1.
MacQueen's bustard
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MacQueens bustard is a large bird in the bustard family. It was earlier included as a subspecies of the houbara bustard, the subspecies are geographically separated from the houbara found west of the Sinai Peninsula in North Africa with a population in the Canary Islands. MacQueens bustard is found in the desert and steppe regions of Asia and these two species are the only members of the genus Chlamydotis. MacQueens is a partial latitudinal migrant while the houbara bustard is more sedentary, in the 19th century, vagrants were found as far west of their range as Great Britain. Populations have decreased by 20 to 50% from 1984 to 2004 due mainly to hunting and this medium-sized bustard is about 65 cm long with a 140 cm wingspan. It is brown above and white below, with stripes down the sides of the neck. In flight, the wings show large areas of black and brown on the flight feathers. From below the wing is white with a black trailing edge. Sexes are similar, but the female is smaller and paler above, MacQueens bustard is very silent except for the sounds that males make in their display. Like other bustards, they have a flamboyant display, raising the white feathers of the head and throat, males and females are nearly identical in plumage but males are slightly larger than females. A study of the morphometrics of MacQueens bustards from Pakistan based on about 79 individuals of known sex showed that the males were 9 to 15% larger than females on most measurements. The use of discriminant analysis allowed correct identification of the based on morphometrics in about 99% of the cases. MacQueens bustard was once included as one of three subspecies of the houbara, the lack of intermediate forms on the edges where their distributions meet, differences in morphology and display behaviour led to their being elevated to full species. The houbara bustard now refers only to the North African population, MacQueens is larger than the houbara and much paler. The feathers on the top of the head include some long, in the houbara, these crest feathers are all white and the difference is evident during the display of the male. Estimates based on the divergence of mitochondrial DNA sequence suggest that the species separated from the ancestors of C. u. undulata. This divergence may have begun 900,000 years ago, at a time of extreme aridity, the wide dispersal abilities of MacQueens bustard ensure that their genes are more well mixed unlike the geographically structured genetic patterns shown by the African houbara. The genus name Chlamydotis is from Ancient Greek khlamus, a cloak with weights sewn into the corners
2.
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
3.
Vulnerable species
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Vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or destruction of the species home. Vulnerable habitat or species are monitored and can become increasingly threatened, some species listed as vulnerable may be common in captivity, an example being the military macaw. There are currently 5196 animals and 6789 plants classified as vulnerable, compared with 1998 levels of 2815 and 3222, practices such as Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources have been enforced in efforts to conserve vulnerable breeds of livestock specifically. The International Union for Conservation of Nature uses several criteria to enter species in this category, a reduction of at least 20%, projected or suspected to be met within the next ten years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on any of, or above. Population is characterised by a restriction in its area of occupancy or in the number of locations. E) Quantitative analysis showing the probability of extinction in the wild is at least 10% within 100 years
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
Bustard
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Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from 40 to 150 cm and they make up the family Otididae. Bustards are omnivorous and opportunistic, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, small vertebrates, bustards are all fairly large with the two largest species, the kori bustard and the great bustard, being frequently cited as the worlds heaviest flying birds. In both the largest species, large males exceed a weight of 20 kg, weigh around 13.5 kg on average, the smallest species is the little brown bustard, which is around 40 cm long and weighs around 600 g on average. In most bustards, males are larger than females, often about 30% longer. They are among the most sexually dimorphic groups of birds, in only the floricans is the sexual dimorphism reverse, with the adult female being slightly larger and heavier than the male. The wings have 10 primaries and 16–24 secondary feathers, there are 18–20 feathers in the tail. Bustards are omnivorous, feeding principally on seeds and invertebrates and they make their nests on the ground, making their eggs and offspring often very vulnerable to predation. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go, most prefer to run or walk over flying. They have long wings with fingered wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays, such as inflating throat sacs or elevating elaborate feathered crests, the female lays three to five dark, speckled eggs in a scrape in the ground, and incubates them alone. Bustards are gregarious outside the season, but are very wary. The family Otididae was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815, the last bustard in Britain died in approximately 1832, but the bird is being reintroduced through batches of chicks imported from Russia. In 2009, two great bustard chicks were hatched in Britain for the first time in more than 170 years, reintroduced bustard also hatched chicks in 2010. Some Indian bustards are also called Floricans, the origin of the name is unclear. Jerdon writes in The Birds of India The Hobson-Jobson dictionary however casts doubt on this stating that Bota, Gerard. Ecology and conservation of Steppe-Land birds, international Symposium on Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-land birds. Knox, Alan G. Martin Collinson, Andreas J. Helbig, David T. Parkin, sibley, Charles G. Jon E. Ahlquist
10.
Chlamydotis
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Chlamydotis is a genus of large birds in the bustard family. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khlamus, a cloak with weights sewn into the corners. Members of this show very little sexual dimorphism in their plumage. The clade consisting of two species, formerly considered to be conspecific forms a group within the clade that includes the genus Otis. Houbara bustard, Chlamydotis undulata C. u. undulata in north Africa C. u, the genus name of Houbara was used by Charles Lucien Bonaparte but this was dropped, being a nomen nudum, as not following the requirements for zoological names. MacQueens was split on the basis of display, differences in feather colours. The two species are thought to have separated during a period of extreme aridity around 0.9 million years ago, Houbara bustard breeds in the Canary Islands and north Africa. MacQueens bustard occurs in southwestern Asia and along the dry region between the Caspian Sea and the Gobi Desert, the more northern populations have many birds migrating south in winter and MacQueens has historically been known for its vagrancy and individuals have been found well outside their usual range. They breed in deserts and other sandy areas and are sensitive to human disturbance. Populations of both these bustards have been reduced by hunting, falconry and human-induced habitat changes
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.
