Sunbird Facts (Family Nectariniidae)

Sunbirds are tropical nectar-sipping birds belonging to the family Nectariniidae. Some members of the family are called spiderhunters, but all are considered to be sunbirds. Like unrelated hummingbirds, they feed primarily on nectar. However, most sunbirds have curved bills and perch to feed rather than hover like hummingbirds. Fast Facts: Sunbird Scientific Name: NectariniidaeCommon Names: sunbird, spiderhunterBasic Animal Group: BirdSize: Less than 4 inchesWeight: 0.2-1.6 ouncesLifespan: 16-22 yearsDiet: OmnivoreHabitat: Southeast Asia, Africa, northern AustraliaPopulation: Stable or decreasingConservation Status: Least Concern to Endangered Species The Nectariniidae family consists of 16 genera and 145 species. All birds in the family are sunbirds, but those in the genus Arachnothera are called spiderhunters. The spiderhunters are distinct from other sunbirds in that they are larger and both sexes have the same dull brown plumage. Description Sunbirds are small, slender birds measuring less than 4 inches in length. The smallest sunbird is the black-bellied sunbird, which weighs about 5 grams or 0.2 ounces. The largest sunbird is the spectacled spiderhunter, which weighs 45 grams or 1.6 ounces. Generally, males are larger than females and have longer tails. Most members of the family have long, downward-curved bills. Except for the spiderhunters, sunbirds are strongly sexually dimorphic. Males often have brilliant iridescent plumage, while females tend to be duller or different colors than males. Some species have distinctive juvenile and seasonal plumage. Male and female sunbirds may have very different plumage colors. Irtiza7 / Getty Images Habitat and Distribution Sunbirds live in tropical forests, inland wetlands, savannas, and scrubland in Africa, southern Asia, the Middle East, and northern Australia. They tend not to favor coasts or islands. Some species migrate seasonally, but only a short distance. They are found from sea level to 19,000 feet of elevation. Some species have adapted to live near human habitation in gardens and agricultural land. Diet For the most part, sunbirds feed on flower nectar. They eat from orange and red tubular flowers and are important pollinators for these species. A sunbird dips its curved bill into a flower or else pierces its base and then sips nectar using a long, tubular tongue. Sunbirds also eat fruit, small insects, and spiders. While hummingbirds hover to feed, sunbirds land and perch on flower stalks. Behavior Sunbirds live in pairs or small groups and are active during the daytime. They aggressively defend their territories from predators and (during the breeding season) other bird species. Sunbirds tend to be talkative birds. Their songs consists of rattles and metallic-sounding notes. Reproduction and Offspring Outside of the equatorial belt, sunbirds breed seasonally, usually during the wet season. Birds that live near the equator may breed any time of year. Most species are monogamous and territorial. A few species engage in lekking, where a group of males gather to put on a courtship display to attract females. Female sunbirds use spiderwebs, leaves, and twigs to build purse-shaped nests and suspend them from branches. However, spiderhunter nests are woven cups attached beneath large leaves. The female lays up to four eggs. Except for spiderhunters, only sunbird females incubate the eggs. Purple sunbird eggs hatch after 15 to 17 days. Male sunbirds help rear the nestlings. Sunbirds live between 16 and 22 years. Olive-backed female sunbird with chicks. Paul T Photography / Getty Images Conservation Status The IUCN classifies most sunbird species as least concern. Seven species are threatened with extinction and the elegant sunbird (Aethopyga duyvenbodei) is endangered. Populations are either stable or decreasing. Threats Threats to the species include habitat loss and degradation from deforestation and human encroachment. The scarlet-chested sunbird is considered an agricultural pest, as it spreads parasitic mistletoe in cocoa plantations. Although sunbirds are stunningly beautiful, they are not typically captured for the pet trade because of their specific nutritional needs. Sources BirdLife International 2016. Aethopyga duyvenbodei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22718068A94565160. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22718068A94565160.enBirdLife International 2016. Cinnyris asiaticus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22717855A94555513. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22717855A94555513.enCheke, Robert and Clive Mann. Family Nectariniidae (Sunbirds). In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona: Lynx Editions. pp. 196–243. 2008. ISBN 978-84-96553-45-3.Flower, Stanley Smyth. Further notes on the duration of life in animals. IV. Birds. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, Ser. A (2): 195–235, 1938. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1938.tb07895.xJohnson, Steven D. The pollination niche and its role in the diversification and maintenance of the southern African flora. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 365 ( 1539): 499–516. 2010. doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0243

