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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hare
The European hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs, supplementing these with twigs, buds, bark and field crops, particularly in winter. Their natural predators include large birds of prey, canids and felids. They rely on high-speed endurance running to escape from their enemies; having long, powerful limbs and large nostrils.
Generally nocturnal and shy in nature, hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around in fields. During this spring frenzy, they sometimes strike one another with their paws ("boxing"). This is usually not competition between males, but a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or as a test of his determination. The female nests in a depression on the surface of the ground rather than in a burrow, and the young are active as soon as they are born. Litters may consist of three or four young and a female can bear three litters a year, with hares living for up to twelve years. The breeding season lasts from January to August.
The European hare is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because it has a wide range and is moderately abundant. However, populations have been declining in mainland Europe since the 1960s, at least partly due to changes in farming practices. The hare has been hunted across Europe for centuries, with more than five million being shot each year; in Britain, it has traditionally been hunted by beagling and hare coursing, but these field sports are now illegal. The hare has been a traditional symbol of fertility and reproduction in some cultures, and its courtship behaviour in the spring inspired the English idiom mad as a March hare.
Taxonomy and genetics
The European hare was first described in 1778 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas.[2] It shares the genus Lepus (Latin for "hare"[3]) with 31 other hare and jackrabbit species,[4] jackrabbits being the name given to some species of hare native to North America. They are distinguished from other leporids (hares and rabbits) by their longer legs, wider nostrils and active (precocial) young.[5] The Corsican hare, broom hare and Granada hare were at one time considered to be subspecies of the European hare, but DNA sequencing and morphological analysis support their status as separate species.[6][7]
There is some debate as to whether the European hare and the Cape hare are the same species. A 2005 nuclear gene pool study suggested that they are,[8] but a 2006 study of the mitochondrial DNA of these same animals concluded that they had diverged sufficiently widely to be considered separate species.[9] A 2008 study claims that in the case of Lepus species, with their rapid evolution, species designation cannot be based solely on mtDNA but should also include an examination of the nuclear gene pool. It is possible that the genetic differences between the European and Cape hare are due to geographic separation rather than actual divergence. It has been speculated that in the Near East, hare populations are intergrading and experiencing gene flow.[10] Another 2008 study suggests that more research is needed before a conclusion is reached as to whether a species complex exists;[11] the European hare remains classified as a single species until further data contradicts this assumption.[1]
Cladogenetic analysis suggests that European hares survived the last glacial period during the Pleistocene via refugia in southern Europe (Italian peninsula and Balkans) and Asia Minor. Subsequent colonisations of Central Europe appear to have been initiated by human-caused environmental changes.[12] Genetic diversity in current populations is high with no signs of inbreeding. Gene flow appears to be biased towards males, but overall populations are matrilineally structured. There appears to be a particularly large degree of genetic diversity in hares in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. It is however possible that restricted gene flow could reduce genetic diversity within populations that become isolated.[13]
Historically, up to 30 subspecies of European hare have been described, although their status has been disputed.[5] These subspecies have been distinguished by differences in pelage colouration, body size, external body measurements, skull morphology and tooth shape.[14] Sixteen subspecies are listed in the IUCN red book, following Hoffmann and Smith (2005): Lepus europaeus caspicus, L. e. connori, L. e. creticus, L. e. cyprius, L. e. cyrensis, L. e. europaeus, L. e. hybridus, L. e. judeae, L. e. karpathorum, L. e. medius, L. e. occidentalis, L. e. parnassius, L. e. ponticus, L. e. rhodius, L. e. syriacus, and L. e. transsylvanicus.[15] Twenty-nine subspecies are listed by Chapman and Flux in their book on lagomorphs, including in addition L. e. alba, L. e. argenteogrisea, L. e. biarmicus, L. e. borealis, L. e. caspicus, L. e. caucasicus, L. e. flavus, L. e. gallaecius, L. e. hispanicus, L. e. hyemalis, L. e. granatensis, L. e. iturissius, L. e. kalmykorum, L. e. meridiei, L. e. meridionalis, L. e. niethammeri, L. e. niger, L. e. tesquorum, and L. e. tumak, but excluding L. e. connori, L. e. creticus, L. e. cyprius, L. e. judeae, L. e. rhodius, and L. e. syriacus, with the proviso that the subspecies they list are of "very variable status".[5]
Description