Joseph Franz von Jacquin
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Joseph Franz Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Joseph von Jacquin was an Austrian scientist who studied medicine, chemistry, zoology and botany. The son of Nikolaus von Jacquin, he graduated from the University of Vienna as a doctor of medicine in 1788, between 1788 and 1791 Jacquin was sent on a scientific journey to Germany, France and England by Emperor Francis II. He inherited his father’s position as professor of botany and chemistry at the University of Vienna, in 1821, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Regarding personal names, Freiherr is a title, which is now legally a part of the last name. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin, Jacquin, J. F. Beyträge zur Geschichte der Vögel. Jacquin, J. F. Lehrbuch der allgemeinen und medicinischen Chymie zum Gebrauche seiner Vorlesungen, | Jacquin, J. F. E. Fenzl & I. Eclogae plantarum rariorum aut minus cognitarum, quas ad vivum descripsit et iconibus coloratis illustravit, Jacquin, J. F. E. Fenzl & I. Eclogae graminum rariorum aut minus cognitarum, quae ad vivum descripsit et iconibus coloratis illustravit, a. Strauss et Sommer, Wien, 1813–1844. Jacquin, J. F. Ueber den Ginkgo, Carl Gerold, Wien,1819
13.
Canarian houbara
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The Canarian houbara, Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae, is a large bird in the bustard family. It is a houbara bustard subspecies which is endemic to the eastern Canary archipelago, in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean and it is the animal symbol of the island of Fuerteventura. The Canarian houbara is one of three subspecies of the houbara bustard, archaeological evidence indicates that it has been present in the Canary Islands for 130-170,000 years. However, genetic data point to a more recent separation of C. u. fuertaventurae from the subspecies around 20-25,000 years ago. It suggests that there was an initial colonisation of the Canary Islands about 130,000 years ago, followed by a second colonisation 19-30000 years ago, with subsequent isolation until today. The Canarian houbara is distinguished from the two subspecies by its smaller size, less sandy colouring, and darker and more extensive markings on the back. It is the largest bird native to the Canary Islands, houbaras are restricted to the islands of Fuerteventura, Lobos, Lanzarote and Graciosa, though it is uncertain as to whether they continue to exist on Lobos. In the past they also inhabited the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, annual rainfall in their range is less than 140 mm while mean monthly temperatures range between 16°C in January-February and 24°C in August-September. They inhabit semi-arid plains, rocky hills and immobile dunes, sparsely vegetated with bushes and grasses and they will sometimes feed in farmland in the early morning and at dusk, but avoid human settlements, cornfields, forests and lava flows. Outside the breeding season the birds may be gregarious and forage in small parties, however, when breeding, males hold and defend individual territories for courtship display some 500-1000 m across. During this period both sexes tend to be solitary, only coming together for mating, courtship takes place from December to March with the male displaying his head and throat plumage while strutting in a line or circle. The female lays two or three eggs in a scrape on the ground between February and April, males are probably polygynous and do not help to rear the young. The chicks are nidifugous and accompany the female after hatching, usually only one chick survives from each clutch, rarely two. The birds are omnivorous, feeding on the ground and consuming a variety of arthropods, molluscs, the chicks require insects in order to grow properly. The Action Plan published in 1995 estimated the population of Canarian houbaras at about 700–750 birds, comprising 300–350 on Fuerteventura and Lobos. However a later study estimated the number of birds on Fuerteventura at 177, list of animals and plants symbols of the Canary Islands
14.
Sinai Peninsula
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The Sinai Peninsula or simply Sinai is a peninsula in Egypt, situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, serving as a land bridge between Asia and Africa. It is the part of Egyptian territory located in Asia. Sinai has an area of about 60,000 km2. The bulk of the peninsula is divided administratively into two of Egypts 27 governorates, the Sinai Peninsula has been a part of Egypt from the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt. In periods of occupation, the Sinai was, like the rest of Egypt, also occupied and controlled by foreign empires, in more recent history the Ottoman Empire. Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis of 1956, on 6 October 1973, Egypt launched the Yom Kippur War to retake the peninsula, which was the site of fierce fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces. Today, Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its setting, rich coral reefs. Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in Abrahamic faiths, in addition to its formal name, Egyptians also refer to it as Arḍ ul-Fairūz. The ancient Egyptians called it Ta Mefkat, or land of turquoise, Sinai is triangular in shape, with northern shore lying on the southern Mediterranean Sea, and southwest and southeast shores on Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea. It is linked to the African continent by the Isthmus of Suez,125 kilometres wide strip of land, the eastern isthmus, linking it to the Asian mainland, is around 200 kilometres wide. The peninsulas eastern shore separates the Arabian plate from the African plate, the southernmost tip is the Ras Muhammad National Park. Most of the Sinai Peninsula is divided among the two governorates of Egypt, South Sinai and North Sinai, together, they comprise around 60,000 square kilometres and have a population of 597,000. Three more governates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt, Suez is on the end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia in the centre. The largest city of Sinai is Arish, capital of the North Sinai, other larger settlements include Sharm el-Sheikh and El-Tor, on the southern coast. Inland Sinai is arid, mountainous and sparsely populated, the largest settlements being Saint Catherine, Sinai is one of the coldest provinces in Egypt because of its high altitudes and mountainous topographies. Winter temperatures in some of Sinais cities and towns reach −16 °C, the mines were worked intermittently and on a seasonal basis for thousands of years. Modern attempts to exploit the deposits have been unprofitable and these may be the first historically attested mines. According to the Hebrew Bible, the peninsula was crossed by the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt and this included numerous halts over a 40-year period of travel sometime towards the end of the Bronze Age
15.
British Ornithologists' Union
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The British Ornithologists Union aims to encourage the study of birds in Britain, Europe and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker Tristram and its quarterly journal, Ibis, has been published since 1859. The Records Committee is a committee of the BOU established to maintain the British List, BOU is headquartered in Peterborough and is a registered charity in England & Wales and Scotland. Publishes Ibis as an international journal of ornithological science. Organises a programme of meetings and conferences, awards grants and bursaries for ornithological research. Encourages liaison between those engaged in ornithological research. Provides a representative body of the community able to provide ornithological information and advice to government. Maintains and publishes the official list of birds recorded in Britain – The British List, the British Ornithologists Union Records Committee is the recognised national bird records committee for Britain. It maintains a list of birds of Britain and its findings are published in Ibis, the house journal of its parent body the British Ornithologists Union. From time to time, BOURC re-reviews records which it has previously accepted, the Committee does not assess records of birds from Ireland, that task is carried out by the Irish Rare Birds Committee, which publishes its decisions in Irish Birds. For many years, records of IRBC-assessed rarities were included in the BOURCs reports, BOURC is widely recognised as maintaining the most authoritative list of birds of Britain. BOURC has a chairman, a secretary and a number of voting members, the Committee publishes an annual report in Ibis. All reports can be accessed via the British List pages of the BOU website, previously, the Committees Taxonomic Sub-committee also published regular reports, also in Ibis, and these too can be accessed via the British List pages of the BOU website. Glutz von Blotzheim Soekarja Somadikarta Joe Sultana Staffan Ulfstrand Ibis British Ornithologists Union checklists British Birds Rarities Committee Official website
16.
