most leading a nomadic lifestyle, the Missouri River was one of the main routes for the westward expansion of the United States during the 19th century. The growth of the fur trade in the early 1800s laid much of the groundwork as trappers explored the region, pioneers headed west en masse beginning in the 1830s, first by covered wagon, then by the growing numbers of steamboats entering service on the river. Former Native American lands in the watershed were taken over by settlers, leading to some of the most longstanding, during the 20th century, the Missouri River basin was extensively developed for irrigation, flood control and the generation of hydroelectric power. Fifteen dams impound the main stem of the river, with more on tributaries. Meanders have been cut and the river channelized to improve navigation, from the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, three streams rise to form the headwaters of the Missouri River. The longest begins near Browers Spring,9,100 feet above sea level, on the southeastern slopes of Mount Jefferson in the Centennial Mountains. Flowing west then north, it runs first in Hell Roaring Creek, then west into the Red Rock, swings northeast to become the Beaverhead and these two streams then flow north and northwest into Montana. The Missouri River officially starts at the confluence of the Jefferson and Madison in Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Forks, Montana, the Missouri then passes through Canyon Ferry Lake, a reservoir west of the Big Belt Mountains. Issuing from the mountains near Cascade, the flows northeast to the city of Great Falls, where it drops over the Great Falls of the Missouri. Farther on, the passes through the Fort Peck Dam, and immediately downstream. At the confluence, the Yellowstone is actually the larger river, the Missouri then meanders east past Williston and into Lake Sakakawea, the reservoir formed by Garrison Dam. Below the dam the Missouri receives the Knife River from the west and flows south to Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota and it slows into the Lake Oahe reservoir just before the Cannonball River confluence. While it continues south, eventually reaching Oahe Dam in South Dakota, the Missouri makes a bend to the southeast as it winds through the Great Plains, receiving the Niobrara River and many smaller tributaries from the southwest
17.
European colonization of the Americas
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European colonization of the Americas began as early as the 10th–11th century, when West Norse sailors explored and briefly settled limited areas on the shores of present-day Canada. These Norsemen were Vikings who had discovered and settled Greenland, then sailed up the Arctic region of North America alongside Greenland, according to Icelandic Sagas, violent conflicts with the indigenous population ultimately made the Norse abandon those settlements. Running aground on the part of Hispaniola on December 5,1492, which the Taino people had inhabited since the 7th century. European conquest, large-scale exploration, colonization and industrial development soon followed, Columbus first two voyages reached the Bahamas and various Caribbean islands, including Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba. In 1497, sailing from Bristol on behalf of England, John Cabot landed on the North American coast, other powers such as France also founded colonies in the Americas, in eastern North America, a number of Caribbean islands, and small coastal parts of South America. Portugal colonized Brazil, tried colonizing the coasts of present-day Canada, the Age of Exploration was the beginning of territorial expansion for several European countries. Eventually, the entire Western Hemisphere came under the control of European governments, leading to profound changes to its landscape, population. In the 19th century alone over 50 million people left Europe for the Americas, Norse journeys to Greenland and Canada are supported by historical and archaeological evidence. It was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1978, Early explorations and conquests were made by the Spanish and the Portuguese immediately following their own final reconquest of Iberia in 1492. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés took over the Aztec Kingdom and Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire, over this same timeframe, Portugal claimed lands in North America and colonized much of eastern South America, naming it Santa Cruz and Brazil. Other European nations soon disputed the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas, England and France attempted to plant colonies in the Americas in the 16th century, but these failed. England and France succeeded in establishing permanent colonies in the following century, in the 18th century, Denmark–Norway revived its former colonies in Greenland, while the Russian Empire gained a foothold in Alaska. Denmark-Norway would later make claims in the Caribbean, starting in the 1600s. As more nations gained an interest in the colonization of the Americas, colonists often faced the threat of attacks from neighboring colonies, as well as from indigenous tribes and pirates. He was followed by other such as John Cabot, who was sponsored by England. Pedro Álvares Cabral reached Brazil and claimed it for Portugal, amerigo Vespucci, working for Portugal in voyages from 1497 to 1513, established that Columbus had reached a new set of continents. Cartographers still use a Latinized version of his first name, America, in 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and led the first European expedition to see the Pacific Ocean from the west coast of the New World. In an action with enduring historical import, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean and it was 1517 before another expedition, from Cuba, visited Central America, landing on the coast of Yucatán in search of slaves
18.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
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The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas and their descendants. The term Amerindian is used in Quebec, the Guianas, Indigenous peoples of the United States are commonly known as Native Americans or American Indians, and Alaska Natives. Application of the term Indian originated with Christopher Columbus, who, in his search for Asia, eventually, the Americas came to be known as the West Indies, a name still used to refer to the islands of the Caribbean Sea. This led to the blanket term Indies and Indians for the indigenous inhabitants, although some indigenous peoples of the Americas were traditionally hunter-gatherers—and many, especially in the Amazon basin, still are—many groups practiced aquaculture and agriculture. The impact of their agricultural endowment to the world is a testament to their time, although some societies depended heavily on agriculture, others practiced a mix of farming, hunting, and gathering. In some regions the indigenous peoples created monumental architecture, large-scale organized cities, chiefdoms, states, and empires. Many parts of the Americas are still populated by peoples, some countries have sizable populations, especially Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Greenland, Guatemala, Mexico. At least a different indigenous languages are spoken in the Americas. Some, such as the Quechuan languages, Aymara, Guaraní, Mayan languages, many also maintain aspects of indigenous cultural practices to varying degrees, including religion, social organization, and subsistence practices. Like most cultures, over time, cultures specific to many indigenous peoples have evolved to incorporate traditional aspects, some indigenous peoples still live in relative isolation from Western culture and a few are still counted as uncontacted peoples. The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the dates and routes traveled, are the subject of ongoing research. According to archaeological and genetic evidence, North and South America were the last continents in the world with human habitation. During the Wisconsin glaciation, 50–17,000 years ago, falling sea levels allowed people to move across the bridge of Beringia that joined Siberia to northwest North America. Alaska was a glacial refugium because it had low snowfall, allowing a small population to exist, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of North America, blocking nomadic inhabitants and confining them to Alaska for thousands of years. Indigenous genetic studies suggest that the first inhabitants of the Americas share a single population, one that developed in isolation. The isolation of these peoples in Beringia might have lasted 10–20,000 years, around 16,500 years ago, the glaciers began melting, allowing people to move south and east into Canada and beyond. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets. Another route proposed involves migration - either on foot or using primitive boats - along the Pacific Northwest coast to the south, archeological evidence of the latter would have been covered by the sea level rise of more than 120 meters since the last ice age
19.
