National Audubon Society - Birds in Decline Audubon's unprecedented analysis of forty years of citizen-science bird population data from our own Christmas Bird Count plus the Breeding Bird Survey reveals the alarming decline of many of our most common and beloved birds. Since 1967 the average population of the common birds in steepest decline has fallen by 68 percent; some individual species nose-dived as much as 80 percent. All 20 birds on the national Common Birds in Decline list lost at least half their populations in just four decades. The findings point to serious problems with both local habitats and national environmental trends. Which Species? The wide variety of birds affected is reason for concern. Greater Scaup and other tundra-breeding birds are succumbing to dramatic changes to their breeding habitat as the permafrost melts earlier and more temperate predators move north in a likely response to global warming.
Identifying Rooks Top left: Juvenile Rook by Breffni Martin. Bottom left: Adult Rook by John Harding. Right:Carrion Crow by Jill Pakenham. (Click to enlarge). Adult Rooks are easy to identify thanks to the bare, greyish-white skin around the base of their bill. A juvenile Rook, however, is similar to a Carrion Crow as it doesn't develop the bare bill-base until its second calendar year. Rooks also have a straighter, more pointed bill, unlike the Carrion Crow's thicker, blunter and more curved bill. Corvid Identification Video Watch the BTO Rook Identification video to help you tell apart a Rook from a Crow. Find out more about Rooks You can find out more about Rooks, including their breeding behaviour and distribution, by having a look at the BTO's July 'Bird of the Month' feature.
Listen to Nature On these pages you will find 400 sound recordings from the large collection of the British Library Sound Archive. The Wildlife Section holds over 150,000 sounds of every animal group and habitat from all over the world. To find which sounds we have, please search our online catalogue. You can listen to any recording on the premises of the British Library, but a selection is accessible from these pages. If you want to order and use any of the sounds here, or need a sound that is not on these pages, please contact us. Listen to the sound recordings on these pages with the Windows Media Player All recordings copyright © British Library Board. Acknowledgements
NABU Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. Wildlife Conservation – The Weak Link : The Viewspaper In present times when Global Warming, E-waste, Waste management, et al take centre stage when it to comes to policies and debates on environmental conservation, the four- legged one and his habitat are more often than not neglected. Wildlife Conservation as an issue has been recognized for long now but has not been given the serious brainstorming or policy regulation and framework as some of its contemporaries. Stone Age people and hunter-gatherers relied on wildlife, both plant and animal, for their food and hunting, fishing, or gathering wildlife is still a significant food source in some parts of the world. In other areas, hunting and non-commercial fishing are mainly seen as a game or sport. It is believed that increasing demand for wildlife as a source of traditional food in East Asia is decimating populations of sharks, primates, pangolins, which they believe have aphrodisiac properties. Mridul Kumar [Image source:
4 Poisonous Birds Toxins: they're not just for snakes and spiders! While no bird currently known to science wields a venomous bite, a fair number do in fact release noxious poisons from their skin, making them dangerous to consume... including one species upon which humans have been precariously dining for centuries. Here's a quartet of toxic avians. 1. Though New Guinea natives have long known that these stunning orange and black songbirds (above) are indeed quite poisonous, the scientific community didn't catch on until relatively recently as explained in this video: 2. Wikimedia Commons Back in 2000, a team of researchers collected a pair of these insect-eating Oceania natives and discovered that the feathers of one specimen actually contained secretions of a toxin similar to that used by the notorious poison dart frogs of Central and South America. 3. Wikimedia Commons In nature, you are what you eat. 4. Wikimedia Commons So what makes these seemingly harmless fowl so dangerous to nibble on?
SEO/BirdLife Araneus diadematus (Cross Orbweaver) Pictures and Spider Identification About Araneus diadematus Taxonomic Hierarchy → Kingdom: Animalia → Phylum: Arthropoda → Class: Arachnida → Order: Araneae → Family: Araneidae → Genus: Araneus → Species: Araneus diadematus Common Name (Official / AAS) Cross Orbweaver Other Common Names European Garden Spider, Cross Spider, Diadem Spider, Garden Spider, Garden Cross Spider, Gartenkreuzspinne (Germany) Author Author of species name: Carl Alexander Clerck. Pronunciation uh-RAY-nee-uhs dye-uh-dem-AH-tuhs Meaning In Latin, Araneus means “spider”; diadematus means “crown” or “decorated with an ornamental headband.” Notable Previous Names Aranea diademaEpeira diademata Identifying Traits of Araneus diadematus Size Body length (excluding legs) of adult female ranges from 6-20 mm; adult males range from 6-13 mm. Female Primary Colors Male Primary Colors Eyes Total of eight eyes. Legs Legs relatively thick and very spiny, as well as banded in a variety of colors, like white, orange, black, brown, and yellow. Body Range of Araneus diadematus United States Web
Data Zone STATE OF THE WORLD’S BIRDS Indicators for our changing world Each section introduces a number of overarching themes—supported by key messages and case studies—that together provide a benchmark against which ongoing efforts to conserve birds and biodiversity can be gauged. A key focus of the website is to raise awareness of issues relating to BirdLife’s strategic priorities, such as preventing extinctions, climate change, the marine environment, and the role of birds as indicators. The pages under the “Spotlight” section in the left-hand navigation draws attention to many of these issues—providing links to relevant case studies within the database. The information held within the State of the world's birds database is used to develop targeted advocacy materials which support BirdLife’s involvement at events such as the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Nick's Spiders - Araneus diadematus Araneus diadematus is one of the most common and best known orb weavers. It is easily identified by the distinctive white cross on the abdomen (although in some specimens it is indistinct or missing). This spider is most commonly called in England the 'garden spider', it is also known as the cross spider. They are common in woodlands, heathlands and gardens. This spider is mature from summer to autumn and is usually at its largest in late Autumn when it is at its oldest and often full of eggs. Young spiders emerge from the egg sac in may but usually stay together until they are mature enough to leave. Below: Spiderlings. Below: A close-up of a bundle of spiderlings. Because of its abundance, Araneus diadematus is the perfect spider to observe different behaviour in. Below: spider courtship. Above: two specimens of extreme colouration. Above: I was once asked whether spider's webs had different sides to them as the spider usually stays on one side. Back to Nick's Spiders page 1