North Africa
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North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of Africa. The United Nationss definition of Northern Africa is, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya are often collectively referred to as the Maghreb, which is the Arabic word for sunset. Egypt lies to the northeast and encompasses part of West Asia, while Sudan is situated on the edge of the Sahel, Egypt is a transcontinental country because of the Sinai Peninsula, which geographically lies in Western Asia. North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, the Canary Islands and Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland are included in considerations of the region. From 3500 BC, following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to changes in the Earths orbit. The Islamic influence in the area is significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Muslim world. Some researchers have postulated that North Africa rather than East Africa served as the point for the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent in the Out of Africa migration. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, the sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old. Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and Delta, a wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, the Nile Valley is particularly fertile, and most of the population in Egypt and Sudan live close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve yields on the desert margins. The inhabitants of Saharan Africa are generally divided in a manner corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa, the Maghreb, the Nile valley. The edge of the Sahel, to the south of Egypt has mainly been inhabited by Nubians, Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto-Berber, as well as Nubians from the south. They have contributed to the Arabized Berber populations, the official language or one of the official languages in all of the countries in North Africa is Arabic. The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak Berber languages and several varieties of Arabic, the Arabic and Berber languages are distantly related, both being members of the Afroasiatic language family. The Tuareg Berber languages are more conservative than those of the coastal cities. Over the years, Berbers have been influenced by contact with cultures, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Europeans
17.
Canary Islands
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The Canary Islands, also known as the Canaries, are an archipelago and autonomous community of Spain located on the Atlantic Ocean,100 kilometres west of Morocco. The Canaries are among the outermost regions of the European Union proper and it is also one of the eight regions with special consideration of historical nationality recognized as such by the Spanish Government. The main islands are Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, the archipelago also includes a number of islands and islets, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste and Roque del Este. In ancient times, the chain was often referred to as the Fortunate Isles. The Canary Islands is the most southerly region of Spain and the largest and most populated archipelago of the Macaronesia region, the islands have a subtropical climate, with long hot summers and moderately warm winters. The precipitation levels and the level of maritime moderation varies depending on location and elevation, green areas as well as desert exist on the archipelago. Due to their location above the inversion layer, the high mountains of these islands are ideal for astronomical observation. For this reason, two professional observatories, Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, have built on the islands. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has been the largest city in the Canaries since 1768, between the 1833 territorial division of Spain and 1927 Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands. In 1927 a decree ordered that the capital of the Canary Islands be shared, the third largest city of the Canary Islands is San Cristóbal de La Laguna on Tenerife. This city is home to the Consejo Consultivo de Canarias. During the time of the Spanish Empire, the Canaries were the main stopover for Spanish galleons on their way to the Americas, who came south to catch the prevailing northeasterly trade winds. The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning Islands of the Dogs, according to the historian Pliny the Elder, the Mauretanian king Juba II named the island Canaria because it contained vast multitudes of dogs of very large size. Another speculation is that the dogs were actually a species of monk seal, critically endangered. The dense population of seals may have been the characteristic that most struck the few ancient Romans who established contact with these islands by sea. Alternatively, it is said that the inhabitants of the island, Guanches, used to worship dogs, mummified them. The ancient Greeks also knew about a people, living far to the west, who are the dog-headed ones, who worshipped dogs on an island. Some hypothesize that the Canary Islands dog-worship and the ancient Egyptian cult of the god, Anubis are closely connected
18.
Seed
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A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering. The formation of the seed is part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, Seeds are the product of the ripened ovule, after fertilization by pollen and some growth within the mother plant. The embryo is developed from the zygote and the coat from the integuments of the ovule. Seed plants now dominate biological niches on land, from forests to both in hot and cold climates. The term seed also has a meaning that antedates the above—anything that can be sown, e. g. seed potatoes. In the case of sunflower and corn seeds, what is sown is the seed enclosed in a shell or husk, many structures commonly referred to as seeds are actually dry fruits. Plants producing berries are called baccate, sunflower seeds are sometimes sold commercially while still enclosed within the hard wall of the fruit, which must be split open to reach the seed. Different groups of plants have other modifications, the stone fruits have a hardened fruit layer fused to. Nuts are the one-seeded, hard-shelled fruit of plants with an indehiscent seed. Seeds are produced in several related groups of plants, and their manner of production distinguishes the angiosperms from the gymnosperms, angiosperm seeds are produced in a hard or fleshy structure called a fruit that encloses the seeds, hence the name. Some fruits have layers of hard and fleshy material. In gymnosperms, no special structure develops to enclose the seeds, however, the seeds do become covered by the cone scales as they develop in some species of conifer. Seed production in natural plant populations varies widely from year-to-year in response to weather variables, insects and diseases, over a 20-year period, for example, forests composed of loblolly pine and shortleaf pine produced from 0 to nearly 5 million sound pine seeds per hectare. Over this period, there were six bumper, five poor, and nine good seed crops, right after fertilization, the zygote is mostly inactive, but the primary endosperm divides rapidly to form the endosperm tissue. This tissue becomes the food the young plant will consume until the roots have developed after germination, after fertilization the ovules develop into the seeds. The ovule consists of a number of components, The funicle or seed stalk which attaches the ovule to the placenta and hence ovary or fruit wall, the nucellus, the remnant of the megasporangium and main region of the ovule where the megagametophyte develops. The micropyle, a pore or opening in the apex of the integument of the ovule where the pollen tube usually enters during the process of fertilization. The chalaza, the base of the ovule opposite the micropyle, the shape of the ovules as they develop often affects the final shape of the seeds
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Insect
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Insects are a class of hexapod invertebrates within the arthropod phylum that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body, three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, including more than a million described species, the number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million, and potentially represent over 90% of the differing animal life forms on Earth. Insects may be found in all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans. The life cycles of insects vary but most hatch from eggs, insect growth is constrained by the inelastic exoskeleton and development involves a series of molts. The immature stages can differ from the adults in structure, habit and habitat, Insects that undergo 3-stage metamorphosis lack a pupal stage and adults develop through a series of nymphal stages. The higher level relationship of the Hexapoda is unclear, fossilized insects of enormous size have been found from the Paleozoic Era, including giant dragonflies with wingspans of 55 to 70 cm. The most diverse insect groups appear to have coevolved with flowering plants, adult insects typically move about by walking, flying or sometimes swimming. As it allows for rapid yet stable movement, many insects adopt a tripedal gait in which they walk with their legs touching the ground in alternating triangles, Insects are the only invertebrates to have evolved flight. Many insects spend at least part of their lives under water, with adaptations that include gills. Some species, such as water striders, are capable of walking on the surface of water, Insects are mostly solitary, but some, such as certain bees, ants and termites, are social and live in large, well-organized colonies. Some insects, such as earwigs, show maternal care, guarding their eggs, Insects can communicate with each other in a variety of ways. Male moths can sense the pheromones of female moths over great distances, other species communicate with sounds, crickets stridulate, or rub their wings together, to attract a mate and repel other males. Lampyridae in the beetle order communicate with light, humans regard certain insects as pests, and attempt to control them using insecticides and a host of other techniques. Some insects damage crops by feeding on sap, leaves or fruits, a few parasitic species are pathogenic. Some insects perform complex ecological roles, blow-flies, for example, help consume carrion, Many other insects are considered ecologically beneficial as predators and a few provide direct economic benefit. Silkworms and bees have been used extensively by humans for the production of silk and honey, in some cultures, people eat the larvae or adults of certain insects. Insect first appears documented in English in 1601 in Hollands translation of Pliny, translations of Aristotles term also form the usual word for insect in Welsh, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, etc. The evolutionary relationship of insects to other animal groups remains unclear, in the Pancrustacea theory, insects, together with Entognatha, Remipedia, and Cephalocarida, make up a natural clade labeled Miracrustacea
20.