The European hare, like other members of the family Leporidae, is a fast-running terrestrial mammal; it has eyes set high on the sides of its head, long ears and a flexible neck. Its teeth grow continuously, the first incisors being modified for gnawing while the second incisors are peg-like and non-functional. There is a gap (diastema) between the incisors and the cheek teeth, the latter being adapted for grinding coarse plant material. The dental formula is 2/1, 0/0, 3/2, 3/3.[16][17] The dark limb musculature of hares is adapted for high-speed endurance running in open country. By contrast, cottontail rabbits are built for short bursts of speed in more vegetated habitats.[5][18] Other adaptions for high speed running in hares include wider nostrils and larger hearts.[5] In comparison to the European rabbit, the hare has a proportionally smaller stomach and caecum.[19]
This hare is one of the largest of the lagomorphs. Its head and body length can range from 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in) with a tail length of 7.2 to 11 cm (2.8 to 4.3 in). The body mass is typically between 3 and 5 kg (6.6 and 11.0 lb).[20] The hare's elongated ears range from 9.4 to 11.0 cm (3.7 to 4.3 in) from the notch to tip. It also has long hind feet that have a length of between 14 and 16 cm (5.5 and 6.3 in).[21] The skull has nasal bones that are short, but broad and heavy. The supraorbital ridge has well-developed anterior and posterior lobes and the lacrimal bone projects prominently from the anterior wall of the orbit.[20]
The fur colour is grizzled yellow-brown on the back; rufous on the shoulders, legs, neck and throat; white on the underside and black on the tail and ear tips.[21] The fur on the back is typically longer and more curled than on the rest of the body.[5] The European hare's fur does not turn completely white in the winter as is the case with some other members of the genus,[21] although the sides of the head and base of the ears do develop white areas and the hip and rump region may gain some grey.[5]
Range and habitat
European hares are native to much of continental Europe and part of Asia. Their range extends from northern Spain to southern Scandinavia, eastern Europe, and northern parts of Western and Central Asia. They have been extending their range into Siberia.[5] They may have been introduced to Britain by the Romans (circa 2000 years ago) as there are no records of them from earlier sites. Undocumented introductions likely occurred in some Mediterranean Islands.[22] They have also been introduced, mostly as game animals, to North America (in Ontario and New York State, and unsuccessfully in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), South America (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and the Falkland Islands), Australia, both islands of New Zealand and the south Pacific coast of Russia.[5][21][23]
Hares primarily live in open fields with scattered brush for shelter. They are very adaptable and thrive in mixed farmland.[5] According to a study done in the Czech Republic, the mean hare densities were highest at altitudes below 200 metres (660 ft), 40 to 60 days of annual snow cover, 450 to 700 millimetres (18 to 28 in) of annual precipitation, and a mean annual air temperature of around 10 °C (50 °F). With regards to climate, the study found that hare densities were highest in "warm and dry districts with mild winters".[24] In Poland, hares are most abundant in areas with few forest edges, perhaps because foxes can use these for cover. They require cover, such as hedges, ditches and permanent cover areas, because these habitats supply the varied diet they require, and are found at lower densities in large open fields. Intensive cultivation of the land results in greater mortality of young hares (leverets).[25]
In the United Kingdom, hares are seen most frequently on arable farms, especially those with fallow land, wheat and sugar beet crops. In mainly grass farms their numbers are raised when there are improved pastures, some arable crops and patches of woodland. They are seen less frequently where foxes are abundant or where there are many buzzards. They also seem to be fewer in number in areas with high European rabbit populations,[26] although there appears to be little interaction between the two species and no aggression.[27] Although hares are shot as game when they are plentiful, this is a self-limiting activity and is less likely to occur in localities where they are scarce.[26]
Behaviour and life history
Hares are primarily nocturnal and spend a third of their time foraging.[5] During daytime, a hare hides in a depression in the ground called a "form" where it is partially hidden. Hares can run at 70 km/h (43 mph) and when confronted by predators they rely on outrunning them in the open. They are generally thought of as asocial but can be seen in both large and small groups. They do not appear to be territorial, living in shared home ranges of around 300 ha (740 acres). Hares communicate with each other by a variety of visual signals. To show interest they raise their ears, while lowering the ears warns others to keep away. When challenging a conspecific, a hare thumps its front feet; the hind feet are used to warn others of a predator. A hare squeals when hurt or scared and a female makes "guttural" calls to attract her young.[21] Hares can live for as long as twelve years.[1]
Food and foraging