Analysis Of The Golden Touch - 1233 Words

â€Å"Sometimes we are so focused on what we want we miss the things we need† (Tew). How do we decide what we want versus what we need? This is a difficult question that everyone struggles with. People often mistake something they want as something they need. When this happens they tend to only use this product for a short time, then it sits in a corner collecting dust for years; that is not something you need. Something you need gets used often and for a long period of time. If it is only used once you probably didn’t really need it. People often collect more than what they need, resulting in an imbalance between want and need. Often people are so blinded by what they want that they don’t realize what might happen if they have too much, this†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ËœAnd I have lost everything that my heart really cared for’† (Hawthorne). Midas realized that he never needed gold, he just wanted it. Even though this story isn’t real istic it still helps to show that there can be major repercussions from an imbalance between want and need. Someone may not be able to turn things into gold but they may still have more of what they want than need which could result in the loss of something more important to them. In Midas’ case, he got what he wanted the most, more gold, but he lost what he needed, his daughter. These events led Midas to realize that gold was never important and he began to appreciate what he had, instead of what he wanted. People like Midas can lose sight of what’s important when they’re chasing after something that they want. Sometimes these people wish for wealth and will go to any length to get it. In â€Å"The Necklace† Mathilde has everything she needs but wants wealth and would do anything to appear wealthy. .Mathilde buys a new dress for a party for four hundred francs but decides that she needs expensive jewelry too. She borrows what looks like the most expensiv e necklace from her friend, Madame Forestier. Mathilde has the best time at the party and loves the necklace. By the end of the night, Mathilde discovers that she had lost the necklace that she borrowed. She desperately buys a new necklace for 36,000 francs to return to Madame Forestier. She and her husband areShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of King Midas And The Golden Touch1042 Words   |  5 Pagesstudents made comments that they had never seen most of these words before, which makes sense because these words are very specific and are more likely to be seen in social studies content. The five words selected are from the story King Midas and the Golden Touch, which the students will be reading next week, as part of a short story unit. 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Analysis: The few words Ahab speaks to the Albatrosses captain end with the ominous thought of the Pequod not making it home to Nantucket. The foreshadowing of a voyage gone wrong is emphasized not just by the cautionary â€Å"and if I am not at home†¦,† but alsoRead MorePainting Analysis Essay1062 Words   |  5 Pageswill observe a fusion of the realistic tradition of Flemish painting with the imagination and freedom of Italian renaissance painting. The painting expresses Neoplatonic views while also providing the viewer with endless topics for discussion and analysis, making it a true conversation piece. The â€Å"Garden of Love† depicts a scene of passionate festivities. In the painting, a group of aristocratic lovers decorated in the most extravagant of satins and lace are placed in a garden dedicated to VenusRead MoreThe Fight For Animal Rights1660 Words   |  7 Pagesor disease, 4. Freedom to express normal behaviour, and 5. Freedom from fear and distress Moral Arguments Against Harming Animals There have been many moral arguments made against harming animals. These arguments include liberating the animal, analysis of animal rights, and the least harm principle. There are both moral and ethical reasoning as to why we should not harm animals and consider consuming a vegan diet. The concept of least harm studies how many animals would die if we adopted a veganRead MoreRenaissance Corridor On The Second Floor Of The Museum908 Words   |  4 Pagescrafted between the years of 1370-1371 in Florence, Italy during the early renaissance. Against the wishes of the museum I laid my hands upon the painting and felt along both the painting and frame to get a feel for the material. It was grainy to the touch when I moved my hand gently across the painting but I couldn’t make out a specific material. 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Desert Green free essay sample