Falconry
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Falconry is the hunting of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. There are two terms used to describe a person involved in falconry, a falconer flies a falcon. In modern falconry, the hawk, the Harriss hawk. Many contemporary practitioners still use words in their original meaning. In early English falconry literature, the word referred to a female falcon only. A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a tiercel as it was one third less than the female in size. Evidence suggests that the art of falconry may have begun in Mesopotamia, There are also some raptor representations in the northern Altai, western Mongolia. The falcon was a bird of ancient Mongol tribes. There is some disagreement about whether such early accounts document the practice of falconry or are misinterpreted depictions of humans with birds of prey, during the Turkic Period of Central Asia, concrete figures of falconer on horseback were described on the rocks in Kyrgyz. Falconry was probably introduced to Europe around AD400, when the Huns and Alans invaded from the East, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen is generally acknowledged as the most significant wellspring of traditional falconry knowledge. He is believed to have obtained firsthand knowledge of Arabic falconry during wars in the region and he obtained a copy of Moamyns manual on falconry and had it translated into Latin by Theodore of Antioch. Frederick II himself made corrections to the translation in 1241 resulting in De Scientia Venandi per Aves, King Frederick II is most recognized for his falconry treatise, De arte venandi cum avibus. Written himself toward the end of his life, it is accepted as the first comprehensive book of falconry. De arte venandi cum avibus incorporated a diversity of traditions from east to west. Historically, falconry was a sport and status symbol among the nobles of medieval Europe, the Middle East. Many historical illustrations left in Rashid al Dins Compendium chronicles book described falconry of the centuries with Mongol images. Falconry was largely restricted to the classes due to the prerequisite commitment of time, money. In art and in aspects of culture such as literature
21.
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
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Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, called Sultan al-Khair in Saudi Arabia, was the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2011. Sultan was born in Riyadh, Najd Sultanate in 1925 and he was the 12th son of King Abdulaziz and his mother was Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi. He was the second of the Sudairi Seven, Prince Sultan, along with many of his brothers, received his early education in religion, modern culture, and diplomacy at the royal court. His career in service began in 1940 when he was made a deputy to then Riyadh governor or emir. In 1947, Prince Sultan replaced Prince Nasser as governor of Riyadh, Prince Sultan also assisted King Abdulazizs attempts to establish a national administrative system based on the Islamic Sharia law during this period. In 1947, Prince Sultan oversaw ARAMCOs construction of the Kingdoms rail link between Dammam and Riyadh and he was appointed as the kingdom’s first minister of agriculture in 1953 and minister of transport in 1955. Major General Carl von Horn, Swedish commander of the UN observer mission during the Yemeni civil war, described the Prince Sultan as a volatile, in 1963, Crown Prince Faisal appointed Prince Sultan as minister of defense and aviation. He presided over the development of the Saudi armed forces, during the reign of King Faisal, Prince Sultan was particularly interested in Yemen. His influence declined under the reign of King Khalid, Sultan purchased U. S. tanks, fighter planes, missiles and AWACS. Sultan allegedly became extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks by Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts and he was involved in many scandals, including the Al Yamamah deal. However, his influence remained unhindered until his health began to deteriorate, during his tenure, Saudi Arabia became the largest importer of U. S. arms. He was a proponent of U. S. -Saudi partnership. As well, Sultan authorized a deal with the British Aircraft Corporation in 1965 and his program, called Operation Magic Carpet, traded £16 million for six second-hand Lightnings, six Hawker Hunters, and a set of missile launchers going to Royal Saudi Air Force. Geoffrey Edwards served as the official intermediary, British pilots also came over, privately contracted. Prince Sultan was an expert on the Yemen civil war and Soviet involvement in the Horn of Africa in 1985, in 1996, Prince Sultan opposed Pentagon plans to relocate U. S. troops to safer locations after the Dhahran complex bombings. He visited Iran in May 1999 that was the first official visit of a Saudi minister since 1979, on 13 June 1982, after the death of King Khalid and Crown Prince Fahd became the King, Prince Sultan was appointed second deputy prime minister. The objection of Prince Musaid was easily ignored since his son, however, the interests of Bandar bin Abdulaziz were much harder to ignore. Thus, he was compensated and the dispute was resolved, Prince Sultan, in December 1995, attempted to seize power through the support of the Ulema when Crown Prince Abdullah was in Oman for a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council
22.