European hares are primarily herbivorous. They may forage for wild grasses and weeds but with the intensification of agriculture, they have taken to feeding on crops when preferred foods are not available.[1] During the spring and summer, they feed on soy, clover and corn poppy[28] as well as grasses and herbs.[21] During autumn and winter, they primarily choose winter wheat, and are also attracted to piles of sugar beet and carrots provided for them by hunters.[28] They also eat twigs, buds and the bark of shrubs and young fruit trees during winter.[21] Cereal crops are usually avoided when other more attractive foods are available, the species appearing to prefer high energy foodstuffs over crude fibre.[29] When eating twigs, hares strip off the bark to access the vascular tissues which store soluble carbohydrates. Compared to the European rabbit, food passes through the gut more rapidly in the hare, although digestion rates are similar.[19] They sometimes eat their own green, faecal pellets to recover undigested proteins and vitamins.[20] Two to three adult hares can eat more food than a single sheep.[21]
European hares forage in groups. Group feeding is beneficial as individuals can spend more time feeding knowing that other hares are being vigilant. Nevertheless, the distribution of food affects these benefits. When food is well-spaced, all hares are able to access it. When food is clumped together, only dominant hares can access it. In small gatherings, dominants are more successful in defending food, but as more individuals join in, they must spend more time driving off others. The larger the group, the less time dominant individuals have in which to eat. Meanwhile, the subordinates can access the food while the dominants are distracted. As such, when in groups, all individuals fare worse when food is clumped as opposed to when it is widely spaced.[30]
Mating and reproduction
European hares have a prolonged breeding season which lasts from January to August.[31][32] Females, or does, can be found pregnant in all breeding months and males, or bucks, are fertile all year round except during October and November. After this hiatus, the size and activity of the males' testes increase, signalling the start of a new reproductive cycle. This continues through December, January and February when the reproductive tract gains back its functionality. Matings start before ovulation occurs and the first pregnancies of the year often result in a single foetus, with pregnancy failures being common. Peak reproductive activity occurs in March and April, when all females may be pregnant, the majority with three or more foetuses.[32]
The mating system of the hare has been described as both polygynous (single males mating with multiple females) and promiscuous.[33] Females have six-weekly reproductive cycles and are receptive for only a few hours at a time, making competition among local bucks intense.[31] At the height of the breeding season, this phenomenon is known as "March madness",[32] when the normally nocturnal bucks are forced to be active in the daytime. In addition to dominant animals subduing subordinates, the female fights off her numerous suitors if she is not ready to mate. Fights can be vicious and can leave numerous scars on the ears.[31] In these encounters, hares stand upright and attack each other with their paws, a practice known as "boxing", and this activity is usually between a female and a male and not between competing males as was previously believed.[21][34] When a doe is ready to mate, she runs across the countryside, starting a chase that tests the stamina of the following males. When only the fittest male remains, the female stops and allows him to copulate.[31] Female fertility continues through May, June and July, but testosterone production decreases in males and sexual behaviour becomes less overt. Litter sizes decrease as the breeding season draws to a close with no pregnancies occurring after August. The testes of males begin to regress and sperm production ends in September.[32]
Does give birth in hollow depressions in the ground. An individual female may have three litters in a year with a 41- to 42-day gestation period. The young have an average weigh of around 130 grams (4.6 oz) at birth.[35] The leverets are fully furred and are precocial, being ready to leave the nest soon after they are born, an adaptation to the lack of physical protection relative to that afforded by a burrow.[21] Leverets disperse during the day and come together in the evening close to where they were born. Their mother visits them for nursing soon after sunset; the young suckle for around five minutes, urinating while they do so, with the doe licking up the fluid. She then leaps away so as not to leave an olfactory trail, and the leverets disperse once more.[21][36] Young can eat solid food after two weeks and are weaned when they are four weeks old.[21] While young of either sex commonly explore their surroundings,[37] natal dispersal tends to be greater in males.[33][38] Sexual maturity occurs at seven or eight months for females and six months for males.[1]
Mortality and health
European hares are large leporids and adults can only be tackled by large predators such as canids, felids and the largest birds of prey.[20] In Poland it was found that the consumption of hares by foxes was at its highest during spring, when the availability of small animal prey was low; at this time of year, hares may constitute up to 50% of the biomass eaten by foxes, with 50% of the mortality of adult hares being caused by their predation.[39] In Scandinavia, a natural epizootic of sarcoptic mange which reduced the population of red foxes dramatically, resulted in an increase in the number of European hares, which returned to previous levels when the numbers of foxes subsequently increased.[40] The golden eagle preys on the European hare in the Alps, the Carpathians, the Apennines and northern Spain.[41] In North America, foxes and coyotes are probably the most common predators, with bobcats and lynx also preying on them in more remote locations.[35]
