Victoria Crowned Pigeon

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria) is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and rediris. It is part of a genus of three unique very large, ground-dwelling pigeons native to the New Guinea region. The bird may be easily recognized by the unique white tips on its crests and by its deep 'whooping' sounds made while calling.^[2] Its name commemorates theBritish monarch, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Description

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is a deep blue-gray color with a small black mask. Its feather crest (the signature feature of crowned pigeons other than their size) is conspicuously white-tipped. On the wing coverts, there is a row of feathers that are a paler blue-gray with maroon tips. These form a distinct wing bar. The chest is a deep purple-maroon color. As in all crowned pigeons, melanism has been observed. The other two crowned pigeons are somewhat superficially similar but only the Western Crowned Pigeon overlaps in range with the Victoria species. The Southern Crowned Pigeon does not. In the Westerns species, the crown is more scraggly and hair-like, the chest is a uniform blue-gray and not maroon and there is a less distinct wing-bar. Both sexes are similar.^[3]

This species is typically 73 to 75 cm (29 to 30 in) long and weighs 2.38 kilograms (5.3 lbs). Some specimens may exceed a length of 80 cm (31 in) and a weight of 3.5 kg (7.7 lb).^[4] It is marginally larger than the two other crowned pigeons on average and is thus considered the largest surviving species of pigeon of earth. The standard measurements among pigeons on mainland New Guinea are as follows: the wing chord is 36–39 cm (14–15 in), the tail is 27–30.1 cm (11–11.9 in), the bill is 3.2–3.5 cm (1.3–1.4 in) and the unfeatheredtarsus is 8.5–9.8 cm (3.3–3.9 in).^[3]

Like other crowned pigeons, this species makes a loud clapping sound when it takes flight. The mating calls of this species are also similar to the other two species of crowned pigeon, consisting of a deep hoom-hoom-hoom-hoom-hoom sound. When defending their territories, these birds make a resounding whup-up, whup-up, whup-up call. Their contact call is a deep, muffled and rather human-likeummm or hmmm.^[3]

There are two subspecies of the Victoria Crowned Pigeon, Goura victoria beccarii is found on the mainland of New Guinea. Goura victoria victoria, the nominate race can be found on the islands of Yapen, Biak and Supiori. The nominate subspecies is markedly smaller, with a wing chord measurement of 31.6–33.2 cm (12.4–13.1 in), with less robust legs and feet and darker overall plumage. The nominate has a sparser crest with black on the wing coverts and right above the tail.^[3]

Habitat

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is distributed in the lowland and swamp forests of northern New Guinea and surrounding islands. It usually occurs on areas that were former alluvial plains, including sago forests. Though typically found at or near sea-level, occasionally birds of this species may venture up in the hills to an elevation of up to about 600 m (2,000 ft).^[3]

Life history

Like other crowned pigeons, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon is a gregarious species. They usually travel in pairs or small parties as they search for food. They walk with an unhurried gait along the forest floor. Their prey typically consists of fallen fruit. Birds of this species in captivity are particularly found of eating figs. Seeds and invertebrates may occasionally supplement the diet. When disturbed, these birds flight straight up onto the canopy or a large horizontal branch of a large forest tree. After being distubred, they may remain still on their perch for a considerable time engaging in contact calls and flick their tail. In the wild, this species tends to be shier than the Western Crowned Pigeon, but can still occasionally be quietly approached.^[3] The males regularly engage in aggressive displays in order to establish dominance. In these interactions, the pigeons puff up the chest and repeatedly raise their wings as if preparing to strike their opponent. They will also make short dashes at each other and may actually hit one another, but rarely make contact and can be completely peaceful towards other males outside of the early mating season.

Reproduction

Breeding peaks late in wet season and in the dry season. When the male displays for the female, he lowers his head down, stretches forward and then rhythmically swings his head up and down while simultaneously wagging his fanned tail. Although the female does most direct brooding, both parents help raise the young. The female usually lays a single white egg in a well-built tree nest of stems, sticks and palm leaves. In the weeks before she lays the egg, the male brings nesting material to the female. The egg is incubated for around 30 days. The young leave the nest when they are still much smaller than their parents but are actively tended to for a total of 13 weeks.