Agadir
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It is at a distance of 508 km to the south of Casablanca. It is the capital of the Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane Prefecture and of the Souss-Massa economic region, a majority of its inhabitants speak Shilha/Tashelhit, a Berber language of the Atlas branch, as their first language. The city of Agadir together with the cities of Inezgane. According to the 2004 census, there were 346,106 inhabitants in that year, Agadir is governed by Tariq Kabagge and its one of the major urban centres of Morocco, the seventh-largest conurbation of the country after Casablanca, Rabat, Fès, Marrakech, Meknes and Tangier. The population density is quite high, three languages are spoken in the city, Tashelhit, Moroccan Arabic, and French. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960, it has completely rebuilt with mandatory seismic standards. It is now the largest seaside resort in Morocco, where foreign tourists, since 2010 it has been well served by low-cost flights and a motorway from Tangier. The city attracts all walks of life, it has had a growth rate of over 6% per year in housing demand while housing production barely exceeds 3. 4%. The mild winter climate and good beaches have made it a winter sun destination for northern Europeans. The name Agadir is a common Berber noun agadir meaning wall, enclosure, fortified building and this noun is attested in most Berber languages, and may be a loanword from Phoenician-Punic, a Semitic language spoken in North-Africa until the fifth century CE. There are many towns in Morocco called Agadir. The city of Agadirs full name in Tashelhit is Agadir n Yighir, literally the fortress of the cape, in Moroccan Arabic, an inhabitant is a gadiri, plural gadiriyin, feminine gadiriya, plural gadiriyat. History is virtually silent on Agadir before the 12th century, in the 2nd century AD, the historian Polybius referred to North Africa on the Atlantic, a place called cap Rhysaddir, that may have been located near Agadir but its location is still under debate. At the end of the period, Agadir was a town of some notoriety. The name itself, Agadir el-arba, was attested to for the first time in 1510, quickly, the Portuguese were exposed to the hostility of the tribes of the region. From 1530, they were blockaded in Santa Cruz, Portuguese weakness showed itself on 12 March 1541 when Sherif Saâdien Mohammed ash-Sheikh captured the fortress of Santa Cruz de Aguer. Six hundred Portuguese survivors were taken prisoner, including the governor, Guterre de Monroy, the captives were redeemed by the holy men mostly from Portugal. Dona Mecia, whose husband was killed during the battle, became the wife of Sheikh Mohammed ash-Sheikh, in the same year, Mohammed ash-Sheikh released the Governor Guterre de Monroy, whom he had befriended
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Morocco
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Morocco, officially known as the Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Geographically, Morocco is characterized by a mountainous interior, large tracts of desert. Morocco has a population of over 33.8 million and an area of 446,550 km2 and its capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca. Other major cities include Marrakesh, Tangier, Tetouan, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, a historically prominent regional power, Morocco has a history of independence not shared by its neighbours. Marinid and Saadi dynasties continued the struggle against foreign domination, the Alaouite dynasty, the current ruling dynasty, seized power in 1666. In 1912 Morocco was divided into French and Spanish protectorates, with a zone in Tangier. Moroccan culture is a blend of Arab, indigenous Berber, Sub-Saharan African, Morocco claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975, leading to a war with indigenous forces until a cease-fire in 1991. Peace processes have thus far failed to break the political deadlock, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy, the king can issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. He can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the Prime Minister, Moroccos predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Tamazight. The Moroccan dialect, referred to as Darija, and French are also widely spoken, Morocco is a member of the Arab League, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the African Union. It has the fifth largest economy of Africa, the full Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah translates to Kingdom of the West, although the West in Arabic is الغرب Al-Gharb. The basis of Moroccos English name is Marrakesh, its capital under the Almoravid dynasty, the origin of the name Marrakesh is disputed, but is most likely from the Berber words amur akush or Land of God. The modern Berber name for Marrakesh is Mṛṛakc, in Turkish, Morocco is known as Fas, a name derived from its ancient capital of Fes. The English name Morocco is an anglicisation of the Spanish Marruecos, the area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC. During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, twenty-two thousand years ago, the Aterian was succeeded by the Iberomaurusian culture, which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. Skeletal similarities have been suggested between the Iberomaurusian Mechta-Afalou burials and European Cro-Magnon remains, the Iberomaurusian was succeeded by the Beaker culture in Morocco
24.
BirdLife International
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It is the worlds largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner organisations. BirdLife International was founded as in 1922 the International Council for Bird Preservation by American ornithologists T. Gilbert Pearson and it changed its name in 1993 to BirdLife International. In addition to the programmes, there are global programmes. Together these programmes help the partnership to focus and work on common priorities and they provide the framework for planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating conservation work. BirdLife International publishes a magazine, World Birdwatch, which contains recent news and authoritative articles about birds, their habitats. BirdLife International is the official Red List authority for birds, for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in the 2012 assessment,1,313 species of birds are considered threatened with extinction. This represents 13% of the 10,064 extant bird species in the world
25.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying. IUCNs mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of resources is equitable. Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to equality, poverty alleviation. Unlike other international NGOs, IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation and it tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through lobbying and partnerships. The organization is best known to the public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List. IUCN has a membership of over 1200 governmental and non-governmental organizations, some 11,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 60 countries and its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several conventions on nature conservation. It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature, in the past, IUCN has been criticized for placing the interests of nature over those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, its relations with the business sector have caused controversy. It was previously called the International Union for Protection of Nature, establishment In 1947, the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature organised an international conference on the protection of nature in Brunnen. It is considered to be the first government-organized non-governmental organization, the initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and especially from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley. At the time of its founding IUPN was the international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation Early years. Its secretariat was located in Brussels and its first work program focused on saving species and habitats, increasing and applying knowledge, advancing education, promoting international agreements and promoting conservation. Providing a solid base for conservation action was the heart of all activities. IUPN and UNESCO were closely associated and they jointly organized the 1949 Conference on Protection of Nature. In preparation for this conference a list of endangered species was drawn up for the first time
26.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
27.
