"Oriental pratincole The oriental pratincole (""Glareola maldivarum""), also known as the grasshopper-bird or swallow-plover, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ""glarea"", ""gravel"", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name ""maldivarum"" refers to the type locality, the ocean near the Maldive Islands; the type specimen, caught alive at sea, survived for a month on flies. These birds have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails. They have short bills, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings"
"Collared pratincole The collared pratincole (""Glareola pratincola""), also known as the common pratincole or red-winged pratincole, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. As with other pratincoles, it is native to the Old World. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ""glarea"", ""gravel"", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name ""pratincola"" means an inhabitant of meadows, from Latin ""pratum, prati"", ""meadow"" and ""incola"", ""inhabitant"", from ""incolere"", ""to inhabit"". This pratincole is long with a wingspan. It has short legs, long pointed wings, a long forked tail, and a short bill, which is an adaptation"
"winter they migrate to northern Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sulawesi and southern Borneo to over-winter . Although they are common, their occurrence is unpredictable and varies in location. The Australian pratincole belongs to the family Glareolidae. It is monotypic within the genus ""Stiltia"". Pratincole, Arnhem Land grouse, Australian courser, roadrunner, nankeen plover, swallow-plover. The Australian pratincole is a medium-sized slender shorebird with long legs, long pointed wings and a short decurved bill. It is 19–24 cm long, has a wingspan of 50–60 cm and weighs 55-75grams. The sexes look alike however their breeding and non-breeding plumage differs. Breeding plumage –"
"resting in the warmest part of the day. Like the coursers, the pratincoles are found in warmer parts of the Old World, from southern Europe and Africa east through Asia to Australia. Species breeding in temperate regions are long-distance migrants. Their two to four eggs are laid on the ground in a bare scrape. The downy pratincole chicks are able to run as soon as they are hatched. The Australian pratincole, the only species not in the genus ""Glareola"", is more terrestrial than the other pratincoles, and may be intermediate between this group and the coursers. The name ""pratincole"" comes"
"to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with darker flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut, but look dark below. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the black-winged pratincole and the oriental pratincole, which may occur in its range. The latter species also has a chestnut underwing, but is shorter-tailed. The collared pratincole is divided into two subspecies: Pratincoles are unusual among waders in that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on"
"is found in warmer parts of south east Europe and south west Asia. Its 2–4 eggs are laid on the ground. It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, and is rare north or west of the breeding range. It is long, with short legs, long pointed wings and a forked tail. It has a short bill, which is an adaptation to aerial feeding. The back and head are brown, and the wings are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white and the underwings are black. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such"
"Small pratincole The small pratincole, little pratincole, or small Indian pratincole (""Glareola lactea""), is a small wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. The small pratincole is a resident breeder in India, Western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It breeds from December to March on gravel or sand banks near rivers and lakes, laying 2-4 eggs in a ground scrape. Breeding areas include small areas in northern Karnataka (along the Hemavathi River) and northern Kerala near Kannur. This species is only 16.5-18.5 cm in length, with a 42–48 cm wingspan. Because of its small size, the small"
"Some species of pratincole are long-distance migrants. Shorter migrations include those of the Madagascan pratincole, which migrates from its breeding grounds in Madagascar to East Africa; in contrast the black-winged pratincole migrates from the steppes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia to West and Southern Africa. The migration, which can measure 10,000 km in distance, is often undertaken as a single non-stop flight and is flown at high altitude. The coursers are not particularly migratory, although the cream-colored courser does migrate from the northern extremes of its range in the winter. The coursers are fairly nomadic, but do not undertake"
"classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. The small pratincole is a species of open country, and is often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. Small pratincole The small pratincole, little pratincole, or small Indian pratincole (""Glareola lactea""), is a small wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. The small pratincole is a resident breeder in India, Western Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It breeds from December to March on gravel or sand banks near rivers and lakes, laying"
"Common nightingale The common nightingale or simply nightingale (""Luscinia megarhynchos""), also known as rufous nightingale, is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. ""Nightingale"" is derived from ""night"", and the Old English ""galan"", ""to sing"". The genus name ""Luscinia"" is Latin for ""nightingale"" and ""megarhynchos"" is from Ancient Greek ""megas"", ""great"" and ""rhunkhos"" ""bill"". The common nightingale is"
"technique of taking their insect prey on the wing like swallows. The wings also allow for long migrations in some species. The coursers have long legs, which are used to run (giving the group its name. The wings are shorter and have a more sustained flight than that of the pratincoles. The pratincoles and coursers have an Old World distribution, occurring in southern Europe, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar), and Australia. The family is thought to have evolved in Africa, which is where the family achieves its greatest diversity, although fossils of the genus ""Glareola"" belonging to an extinct species ""Glareola"
"or they will make a deep bow as they approach each other. American purple gallinule This article is on the New-World purple gallinule (""Porphyrio martinicus""), not the Old-World purple gallinule which is the Purple swamphen (""Porphyrio porphyrio""). The purple gallinule (""Porphyrio martinicus"") is a swamphen since it has the genus ""Porphyrio"". They are in the order Gruiformes, which means ""crane-like"", and within the order there are cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail species which places them into the family, Rallidae. They are also known locally as the yellow-legged gallinule. The specific name ""martinica"" denotes ""of Martinique""."
"Thrush nightingale The thrush nightingale (""Luscinia luscinia""), also known as the sprosser, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European species, are often called chats. It is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in forests in Europe and Asia and overwintering in Africa. The distribution is more northerly than the very closely related common nightingale, ""Luscinia megarhynchos"", which it closely resembles in appearance. It nests near the ground in dense undergrowth. The thrush nightingale"
"Questing Beast The Questing Beast, or the Beast Glatisant (Barking Beast), is a monster from Arthurian legend. It is the subject of quests undertaken by famous knights such as King Pellinore, Sir Palamedes, and Sir Percival. The strange creature has the head and neck of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion, and the feet of a hart. Its name comes from the great noise that it emits from its belly, a barking like ""thirty couple hounds questing"". ""Glatisant"" is related to the French word ""glapissant"", 'yelping' or 'barking', especially of small dogs or foxes."
"Diprotodontia The Diprotodontia (; ""diprotos"", meaning ""two front"" and οδοντος ""odontos"" meaning ""teeth"") are an order of about 125 species of marsupial mammals including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the rhinoceros-sized ""Diprotodon"", and ""Thylacoleo"", the so-called ""marsupial lion"". Living diprotodonts are almost all herbivores, as were most of those that are now extinct. A few insectivorous and omnivorous diprotodonts are known, and the Potoridae are almost unique among vertebrates in being largely fungivorous, but these seem to have arisen as relatively recent adaptations from the mainstream herbivorous lifestyle. The extinct thylacoleonids (""marsupial lions"")"
"Proterosuchidae Proterosuchidae is an early, possibly paraphyletic, assemblage of basal archosauriformes whose fossils are known from the Latest Permian and the Early Triassic of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and possibly South America. The name comes from Greek πρότερο- (""first"") and σοῦχος (""crocodile""). They were slender, medium-sized (about 1.5 meters long), long-snouted and superficially crocodile-like animals, although they lacked the armoured scutes of true crocodiles, and their skeletal features are much more primitive. The limbs are short and indicate a sprawling posture, like contemporary lizards but unlike most later archosaurs. Their most characteristic feature is a distinct down-turning of the premaxilla"