Bison
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Bison are large, even-toed ungulates in the genus Bison within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four species are recognized. Of the four species, three were North American endemics, Bison antiquus, B. latifrons, and B. occidentalis. The fourth, B. priscus, ranged across steppe environments from Western Europe, through Central Asia, East Asia including Japan, of the two surviving species, the American bison, B. bison, found only in North America, is the more numerous. Although sometimes referred to historically as a buffalo, it is distantly related to the true buffalo. The North American species is composed of two subspecies, the Plains bison, B. b. bison, and the Wood bison, B. b. athabascae, which is the namesake of Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada. A third subspecies, the Eastern Woodland Bison is no longer considered a valid taxon, references to Woods Bison or Wood Bison from the eastern United States confusingly refer to this subspecies, not B. b. athabascae, which was not found in the region. The European bison B. bonasus, or wisent, is found in Europe, while all bison species are classified in their own genus, they are sometimes bred with domestic cattle and produce fertile offspring called beefalo or zubron. The American bison and the European bison are the largest surviving terrestrial animals in North America, Bison are good swimmers and can cross rivers over half a mile wide. They are nomadic grazers and travel in herds, the bulls leave the herds of females at two or three years of age, and join a male herd, which are generally smaller than female herds. Towards the end of the summer, for the reproductive season, American bison are known for living in the Great Plains, but formerly had a much larger range including much of the eastern United States and parts of Mexico. The American Plains bison is no longer listed as endangered, genetically pure B. b. bison currently number only ~20,000, separated into fragmented herds - all of which require active conservation measures. Although superficially similar, physical and behavioural differences exist between the American and European bison, the American species has 15 ribs, while the European bison has 14. The American bison has four lumbar vertebrae, while the European has five, adult American bison are less slim in build and have shorter legs. American bison tend to more, and browse less than their European relatives. Their anatomies reflect this difference, the American bisons head hangs lower than the Europeans. The body of the American bison is hairier, though its tail has less hair than that of the European bison. American bison are more easily tamed than their European cousins, the bovine tribe split about 5 to 10 million years ago into the buffalos and a group leading to bison and taurine cattle
20.
Elk
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The elk, or wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, in the world, and one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. This animal should not be confused with the still larger moose to which the name elk applies in British English, apart from the moose, the only other member of the deer family to rival the elk in size is the south Asian sambar. Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Although they are native to North America and eastern Asia, they have adapted well to countries in which they have introduced, including Argentina. Their great adaptability may threaten endemic species and ecosystems into which they have been introduced, Elk are susceptible to a number of infectious diseases, some of which can be transmitted to livestock. Efforts to eliminate infectious diseases from elk populations, largely by vaccination, have had mixed success, some cultures revere the elk as a spiritual force. In parts of Asia, antlers and their velvet are used in traditional medicines, Elk are hunted as a game species. The meat is leaner and higher in protein than beef or chicken and it was long believed to be a subspecies of the European red deer, but evidence from a number of mitochondrial DNA genetic studies beginning in 1998 show that the two are distinct species. Key morphological differences that distinguish C. canadensis from C. elaphus are the formers wider rump patch and paler-hued antlers. The word elk is related to the Latin alces, Old Norse elgr, Scandinavian elg/älg and German Elch, the name wapiti is from the Shawnee and Cree word waapiti, meaning white rump. This name is used in particular for the Asian subspecies, because in Eurasia the name elk continues to be used for the moose, Asian subspecies are sometimes referred to as the maral, but this name applies primarily to the Caspian red deer, a subspecies of red deer. There is a subspecies of elk in Mongolia called the Altai wapiti, members of the genus Cervus first appear in the fossil record 25 million years ago, during the Oligocene in Eurasia, but do not appear in the North American fossil record until the early Miocene. The extinct Irish elk was not a member of the genus Cervus, until recently, red deer and elk were considered to be one species, Cervus elaphus. However, the two species have freely inter-bred in New Zealands Fiordland National Park, where the animals have all. There are numerous subspecies of elk described, with six from North America and four from Asia, populations vary as to antler shape and size, body size, coloration and mating behavior. DNA investigations of the Eurasian subspecies revealed that phenotypic variation in antlers, mane, of the six subspecies of elk known to have inhabited North America in historical times, four remain, including the Roosevelt, tule, Manitoban and Rocky Mountain. The eastern elk and Merriams elk subspecies have been extinct for at least a century, four subspecies described in Asia include the Altai wapiti and the Tianshan wapiti. Two distinct subspecies found in China and Korea are the Manchurian wapiti, the Manchurian wapiti is darker and more reddish in coloration than the other populations
21.
Deer
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Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the deer and the chital, and the Capreolinae, including the elk, reindeer, the Western roe deer. Female reindeer, and male deer of all species, grow, in this they differ from permanently horned antelope, which are in the same order, Artiodactyla. The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and form their own families, Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively. Deer appear in art from Palaeolithic cave paintings onwards, and they have played a role in mythology, religion and their economic importance includes the use of their meat as venison, their skins as soft, strong buckskin, and their antlers as handles for knives. Deer hunting has been a sport since at least the Middle Ages. Deer live in a variety of biomes, ranging from tundra to the tropical rainforest, while often associated with forests, many deer are ecotone species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets and prairie and savanna. The majority of deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest. Clearing open areas within forests to some extent may actually benefit deer populations by exposing the understory and allowing the types of grasses, weeds, additionally, access to adjacent croplands may also benefit deer. However, adequate forest or brush cover must still be provided for populations to grow, however, fallow deer have been introduced to South Africa. There are also species of deer that are highly specialized, and live almost exclusively in mountains, grasslands, swamps. Some deer have a distribution in both North America and Eurasia. Examples include the caribou that live in Arctic tundra and taiga and moose that inhabit taiga, huemul deer of South Americas Andes fill the ecological niches of the ibex and wild goat, with the fawns behaving more like goat kids. Mountain slope habitats vary from moist coniferous/mixed forested habitats to dry forests with alpine meadows higher up. The foothills and river valleys between the mountain provide a mosaic of cropland and deciduous parklands. The rare woodland caribou have the most restricted range living at altitudes in the subalpine meadows. Elk and mule deer both migrate between the alpine meadows and lower coniferous forests and tend to be most common in this region, elk also inhabit river valley bottomlands, which they share with White-tailed deer. They also live in the aspen parklands north of Calgary and Edmonton, the adjacent Great Plains grassland habitats are left to herds of elk, American bison, and pronghorn antelope
22.
Beaver
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The beaver is a large, primarily nocturnal, semiaquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, the North American beaver and Eurasian beaver, Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges. They are the second-largest rodent in the world and their colonies create one or more dams to provide still, deep water to protect against predators, and to float food and building material. The North American beaver population was more than 60 million. Beavers, along with pocket gophers and kangaroo rats, are castorimorph rodents, Beavers are known for their natural trait of building dams on rivers and streams, and building their homes in the resulting pond. Beavers also build canals to float building materials that are difficult to haul over land and they use powerful front teeth to cut trees and other plants that they use both for building and for food. In the absence of existing ponds, beavers must construct dams before building their lodges, first they place vertical poles, then fill between the poles with a crisscross of horizontally placed branches. They fill in the gaps between the branches with a combination of weeds and mud until the dam impounds sufficient water to surround the lodge and this serves as a warning to beavers in the area. Once a beaver has sounded the alarm, nearby beavers will dive, Beavers are slow on land, but are good swimmers, and can stay under water for as long as 15 minutes. Beavers are herbivores, and prefer the wood of quaking aspen, cottonwood, willow, alder, birch, maple and they also eat sedges, pondweed, and water lilies. Beavers do not hibernate, but store sticks and logs in a pile in their ponds, some of the pile is generally above water and accumulates snow in the winter. This insulation of snow often keeps the water freezing in and around the food pile. Beavers have webbed hind-feet, and a broad, scaly tail and they have poor eyesight, but keen senses of hearing, smell, and touch. A beavers teeth grow continuously so that they not be worn down by chewing on wood. Their four incisors are composed of hard orange enamel on the front, the chisel-like ends of incisors are maintained by their self-sharpening wear pattern. The enamel in a beavers incisors contains iron and is resistant to acid than enamel in the teeth of other mammals. Beavers continue to grow throughout their lives, adult specimens weighing over 25 kg are not uncommon. Females are as large as or larger than males of the same age, Beavers live up to 24 years of age in the wild
23.
