African Houbara
Chlamydotis undulata
Elegant bustard with a long neck and tail. Sandy-brown above and white below with a white crest and pale eyes. Note distinctive black stripe on the side of the neck, which can be erected in a spectacular display. Females are similar, but smaller. Eaglelike in flight with deep wing beats; white patches on the wingtips framed in black are distinctive. Found in desert and semi-desert with low scattered bushes.
识别特征
The houbara bustard is a small to mid-sized bustard. It measures 55–75 cm (22–30 in) in length and spans 135–170 cm (53–67 in) across the wings. It is brown above and white below, with a black stripe down the sides of its neck. In flight, the long wings show large areas of black and brown on the flight feathers. The sexes are similar, but the female, between 55–65 cm (22–26 in) tall, is rather smaller and greyer above than the male, at 65–75 cm (26–30 in) tall.[verification needed] The body mass is 1.8–3.2 kg (4.0–7.1 lb) in males and 1.2–1.7 kg (2.6–3.7 lb) in females.[verification needed]
分类信息
Psophia undulata was the scientific name proposed by Joseph Franz von Jacquin in 1784 who described a houbara brought from Tripoli to Vienna's Tiergarten Schönbrunn.Otis macqueenii was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1832 for a bustard from India drawn by Thomas Hardwicke.The African houbara was subordinated to the genus Chlamydotis by René Lesson in 1839.Houbara fuertaventurae was proposed by Walter Rothschild and Ernst Hartert in 1894 for a houbara from Fuerteventura island.<p>MacQueen's bustard was long regarded a subspecies of the African houbara. It was proposed as a distinct species in 2003 because of differences in plumage, vocalizations and courtship behaviour.The British Ornithologists' Union's Taxonomic Records Committee's decision to accept this split has been questioned on the grounds that the differences in the male courtship displays may be functionally trivial, and would not prevent interbreeding, whereas a difference in a pre-copulation display would indicate that the two are separate species. The committee responded to this scepticism, by explaining that there are differences in both courtship and pre-copulation displays.<p>Results of analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences of 73 Chlamydotis samples indicates that the houbara bustard and MacQueen's bustard genetically diverged around 430,000 years ago from a common ancestor. The divergence between the African and Canarian houbara was estimated at 20,000 to 25,000 years ago.
- 学名
- Chlamydotis undulata
- 命名信息
- (Jacquin, 1784)
- 目
- Otidiformes
- 科
- Otididae
- 属
- Chlamydotis
分布与栖息地
The houbara bustard is found in North Africa west of the Nile, mainly in the western part of the Sahara desert region in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Pakistan and Egypt. Some old records exist from Sudan as well. A small population is found in the Canary Islands. The Asian houbara or MacQueen's bustard which was earlier included in this species occurs east of the Sinai Peninsula. The North African species is sedentary unlike the migratory northern populations of MacQueen's bustards.<p>The subspecies fuertaventurae of the Canary Islands is highly restricted and endangered. A 1997 survey found a total population of about 500 birds.
- 迁徙
- Nomadic movement
行为
The Houbara bustard has a flamboyant display raising the white feathers of the head and neck and withdrawing the head. Females lay two to four eggs on the ground.It rarely vocalizes, but males make 3-5 low booming notes during breeding displays.<p>It is omnivorous, eating seeds, insects and other small creatures.
保护状况
The International Fund for Houbara Conservation developed and implemented a global conservation strategy over the past forty years with the objective of ensuring a sustainable future in the wild through conservation programmes and management plans. This strategy consists of an integrated approach combining ecology, protection measures in the wild, conservation breeding, and reinforcement programmes.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Pinto's Spinetail
Synallaxis infuscata
Spinetail with a largely dark body contrasting with a rich rusty crown, wings, and tail. Note the streaked whitish throat. In its tiny range, found in the understory at the edge of remnant humid forest fragments and in adjacent second-growth vegetation. The call is a repetition of “teh-teh-teh” notes.
Zanzibar Boubou
Laniarius sublacteus
A heavily built black-and-white bushshrike. The upperparts are cleanly black and the underparts are white with a pinkish tinge. Uses habitats with a dense understory, including riparian thickets, coastal scrub, forest, and gardens. Found in pairs, which usually skulk but sometimes hop about in the open. Similar to Tropical Boubou, but barely overlaps in range and lacks a white shoulder patch. Also similar to the smaller Black-backed Puffback, but separated by the lack of white on the upperparts. Has a diverse range of vocalizations, including a hollow rising whistle, up-and-down “laser gun” notes, rasps, and croaks, often delivered in a duet by a pair.
Medium Tree-Finch
Camarhynchus pauper
A critically endangered Galápagos finch found only on the island of Floreana. Bill is moderately curved on both upper and lower edges, and slightly longer than it is deep. Male has a black hood, brownish-olive upperparts, and a pale belly. Female is tan with whitish underparts. Both sexes have faint streaking on the breast. Bill is black on breeding male and orange on female and non-breeding male. Large Tree-Finch has larger and more bulbous bill. Small Tree-Finch has slightly smaller bill and body. Identification is much easier when more than one species is present to allow direct comparison. Medium Tree-Finch inhabits forest mainly in the highlands but is occasionally seen closer to the coast, where it may be only a seasonal visitor.
开始您的观鸟之旅
在户外识别鸟类，并在下一次观察时随手查阅鸟类图鉴。