Encyclopedian Dictionary ( Nature and Photography ): April 2012

Aardwolf

Aardwolf, pronounced AHRD wulf, is a peculiar type of small, insectivorous, striped hyena, coloration varies from a yellowish brown to reddish color. Two populations are geographically separate, one centred in northeastern Sudan to southern Tanzania and the other in southern Angolia and Zambia to South Africa. Though they typically live in small groups, they hunt alone. Hyenas have powerful jaws with solid teeth, but an aardwolf's molars are smaller, and weak. Biologists had considered classifying the aardwolf as a species of civet, in the family Viverridae.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Animalia – Animal, animals
Phylum	Chordata – chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata – vertebrates
Class	Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 – mammals
Subclass	Theria Parker and Haswell, 1897
Infraclass	Eutheria Gill, 1872
Order	Carnivora Bowdich, 1821 – carnivores
Suborder	Feliformia Kretzoi, 1945 – cat-like carnivores
Family	Hyaenidae Gray, 1821 – Hyenas
Genus	Proteles I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1824
Species	Proteles cristata (Sparrman, 1783) – Aardwolf
Proteles cristata, (Sparrman, 1783), Taxonomic Serial No.: 726269

It's main food supply comes from feeding on termites, which it captures with a sticky tongue, and consume larvae, maggots and other insects which accumulate on carrion. The main food source consists of termites in the genus Trinervitermes, but they will also feed on Odontotermes, Macrotermes, and Hodotermes. Hodotermes mossambicus, is usually only eaten during cooler months in the dry season. The winter season is particularly harsh on the Aardwolf, experiencing a shortage of its food supply, as a result cubs often die of starvation during the dry season for lack of food. Aardwolves are monogomous, and usually give birth to a small litter of 3-4 cubs.

Aardwolf, caught sleeping in the San Antonio Zoo

Image modified (www.angelo.edu/faculty/kboudrea / San Antonio Zoo, Texas, 2004)

Aardwolves are unlike other hyenas because they have five toes on their front feet, and four toes on the hind feet, though some hyenas have four toes on each foot. It's build is smaller than other hyenas, standing twenty inches high at the shoulder. Aardwolves typically live alone or in pairs, or sometimes in family groups with two to four young. The aardwolf has a mane along its back, and when threatened, it can raise to make itself look larger.

Aardwolf raises its mane, when threatened

It growls or makes a roar when frightened. The name aardwolf, which is of Afrikaan origin for "earth wolf", was given to it because it lives in a burrow. Aardwolves are nocturnal and only come out at night.

Aardwolf

Aardwolves Proteles cristatus are classified among the hyena family, Hyaenidae.

Subspecies include Proteles cristatus (South Africa-southern Angola, southern Zambia, and southwest Mozambique) and Proteles cristatus septentrionalis (East Africa, central Tanzania to northeastern Uganda and Somalia, and along the coast of the Red Sea to southeastern Egypt)

References and Further Reading

Modified from an essay by Anne Innis Dagg, Ph.D., Academic Advisor, Independent Studies, University of Waterloo

Animal Pages by Rebecca Postanowicz

Zoology Quest: Aardwolf

Ababdeh

Ababdah Hamitic tribal peoples of Upper Egypt and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, dwelling in the region between the Nile and the Red Sea, in the vicinity of Aswan in Egypt. This territory lies in the Arabian Desert south of the river town of Quena and Nubian Desert. This name refers to several such African tribes.

Ababdeh
Some of them penetrated areas of Upper Egypt, where they earned a subsistence through transportation of merchandise on their camels. They traded chiefly in senna, and in charcoal made of acacia wood. Burckhardt regarded them as Arabs; Carl Ritter conjectured that they are descended from the people known, under the Roman emperors, as Blemmeyes (also Beja); but R?ppell was of the opinion that they are a branch of the Ethiopian ethnic group established at Mero?. In 1768, the explorer James Bruce acted as physician to the tribe's sheik. In their manner and customs (as of 1851), they were similar to the Bedouins.

Pliny, the classical Roman writer referred to them as Gebidei, and cave-dwelling Troglodytes referred to in earlier classical literature were probably Ababdeh. Ababdeh refer to themselves as the "sons of Jinn". A hereditary chief rules them, and they speak a language which is influenced by Arabic and the Nubian dialect called Barabra. Traditional progenitor of the Ababdeh was a Beja Arab called Selman. Dress and habits of the Egyptian fellahin was adapted by the Ababdeh, and many serve as guides for caravans. Ababdeh of the Nubian Desert dwell in villages and support themselves by farming, fishing, gathering wood, charcoal manufacture, and trading. Priniciple foods include grain sorghum and milk, and principle means of transportation are by camel. The Ababdeh live in either natural caves or huts constructed of matted vegetation. During the first and second World War, many Ababdeh tribe members served alongside the allied armies.