I looked down, immediately closed my eyes and hung to the wall of rock with fear. Fifty feet below me, the brightly colored crash helmets of my team looked like Skittles scattered across the rocky floor. I was balancing on a seven inch ledge, 40 pounds on my back, and the only thing keeping me sane was a 10 millimeter thick rope tied around my waist. I looked behind me and my stomach rolled as I thought of the precarious boulders that I risked my life on every step of the way here. Backpacking in Death Valley for a month exposed me to a multitude of new experiences. Traversing treacherous terrain was definitely one of them. Out there I was pushed, challenged, and dared to be something bigger than myself. Death Valley stripped me of all my barriers so I could reach out uninhibited to find that larger meaning I could be truly passionate about. We will write a custom essay sample on Desert Green or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was the unexpected aspects of the desert –the raw beauty and the limited water– that unearthed a sense of environmental conservation in me I was able to develop and cultivate. More than anything else, the beauty of the desert inspired me to appreciate the subtle wonders of life. The first night out there, I was astonished by the brilliance of the stars. Out in the wilderness these infinitesimal winks of light were brighter and more spectacular than I had ever seen them before. I stayed up late that night, and every other night, watching them spin through space as the tips of my cheeks and nose were by the frozen wisps of air drifting through the barren desert. After that, I started to notice small beauties: the rose tint to a peach cactus’ spines, the patterns in the walls of Marble Canyon, the perpetually perfect slopes of the sand dunes. I thought of the seemingly polar opposite environment I came from and realized that we strive too often to separate the two worlds of nature and civilization whereas it is and should always be interconnected. I saw the part I had played in this herd mentality of consumption. I looked back at myself, the stranger I had been merely days before, and became aware of how self absorbed I was. My world was no larger than myself and what affected me. I never truly saw the impact I had on my environment because of the constant flow of material goods that appeared with a swipe of a credit card and disappeared with the emptying of a trash can. Camping with limited resources made evident that waste of water, space, and material goods is thoughtless of our responsibilities to our earth. Understanding that this planet is impacted negatively or positively by the things we do convinced me to become involved in conservation endeavors for the rest of my life. It is this passion for environmental sustainability that I brought back from Death Valley. In sharing my visions of permaculture design, gray water usage, and conservation of resources, I hope to influence others to action in this world of emerging e cological awareness. Hours later, I looked back at the cliff I had scaled. I saw the shades of orange and red in the rock face, a sharp contrast to the vivid blue of the sky. It was this kind of natural beauty, as treacherous as it may be, that first inspired me. Despite the blood, sweat, and tears I had shared with those rocks, I felt a greater bond with them now that they arose as the cornerstones of my lifelong goals.?

The Children Watched The Old Womans House As The Townsman Light It Afl

The children watched the old woman's house as the townsman light it aflame. They never knew a little lie could go so far. They didn't have to kill her, a boy whispered loud enough for the other children to hear. She was known as 'the old lady with too many cats.' Though she mostly kept to herself, she wasn't bitter. When children hit a fly ball over her fence she gladly let them get it back while making jokes about not needing a baseball. The older women around town invited her to various knitting and tea parties. She always kindly refused. That's when the children started to make up stories about her. She raises them cats so she can eat 'em, one boy would say. No she eats the rats the cats catch for her, another child squealed, as all the others laughed. Then the stories grew more intense. I saw green light coming from her windows. She's a witch! She's a witch! the children chant and laugh. The children didn't know the adults took their stories seriously. Soon the adults started making their own false accusations. She cast a spell so a drought would dry up our farms. One day when a child didn't come home for dinner in time, the parents went insane and made the whole town go out and search for him. When the child was found in the old lady's back yard the townspeople automatically came to the wrong conclusion. While the boy was just getting a baseball, which got hit over the fence, the parents concluded that the old lady kidnapped their little boy to cast horrible spells on. The townspeople screamed with fury. Burn her, burn her house down! the men chant with anger. The old lady didn't have much of say as they barricaded her door and lit the house aflame.