Western kingbird
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The western kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher. Adults are grey-olive on the upperparts with a head and a dark line through the eyes. They have a black tail with white outer feathers. Western kingbirds also have a crown that they only display during courtship. The Western Kingbird is very similar to and easily confused with Cassins kingbird, Couchs kingbird, the western, however, is generally lighter in coloration and can be distinguished from these species by the black squared tail with white outer webs, as well as voice. Their breeding habitat is open areas in western North America, kingbirds make a sturdy cup nest in a tree or shrub, sometimes on top of a pole or other man-made structure. Three to five eggs are laid and incubated for 12 to 14 days, the name kingbird is derived from their take-charge behaviour. These birds aggressively defend their territory, even against much larger birds such as hawks and these birds migrate in flocks to Florida and the Pacific coast of southern Mexico and Central America. They wait on a perch and fly out to catch insects in flight, sometimes hovering. The song is a squeaky chatter, sometimes compared to a squeaky toy, the call is a sharp loud whit. Western kingbird photo gallery at VIREO Interactive range map of Tyrannus verticalis at IUCN Red List maps Audio recordings of Western kingbird on Xeno-canto
24.
Eastern phoebe
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The eastern phoebe is a small passerine bird. The genus name Sayornis is constructed from the part of Charles Lucien Bonapartes name for Says phoebe, Muscicapa saya. Phoebe is a name for the Roman moon-goddess Diana. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America, although its range does not include the southeastern coastal United States. It is migratory, wintering in the southernmost United States and Central America and it is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. This is one of the first birds to return to the grounds in spring. This species appears remarkably big-headed, especially if it puffs up the small crest and it has a white throat, dirty gray breast and buffish underparts which become whiter during the breeding season. Two indistinct buff bars are present on each wing, the eastern phoebes call is a sharp chip, and the song, from which it gets its name, is fee-bee. The eastern wood pewee is extremely similar in appearance and it lacks the buff hue usually present on the lighter parts of the eastern phoebes plumage, and thus has always clearly defined and contrasting wing-bars. It also does not bob its tail habitually, and appears on the breeding grounds much later though it leaves for winter quarters at about the time as the eastern phoebe. The breeding habitat of the eastern phoebe is open woodland, farmland and suburbs and this phoebe is insectivorous, and often perches conspicuously when seeking food items. It also eats fruits and berries in cooler weather and it often nests on human structures such as bridges and buildings. Nesting activity may start as early as the first days of April, the nest is an open cup with a mud base and lined with moss and grass, built in crevice in a rock or man-made site, two to six eggs are laid. Both parents feed the young and usually two broods per year. The eastern phoebe is occasionally host to the nest-parasitic brown-headed cowbird, eastern phoebe photo gallery at VIREO Interactive range map of Sayornis phoebe at IUCN Red List maps
25.
Eastern bluebird
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The eastern bluebird is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards. It is the bird of Missouri and New York. This species measures 16–21 cm long, spans 25–32 cm across the wings, Eastern bluebirds are found east of the Rockies, southern Canada to the Gulf states, and southeastern Arizona to Nicaragua. The bright-blue breeding plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, the males call includes sometimes soft warbles of jeew or chir-wi or the melodious song chiti WEEW wewidoo. About two-thirds of the diet of an adult consists of insects, the remainder of the birds diet is made up of wild fruits or berries. Favored insect foods include grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and beetles, other food items include earthworms, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs, and snails. Fruits are especially important when insects are scarce in the winter, some preferred winter food sources include dogwood, hawthorn, wild grape, and sumac, and hackberry seeds. Supplemental fruits eaten include black raspberries, bayberries, fruit of honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, eastern juniper, bluebirds feed by perching on a high point, such as a branch or fence post, and swooping down to catch insects on or near the ground. The availability of a food source will often determine whether or not a bird will migrate. If bluebirds do remain in a region for the winter, they group and seek cover in heavy thickets, orchards, or other areas in which adequate food, Eastern bluebirds are very social birds. At times, they gather in flocks of a hundred or more, however, they are territorial during the breeding season and may continue to defend a feeding area throughout the winter. Mating occurs in the spring and summer, a mature female typically raises two broods each season. Nests are constructed in trees within abandoned woodpecker holes or other cavities that provide adequate protection, construction of the nest is done primarily by the female and takes around 10 days to complete. These nests are small, cup-like structures lined with grass, feathers, stems, each female lays three to seven light-blue or, rarely, white eggs. The female incubates the eggs, which hatch after 13 to 16 days, the young cannot care for themselves upon hatching. The female broods the chicks for up to seven days after hatching, fledglings then leave the nest 15 to 20 days after hatching. Both parents cooperate in raising the young, which feed a diet consisting almost entirely of insects. Some young stay around the nest to raise another brood
26.
Blue jay
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The blue jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States, resident populations are also found in Newfoundland, Canada, while breeding populations can be found in southern Canada. It breeds in deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common near and in residential areas. It is predominantly blue with a white chest and underparts, and it has a black, U-shaped collar around its neck and a black border behind the crest. Sexes are similar in size and plumage, and plumage does not vary throughout the year, four subspecies of the blue jay are recognized. The blue jay mainly feeds on nuts and seeds such as acorns, soft fruits, arthropods and it typically gleans food from trees, shrubs, and the ground, though it sometimes hawks insects from the air. Like squirrels, blue jays are known to hide nuts for later consumption and it builds an open cup nest in the branches of a tree, which both sexes participate in constructing. The clutch can contain two to seven eggs, which are blueish or light brown with brown spots, young are altricial, and are brooded by the female for 8–12 days after hatching. They may remain with their parents for one to two months, the birds name derives from its noisy, garrulous nature. It is sometimes called a jaybird, the blue jay was first described as Pica glandaria cærulea cristata in English naturalist Mark Catesbys 1731 publication of Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas. It was later described as Corvus cristatus in Carl Linnaeus 1758 edition of Systema Naturae. The genus name Cyanocitta derives from the Greek words kyaneos and the kitta and kissa, and the term blue chatterer refers to the blue plumage of the head, nape, back. The specific name derives from Latin referring to the prominent blue crest of the jay. The blue jay measures 22–30 cm from bill to tail and weighs 70–100 g, Jays from Connecticut averaged 92.4 g in mass, while jays from southern Florida averaged 73.7 g. There is a pronounced crest on the head, a crown of feathers, when excited or aggressive, the crest will be fully raised. When frightened, the crest bristles outwards, brushlike, when the bird is feeding among other jays or resting, the crest is flattened on the head. Its plumage is lavender-blue to mid-blue in the crest, back, wings, and tail, the underside is off-white and the neck is collared with black which extends to the sides of the head. The wing primaries and tail are barred with black, sky-blue
27.