European hares have both external and internal parasites. One study found that 54% of animals in Slovakia were parasitised by nematodes and over 90% by coccidia.[42] In Australia, European hares were reported as being infected by four species of nematode, six of coccidian, several liver flukes and two canine tapeworms. They were also found to host rabbit fleas (Spilopsyllus cuniculi), stickfast fleas (Echidnophaga myrmecobii), lice (Haemodipsus setoni and H. lyriocephalus), and mites (Leporacarus gibbus).[43]
European brown hare syndrome (EBHS) is a disease caused by a calicivirus similar to that causing rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHS) and can similarly be fatal, but cross infection between the two mammal species does not occur.[44] Other threats to the hare are pasteurellosis, yersiniosis (pseudo-tuberculosis), coccidiosis and tularaemia, which are the principal sources of mortality.[45]
Relationship with humans
In folklore, literature, and art
In Europe, the hare has been a symbol of sex and fertility since at least Ancient Greece. The Greeks associated it with the gods Dionysus, Aphrodite and Artemis as well as with satyrs and cupids. The Christian Church connected the hare with lustfulness and homosexuality, but also associated it with the persecution of the church because of the way it was commonly hunted.[46]
In Northern Europe, Easter imagery often involves hares or rabbits. Citing folk Easter customs in Leicestershire, England, where "the profits of the land called Harecrop Leys were applied to providing a meal which was thrown on the ground at the 'Hare-pie Bank'", the 19th-century scholar Charles Isaac Elton proposed a possible connection between these customs and the worship of Ēostre.[47] In his 19th-century study of the hare in folk custom and mythology, Charles J. Billson cites folk customs involving the hare around Easter in Northern Europe, and argues that the hare was probably a sacred animal in prehistoric Britain's festival of springtime.[48] Observation of the hare's springtime mating behaviour led to the popular English idiom "mad as a March hare",[46] with similar phrases from the sixteenth century writings of John Skelton and Sir Thomas More onwards.[49] The mad hare reappears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, in which Alice participates in a crazy tea party with the March Hare and the Mad Hatter.[50]
Any connection of the hare to Ēostre is doubtful. John Andrew Boyle cites an etymology dictionary by A. Ernout and A. Meillet, who wrote that the lights of Ēostre were carried by hares, that Ēostre represented spring fecundity, love and sexual pleasure. Boyle responds that almost nothing is known about Ēostre, and that the authors had seemingly accepted the identification of Ēostre with the Norse goddess Freyja, but that the hare is not associated with Freyja either. Boyle adds that "when the authors speak of the hare as the 'companion of Aphrodite and of satyrs and cupids' and 'in the Middle Ages [the hare] appears beside the figure of [mythological] Luxuria', they are on much surer ground."[51]
The hare is a character in some fables, such as The Tortoise and the Hare of Aesop.[52] The story was annexed to a philosophical problem by Zeno of Elea, who created a set of paradoxes to support Parmenides' attack on the idea of continuous motion, as each time the hare (or the hero Achilles) moves to where the tortoise was, the tortoise moves just a little further away.[53][54] The German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer realistically depicted a hare in his 1502 watercolour painting Young Hare.[55]
Food and hunting
Across Europe, over five million European hares are shot each year, making it probably the most important game mammal on the continent. This popularity has threatened regional varieties such as those of France and Denmark, through large-scale importing of hares from Eastern European countries such as Hungary.[5] Hares have traditionally been hunted in Britain by beagling and hare coursing. In beagling, the hare is hunted with a pack of small hunting dogs, beagles, followed by the human hunters on foot. In Britain, the 2004 Hunting Act banned hunting of hares with dogs, so the 60 beagle packs now use artificial "trails", or may legally continue to hunt rabbits.[56] Hare coursing with greyhounds was once an aristocratic pursuit, forbidden to lower social classes.[57] More recently, informal hare coursing became a lower class activity and was conducted without the landowner's permission;[58] it is also now illegal.[59]
Hare is traditionally cooked by jugging: a whole hare is cut into pieces, marinated and cooked slowly with red wine and juniper berries in a tall jug that stands in a pan of water. It is traditionally served with (or briefly cooked with) the hare's blood and port wine.[60][61] Hare can also be cooked in a casserole.[62] The meat is darker and more strongly flavoured than that of rabbits. Young hares can be roasted; the meat of older hares becomes too tough for roasting, and may be slow-cooked.[61][63]
Status