British Birds (magazine)
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British Birds is a monthly ornithology magazine that was established in 1907. It is now published by BB2000 Ltd, which is owned by The British Birds Charitable Trust. Its circulation in 2000 was 5,250 copies, its circulation peaked at 11,000 in the late 1980s, the current editor is Roger Riddington. It is aimed at serious birdwatchers and ornithologists, rather than the more casual birdwatchers catered for by other magazines on the subject. It publishes the findings of the British Birds Rarities Committee and its mascot, and later logo, the Red Grouse, was chosen because at the time it was thought to be an endemic British species. In 1916, it absorbed The Zoologist, due to the shortage of subscribers. Current – Roger Riddington Before 1946, all ran from June to May. Harry Witherby produced Vol.1 No.1 in June 1907 and it was finally decided to change with Volume 38, which ran from June 1944 to December 1945. Wartime paper restrictions meant that those issues were all pretty thin so it was possible to bind 19 into one volume, in 2007 a DVD-ROM disk containing the first 100 years worth of content was released in conjunction with BirdGuides Ltd. Subsequent volumes are available as paid-for updates, in 2010, the magazine launched a blog, Facebook group and a Twitter account. From October 2011, the magazines first 100 years of issues are available on-line. More recent issues are available to subscribers to the print edition, list of ornithology journals Official website Issues from 1907–1923 on the Biodiversity Heritage Library
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Wikispecies
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Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a free content catalogue of all species. Jimmy Wales stated that editors are not required to fax in their degrees, Wikispecies is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and CC BY-SA3.0. Benedikt Mandl co-ordinated the efforts of people who are interested in getting involved with the project. Databases were evaluated and the administrators contacted, some of them have agreed on providing their data for Wikispecies, the board of directors of the Wikimedia Foundation voted by 4 to 0 in favor of the establishment of a Wikispecies. The project was launched in August 2004 and is hosted at species. wikimedia. org and it was officially merged to a sister project of Wikimedia Foundation on September 14,2004. On October 10,2006, the project exceeded 75,000 articles, on May 20,2007, the project exceeded 100,000 articles with a total of 5,495 registered users. On September 8,2008, the project exceeded 150,000 articles with a total of 9,224 registered users, on October 23,2011, the project reached 300,000 articles. On June 16,2014, the project reached 400,000 articles, on January 7,2017, the project reached 500,000 articles. Wikispecies has disabled local upload and asks users to use images from Wikimedia Commons, Wikispecies does not allow the use of content that does not conform to a free license
29.
Order (biology)
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In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by the nomenclature codes. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, an immediately higher rank, superorder, may be added directly above order, while suborder would be a lower rank. A taxonomic unit, a taxon, in that rank, in that case the plural is orders. Example, The Juglans and Hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, what does and does not belong to each order is determined by a taxonomist, as is whether a particular order should be recognized at all. Often there is no agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing an order. Some taxa are accepted almost universally, while others are recognised only rarely, for some groups of organisms, consistent suffixes are used to denote that the rank is an order. The Latin suffix -formes meaning having the form of is used for the name of orders of birds and fishes. The suffix -ales is for the name of orders of plants, fungi, for some clades covered by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a number of additional classifications are sometimes used, although not all of these are officially recognised. In their 1997 classification of mammals, McKenna and Bell used two levels between superorder and order, grandorder and mirorder. Michael Novacek inserted them at the same position, michael Benton inserted them between superorder and magnorder instead. This position was adopted by Systema Naturae 2000 and others, in botany, the ranks of subclass and suborder are secondary ranks pre-defined as respectively above and below the rank of order. Any number of further ranks can be used as long as they are clearly defined, the superorder rank is commonly used, with the ending -anae that was initiated by Armen Takhtajans publications from 1966 onwards. Carl Linnaeus was the first to apply it consistently to the division of all three kingdoms of nature in his Systema Naturae, for plants, Linnaeus orders in the Systema Naturae and the Species Plantarum were strictly artificial, introduced to subdivide the artificial classes into more comprehensible smaller groups. In French botanical publications, from Michel Adansons Familles naturelles des plantes and until the end of the 19th century, some of the plant families still retain the names of Linnaean natural orders or even the names of pre-Linnaean natural groups recognised by Linnaeus as orders in his natural classification. Such names are known as family names. In zoology, the Linnaean orders were used more consistently and that is, the orders in the zoology part of the Systema Naturae refer to natural groups. Some of his names are still in use
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Otidiformes
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Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from 40 to 150 cm and they make up the family Otididae. Bustards are omnivorous and opportunistic, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, small vertebrates, bustards are all fairly large with the two largest species, the kori bustard and the great bustard, being frequently cited as the worlds heaviest flying birds. In both the largest species, large males exceed a weight of 20 kg, weigh around 13.5 kg on average, the smallest species is the little brown bustard, which is around 40 cm long and weighs around 600 g on average. In most bustards, males are larger than females, often about 30% longer. They are among the most sexually dimorphic groups of birds, in only the floricans is the sexual dimorphism reverse, with the adult female being slightly larger and heavier than the male. The wings have 10 primaries and 16–24 secondary feathers, there are 18–20 feathers in the tail. Bustards are omnivorous, feeding principally on seeds and invertebrates and they make their nests on the ground, making their eggs and offspring often very vulnerable to predation. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go, most prefer to run or walk over flying. They have long wings with fingered wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays, such as inflating throat sacs or elevating elaborate feathered crests, the female lays three to five dark, speckled eggs in a scrape in the ground, and incubates them alone. Bustards are gregarious outside the season, but are very wary. The family Otididae was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815, the last bustard in Britain died in approximately 1832, but the bird is being reintroduced through batches of chicks imported from Russia. In 2009, two great bustard chicks were hatched in Britain for the first time in more than 170 years, reintroduced bustard also hatched chicks in 2010. Some Indian bustards are also called Floricans, the origin of the name is unclear. Jerdon writes in The Birds of India The Hobson-Jobson dictionary however casts doubt on this stating that Bota, Gerard. Ecology and conservation of Steppe-Land birds, international Symposium on Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-land birds. Knox, Alan G. Martin Collinson, Andreas J. Helbig, David T. Parkin, sibley, Charles G. Jon E. Ahlquist
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Family (biology)