Status

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is now the most rarely occurring of the three crowned pigeon species in the wild, although it is the most widely kept species in captivity. Perhaps the most pressing threat to the species is continuing habitat loss due to logging. It now quite uncommon near human habitations due to the fact that it is heavily hunted around them, particularly in areas where gun-possessing is prevalent. It can quite tame and easily shot, though now seems to be fearful of humans in the wild. Most hunting is for its plumes and meat. Trapping of pigeons to be kept alive for captive collections is now illegal but is still likely to be occurring. The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.^[1] It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.

LAST DRAGON IN WORLD

“Blue Dragon” Sea Slug Reminds Us That the Ocean is Filled With Strange Creatures That Look Like Pokemon

The strange blue creature in the photo above may look like a monster from a Japanese RPG, but is actually a  real animal—the Glaucus atlanticus sea slug, to be exact.

Commonly known as the blue dragon or blue sea slug, this beautiful little mollusk can be found off the coast of South Africa, Australia and Mozambique, floating on the surface tension of the water.

Glaucus atlanticus got quite a bit of attention on the internet in April after a stunning up-close photo was posted to imigur (above). While we only just stumbled upon the blue dragon today, the moment we saw it we had the feeling this wasn’t the first time we had seen a sea slug that looked like something out of a fantasy world.

Glaucus atlanticus (common names sea swallow, blue glaucus, blue dragon, blue sea slug and blue ocean slug) sea slug, apelagic aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Glaucidae. This is the o

Description

The regular size of this species is up to about 3 cm,depending on the animal's age.^[3] It is silvery grey on its dorsal side and dark and pale blue ventrally. It has dark blue stripes on its face. It has a tapering body which is flattened and has six appendages which branch out into rayed cerata.^[4] Its radula bears serrated teeth on their blades.^[5]

Glaucus atlanticus and its close relative, Glaucilla marginata, live in close association with what Sir Alistair Hardy described many years ago as "The Blue Fleet" - the siphonophores such as Physalia physalis, Velella velella, Porpita porpita and the other associated animals including the "violet snails" of the genus Janthina. All these animals float on the surface of the ocean being carried by the currents and the winds. Most of us are only aware of their existence when days of onshore winds blow great fleets of them on to the beaches, causing pain and angst for swimmers.

Both species spend their life floating upside down in the water, partially bouyed by a gas bubble in their stomachs.

The two nudibranchs feed almost exclusively on Physalia, and as Tom Thompson and Isobel Bennett reported some years ago, it appears that they are able to select the most venomous of Physalia's stinging nematocysts for their own use. Like most aeolids, they store the nematocysts in special sacs (cnidosacs) at the tip of their cerata .

There are a number of reports in Australia of kids engaged in "Bluebottle" fights - where they throw stranded Physalia at each other - being badly stung by inadvertently playing with Glaucus and Glaucilla, both of which, by concentrating the most venomous of Physalia's nematocysts, are much more deadly.

Another interesting feature of the two species is their colouration. They both exhibit a textbook example of colour countershading. Their foot and undersides of the cerata, (which because they float upside down is effectively their dorsal surface), is blue or blue and white which helps to camouflage them from predation (sea birds) from above. Their true dorsal surface, which faces down in the water, is silvery grey to effectively camouflage them from fish looking up from below.                                                                                        

Distribution and habitat 

This nudibranch is pelagic, and is distributed throughout the world's oceans, in temperate and tropical waters. Regions where this slug is found include the East and South Coast ofSouth Africa, European waters, the east coast of Australia and Mozambique. And has been seen, too, in some regions of <<Costa Rica>> ^[6] This species floats upside down on the surface tension of the ocean.

Life history and behavior

G. atlanticus preys on other, larger pelagic organisms: the dangerously venomous Portuguese Man o' War Physalia physalis; the by-the-wind-sailor Velella velella; the blue buttonPorpita porpita; and the violet snail, Janthina janthina. Occasionally, individual Glaucus become cannibals given the opportunity.