The European hare has a wide range across Europe and western Asia and has been introduced to a number of other countries around the globe, often as a game species. In general it is considered moderately abundant in its native range,[13] but declines in populations have been noted in many areas since the 1960s. These have been associated with the intensification of agricultural practices.[64] The hare is an adaptable species and can move into new habitats, but it thrives best when there is an availability of a wide variety of weeds and other herbs to supplement its main diet of grasses.[1] The hare is considered a pest in some areas; it is more likely to damage crops and young trees in winter when there are not enough alternative foodstuffs available.[21]
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has evaluated the European hare's conservation status as being of least concern. However, at low population densities, hares are vulnerable to local extinctions as the available gene pool declines, making inbreeding more likely. This is the case in northern Spain and in Greece, where the restocking by hares brought from outside the region has been identified as a threat to regional gene pools. To counteract this, a captive breeding program has been implemented in Spain, and the relocation of some individuals from one location to another has increased genetic variety.[1] The Bern Convention lists the hare under Appendix III as a protected species.[26] Several countries, including Norway, Germany, Austria and Switzerland,[1] have placed the species on their Red Lists as "near threatened" or "threatened".
The family Rostratulidae encompasses two genera and four species (one extinct). Painted-snipes superficially resemble true snipes but the two taxa are not closely related. Instead the similarity can be attributed to convergent evolution where both groups have been subjected to similar selection pressures, thus promoting the evolution of analogous features such as a long slender bill and legs, mottled crypsis plumage and particular body proportions. While less similar in morphology, the species that are considered most closely related to painted-snipes are other members of the suborder Thinocori; jacanas, seedsnipes and the plains wanderer.
The painted-snipe, †Rostratula minator was described in 1988 from deposits of the early Pliocene found in Langebaanweg, South Africa. This is the first valid fossil belonging to the family Rostratulidae. Comparisons of bone measurements with R. minator and the extant species show that it was relatively intermediate in size, although this considerable difference indicates that it may only be an endemic African species that has become extinct, rather than the direct ancestor of R. benghalensis.
The Australian painted-snipe was described as Rostratula australis by John Gould in 1838, although later lumped with the similar greater painted-snipe, R. benghalensis as subspecies R. b. australis. However, morphological and genetic differences have resulted in the species being split in recent years. Such a similarity between the two species can be explained by a recent evolutionary divergence, and is an example of allopatric speciation where the prevention of gene flow by geographical isolation has resulted in an accumulation of differences by genetic drift and differing selection pressures
This dress was made using a free pattern from the Culture Japan website and then following a tutorial by Beth Ramsden
Nita (my SmD Divergence) will be wearing this outfit to the wedding themed Birmingham mini BJD con this coming Saturday.
Can't wait to meet up with the other Smart Doll collectors who are going!!!
Link to Beth's video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhpJct1to7Y
Blitz-Road-Trip
(Flash-Road-Trip)
Munich in 3 day's, 1 day of travel, 1 day Munich and again one day travel (in between 2 days of work :))
Munich
Munich (/ˈmjuːnɪk/; also /ˈmjuːnɪx/ in British English; German: München, pronounced [ˈmʏnçn̩] ( listen),[2] Bavarian: Minga [ˈmɪŋ(ː)ɐ]) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg and the 12th biggest city of the European Union with a population of above 1.5 million.[3] The Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5.8 million people.[4] The city is a major center of art, advanced technologies, finance, publishing, culture, innovation, education, business and tourism in Germany and Europe and enjoys a very high standard and quality of living, reaching #1 in Germany and #4 worldwide according to the 2015 Mercer survey.[5] According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute Munich is considered an alpha-world city, as of 2015.[6]
The name of the city is derived from the Old/Middle High German term Munichen, meaning "by the monks". It derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who ran a monastery at the place that was later to become the Old Town of Munich; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat of arms. Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes. Black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence. Following a final reunification of the Wittelsbachian Duchy of Bavaria, previously divided and sub-divided for more than 200 years, the town became the country's sole capital in 1506. Catholic Munich was a cultural stronghold of the Counter-Reformation and a political point of divergence during the resulting Thirty Years' War, but remained physically untouched despite an occupation by the Protestant Swedes; as the townsfolk would rather open the gates of their town than risk siege and almost inevitable destruction.[7][citation needed] Like wide parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the area recovered slowly economically.