Brown thrasher
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The brown thrasher is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds. It is the bird of Georgia. As a member of the genus Toxostoma, the bird is a large-sized thrasher and it has brown upper parts with a white under part with dark streaks. Because of this, it is confused with the smaller wood thrush. The brown thrasher is noted for having over 1000 song types, however, each note is usually repeated in two or three phrases. The brown thrasher is an omnivore, with its ranging from insects to fruits and nuts. The usual nesting areas are shrubs, small trees, or at times on ground level, Brown thrashers are generally inconspicuous but territorial birds, especially when defending their nests, and will attack species as large as humans. The brown thrasher was originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work Systema Naturae as Turdus rufus, the genus name Toxostoma comes from the Ancient Greek toxon, bow or arch and stoma, mouth. The specific rufum is Latin for red, but covers a range of hues than the English term. Although not in the family, this bird is sometimes erroneously called the brown thrush. The name misconception could be because the word thrasher is believed to derive from the word thrush, the naturalist Mark Catesby called it the fox-coloured thrush. Genetic studies have found that the thrasher is most closely related to the long-billed and Cozumel thrashers. The brown thrasher is bright reddish-brown above with thin, dark streaks on its buffy underparts and it has a whitish-colored chest with distinguished teardrop-shaped markings on its chest. Its long, rufous tail is rounded with paler corners, and its bill is brownish, long, and curves downward. Both male and females are similar in appearance, the juvenile appearance of the brown thrasher from the adult is not remarkably different, except for plumage texture, indiscreet upper part markings, and the irises having an olive color. Adults measure around 23.5 to 30.5 cm long with a wingspan of 29 to 33 cm, and weigh 61 to 89 g, with an average of 68 g. Among standard measurements, the chord is 9.5 to 11.5 cm, the tail is 10.9 to 14.1 cm, the culmen is 2.2 to 2.9 cm. The western brown thrasher is distinguished by a more cinnamon upper part, whiter wing bars, and darker breast spots than T. rufum rufum
28.
Red-tailed hawk
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The red-tailed hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the chickenhawk, though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range. There are fourteen recognized subspecies, which vary in appearance and range and it is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, typically weighing from 690 to 1,600 g and measuring 45–65 cm in length, with a wingspan from 110–145 cm. The red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males, the bird is sometimes referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context. The subspecies Harlans hawk is sometimes considered a separate species, the red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields and urban areas. It lives throughout the North American continent, except in areas of unbroken forest or the high arctic and it is legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes, passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed the adult behaviors which would make them more difficult to train. As is the case with many raptors, the red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as is typical in large raptors, frequently reported mean body mass for Red-tailed Hawks are somewhat higher than expansive research reveals. The heaviest surveyed weights came from migrants in Cape May, New Jersey, males can reportedly measure 45 to 60 cm in total length, females measuring 48 to 65 cm long. The wingspan can range from 105 to 141 cm and, in the scientific method of measuring wing size. The tail measures 188 to 258.7 mm in length, the exposed culmen was reported to range from 21.7 to 30.2 mm and the tarsus averaged 74. 7–95.8 mm. The middle toe can range from 38.3 to 53.8 mm, Red-tailed hawk plumage can be variable, depending on the subspecies and the region. These color variations are morphs, and are not related to molting, the western North American population, B. j. calurus, is the most variable subspecies and has three color morphs, light, dark, and intermediate or rufus. The dark and intermediate morphs constitute 10–20% of the population, though the markings and hue vary across the subspecies, the basic appearance of the red-tailed hawk is consistent. Overall, this species is blocky and broad in shape, often appearing heavier than other Buteos of similar length, a whitish underbelly with a dark brown band across the belly, formed by horizontal streaks in feather patterning, is present in most color variations. Especially in younger birds, the underside may be covered with dark brown spotting. The red tail, which gives this species its name, is uniformly brick-red above, the bill is short and dark, in the hooked shape characteristic of raptors, and the head can sometimes appear small in size against the thick body frame
29.
American crow
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The American crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a bird found throughout much of North America. American crows are the new counterpart to the carrion crow. Although the American crow and the crow are very similar in size, structure and behavior. The American crow nevertheless occupies the role the hooded crow does in Eurasia. From beak to tail, an American crows measures 40–50 cm, mass varies from about 300 to 600 g. Males tend to be larger than females, the most usual call is CaaW. -CaaW. -CaaW. The American crow is all black, with iridescent feathers and it looks much like other all-black corvids. They can be distinguished from the raven because American crows are smaller and from the fish crow because American crows do not hunch. American crows are common, widespread, and susceptible to the West Nile virus, direct transmission of the virus from American crows to humans is unheard of and unlikely. The American crow was described by Christian Ludwig Brehm in 1822 and its scientific name means literally short-billed crow, from Ancient Greek brachy- short- and rhynchos billed. The northwestern crow is very related to the American crow. Its ancestors became separated by Ice Age glaciation west of the Rocky Mountains and it is endemic to Pacific temperate rain forests where it all but replaces the American crow. Only in the Seattle region do they co-occur to any extent, in form the two species are much alike. There is a difference in voice. They differ in bill proportion and form a rough NE-SW clinal in size across North America, Birds are smallest in the far west and on the south coast. Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos – eastern crow, northeastern United States, eastern Canada, corvus brachyrhynchos hesperis – western crow, Western North America except arctic north, Pacific Northwest and extreme south. Smaller overall with a more slender bill and low-pitched voice
30.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
31.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
32.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
33.
American Ornithological Society
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The American Ornithological Society is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists Union and its members are primarily professional ornithologists although membership is open to anyone with an interest in birds. The AOS is a member of the Ornithological Council and Ornithological Societies of North America, the society publishes the two scholarly journals The Auk and The Condor as well as the AOS Checklist of North American Birds. In October 2016 the AOU announced that it was ceasing to operate as an independent union, the American Ornithologists Union was founded in 1883. Three members of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, Elliott Coues, J. A. Twenty-five responded to the letter and 21 were present at the first meeting, the founding convention was held in the library of the American Museum of Natural History on 26 September 1883. Founding members of the AOU include those present at the inaugural convention, from New York, Harry Balch Bailey, Eugene Pintard Bicknell, Daniel Giraud Elliot, Albert Kenrick Fisher, Joseph Bassett Holder, Edgar Alexander Mearns, and Clinton Hart Merriam. From Massachusetts, Charles Foster Batchelder, William Brewster, Charles Barney Cory, from the District of Columbia, Elliott Coues, D. Webster Prentiss, and Robert Ridgway. Regular membership in the AOS is open to any dues paying person with an interest in birds, Student rates are available for full-time students. Student Membership Awards of a no-cost membership are available to qualified undergraduate and graduate students who wish to pursue a career in ornithology, there are three higher classes of membership, Elective Member, Honorary Fellow and Fellow. Elective Members are selected for significant contributions to ornithology and/or service to the Union, when elected, they must reside in the Western Hemisphere. A proposed Elective Member must be nominated by three Fellows or Elective Members and more than half of the Fellows and Elective Members must vote for the member to be declared elected. Nominations for Honorary Fellow are by a committee appointed by the president or any three Fellows. A vote of the majority of the Fellows present at a meeting is required for election. Each Fellow may vote affirmatively for as many as there are vacancies, Fellows are chosen for exceptional and sustained contributions to ornithology and/or service to the Union and must be residents or citizens of the Western Hemisphere when elected. Candidates must be an Honorary Fellow or Elective Member in good standing, a vote of two thirds of the Fellows at an annual meeting is required for election as a Fellow. The quarterly journal, The Auk, has published since January 1884. The weekly journal The Condor, has published since 1899. Other significant publications include the AOU Checklist of North American Birds, which is the reference work for the field
34.