References

Aasvogel

A vulture of the Afrikaans, which can imply several species of South African vultures. The word's origin is direct from archaic 'aas' for carrion and 'vogel' for bird, from Dutch origin.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom	Animalia – Animal, animals
Phylum	Chordata – chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata – vertebrates
Class	Aves – Birds
Order	Accipitriformes – Hawks
Family	Accipitridae Vigors, 1824 – Eagles, Hawks, Kites, aigles, buses
Genus	Gyps Savigny, 1809
Species	Gyps africanus Salvadori, 1865 – White-backed Vulture
Gyps africanus, Salvadori, 1865, Taxonomic Serial No.: 560343

References and Further Reading

White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) - BirdLife species factsheet, Nesting habitat preference of the African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus and the effects of anthopogenic disturbance.

American Flamingo

The Flamingo, its habitat and diet.

Some on related species, its behavior and additional links to other resources on Flamingos

The Flamingo is a close relative to geese and ducks. The Flamingo measures approximately five feet from its bill to its toes. They have long legs and webbed toes. The American Flamingo, is a colorful red and pink but when kept in captivity it loses the bright coloration unless it is fed a diet of shrimp and food rich in substances necessary to maintain its bright color. In captivity its plumage takes on a dull pink appearance. Its wings are long and pointed and its tail short.

The Flamingo feeds off living creatures in muddy bays. The bill is red with a black tip. It evolved a bent beak with edges that work like a strainer. The Flamingo puddles in the water, holding its head upside down and scoops backwards. When the bill is closed the sand is strained out. Flamingos typically eat Ceritheum a genus of small mollusks.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom	Animalia – Animal, animals
Phylum	Chordata – chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata – vertebrates
Class	Aves – Birds
Order	Phoenicopteriformes – Flamingos, flamants
Family	Phoenicopteridae Bonaparte, 1831 – Flamingos
Genus	Phoenicopterus Linnaeus, 1758 – Greater Flamingos
Species	Phoenicopterus ruber Linnaeus, 1758 – Greater Flamingo, flamant rose, American Flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber, Linnaeus, 1758, Taxonomic Serial No.: 174976

Flamingos flight begins with running forward, flapping their wings and increasing speed until skimming the surface of the water. After gaining enough momentum, their wings become able to lift them into flight. To land they simply reverse the process.

The call of the Flamingo is quite similar to that of Geese, sounding much like a deep honk.

Today the Flamingo is found living in colonies, mainly in the West Indies. They live and breed in swamps, ponds and lagoons, breeding in May and June. Their nests consist of mud scooped up to about a foot wide, and a foot above the surface of a muddy embankment. The top of the nest is hollowed out with the Flamingo's bill wherein they typically lay one or two large eggs.

Both male and female participate in nest sitting. The incubation period for an egg is 28 days and the hatchling must be fed regurgitated food by its parents for several months.

References and Further Reading

Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia, Volume 14, 1951

Wild Birds, 1955 Maxton Publishers. Dean Amadon, Ph.D, Curator of Birds, The American Museum of Natural History

ADDITIONAL LINKS ABOUT THE AMERICAN FLAMINGO

American Flamingo, Males are larger than females, but otherwise the same in apperance. The American flamingo may be up to 57 inches in length. The average weight is 6 to 8 pounds. The American flamingo has long legs that are ideal for wading in water. The color of a flamingo's feathers, except for some black wing feathers, varies from bright red to pale pink. For example, flamingos of the Caribbean area have coral red feathers, and South American flamingos have pinkish white feathers. Chemicals in the crustaceans are what gives the flamingo its pink color. Coloration of the feet and legs is the same. What appears to be the flamingo's knee is actually its ankle. The American flamingo has a boomerang shaped beak that can filter out water and trap food. Its beak is referred to as a "Roman nose." The American flamingo has a wingspan of 150 cm (59 in).

Photos of the American Flamingo
This page contains numerous photographs of Flamingos.
The flamingo is a long (135 cm) bird, that breeds in the Carribean, for instance on the island of Bonaire. But it breeds also in the north of Brazil (Amapá). In south and middle America it is somewhat more red than birds of the same species from Europe, Asia and Africa. It does not breed in Suriname (although a colony was still around in 1930), but it visits the coast in large groups. In the seventies more birds have been reported from the east then from the west coast, the last years it is just the other way around. When they fly, flamingos are easily recognisable by their long legs.

The Flamingo is resident in the United States only in the vicinity of Cape Sable, Florida, where flocks of sometimes a thousand of these rosy vermillion creatures are seen. A wonderful sight indeed. Mr. D. P. Ingraham spent more or less of his time for four seasons in the West Indies among them. He states that the birds inhabit the shallow lagoons and bays having soft clayey bottoms. On the border of these the nest is made by working the clay up into a mound which, in the first season is perhaps not more than a foot high and about eight inches in diameter at the top and fifteen inches at the base. If the birds are unmolested they will return to the same nesting place from year to year, each season augmenting the nest by the addition of mud at the top, leaving a slight depression for the eggs.