"are brown with black flight feathers. The belly is white. The underwings are chestnut. Very good views are needed to distinguish this species from other pratincoles, such as the very similar collared pratincole, which also has a chestnut underwing, and black-winged pratincole which shares the black upperwing flight feathers and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing. These features are not always readily seen in the field, especially as the chestnut underwing appears black unless excellent views are obtained. An unusual feature of all pratincoles is that although classed as waders they typically hunt their insect prey on"
"seawater, they seem to be unable to move and climb. This article incorporates a public domain text (a public domain work of the United States Government) from references and CC-BY-2.5 text from the reference Common periwinkle The common periwinkle or winkle (""Littorina littorea"") is a species of small edible whelk or sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles. This is a robust intertidal species with a dark and sometimes banded shell. It is native to the rocky shores of the northeastern, and introduced to the northwestern,"
"Thylacoleo Thylacoleo (""pouch lion"") is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene (2 million to 46 thousand years ago). Some of these ""marsupial lions"" were the largest mammalian predators in Australia of that time, with ""Thylacoleo carnifex"" approaching the weight of a small lion. The estimated average weight for the species ranges from 101 to 130 kg. Pound for pound, ""Thylacoleo carnifex"" had the strongest bite of any mammal species living or extinct; a ""T. carnifex"" weighing had a bite comparable to that of a 250 kg African lion,"
"Thylacoleo Thylacoleo (""pouch lion"") is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene (2 million to 46 thousand years ago). Some of these ""marsupial lions"" were the largest mammalian predators in Australia of that time, with ""Thylacoleo carnifex"" approaching the weight of a small lion. The estimated average weight for the species ranges from 101 to 130 kg. Pound for pound, ""Thylacoleo carnifex"" had the strongest bite of any mammal species living or extinct; a ""T. carnifex"" weighing had a bite comparable to that of a 250 kg African lion,"
"American purple gallinule This article is on the New-World purple gallinule (""Porphyrio martinicus""), not the Old-World purple gallinule which is the Purple swamphen (""Porphyrio porphyrio""). The purple gallinule (""Porphyrio martinicus"") is a swamphen since it has the genus ""Porphyrio"". They are in the order Gruiformes, which means ""crane-like"", and within the order there are cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail species which places them into the family, Rallidae. They are also known locally as the yellow-legged gallinule. The specific name ""martinica"" denotes ""of Martinique"". This is a medium-sized rail, measuring in length, spanning across the wings"
"Peteinosaurus Peteinosaurus ( ; meaning ""winged lizard"") was a prehistoric genus of Pterosaur. It lived in the late Triassic period in the late Norian age (about 221 to 210 million years ago), and at a wingspan of around , was one of the smallest and earliest Pterosaurs. Three fossils have been found near Cene, Italy. The first fossil, the holotype MCSNB 2886, is fragmentary and disarticulated. The second, the articulated paratype MCSNB 3359, lacks any diagnostic features of ""Peteinosaurus"" and thus might be a different species. This paratype has a long tail (20 cm) made more stiff by long extensions"
"couple in Illinois has even nicknamed its infant ""Blastoise"", due to his affinity for carrying formula bottles on his back. Blastoise Blastoise (), known in Japan as , is a Water–type Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ""Pokémon"" franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, it first appeared in the video games ""Pokémon Red"" and ""Blue"" and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles, and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. It is the final evolution of Squirtle and the evolved form of Wartortle. Its name is a portmanteau of the words ""Blast"" (referring to its water-cannons) and"
"long distance migrations. The coursers are crepuscular and nocturnal in their habits, and are generally inconspicuous, particularly the woodland species. They are not as social as the highly gregarious and noisy pratincoles, some species of which may also active at dawn and dusk. Insects form the majority of the diet of the Glareolidae. The pratincoles forage mainly on the wing, but are able to take prey on the ground as well. They are opportunistic, and have been recorded attending herds of antelope to snatch insects flushed up by their movement, or even insects attracted to street lights. Swarming insects, such"
"Moriche oriole The moriche oriole (""Icterus cayanensis chrysocephalus"") is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It is unrelated to Old World orioles (family Oriolidae). It is a breeding resident in the tropics of eastern South America. This bird is noted for its close association with the palm ""Mauritia flexuosa"" (moriche, buriti, ita, ité, etc.). This ecologically distinct bird was formerly treated as a species Icterus chrysocephalus. It was eventually found to be embedded in the epaulet oriole (""I. cayanensis"") clade. Thus, for example the AOU since 2005 has lumped the moriche oriole into ""I. cayanensis"". The subspecific"