Suburb
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A suburb is a residential area or a mixed use area, either existing as part of a city or urban area or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city. In some areas, such as Australia, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and a few U. S. states, new suburbs are routinely annexed by adjacent cities. In others, such as Arabia, Canada, France, and much of the United States, Suburbs first emerged on a large scale in the 19th and 20th centuries as a result of improved rail and road transport, which led to an increase in commuting. Suburbs tend to proliferate around cities that have an abundance of adjacent flat land, the English word is derived from the Old French subburbe, which is in turn derived from the Latin suburbium, formed from sub and urbs. The first recorded usage of the term in English, was made by John Wycliffe in 1380, in Australia and New Zealand, suburbs have become formalised as geographic subdivisions of a city and are used by postal services in addressing. In rural areas in both countries, their equivalents are called localities, the terms inner suburb and outer suburb are used to differentiate between the higher-density suburbs in proximity to the city center, and the lower-density suburbs on the outskirts of the urban area. The term middle suburbs is also used, Suburbs, in this sense, can range from areas that seem more like residential areas of a city proper to areas separated by open countryside from the city centre. In large cities such as London, suburbs include formerly separate towns and villages that have been gradually absorbed during a growth and expansion. In the United States and Canada, suburb can refer either to an residential area of a city or town or to a separate municipality or unincorporated area outside a town or city. The earliest appearance of suburbs coincided with the spread of the first urban settlements, large walled towns tended to be the focus around which smaller villages grew up in a symbiotic relationship with the market town. The word suburbani was first used by the Roman statesman Cicero in reference to the large villas, as populations grew during the Early Modern Period in Europe, urban towns swelled with a steady influx of people from the countryside. In some places, nearby settlements were swallowed up as the city expanded. The peripheral areas on the outskirts of the city were generally inhabited by the very poorest, by the mid-19th century, the first major suburban areas were springing up around London as the city became more overcrowded and unsanitary. A major catalyst in suburban growth came from the opening of the Metropolitan Railway in the 1860s, the line joined the capitals financial heart in the City to what were to become the suburbs of Middlesex. Harrow was reached in 1880, and the line extended as far as Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire, more than 50 miles from Baker Street. Unlike other railway companies, which were required to dispose of surplus land, in 1912, it was suggested that a specially formed company should take over from the Surplus Lands Committee and develop suburban estates near the railway. However, World War I delayed these plans and it was only in 1919, with expectation of a housing boom. The term Metro-land was coined by the Mets marketing department in 1915 when the Guide to the Extension Line became the Metro-land guide and this promoted the land served by the Met for the walker, visitor and later the house-hunter
35.
Old-growth forest
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Old-growth features include diverse tree-related structures that provide diverse wildlife habitat that increases the biodiversity of the forested ecosystem. The concept of tree structure includes multi-layered canopies and canopy gaps, greatly varying tree heights and diameters. Old-growth forests are valuable, and logging of these forests has been a point of contention between the logging industry and environmentalists. Old-growth forests tend to have trees and standing dead trees, multi-layered canopies with gaps that result from the deaths of individual trees. Depending on the forest, this may take anywhere from a century to several millennia, hardwood forests of the eastern United States can develop old-growth characteristics in one or two generations of trees, or 150–500 years. In British Columbia, Canada, old growth is defined as 120 to 140 years of age in the interior of the province where fire is a frequent and natural occurrence. In British Columbia’s coastal rainforests, old growth is defined as more than 250 years. In Australia, eucalypt trees rarely exceed 350 years of age due to frequent fire disturbance, Forest types have very different development patterns, natural disturbances and appearances. Levels of biodiversity may be higher or lower in old-growth forests compared to that in second-growth forests, depending on circumstances, environmental variables. Logging in old-growth forests is an issue in many parts of the world. Excessive logging reduces biodiversity, affecting not only the old-growth forest itself, a forest in old-growth stage has a mix of tree ages, due to a distinct regeneration pattern for this stage. New trees regenerate at different times from other, because each one of them has different spatial location relative to the main canopy. The mixed age of the forest is an important criterion in ensuring that the forest is a stable ecosystem in the long term. A climax stand that is uniformly aged becomes senescent and degrades within a relatively short time-period to result in a new cycle of forest succession, thus, uniformly aged stands are a less stable ecosystem. Forest canopy gaps are essential in creating and maintaining mixed-age stands, also, some herbaceous plants only become established in canopy openings, but persist beneath an understory. Openings are a result of death due to small impact disturbances such as wind, low-intensity fires. Because old-growth forest is structurally diverse it provides higher-diversity habitat than forests in other stages, thus, sometimes higher biological diversity can be sustained in old-growth forest, or at least a biodiversity that is different from other forest stages. The characteristic topography of much old-growth forest consists of pits and mounds, mounds are caused by decaying fallen trees, and pits by the roots pulled out of the ground when trees fall due to natural causes, including being pushed over by animals
36.
Northeastern United States
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The Northeast is one of the four regions defined by the Census Bureau for the collection and analysis of statistics. The Census Bureau-defined region has an area of 181,324 sq mi with 162,257 square miles of that being land mass. Though lacking a unified identity, the Northeastern region is the nations most economically developed, densely populated. Of the nations four census regions, the Northeast is the second most urban, with 85 percent of its residing in urban areas. The region is subdivided into New England and the Mid-Atlantic States and this definition has been essentially unchanged since 1880 and is widely used as a standard for data tabulation. C. Similarly, the Geological Society of America defines the Northeast as these same states but with the addition of Maryland, the narrowest definitions include only the states of New England. Other more restrictive definitions include New England and New York as part of the Northeast United States, States beyond the Census Bureau definition that other entities include in the Northeast United States are, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D. C. Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D. C. and West Virginia Delaware, Maryland, Washington, most did not settle in North America until the 17th century. Among the many tribes that inhabited this area were those made up the Iroquois nations. In the United States of the 21st century,18 federally recognized tribes reside in the Northeast, the two cultural and geographic regions that form parts of the Northeastern region have distinct histories. The first Europeans to settle New England were Pilgrims from England, the Pilgrims arrived by the Mayflower ship and founded Plymouth Colony so they could practice religion freely. Ten years later, a group of Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston to form Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1636, colonists established Connecticut Colony and Providence Plantations, Providence was founded by Roger Williams, who was banished by Massachusetts for his beliefs in freedom of religion, and it was the first colony to guarantee all citizens freedom of worship. Anne Hutchinson, who was banished by Massachusetts, formed the town of Portsmouth. Providence, Portsmouth, and two towns consolidated to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Although the first settlers of New England were motivated by religion, in recent history. In a 2009 Gallup survey, less than half of residents in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts reported religion as an important part of their daily life. In a 2010 Gallup survey, less than 30% of residents in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New England played a prominent role in early American education
37.
