Grauer's broadbill | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Eurylaimidae |
Genus: | Pseudocalyptomena Rothschild, 1909 |
Species: | P. graueri |
Binomial name | |
Pseudocalyptomena graueri Rothschild, 1909 [2] | |
Grauer's broadbill (Pseudocalyptomena graueri), also known as the African green broadbill, is a species of bird in the family Eurylaimidae, and is monotypic within the genus Pseudocalyptomena. [3] Its name commemorates the German zoologist Rudolf Grauer who collected natural history specimens in the Belgian Congo. [4]
Baron Walter Rothschild, who described this species, considered it to be a flycatcher only superficially similar to the Asian broadbills of the genus Calyptomena , hence the name pseudo- or "false" Calyptomena. [2] It is currently regarded as an actual broadbill, one of only a few African representatives of a primarily Asian family.
It is bright green with a blue throat and vent and a small bill, quite unlike those of other broadbill species. Adults have finely black-streaked buff crowns and narrow black eyestripes. [2]
It occurs in tropical moist montane forest, and is endemic to the Albertine Rift Mountains of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. In Uganda it is a rare resident at 2,100 to 2,200 metres in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. [5] Density is probably less than one individual per km2. [1]
Grauer's broadbill feeds on seeds and fruit, flowers and flower buds, and some invertebrates. [1]
This species is rare, but currently protected only in part of its range. It is threatened by deforestation and habitat degradation, particularly as its currently known distribution overlaps with areas that have seen massive human population influxes in the recent past. It has been classified as vulnerable by the IUCN. [1]
The Eurylaimidae are a family of suboscine passerine birds that occur from the eastern Himalayas to Indonesia and the Philippines. The family previously included the sapayoa from the Neotropics, the asities from Madagascar, and the Calyptomenidae from Africa and Asia, but these are now separated into distinct families.
The African golden cat is a wild cat endemic to the rainforests of West and Central Africa. It is threatened due to deforestation and bushmeat hunting and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It is a close relative of both the caracal and the serval. Previously, it was placed in the genus Profelis. Its body size ranges from 61 to 101 cm with a 16 to 46 cm long tail.
The asities are a family of birds, Philepittidae, that are endemic to Madagascar. The asities consist of four species in two genera. The Neodrepanis species are known as sunbird-asities and were formerly known as false sunbirds.
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The eastern gorilla is a critically endangered species of the genus Gorilla and the largest living primate. At present, the species is subdivided into two subspecies. There are 6,800 eastern lowland gorillas or Grauer's gorillas and 1,000 mountain gorillas. Illegal hunting threatens the species.
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Grauer's swamp warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is native to the Albertine Rift montane forests. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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Whitehead's broadbill is a species of bird in the family Calyptomenidae. It is endemic to the mountain ranges of north-central Borneo, where it mainly inhabits montane forests and forest edges at elevations of 900–1,700 m (3,000–5,600 ft). It is 24–27 cm (9.4–10.6 in) long, with males weighing 142–171 g (5.0–6.0 oz) and females weighing 150–163 g (5.3–5.7 oz). Males are vivid green and have a black throat patch, black spots on the ear-coverts and back of the neck, and black markings and streaking all over the body. The tails and flight feathers are also blackish. Females are smaller and lack the black markings on the head and underparts. Juveniles look similar to adults but have fewer black markings.
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Rudolf Grauer was an Austrian explorer and zoologist.
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