Adopt a Flamingo and Support Conservation
Pink Beauties that Stay Close to Water
Few animals rival the flamingo for beauty and grace. The spectacle of thousands of flamingos flying over water is one of the most breathtaking in nature. [...] There are six species of flamingos, each with a different shade of pink, color pattern, and leg color. They range from 2.5 to four feet tall. Flamingos have webbed feet and tend to stand on only one leg when resting. Some believe that their closest living relatives are swans, ducks, and geese; others suggest that, based on recent genetic analyses, the long-legged flamingo’s closest cousin is the grebe, which has short legs built for diving. The flamingo lives in many types of water bodies, including shallow lakes, marshes, freshwater, and salt water. They tend to live in tropical areas, but can tolerate colder environments as long as the water doesn’t freeze. They can be found in South America, Africa, parts of Asia, and the Caribbean.

Adjutant Stork

The Adjutant Stork, how it got its name, its diet, its habitat. This bird is protected by law in some countries and are another endangered species. There are three species of this stork who produce the beautiful marabou feather.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom	Animalia – Animal, animals
Phylum	Chordata – chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata – vertebrates
Class	Aves – Birds
Order	Ciconiiformes – Storks, cigognes
Family	Ciconiidae Sundevall, 1836 – Storks
Genus	Leptoptilos Lesson, 1831
Direct Children:
Species	Leptoptilos crumeniferus (Lesson, 1831) – Marabou Stork
Species	Leptoptilos dubius (Gmelin, 1789) – Greater Adjutant
Species	Leptoptilos javanicus (Horsfield, 1821) – Lesser Adjutant
Leptoptilos, Lesson, 1831, Taxonomic Serial No.: 174918

The Adjutant is named so, because of its similarity with the military Adjutant, an assistant who stands at attention while superiors file in. The Adjutant will stand motionless for hours at a time in its tropical home. It is a native East Indian Stork standing approximately 5 ft high, the tallest 6 or 7 ft in height. The Adjutant Stork is found in India and Southeastern Asia and protected by law in some countries. Primarily white with slate colored wings and back and flesh colored neck and head with some hair like feathers. The Adjutant is the largest of the storks, with a naked pouch on the chest that can inflate making the appearance of a pink balloon with black spots. The pouch is believed to serve as an air resorvoir in special circumstances.

The Adjutant feeds off carrion and offal, its digestive system makes it possible to swallow and digest large bones. The Adjutant is a scavenger and eats smaller noxious animals like snakes. In Oriental cities the Adjutant was often present on the street scavenging meals, though due to improvement in sanitation, these storks have became rare.

Of the genus Leptoptilus, common in tropical Asia and Africa. The two asiatic species, L. dubius and a smaller species is found in the East Indies (L. javanicus). Another closely related species, the marabou, L. crumeniferus, inhabits Africa. These three species produce the beautiful marabou feathers sold and used in crafts.

The Adjutant cares for its young in a large nest on trees or cliffs made of sticks.

References and Further Reading

Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia, Volume 14, 1951

Wild Birds, 1955 Maxton Publishers. Dean Amadon, Ph.D, Curator of Birds, The American Museum of Natural History

Colliers Encyclopedia, Volume 1, 1960

FURTHER LINKS ON ADJUTANT STORKS

Nesting Ecology of the Greater Adjutant Stork in Assam, India
The nesting ecology of the Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubius), the rarest stork in the world, was studied in the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam, India during 1994-97. [...] About 90% of nests were built on the top of the canopy. Storks preferred to nest in compact colonies on large, widely branched trees with thin foliage cover and nearby food sources.

Great Information on Storks from the San Diego Zoo
The stately stork
Storks have a dignified appearance, standing graceful and tall or marching deliberately on slender legs. Nature has a good purpose for those long legs, of course: they allow the stork to take long strides and wade into deep water or tall grasses and reeds in search of food. A long neck allows them to stretch out to capture their prey.

In the scavenger species, this is thought to prevent feathers from getting stuck together with blood or mud, but the bare places are also used to impress, becoming more brightly colored during breeding season. Some storks also use their feathers in displays, like the woolly-necked stork Ciconia episcopus that has feathers to puff out around its throat like a ruffed collar.

Rapid Action to Protect Breeding Grounds of Greater Adjutant Storks in Guwahati

In a unique barter, a group of veterinarians in Guwahati in the north eastern state of Assam offered their services of taking care of the livestock of villagers in return for villagers’ offering protection to the tall trees that are perfect breeding grounds of the greater adjutant stork.

Concerned over the rapid decline in breeding grounds of greater adjutant storks in the city, an initiative was taken by Moloy Baruah, in conjunction with Wildlife Trust of India to strike this deal with the villagers of Suktaguri in North Guwahati. Suktaguri has been identified as the ideal breeding place of greater adjutant storks. However unabated felling of trees is posing a threat to the avian species, whose population in 2003 was around 280. Casualties also rise because of electrocution and poaching.
Few breeding pairs and small populations still survive in Assam particularly in the Brahmaputra valley. Guwahati city has largest concentration of the storks among all places in the state. There are around 150 to 175 storks around the city depending upon the garbage where they are chiefly scavengers. There are few nesting places around the city. Care needs to be taken because the total population in Assam alone is around 800 with a slightly declining trend.