G. atlanticus is able to feed on P. physalis due to its immunity to the venomous nematocysts. The slug consumes the entire organism and appears to select and store the most venomous nematocysts for its own use. The venom is collected in specialized sacs (cnidosacs), on the tip of their cerata, the thin feather-like "fingers" on its body.^[7] BecauseGlaucus concentrates the venom, it can produce a more powerful and deadly sting than the Man o' War upon which it feeds.^[7]

With the aid of a gas-filled sac in its stomach, G. atlanticus floats at the surface. Due to the location of the gas sac, the sea swallow floats upside down. The upper surface, actually the foot (the underside in other snails), has either a blue or blue-white coloration. The true dorsal surface (downwards in G. atlanticus) is completely silver-grey. This coloration is an example of counter shading, which helps protect it from predators from below, sides, and above.

Like almost all heterobranchs, Glaucus is a hermaphrodite, having both male and female reproductive organs. Unlike most nudibranchs, which mate with their right sides facing, sea swallows mate with ventral sides facing.^[8] After mating, both animals produce egg strings.\

MACAW NATURAL HISTORY

APPEARANCE
Macaws are among the most spectacular of nature's offerings. If hummingbirds are the rainforest's jewels, macaws are the masterpieces. These birds' bright colors flash through the rainforest like splashes across a painter's canvas. Among the twenty or so recognized species, every color of the rainbow is represented. What sets macaws apart from their cousins, the parrots, are:
(1) Geographical location (macaws are found only in the Neotropics)
(2) Large size (even the smallest macaw is bigger than all but the biggest parrots)
(3) Featherless skin around the facial area
(4) Long pointed tail
(5) Gaudy plumage

Like other parrots, macaws have strong, curved bills that are capable of breaking open the toughest nuts. Their feet have four toes, in two opposed pairs to grip branches.

Their varied environment, long lives and complex social structure may account for the high intelligence of these animals. Some researchers assert that parrots are capable of understanding human speech, resulting in the ability for limited conversation. However, the jury is out on the extent to which macaws understand the meaning of their human-taught vocalizations.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION
Macaws are found in a wide variety of habitats from forest to arid regions, but are most numerous and rich in species in lowland tropical rainforest. They prefer floodplains but some species range to 5000 feet, in particular always being quite close to water. In the neotropics, macaws range into Central America and down to northern Argentina.

FEEDING AND DIET
In the wild, macaw staples are fruit and nuts. Their powerful beaks are capable of cracking open the hardest nuts, giving them access to food unavailable to other animals. Mornings and evenings these birds commute long distances between favorite roosting and feeding sites, one of the great spectacles of the rainforest—the best chance to see them in the wild.

Like other parrots, macaws feed in groups. Among their favorite foods are palm nuts, hard fruits accessible to the macaws by virtue of their powerful bills. Besides fruiting trees, the birds' communal feeding stations include exposed river banks, which provide river clay that the birds consume as a dietary supplement. The clay licks, like macaw vitamin pills, help keep the birds in optimum health. While scientists aren't 100% sure why the birds visit these sites, they are frequent and regular visitors. One scientist counted over 350 red-and-green macaws visited a single clay lick, using it every other day or so.

BREEDING
Macaws, like some other large parrots, mate for life. Within larger flocks, you'll see pairs flying together. Breeding attempts are made yearly, and the female lays two to four eggs. The blue-and-yellow macaw lays its eggs in the cavity of a dead palm tree, particularly the aguaje palm, Mauritia flexuosa. This strategy limits nest sites because a dead palm will last less than four years before it rots and falls over.

Macaws are slow breeders and have low reproductive rates in the wild. Predators and parasites kill many chicks so that less than two-thirds of nests result in young that fledge. Only one young is fledged even when successful. Often the young die of starvation despite the apparent abundance of food.

Scientists are trying to understand the limiting factors in the parents' feeding behavior that limits their ability to provide food to the additional chicks. After hatching, the young take several months to fledge, and many often fail at this stage, falling victim to waiting predators while learning the difficult task of navigating the complex environment.

