Month: January 2011

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

The Rufous-crowned Sparrow is a small American sparrow. This bird is found mostly across South-western USA and Mexico. Populations of this bird are often isolated from each other. This bird has a brown back with darker streaks and grey underparts. It has a rufous crown and a grey face. The A. r. eremoeca There are

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo

Also known as a Banksian, Banks, or Black Cockatoo, the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo is a bird that is native to Australia. They are commonly found in the drier parts of Australia. There are 5 subspecies recognised, though the most significant characteristic are the sizes of their beaks. Cool Crest! Out of the 5 subspecies of

White-winged Fairywren

A member of the fairywren family is the White-winged Fairywren. It was forst collected in 1818 on Louis de Freycinet’s voyage around the Southern Hemisphere by the French Naturalists, Jean Rene Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard. Unfortunately the specimen was actually lost in a shipwreck but a painting by Jacques Arago, Mérion leucoptère, survived.

Styracosaurus

The Styracosaurus (or “spiked lizard” in English) is a herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. It lived during the Cretaceous Period’s Campanian stage which was about 76.5 to 75 million years ago. It was scientifically named and described in 1913 by Lawrence Lamb. A painting of the Styracosaurus The Styracosaurus was a large dinosaur. It was 5.5 metres

Suffolk Punch

Also known as the Suffolk Sorrel or the Suffolk Horse, the Suffolk Punch is a breed of draught horse from England. Its name is from Suffolk county in East Anglia, and the name “Punch” refers to its strength and solid appearance. The Suffolk Punch horse is a breed from England The Suffolk Punch was developed

Variegated Fairywren

The Variegated Fairywren is a type of fairywren that can be found in many diverse habitats all over Australia. There are 4 subspecies recognised, and there is a high degree of sexual dimorphism. It was officially scientifically described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. It was originally thought to be a colour

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

A large cockatoo which is native to south-east Australia is the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. This bird was first described by George Shaw in 1794, and its specific name is related to the its dark and sombre plumage as if one was dressed for a funeral. In fact, the famous Orinthologist, John Gould, referred to this

Irrawaddy Dolphin

A euryhaline species of Oceanic dolphin is the Irrawaddy dolphin. It is found in several discontinuous sub-populations in estuaries, rivers, and near sea coasts of the Bay of Bengal and other areas in South-East Asia. It was first scientifically described in 1866 by Sir Richard Owen based on a specimen that was discovered in the

Northern Gannet

The Northern Gannet is a seabird and it is the largest member of the gannet family. Its old names include the Solant Bird, Solan, and the Solan Goose. It was first described scientifically by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. Northern Gannets are agile fliers When the Northern Gannets are young, they are ark brown in the

Red-necked Grebe

The Red-necked Glebe, sometimes called “helldivers” in North America, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere’s temperate regions. It prefers to stay in shallow bodies of fresh water such as marshes, lakes, or fish ponds. This bird is a migratory creature There are 2 subspecies of the Red-necked Grebe. The nominate species

Hector’s dolphin

One of the Top 10 Most Endangered Species of Cetaceans is Hector’s dolphin. In fact, it is the world’s number 6 most endangered species and faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild. This animal was named after Sir James Hector who was the curator of Wellington’s Colonial Museum, which is now known

Seorsumuscardinus

The Seorsumuscardinus is a rodent that lived during the Early Miocene. It is known through its fossile dormice which was discovered in Europe. 2 species of Seorsumuscardinus are known through a number of isolated teeth. The distribution of the Seorsumuscardinus These teeth were characterised by its long transverse crests. One of these crests distinguished these

Vaquita

One of the most rare species of porpoise is the vaquita. It is also known as the Cochito, Gulf of California Porpoise, Gulf of California Harbor Porpoise, Gulf Porpoise, Marsouin du Golf de Californie, and the Hafenscheinswal. The word vaquita itself is Spanish for “little cow”. As its other names suggest, it is endemic to

Rock Martin

The Rock Martin is a small bird that is a member of the swallow family. It is a resident of Africa as well as south-western Asia as east as Pakistan. This bird is part of the swallow family It was first formally scientifically described by Martin Lichtenstein in 1842 as Hirundo fuligula. However, Heinrich Gustav

White-breasted Nuthatch

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a small songbird that belongs to the nuthatch family which is found in temperate North America. This bird was first scientifically described by John Latham in 1780, in his work, Index Orinthologicus. A White-breasted Nuthatch going down a tree The White-breasted Nuthatch has a large head, short wings and a short