New Jersey
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New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies entirely within the statistical areas of New York City. New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, in the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. New Jersey was the site of decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century. In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Camden, Paterson, Newark, Trenton, around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains, around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as rivers, swamps. New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans, with the Lenni-Lenape being dominant at the time of contact, scheyichbi is the Lenape name for the land that is now New Jersey. The Lenape society was divided into clans that were based upon common female ancestors. These clans were organized into three distinct phratries identified by their animal sign, Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf and they first encountered the Dutch in the early 17th century, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade. The Dutch became the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey, the Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Middle Atlantic states. Although the European principle of ownership was not recognized by the Lenape. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw who established a patronship called Pavonia in 1630 along the North River which eventually became the Bergen, peter Minuits purchase of lands along the Delaware River established the colony of New Sweden. During the English Civil War, the Channel Island of Jersey remained loyal to the British Crown and it was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that Charles II of England was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I. The North American lands were divided by Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York, the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony. James then granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two friends who had remained loyal through the English Civil War, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton, the area was named the Province of New Jersey. Since the states inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic, New England Congregationalists settled alongside Scots Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed migrants
38.
Gatineau Park
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Gatineau Park is located in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a 361 square kilometres wedge of land extending north and west from the city of Gatineau QC. With a perimeter of 179.2 kilometres, the park includes parts of the municipalities of Chelsea, Pontiac, La Pêche, the main entrance to the park is 4 kilometres north of downtown Ottawa, Ontario. The parks area has a history of human inhabitation and usage predating the arrival of European settlers. Its more recent pre-park history includes various forms of exploitation such as farming, logging, hunting. The idea of creating a park in the Gatineau Hills for recreational purposes was proposed as early as 1903, in 1938 money was allotted for the acquisition of Gatineau woodlands and the construction of a parkway. Gatineau Park was not only the first national park advocated for Quebec, as well, it was to be the first national park created by the first parks service in the world, the Dominion Parks Branch. On December 3,1913, Dominion Parks Commissioner James B, Harkin wrote to Deputy Minister of the Interior William Cory, arguing for the creation of a nationwide system of parks, the first of which was to be Gatineau Park. A few months later, on Corys suggestion, Harkin wrote Quebec Minister of Mines, with the First World War intervening shortly thereafter, the government of Canada had to tend to more pressing matters. During debate, however, Conservative MP John Edwards accused Prime Minister King of wanting to create a park around his Kingsmere property, though he denied the charge, the criticism would shape Kings subsequent decisions regarding the park. It would take another eleven years for the park to be created in embryonic form on July 1,1938, today, the National Capital Commission manages the park, along with all federal lands and buildings in Canadas National Capital Region. Its policies on park boundaries, land management and ownership, as well as on residential construction in the park, have been the subject of controversy, to address these issues, several private members’ bills have been introduced in the Senate and House of Commons since 2005. The federal government also tabled its own Gatineau Park legislation in June 2009, none of the bills tabled so far has been enacted into law. The latest government legislation on the subject, Bill C-20, was reported back to the House of Commons on November 15,2010, however, it died on the Order Paper before it could be given third reading when the 40th parliament was dissolved. In the fall of 2010, a controversy broke out in the press pertaining to the rehabilitation of Trail no.1 in Gatineau Park and its report concluded that garbage spread along the trail was within acceptable standards, a conclusion that park advocates met with scepticism. The NCC also confirmed staff for the contractor were not certified in the maintenance of trails in the park. More recently, on April 30,2014, the Conservative government defeated the latest private members bill pertaining to Gatineau Park, the Conservatives argued that the bill was too restrictive, since it applied only to Gatineau Park and not to other green space in the National Capital Region. They also said they voted against it because they intended to re-introduce their own legislation in the near term, according to park activists, C-565, though seriously flawed, should have been sent to committee for study and amendment
39.
Gatineau
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Gatineau, officially Ville de Gatineau, is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province after Montreal, Quebec City and it is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, together with which it forms Canadas National Capital Region. As of 2011 Gatineau had a population of 265,349, the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area had a population of 1,236,324. Gatineau is coextensive with an equivalent to a regional county municipality and census division of the same name. It is the seat of the district of Hull. The current city of Gatineau is centred on an area called Hull, Wright brought his family, five other families and twenty-five labourers and a plan to establish an agriculturally based community to what was then a mosquito-infested wilderness. But soon after, Wright and his family took advantage of the large lumber stands, the original settlement was called Wrightstown, later it became Hull and in 2002, after amalgamation, the City of Gatineau. In 1820, before immigrants from Great Britain arrived in numbers, Hull Township had a population of 707, including 365 men,113 women. Note the discrepancy in the number of men and women, owing to the work of the timber trade. In 1824, there were 106 families and 803 persons, during the rest of the 1820s, the population of Hull doubled, owing to the arrival of Ulster Protestants. By 1851, the population of the County of Ottawa was 11,104, by comparison, Bytown had a population of 7,760 in 1851. By 1861, Ottawa County now had a population of 15,671, the gradual move to the Township by French Canadians continued over the years, with the French Canadians growing from 10% of the population in 1850, to 50% in 1870, and 90% in 1920. The Gatineau River, like the Ottawa River, was much the preserve of the draveurs. Ottawa was founded later, as the terminus of the Rideau Canal built under the command of Col. John By as part of fortifications and its greater distance from the Canada–US border also left the new parliament less vulnerable to foreign attack. In the 1940s, during World War II, Hull, along various other regions within Canada, such as the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Hulls prison was simply labelled with a number and remained unnamed just like Canadas other war prisons, the prisoners of war were sorted and classified into categories by nationality and civilian or military status. In this camp, POWs were mostly Italian and German nationals, during the Conscription Crisis of 1944 the prison eventually included Canadians who had refused conscription. Also, prisoners were forced into hard labour which included farming and lumbering the land, during the 1970s and early 1980s, the decaying old downtown core of Hull was transformed by demolition and replacement with a series of large office complexes
40.
Quebec
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Quebec is the second-most populous province of Canada and the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population, with French as the sole provincial official language. Quebec is Canadas largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division and it also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canadas second-most populous province, after Ontario, most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area, the Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples. Even in central Quebec at comparatively southerly latitudes winters are severe in inland areas, Quebec independence debates have played a large role in the politics of the province. Parti Québécois governments held referendums on sovereignty in 1980 and 1995, in 2006, the House of Commons of Canada passed a symbolic motion recognizing the Québécois as a nation within a united Canada. These many industries have all contributed to helping Quebec become an economically influential province within Canada, early variations in the spelling of the name included Québecq and Kébec. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the seat for the French colony of New France. The province is sometimes referred to as La belle province, the Province of Quebec was founded in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 after the Treaty of Paris formally transferred the French colony of Canada to Britain after the Seven Years War. The proclamation restricted the province to an area along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, the Treaty of Versailles ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. After the Constitutional Act of 1791, the territory was divided between Lower Canada and Upper Canada, with each being granted an elected legislative assembly, in 1840, these become Canada East and Canada West after the British Parliament unified Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This territory was redivided into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario at Confederation in 1867, each became one of the first four provinces. In 1898, the Canadian Parliament passed the first Quebec Boundary Extension Act that expanded the provincial boundaries northward to include the lands of the aboriginal peoples. This was followed by the addition of the District of Ungava through the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act of 1912 that added the northernmost lands of the Inuit to create the modern Province of Quebec. In 1927, the border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador was established by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Located in the part of Canada, and part of Central Canada. Its topography is very different from one region to another due to the composition of the ground, the climate. The Saint Lawrence Lowland and the Canadian Shield are the two main regions, and are radically different
41.