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In biological classification, family is one of the eight major taxonomic ranks, it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks above the rank of genus. In vernacular usage, a family may be named one of its common members, for example, walnuts and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae. What does or does not belong to a family—or whether a family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no rules for describing or recognizing a family. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions of taxa, and there may be no broad consensus across the community for some time. Some described taxa are accepted broadly and quickly, but others only rarely, if at all, the naming of families is codified by various international codes. In zoological nomenclature, the names of animals end with the suffix -idae. The concept of rank at time was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera. Carolus Linnaeus used the word familia in his Philosophia botanica to denote groups of plants, trees, herbs, ferns, palms. He used this term only in the section of the book. In zoology, the family as an intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes. He used families in some but not in all his orders of insects, families can be used for evolutionary, palaeontological and generic studies because they are more stable than lower taxonomic levels such as genera and species
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Genus
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A genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms in biology. In the hierarchy of classification, genus comes above species. In binomial nomenclature, the name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. Felis catus and Felis silvestris are two species within the genus Felis, Felis is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by a taxonomist, the standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. Moreover, genera should be composed of units of the same kind as other genera. The term comes from the Latin genus, a noun form cognate with gignere, linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum, but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort is considered the founder of the modern concept of genera. The scientific name of a genus may be called the name or generic epithet. It plays a role in binomial nomenclature, the system of naming organisms. The rules for the names of organisms are laid down in the Nomenclature Codes. The standard way of scientifically describing species and other lower-ranked taxa is by binomial nomenclature, the generic name forms its first half. For example, the gray wolfs binomial name is Canis lupus, with Canis being the name shared by the wolfs close relatives. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany. Especially with these names, when the generic name is known from context. Because animals are typically only grouped within subspecies, it is written as a trinomen with a third name. Dog breeds, meanwhile, are not scientifically distinguished, there are several divisions of plant species and therefore their infraspecific names generally include contractions explaining the relation. For example, the genus Hibiscus includes hundreds of other species apart from the Rose of Sharon or common garden hibiscus, Rose of Sharon doesnt have subspecies but has cultivars that carry desired traits, such as the bright white H. syriaca Diana. Hawaiian hibiscus, meanwhile, includes several separate species, since not all botanists agree on the divisions or names between species, it is common to specify the source of the name using author abbreviations
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Species
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In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
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Northern black korhaan
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The northern black korhaan, also known as the white-quilled bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family Otididae. It occurs mainly in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa and its habitat is primarily open grassland and scrub. Southern black korhaan BirdLife International 2004,2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Downloaded on 24 July 2007
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Arabian bustard
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The Arabian bustard is a species bustard which is found across the Sahel region of Africa and south western Arabia. It is part of the genus, Ardeotis, and, though little known. As in all bustards, the male Arabian bustard is much larger than the female, males have been found to weigh 5. 7–10.9 kg, while females weigh 4. 5–7.7 kg. The record-sized male Arabian bustard weighed 16.8 kg and these birds stand from 70 cm tall in females to 92 cm tall in males. They are fairly similar in appearance to the kori bustard, with a brown body, gray neck and white underside. They are also differ in having white checkered covert pattern at the end of the folded wing, the Arabian bustard is usually solitary or lives in pairs and family parties. Small flocks have been observed migrating north into the Sahel zone, however the population in Morocco was considered sedentary, as is the population in the Arabian Peninsula. On these movements the Arabian bustard has been known to migrate with Denhams bustards, the clutch size of Arabian bustards is one to two eggs which are laid in a shallow scrape on the ground. The females have sole responsibility for incubation of the eggs and rearing the young, when the brood is threatened the females has been observed to demonstrate diversionary behaviour, e. g. calling, refusing to flee, to distract potential predators from chicks. Arabian bustards are reported to catch and eat locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, reptiles and they have alsoe been recorded feeding on the seeds and fruits of shrubs, such as Cordia sinensis, Grewia villosa, Salvadora persica and wild melon Citrullus as well as Acacia gum. In Chobe National Park, Arabian bustards are found with southern carmine bee-eaters. Semi desert and arid plains, also Acacia woodlands. It is a vagrant to Kenya, Gambia, northern Ivory Coast, due to its wide range, it was not considered vulnerable by IUCN, although there is believed to have been a strong decrease in the population. In 2012 the species was uplisted to Near Threatened, the primary cause of the decrease appears to be heavy hunting pressure, with habitat degradation and destruction also playing a major role. The sedentary population recorded from Morocco, the subspecies A. a. lynesi, has not been recorded since 1962. The following subspecies of Arabian bustard are currently recognised
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Kori bustard
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The kori bustard is the largest flying bird native to Africa. It is a member of the family, which all belong to the order Otidiformes and are restricted in distribution to the Old World. It is one of the four species in the large-bodied Ardeotis genus, in fact, the male kori bustard may be the heaviest living animal capable of flight. This species, like most bustards, is a ground-dwelling bird, male kori bustards, which can be more than twice as heavy as the female, attempt to breed with as many females as possible and then take no part in the raising of the young. The nest is a hollow in the earth, often disguised by nearby obstructive objects such as trees. English naturalist William John Burchell described the kori bustard in 1822, the specific epithet kori is derived from the Tswana name for this bird - Kgori. Two subspecies are recognized, Ardeotis kori kori – the relatively pale nominate race from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, southern Angola, South Africa. Ardeotis kori struthiunculus – the Somali kori distributed in Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, the two races are separated by the miombo woodlands of central Africa. This race has a more boldly patterned head and slightly more black, the two races are similar in size, though A. k. struthiunculus may be slightly larger. This may be a distinct species, the kori bustard is cryptically coloured, being mostly grey and brown, finely patterned with black and white coloring. The upper parts and neck are a black and greyish-buff colour. The ventral plumage is more boldly colored, with white, black, the crest on its head is blackish in coloration, with less black on the females crest. There is an eye stripe above the eye. The chin, throat and neck are whitish with thin, fine black barring, a black collar at the base of the hind-neck extends onto the sides of the breast. The feathers around the neck are loose, giving the appearance of a thicker neck than they really have, the belly is white and the tail has broad bands of brownish-gray and white coloration. Their feathers contain light sensitive porphyrins, which gives their feathers a pinkish tinge at the base- especially noticeable when the feathers are shed suddenly, the head is large and the legs are relatively long. The eye is yellow, while the bill is light greenish horn coloured, relatively long, straight. The feet have three forward facing toes, females are similar in plumage but are much smaller, measuring about 20-30% less in linear measurements and often weighing 2-3 times less than the male
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Great Indian bustard