CONSERVATION
Kricher (1997) suggests that macaws provide a opportunity for ecotourism due to their popularity. Given the difficulty of seeing animals in the rainforest, the habit of macaws to congregate on clay embankments is a unique chance to see these charismatic animals in the open and at leisure. Several species regularly visit the clay licks, including those most sought after by ecotourists.

Kricher cites a study that showed each macaw could generate over $4,000 a year in tourist revenue. Given the long lives of macaws, each bird could potentially be worth $150,000 in tourist dollars. Such "no-brainer" economics speak clearly to the need to conserve the birds' populations and natural habitat.

As their habitat inexorably diminishes, so the populations of Amazon macaws will undoubtedly decline. After habitat loss, the main threat to macaws is hunting for their feathers. The long tail feathers are popular for use in headdresses and other handicrafts. (Photo of macaw feather headdress.) Although Amazon Indians have historically used feathers in costumes and headdresses, this is less of a danger than deforestation.

Collection for the pet trade is not as big threat as it was before prohibitions were put on the export and import of the birds. Today, commerce is strictly controlled. However, illegal collecting continues.

None of the lowland rainforest species is in imminent danger of extinction, but most macaws are at risk and their trade is controlled by the CITES listing. All Amazon species are list as CITES or II. The hyacinth macaw and one or two other macaw species of open grassland are endangered. One species of macaw, Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) from northeastern Brazil, is believed extinct in the wild (Butchart et al., 2003). We can only hope that other species will not suffer the same fate.

GOLDEN PHEASANT

The Golden Pheasant or "Chinese Pheasant", (Chrysolophus pictus) is a gamebird of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds) and the family Phasianidae. It is native to forests in mountainous areas of western China, but feral populations have been established in theUnited Kingdom and elsewhere.

The adult male is 90–105 cm in length, its tail accounting for two-thirds of the total length. It is unmistakable with its golden crest and rump and bright red body. The deep orange "cape" can be spread in display, appearing as an alternating black and orange fan that covers all of the face except its bright yellow eye with a pinpoint black pupil.

Male at Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Malaysia

Males have a golden-yellow crest with a hint of red at the tip. The face, throat, chin, and the sides of neck are rusty tan. The wattles and orbital skin are both yellow in colour, and the ruff or cape is light orange. The upper back is green and the rest of the back and rump is golden-yellow. The tertiaries are blue whereas the scapulars are dark red. Other characteristics of the male plumage are the central tail feathers, black spotted with cinnamon, as well as the tip of the tail being a cinnamon buff. The upper tail coverts are the same colour as the central tail feathers. The male also has a scarlet breast, and scarlet and light chestnut flanks and underparts. Lower legs and feet are a dull yellow.

The female (hen) is much less showy, with a duller mottled brown plumagesimilar to that of the female Common Pheasant. She is darker and more slender than the hen of that species, with a proportionately longer tail (half her 60–80 cm length). The female's breast and sides are barred buff and blackish brown, and the abdomen is plain buff. She has a buff face and throat. Some abnormal females may later in their lifetime get some male plumage. Lower legs and feet are a dull yellow.

Both males and females have yellow legs and yellow bills.

Despite the male's showy appearance, these hardy birds are very difficult to see in their natural habitat, which is dense, dark youngconifer forests with sparse undergrowth. Consequently, little is known about their behaviour in the wild.

They feed on the ground on grain, leaves and invertebrates, but they roost in trees at night. While they can fly, they prefer to run. If startled, they can suddenly burst upwards at great speed and with a distinctive wing sound.

Although they can fly in short bursts, they are quite clumsy in flight and spend most of their time on the ground. Golden Pheasants lay 8-12 eggs at a time and will then incubate these for around 22–23 days. They tend to eat berries, grubs, seeds and other types ofvegetation.

The male has a metallic call in the breeding season.

The Golden Pheasant is commonly found in zoos and aviaries, but often as impure specimens that have the similar Lady Amherst's Pheasant in their lineage