Northern spotted owl
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The northern spotted owl is one of three spotted owl subspecies. A western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length. The wingspan is approximately 42 inches, the northern spotted owl primarily inhabits old growth forests in the northern part of its range and landscapes with a mix of old and younger forest types in the southern part of its range. The subspecies range is the Pacific coast from extreme southern British Columbia to Marin County in northern California and it nests in cavities or on platforms in large trees and will use abandoned nests of other species. Spotted owls form long-term pair bonds and remain in the geographical areas year after year. Most spotted owls occur on US federal lands, although significant numbers occur on state lands in all three states, and on private and tribal properties, the northern spotted owl is primarily nocturnal. Its diet consists mainly of wood rats and flying squirrels, although it will eat other small mammals, reptiles, birds. They will often swallow their catch whole and regurgitate pellets of indigestible hair, feathers, males and females both hunt, except during nesting, when males do most of the hunting. They can take prey on the ground and in flight, Northern spotted owls are one of the few owls with dark-colored eyes. Most owls have yellow to red-orange colored eyes, the northern spotted owl is intolerant of habitat disturbance. Each nesting pair needs a large amount of land for hunting and nesting, and will not migrate unless they experience drastic changes, such as heavy snows. Their flight pattern is distinct, involving a series of rapid wingbeats interspersed with gliding flight and this technique allows them to glide silently down upon their prey. Northern spotted owls are ready to reproduce at two years of age, but do not typically breed until they are three years old, male and females mate in February or March and the female lays two or three eggs in March or April. She then incubates the eggs for 30 days, after hatching, the young owls remain in the nest where the adult female provides primary care until they fledge in 34 to 36 days. The hunting and feeding is done by the male during this time, the young owls remain with the parents until late summer to early fall. They leave the nest and form their own winter feeding range, by spring, the young owls territory will be from 2 to 24 miles from the parents. There are less than 100 pairs of Northern Spotted Owl left in British Columbia, Canada,1,200 pairs in Oregon,560 pairs in Northern California, and 500 pairs in Washington. Washington alone has lost over 90 percent of its old growth forest due to logging which has caused a 40-90 percent decline of the Northern Spotted Owl population, the worldwide IUCN Red List of Threatened Species status for the spotted owl species is Near Threatened with a decreasing population trend
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Washington (state)
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It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, the Washington Territory was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The area was part of a region called the Columbia District after the Columbia River. The area was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president. To distinguish it from the U. S. capital, which is named for George Washington, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, or, in more formal contexts. Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest refer to the state simply as Washington, calling the nations capital Washington, D. C. or, often, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
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Oregon
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Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Washington, on the south by California, on the east by Idaho, the Columbia River delineates much of Oregons northern boundary, and the Snake River delineates much of the eastern boundary. The parallel 42° north delineates the boundary with California and Nevada. Oregon was inhabited by indigenous tribes before Western traders, explorers. An autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country in 1843 before the Oregon Territory was created in 1848, Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14,1859. Today, at 98,000 square miles, Oregon is the ninth largest and, with a population of 4 million, the capital of Oregon is Salem, the second most populous of its cities, with 164,549 residents. Portland is Oregons most populous city, with 632,309 residents, Portlands metro population of 2,389,228 ranks the 23rd largest metro in the nation. The Willamette Valley in western Oregon is the states most densely populated area, the tall conifers, mainly Douglas fir, along Oregons rainy west coast contrast with the lighter-timbered and fire-prone pine and juniper forests covering portions to the east. Abundant alders in the west fix nitrogen for the conifers, stretching east from central Oregon are semi-arid shrublands, prairies, deserts, steppes, and meadows. At 11,249 feet, Mount Hood is the states highest point, Oregons only national park, Crater Lake National Park, comprises the caldera surrounding Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. The state is home to the single largest organism in the world, Armillaria ostoyae. Because of its landscapes and waterways, Oregons economy is largely powered by various forms of agriculture, fishing. It is also the top timber-producer of the lower 48 states, Technology is another one of the states major economic forces, which began in the 1970s with the establishment of the Silicon Forest and the expansion of Tektronix and Intel. Sportswear company Nike, Inc. headquartered in Beaverton, is the states largest public corporation with a revenue of $30.6 billion. The earliest evidence of the name Oregon has Spanish origins and this chronicle is the first topographical and linguistic source with respect to the place name Oregon. There are also two other sources with Spanish origins such as the name Oregano which grows in the part of the region. Another early use of the name, spelled Ouragon, was in a 1765 petition by Major Robert Rogers to the Kingdom of Great Britain, the term referred to the then-mythical River of the West. By 1778 the spelling had shifted to Oregon, in his 1765 petition, Rogers wrote, The rout. is from the Great Lakes towards the Head of the Mississippi, and from thence to the River called by the Indians Ouragon
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California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
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White House
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The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D. C. It has been the residence of every U. S. president since John Adams in 1800, the term White House is often used to refer to actions of the president and his advisers, as in The White House announced that. The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the Neoclassical style, construction took place between 1792 and 1800 using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he added low colonnades on each wing that concealed stables and storage. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior, reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semi-circular South portico in 1824, because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later in 1909, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office, in the main mansion, the third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as an area for social events. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space, by 1948, the houses load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the rooms were completely dismantled. Once this work was completed, the rooms were rebuilt. The Executive Residence is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, the property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the Presidents Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of Americas Favorite Architecture, in May 1790, New York began construction of Government House for his official residence, but he never occupied it. The national capital moved to Philadelphia in December 1790, the July 1790 Residence Act named Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the temporary national capital for a 10-year period while the Federal City was under construction. The City of Philadelphia rented Robert Morriss city house at 190 High Street for Washingtons presidential residence, the first president occupied the Market Street mansion from November 1790 to March 1797, and altered it in ways that may have influenced the design of the White House. As part of an effort to have Philadelphia named the permanent national capital, Pennsylvania built a much grander presidential mansion several blocks away. President John Adams also occupied the Market Street mansion from March 1797 to May 1800, on Saturday, November 1,1800, he became the first president to occupy the White House. The Presidents House in Philadelphia became a hotel and was demolished in 1832, the Presidents House was a major feature of Pierre Charles LEnfants plan for the newly established federal city, Washington, D. C
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United States Fish and Wildlife Service