"the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. The oriental praticole is a bird of open country, and they are often seen near water in the evening, hawking for insects. Their 2–3 eggs are laid on the ground. They are found in the warmer parts of south and east Asia, breeding from North Pakistan and the Kashmir region across into China and south west. They are migratory, wintering in both India and Pakistan, Indonesia and Australasia. They are rare north or west of the breeding range, but, amazingly, this species has occurred as far away as"
"happy songs, and since then, nightingales have visited Ukraine every spring to hear Ukrainian songs. National poet Taras Shevchenko observed that ""even the memory of the nightingale's song makes man happy."" Common nightingale The common nightingale or simply nightingale (""Luscinia megarhynchos""), also known as rufous nightingale, is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats. ""Nightingale"" is derived from"
"Alexandrine parakeet The Alexandrine parakeet (""Psittacula eupatria""), also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula of the family Psittacidae. It is named after Alexander the Great, who transported numerous birds from Punjab to various European and Mediterranean countries and regions, where they were prized by the royalty, nobility and warlords. The Alexandrine parakeet has established feral populations in Spain, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Hong Kong, and Japan, where it lives alongside feral populations of its close relative, the rose-ringed parakeet (""Psittacula krameri""). The"
"unrelated erinaceomorph hedgehogs and Australian monotreme echidnas. The name ""porcupine"" comes from Latin ""porcus"" pig + ""spina"" spine, quill, via Old Italian—Middle French—Middle English. A regional American name for the animal is quill pig. Fossils belonging to the genus ""Hystrix"" date back to the late Miocene of Africa. A porcupine is any of 58 species of rodents belonging to the families Erethizontidae (genera: ""Coendou"", ""Erethizon"", and ""Chaetomys"") or Hystricidae (genera: ""Atherurus"", ""Hystrix"", and ""Trichys""). Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2.2 lb); the crested porcupine found in Italy, Sicily, North Africa,"
"as the collared pratincole and the oriental pratincole which may occur in its range. It is marginally larger than the collared pratincole, and is shorter-tailed and longer legged. Although the dark underwing and lack of a white trailing edge to the wing are diagnostic, these features are not always readily seen in the field, especially as the chestnut underwing of the collared pratincole appears black unless excellent views are obtained. The black-winged pratincole is one of the species to which the ""Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds"" (AEWA) applies. Black-winged pratincole The black-winged pratincole (""Glareola nordmanni"") is a"
"Poecile Poecile is a genus of birds in the tit family Paridae. It contains 15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained ""Poecile"" as a subgenus within the genus ""Parus"", but treatment as a distinct genus, initiated by the American Ornithologists Union, is now widely accepted. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis. The genus ""Poecile"" was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The type species was subsequently designated as the marsh tit. The name ""Poecile"" is from"
"that the Indian government is allocating insufficient resources for their protection. Thailand, Mongolia and Iran have issued postage stamps depicting the Alexandrine parakeet. Alexandrine parakeet The Alexandrine parakeet (""Psittacula eupatria""), also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula of the family Psittacidae. It is named after Alexander the Great, who transported numerous birds from Punjab to various European and Mediterranean countries and regions, where they were prized by the royalty, nobility and warlords. The Alexandrine parakeet has established feral populations in Spain, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United"
"Pterinochilus murinus Pterinochilus murinus, an old-world tarantula, was first described in 1897 by Reginald Innes Pocock. This species is found on the African continent, in Angola, as well as central, eastern, and southern Africa. It is a member of the subfamily Harpactirinae, baboon spiders. Among those who keep tarantulas as pets ""Pterinochilus murinus"" is known as ""OBT,"" which means ""orange baboon tarantula"" or ""orange bitey thing"" and also as the ""pterror,"" a pun on its Latin genus classification: ""Pterinochilus"". These nicknames reference a particular orange colour form that is prized in the hobby for its beauty and confrontational personality. It"