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The Great Indian Bustard or Indian bustard is a bustard found in India and the adjoining regions of Pakistan. A large bird with a body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance. These birds are found associated in the same habitat as blackbuck. It is protected under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India, the great Indian bustard is a large ground bird with a height of about one metre. It is unmistakable with its black cap contrasting with the pale head, the body is brownish with a black patch spotted in white. The male is deep sandy buff coloured and during the season has a black breast band. The crown of the head is black and crested and is puffed up by displaying males, in the female which is smaller than the male, the head and neck are not pure white and the breast band is either rudimentary, broken or absent. Among bustards, this species is smaller only than the Kori bustard and it is also the largest land bird in its native range. The great Indian bustard stands at about 1 m tall, having a long neck. The female as in most members of the family are typically considerably smaller. Males have a gular pouch which is inflated when calling during display. Abnormally leucistic or near albino birds have been reported and this species was formerly widespread in India and Pakistan. The bustard is critically endangered in Pakistan primarily due to lack of protection, a few birds have been detected in a September 2013 survey of the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan. In India, the bird was found in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka. Today the bustard is restricted to isolated pockets in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Great Indian bustards make local movements but these are not well understood although it is known that populations disperse after the monsoons. Males are said to be solitary during the season but form small flocks in winter. Males may however distribute themselves close together and like other bustards they are believed to use a system that has been termed as an exploded or dispersed lek. The habitat where it is most often found is arid and semi-arid grasslands, open country with thorn scrub, the major areas where they are known to breed are in central and western India and eastern Pakistan
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Australian bustard
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The Australian bustard is a large ground bird of grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. The male is up to 1.2 m tall with a 2.3 m wingspan, the average weight for males is 6.3 kg, with a range of 4.3 to 12.76 kg. The female is quite a bit smaller at 80 cm tall, with a 1.8 m wingspan, the largest male recorded was 14.5 kg. Although it is the largest extant flying land bird in Australia, the back, wings and tail are dull brown, mottled black and white markings on the wing coverts. The neck and head appear dull white and the crown black, legs are yellow to cream coloured. When disturbed, Australian bustards often adopt a cryptic pose with neck erect and they may stalk gradually away or run if alarmed, taking flight as a last resort. Populations are highly nomadic following rain and feed, which includes seeds, fruit, centipedes, insects, molluscs, lizards, young birds and its nomadic habits make it difficult to assess. In 2012 IUCN downlisted the species to Least Concern, the Australian bustard is not listed as threatened on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Australian bustard is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora, under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has been prepared. On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, Australian Aborigines generally refer to this bird as the bush turkey. It is an important food source for Aboriginal people from Central Australia, the white feathers of the bird are used for ceremonial purposes. The Arrernte name for this bird is kere artewe, the Larrakia name for this bird is danimila. There are important Dreaming stories associated with the bush turkey, a number of artists painting in the desert today paint bush turkey Dreaming. This means they have been stories of the origins of the turkey in the Dreamtime and are entitled to tell this story. Barossa Valley winery Turkey Flat takes its name from the Australian bustard, Turkey Flat was the local name given to Lot 1,100 of Moorooroo on settlement in reference to the large flocks of the Australian bustard found along the river banks. The winerys logo features an Australian bustard as drawn by renowned local artist, Rod Schubert
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White-bellied bustard
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The white-bellied bustard or white-bellied korhaan is an African species of bustard. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa in grassland and open woodland habitats and it is rather small for a bustard,48 to 61 centimetres long. All are tawny brown above and on the breast and white on the belly, with cream-coloured legs, juveniles have light brown necks and heads, the adult female has a grey crown, a brown and buff line below the eye, and black speckling on the throat. The adult male has a crown, black lines on the white cheeks, a black throat patch. The call, often given in the morning and late evening, has been described as a very loud, guttural kwhuka WHUKa. This species is seen in pairs or family groups, as young stay with their parents much longer than those of other bustards in the region
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Blue korhaan
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The blue korhaan or blue bustard is a species of bird in the Otididae family, found in Lesotho and South Africa. Its call is a series of croaks, usually uttered in flight. Its natural habitat is grassland, dry shrubland, arable land and pastureland. It is threatened by habitat loss, blue Korhaan - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
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Bengal florican
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The Bengal florican, also called Bengal bustard, is a bustard species native to the Indian subcontinent, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List because fewer than 1,500 individuals were estimated to be alive as of 2013 and it is the only member of the genus Houbaropsis. Adult Bengal floricans range from 66–68 cm in length and stand around 55 cm tall, the male has black plumage from the head and neck to underparts. Its head carries a long lanky crest, and the neck has elongated display plumes, the upperside is buff with fine black vermiculations and black arrowhead markings, and there is a conspicuous large white patch from the wing coverts to the remiges. In flight, the wings appear entirely white except for the dark primary remiges. The feet and legs are yellow, the bill and irides are dark, females are larger than the males and have a buff-brown colour similar to the males back, with a dark brown crown and narrow dark streaks down the side of the neck. Their wing coverts are lighter than the remiges and covered in fine dark barring, adult females weigh around 1. 7–1.9 kg against a weight of 1. 2–1.5 kg in males. They are normally silent but when disturbed utters a metallic chik-chik-chik call, displaying males croak and produce a strange deep humming. The only bird even remotely similar to males of the Bengal florican are their counterpart from the lesser florican. This is a smaller, slimmer-necked bustard overall, and its males have cheek-tufts of plumes with pennant-like tips rather than the crest, the females are similar, and young Bengal floricans can be easily mistaken for female lesser floricans. The latter have almost white wing coverts however, resembling the males wing patch and it has two disjunct populations, one in the Indian subcontinent, another in Southeast Asia. The former occurs from Uttar Pradesh through the Terai of Nepal to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India, the South East Asian population occurs in Cambodia and perhaps adjacent southern Vietnam. Similarly, the Terai population seems to move to warmer locations in winter. Migrations are not long-distance, however, and probably are restricted to a few dozen kilometers, Bengal floricans live in open tall grassland habitats with scattered bushes. The most important grass species are satintails, sugarcane, as well as Desmostachya bipinnata, restricted to tiny fragments of grassland scattered across South and Southeast Asia, the Bengal florican is the worlds rarest bustard. It is known to have become threatened by land conversion for intensive agriculture. Poaching continues to be a problem in Southeast Asia, while the South Asian population is down to less than 350 adult birds, about 85% of which are found in India. Though more threatened, birds in Southeast Asia may number as many as in South Asia, the population has decreased dramatically in past decades
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