Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus Sturnus, which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. The family contains 128 species which are divided into 36 genera. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Starlings are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas, as well as North America, Hawaii, and New Zealand, where they generally compete for habitats with native birds and are considered to be invasive species. The starling species familiar to most people in Europe and North America is the common starling, and throughout much of Asia and the Pacific, the common myna is indeed common.
The frogmouths (Podargidae) are a group of nocturnal birds related to owlet-nightjars, swifts, and hummingbirds. Species in the group are distributed in the Indomalayan and Australasian realms.
Ernst Johann Otto Hartert was a widely published German ornithologist.
Batrachostomus is a genus of frogmouths. The generic name is a direct translation from the Greek for 'frogmouth'; batracho-/βατραχο- 'frog' and stoma-/στομα 'mouth'. It includes the following species:
The Solomons frogmouth, also known as the Cinnamon frogmouth or Solomon Islands frogmouth, is a bird in the frogmouth family. It was first described in 1901, but not recognized as a distinct species until 2007. The Solomons frogmouth is the only known member of the genus Rigidipenna. It is also endemic to the islands of Isabel, Bougainville and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands archipelago, in the countries of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Blyth’s frogmouth is a species of bird in the family Podargidae. It was previously considered to be conspecific with the Javan frogmouth and Palawan frogmouth. The bird is a tropical species that ranges from India to Australia.
The large frogmouth is a species of bird in the family Podargidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. Logging of its habitat poses a risk to its survival, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being "near-threatened".
The Sunda frogmouth is a species of bird, typically placed in the family Podargidae.
Hodgson's frogmouth is a species of bird in the family Podargidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.
The Javan frogmouth, sometimes known as Horsfield's frogmouth, is a species of bird in the family Podargidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Blyth's and Palawan frogmouths. Found in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it lives in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The Bornean frogmouth is bird species in the family Podargidae. Some taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies of the short-tailed frogmouth, but others consider it to be a distinct species. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia and is endemic to the island of Borneo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Sumatran frogmouth, also known as the short-tailed frogmouth and the pale-faced frogmouth, is a nocturnal bird belonging to the family Podargidae. It is endemic to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.
Gould's frogmouth is a nocturnal species of bird in the order Caprimulgiformes and the family Podargidae. It is one of the 12 species in the Batrachostomus genus. Its common name commemorates the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould (1804-1881).
The marbled frogmouth is a bird in the family Podargidae. The species was first described by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1830. It is found in the Aru Islands, New Guinea and Queensland. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The Papuan frogmouth is a species of bird in the family Podargidae.
Storrs Lovejoy Olson was an American biologist and ornithologist who spent his career at the Smithsonian Institution, retiring in 2008. One of the world's foremost avian paleontologists, he was best known for his studies of fossil and subfossil birds on islands such as Ascension, St. Helena and Hawaii. His early higher education took place at Florida State University in 1966, where he obtained a B.A. in biology, and the University of Florida, where he received an M.S. in biology. Olson's doctoral studies took place at Johns Hopkins University, in what was then the School of Hygiene and Public Health. He was married to fellow paleornithologist Helen F. James.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1989.
The Palawan frogmouth is a species of bird in the family Podargidae. It is found on Palawan in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Javan and Blyth's frogmouth.
Strisores, sometimes called nightbirds, is a clade of birds that includes the living families and orders Caprimulgidae, Nyctibiidae (potoos), Steatornithidae (oilbirds), Podargidae (frogmouths), Apodiformes, as well as the Aegotheliformes (owlet-nightjars) whose distinctness was only recently realized. The Apodiformes and the Aegotheliformes form the Daedalornithes.
Christopher Filardi is an American evolutionary biologist and ecologist.