Having evolved from a duchy's capital into that of an electorate (1623), and later a sovereign kingdom (1806), Munich has been a major European centre of arts, architecture, culture and science since the early 19th century, heavily sponsored by the Bavarian monarchs. In 1918, during the German Revolution, the ruling house of Wittelsbach, which governed Bavaria since 1180, was forced to abdicate in Munich and a short-living socialist republic was declared. In the 1920s, Munich became home to several political factions, among them the NSDAP, which was founded in the city in 1920. Though the first attempt of the Nazi movement to overtake the German government in 1923 with the Beer Hall Putsch, which was stopped by the Bavarian police in Munich with gunfire, the Nazis declared the city after their rise to power to be Hauptstadt der Bewegung (lit.: "Capital of the movement"). During World War II, Munich was heavily bombed and more than 50% of the entire city and up to 90% of the historic centre were destroyed.
The post war period was characterized by American occupation till 1949 and a strong increase of population and economic power during the years of the Wirtschaftswunder (lit.: economic miracle) after 1949. Unlike many other German cities which were heavily bombed and destroyed during World War II, Munich rebuilt most of its traditional cityscape and added a modern face to the city with the Olympic Stadium, while hosting the 1972 Summer Olympics. Especially since the 1980s, Munich and the entire surrounding region was characterized by a strong economic growth, the location of high-tech industries and scientific institutions, very low unemployment rates and a strong influx of people. The city is home to major corporations like BMW, Siemens, MAN, Linde, Allianz, MunichRE as well as many small and medium-sized companies.
Munich is home to many national and international authorities, major universities, major museums and theaters. Its numerous architectural attractions, international sports events, exhibitions, conferences and Oktoberfest attract considerable tourism.[8] Munich is one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany. It is a top-ranked destination for migration and expatriate location, despite being the municipality with the highest density of population (4,500 inh. per km²) in Germany. Munich nowadays hosts more than 530,000 people of international background, making up 37.7% of the entire population.[9]
I know this isn't going to get much attention but it is actually the first time I have photographed a White Wagtail in Britain. They are common enough on passage in Britain but mostly at the coast and are not particularly common in the hills. White Wagtails are the Continental subspecies (alba) of our British Pied Wagtails (subspecies yarrellii). Pied Wagtails have a black or very dark grey back (like this: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/49669689646/in/photolist ) whereas White Wagtails have a pale grey back showing much contrast with the black head. Juveniles are much harder to separate (eg www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/43193438854/in/photolist ). Small numbers of Pied Wagtails breed in northern France, the Low Countries and southern Norway. Occasionally Continental White Wagtails breed in Britain, especially on the Northern Isles. Where Pied and Wagtails breed in the same place they select mates of their own type. This assortative mating was sufficient evidence to treat Hooded and Carrion Crows as different species but for the time being Pied and White Wagtails are considered to be one species. Apparently there is no genetic difference between Pied and White Wagtails suggesting a relatively recent and rapid divergence. But there is no genetic difference between Parrot and Common Crossbills and we treat those as distinct species. Most British Pied Wagtails are resident in Britain but some migrate south to spend the winter in Iberia and Western France. The White Wagtails that occur in Britain on passage are mainly Icelandic breeders (plus some from Faeroes and Greenland) and these winter around the Mediterranean with some migrating to sub-Saharan Africa. I photographed this one next to Ingbirchworth reservoir in South Yorkshire.
The species Bison bison, commonly known as the American bison or buffalo, has existed for approximately 10,000 to 20,000 years in its modern form. This seems ancient, but they are relative newcomers in bison evolution. Fossil and genetic evidence suggest that Bison bison evolved from earlier bison species during the late Pleistocene epoch, around the end of the last Ice Age (11,700 years ago). Its ancestors, like Bison antiquus and Bison latifrons, roamed North America for hundreds of thousands of years, with Bison bison emerging as a distinct species adapted to the grasslands after the extinction of megafauna.
Genetic studies, including mitochondrial DNA analysis, indicate divergence from Eurasian steppe bison (Bison priscus) around 135,000–195,000 years ago, with Bison bison specifically radiating in North America around 10,000 years ago, as supported by research from the University of Alberta and the National Park Service.
Our beautiful world being passed on in the Wichitas.