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The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency of the federal government within the U. S. Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The leader of the FWS is the director of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Daniel M. Ashe, of Maryland, bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory Landscape Conservation Cooperatives The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitat is on non-federal lands. The FWS employs approximately 9,000 people and is organized into an administrative office, eight regional offices. Spencer Fullerton Baird was appointed its first commissioner, in 1903, the Fish Commission was reorganized as the United States Bureau of Fisheries. In 1885–1886, the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy was established within the United States Department of Agriculture, in 1896 it became the Division of Biological Survey. Its early work focused on the effect of birds in controlling pests and mapping the geographical distribution of plants. Clinton Hart Merriam headed the Bureau for 25 years and became a figure for improving the scientific understanding of birds. Under Darlings guidance, the Bureau began a legacy of protecting vital natural habitat throughout the country. The USFWS was finally created in 1940, when the Bureaus of Fisheries, however, these exceptions often only apply to Native Americans that are registered with the federal government and are enrolled with a federally recognized tribe. Therefore, many people that wish to practice their religion continue to face persecution. This has become a source of conflict between many tribes and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the USFWS began to incorporate the research of scientists into conservation decisions. Additionally, other natural resource agencies within the United States government, such as the USDA, have taken steps to be inclusive of tribes, native people. This has marked a transition to a relationship of more cooperation rather than the tension between tribes and government agencies seen historically, today, these agencies work closely with tribal governments to ensure the best conservation decisions are made and that tribes retain their sovereignty
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Bird of prey
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Bird of prey or predatory bird, also known as raptors, refers to several species of birds that hunt and feed on rodents and other small animals. The term raptor is derived from the Latin word rapere, meaning to seize or take by force and these birds are characterized by keen vision that allows them to detect their prey during flight and powerful talons and beaks. Taken literally, the bird of prey has a wide meaning that includes many birds that hunt and feed on animals. In ornithology, the definition for bird of prey has a meaning, birds that have very good eyesight for finding food, strong feet for holding food. Most birds of prey also have strong curved talons for catching or killing prey, Birds of prey generally prey on vertebrates, which are usually quite large relative to the size of the bird. Most also eat carrion, at least occasionally, and vultures, the order Accipitriformes is believed to have originated 44 million years ago when it split from the common ancestor of the secretarybird and the accipitrid species. The phylogeny of Accipitriformes is complex and difficult to unravel, widespread paraphylies were observed in many phylogenetic studies. More recent and detailed studies show similar results, however, according to the findings of a 2014 study, the sister relationship between larger clades of Accipitriformes was well supported. The diurnal birds of prey are formally classified into five families of two orders, the Cathartidae are sometimes placed separately in an enlarged stork family, Ciconiiformes, and may be raised to an order of their own, Cathartiiformes. The secretary bird and/or osprey are sometimes listed as subfamilies of Acciptridae, Sagittariinae and Pandioninae, australias letter-winged kite is a member of the family Accipitridae, although it is a nocturnal bird. He placed all birds of prey into an order, Accipitres, subdividing this into four genera, Vultur, Falco, Strix. This approach was followed by subsequent authors such as Gmelin, Latham, louis Pierre Veillot used additional ranks, order, tribe, family, genus, species. Birds of prey were divided into diurnal and nocturnal tribes, the owls remained monogeneric, thus Veillots families were similar to the Linnaean genera, with the difference that shrikes were no longer included amongst the birds of prey. In addition to the original Vultur and Falco, Veillot adopted four genera from Savigny, Phene, Haliæetus, Pandion and he also introduced five new genera of vultures and eleven new genera of accipitrines. The common names for birds of prey are based on structure. Eagles tend to be large birds with long, broad wings, booted eagles have legs and feet feathered to the toes and build very large stick nests. Ospreys, a species found worldwide that specializes in catching fish. Kites have long wings and relatively weak legs and they spend much of their time soaring
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Bird nest
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A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. The smallest bird nests are those of hummingbirds, tiny cups which can be a mere 2 cm across. At the other extreme, some nest mounds built by the dusky scrubfowl measure more than 11 m in diameter, not all bird species build nests. Most birds build a new nest each year, though some refurbish their old nests, the large eyries of some eagles are platform nests that have been used and refurbished for several years. In most species, the female does most or all of the nest construction, in some polygynous species, however, the male does most or all of the nest building. The nest may also form a part of the display such as in weaver birds. The ability to choose and maintain good nest sites and build high quality nests may be selected for by females in these species, in some species the young from previous broods may also act as helpers for the adults. Not every bird species builds or uses a nest, some auks, for instance—including common murre, thick-billed murre and razorbill—lay their eggs directly onto the narrow rocky ledges they use as breeding sites. The eggs of species are dramatically pointed at one end. This is critical for the survival of the eggs, as there are no nests to keep them from rolling off the side of the cliff. Presumably because of the vulnerability of their eggs, parent birds of these auk species rarely leave them unattended. Nest location and architecture is influenced by local topography and other abiotic factors. King penguins and emperor penguins also do not build nests, instead, they tuck their eggs and they are thus able to move about while incubating, though in practice only the emperor penguin regularly does so. Without the ability to body heat, the penguins would expend far more energy trying to stay warm. Potoos lay their single egg directly atop a broken stump, or into a depression on a branch—typically where an upward-pointing branch died and fell off. Brood parasites, such as the New World cowbirds, the honeyguides, the simplest nest construction is the scrape, which is merely a shallow depression in soil or vegetation. This nest type, which typically has a rim deep enough to keep the eggs from rolling away, is lined with bits of vegetation, small stones. Ostriches, most tinamous, many ducks, most shorebirds, most terns, some falcons, pheasants, quail, partridges, bustards, brooding adults also tend to be well camouflaged, and may be difficult to flush from the nest
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Pileated woodpecker
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The pileated woodpecker is a large woodpecker native to North America. This crow-sized bird normally inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the forests of Canada. It is the second-largest woodpecker in the United States, after the critically endangered, adults are 40 to 49 cm long, span 66 to 75 cm across the wings, and weigh 250 to 400 g, with an average weight of 300 g. Each wing measures 21.4 to 25.3 cm, the tail measures 14.0 to 17.4 cm, the bill is 4.1 to 6.0 cm and the tarsus measures 3.1 to 3.8 cm. They are mainly black with a red crest, and have a line down the sides of the throat. They show white on the wings in flight, the flight of these birds is strong and direct, but has an undulating quality, similar to the relatively unique flight-style of all woodpeckers. Adult males have a red line from the bill to the throat, the only North American birds of similar plumage and size are the ivory-billed woodpecker of the Southeastern United States and Cuba, and the related imperial woodpecker of Mexico. However, unlike the pileated, both of those species are rare, if not extinct. Most reports of the ivory-billed woodpecker are believed to be reports of the far more common pileated. The call is a loud, far-carrying laugh, sometimes described as a bird call due to its wild. The northern flicker, which is very different-looking and weighs half as much as a pileated, has a similar-sounding call. Its drumming can be loud, often sounding like someone striking a tree with a hammer. The drum sounds like 10 fast and hard taps, rather than the 10 slow, up to four subspecies of pileated woodpeckers have been recognized historically. Generally, pileated woodpeckers follow Bergmanns rule being smaller and more compact in the south, the ranges of the potential four subspecies are described below. Southern pileated woodpecker – the southeastern U. S and this bird favors mature forests and heavily wooded parks. They specifically prefer mesic habitats with large, mature hardwood trees, however, they also inhabit smaller woodlots as long as they have a scattering of tall trees. These birds mainly eat insects, especially ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. They also eat fruits, nuts, and berries, including poison ivy berries, pileated woodpeckers often chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching out insects, especially ant galleries
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