It’s the third day of Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar and a Tie Interceptor scouts a remote star system to ensure the safety of a Christmas gifts carrying Starship.
During Christmas holidays people from all over the vast Lego Multiverse set their divergences and quarrels apart to protect the tradition of joy and positiveness.
Well except Kylo Ren, the Tantrum Knight, but the wiser Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance both work together to protect the Christmas.
The background image is courtesy of NASA and free to use according to their own policy. Thank You NASA :)
May the Brick be with You :)
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The family Rostratulidae encompasses two genera and four species (one extinct). Painted-snipes superficially resemble true snipes but the two taxa are not closely related. Instead the similarity can be attributed to convergent evolution where both groups have been subjected to similar selection pressures, thus promoting the evolution of analogous features such as a long slender bill and legs, mottled crypsis plumage and particular body proportions. While less similar in morphology, the species that are considered most closely related to painted-snipes are other members of the suborder Thinocori; jacanas, seedsnipes and the plains wanderer.
The painted-snipe, †Rostratula minator was described in 1988 from deposits of the early Pliocene found in Langebaanweg, South Africa. This is the first valid fossil belonging to the family Rostratulidae. Comparisons of bone measurements with R. minator and the extant species show that it was relatively intermediate in size, although this considerable difference indicates that it may only be an endemic African species that has become extinct, rather than the direct ancestor of R. benghalensis.
The Australian painted-snipe was described as Rostratula australis by John Gould in 1838, although later lumped with the similar greater painted-snipe, R. benghalensis as subspecies R. b. australis. However, morphological and genetic differences have resulted in the species being split in recent years. Such a similarity between the two species can be explained by a recent evolutionary divergence, and is an example of allopatric speciation where the prevention of gene flow by geographical isolation has resulted in an accumulation of differences by genetic drift and differing selection pressures
The small red car Klv 11 / Klv 12 is a motor trolley (motor draisine) – for maintenance works on railway equipment (e.g., signal and telecommunication installations). The Klv-12 have an official weight of 1500 kg and a pay load of 750 kg and within the different construction series divergences of these values seem; the Klv-11 are about 200 kg heavier in general.
67019 passes the Aller Divergence near Newton Abbott, working 1Z84 17.00 Paignton - Bromsgrove. This was a charter train for workers at the Rover plant at Longbridge, who had just been made redundant following the closure of the factory. It ran every weekday during the school May half term week.
Scan from a 35mm Fuji Provia 100F transparency.
One of the apparent driving factors of sociality in the theridiid Anelosimus eximius, in what is otherwise a typically sub- or non-social group, is the ability to catch larger prey items. The larger surface area covered by a large web is one component, but what differentiates it from say Nephila sp. or Darwin's bark spider (world record holder for the largest web), is the combined ability to overwhelm prey with sheer numbers. Apparently there could also be some degree of task specialization, more simplistic than in the eusocial organisms, but present nonetheless. Apparently, adults and larger individuals are more likely to attack prey than would smaller and younger spiders. It may seem like an obvious and trivial distinction, yet it could represent one of those evolutionary divergence points towards greater and greater specialization, perhaps with smaller/younger individuals becoming more responsible for communal brood care, as seen amongst hymenopterans.
Photo from the Jardin Botanico del Pacifico in the Colombian Choco.
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EE Legend
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This scene is a good test for lens flare and the Loxia 21mm holds up well. There is some flare in the sky above the brightest light, but it's not bad.
This image is included in 7 galleries:- 1) "Birds of the World" curated by Vicky Vinch (EX22218), 2) "Unsere Gefiederten Freunde_3" by Gert Huber, 3) "Birds" by Ruben S. C., 4) "Stunning Bird Shots" by anandamoy chatterji, 5) "PRIMER PREMIO. - Buzón de oro. Gouldner Briefkasten No. 28" by Luis Siabala Valer, 6) "Birds - Finches" by Radoslav Besenyi and 7) "Diamante mandarino - Zebra finch" by geraf.
The Australian zebra finch (Taeniopygia castanotis) is the most common estrildid finch of Central Australia. It ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool humid south and some areas of the tropical far north. Due to the ease of keeping and breeding the zebra finch in captivity, it has become Australia's most widely studied bird; by 2010, it was the most studied captive model passerine species worldwide, by a considerable margin.
The Australian zebra finch was described in 1837 by John Gould as Amadina castanotis, about two decades after the Sunda zebra finch (T. guttata) was described. For over a century and a half, the Australian and Sunda zebra finches were classified as a single species, Taeniopygia guttata. They were split by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2016. The International Ornithological Congress followed suit in 2022 based on studies noting differences in plumage, mtDNA divergence, and assortative mating between both species in captivity.
It is likely that the Australian zebra finch evolved first, with the Sunda zebra finch descending from Australian zebra finches blown out to sea during the Pleistocene
This pair of beautiful Zebra Finches was photographed near a Roadhouse between Carnarvon and Monkey Mia, Western Australia. The female is on the left, male on the right.
Lenox Tower, the Mitchell, IL, convergence of the Chicago and Alton, the Big Four, and the Wabash, all three spliced by a connection with the Alton and Southern. For trains entering St. Louis from the north and east, Lenox Tower was a landmark denoting the entrance to the metropolitan area and its convoluted spaghetti of trackage criss-crossing throughout. Lenox was in itself a complex web--a plant comprised of dozens of switches thrown only through the permission of hundreds of bars interlocked through tiny blocks which, if all lined up in perfect configuration, would enable a permissive aspect to illuminate a route for an oncoming train. The tower's second story floorboards withstood the nearly constant trampling of tower operators, scampering about all the while tugging pistol-grip handles in turn sending a unique electrical command to line a switch or illuminate a signal to safely control the crossing of diamonds, the divergence through the puzzle switch, or the highball of such crack passenger trains as the Abraham Lincoln, Wabash Cannon Ball, or in later years, the Texas Eagle, all threading the needle through a multitude of less prominent freights. Built for the Big Four, coming under control of mighty parent New York Central, finally being passed around like an unwanted stepchild to Union Pacific, Lenox Tower changed hands often since its construction in 1924, but it remained mostly unchanged in both purpose and in operation throughout its years. But time and technology were destined to catch up eventually.
The calendar on the wall reads October 2018, the last calendar month to ever grace the bulletin boards of Lenox. For Halloween Day will bring with it death, as the pipelines threading away from the tower like a spider's legs will be severed, and the friendly faces of local tower operators pulling pistol-grip levers to line train movements will be replaced by three initials punching keystrokes onto a generic computer screen inside a dark dungeon hundreds of miles away in Omaha. We're inside a relic living out its last working days, nearly 100 years of St. Louis' railroad history housed inside its walls and out, irreplaceable for the stories it could tell and the emblematic operational practices that it demands that will die along with it. For now, its cluttered yet lively walls hide the inevitable, and the tower operator has southbound Amtrak Lincoln Service train #303 safely lined through the plant on Springfield Sub Main 1 destined for St. Louis.
The tower building stood for another two and a half years following its closure at the end of October 2018. On May 17, 2021, it met its ultimate death at the cold steel claws of an excavator. And yet another stalwart of railroading past has fallen, replaced by the efficiency and sterility of the digital age.
Taken with permission, rather obviously, on an unforgettable afternoon spent in the innerworkings of one of America's last manned interlocking towers.
7/52
Divergence from the tone of my project but no change in theme for me. I wonder how many people spotted you in shot 4?
A long exposure image of Laxey breakwater extending out into the Irish Sea. I’m a big fan of this location as there’s something undeniably photogenic about the simplicity of the scene, the height of the vantage, the bend in the pier itself and the distant silhouette of Clay Head. I’m a bit slow at the social media game these days, so I’d like to wish you all the best for the year ahead. As always, I can’t wait to see what Photographic adventures the year has in store for all of us!
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Abstracted crop of a larger image - a plant in a nearby garden that happened to be largely backlit by the sun.
31421 at Aller Junction in June 1980 and using the Paignton line as a loop to allow a train to pass on the main.
4B10 Bristol to Plymouth parcels [with thanks to Paul Barlow].
Aller Junction became Aller divergence after resignalling and closure of the signal box in 1987.
Had this been a year earlier then this train would know doubt have used the loop by Langford Bridge but by 1980 it had been taken out of use.
An adult female Acanthosaura lepidogaster from karst rainforest within the spectacular Phong Nha-Ke Bang NP in central Vietnam sighted perched in the dappled light below the canopy.
It cannot be excluded that a cryptic taxon complex is involved regarding A. lepidogaster as currently defined. To get these agamid taxa studied, molecular analyses are crucial with subsequent check of morphological divergence (T. Ziegler pers.comm.).
Image taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR coupled to a vintage M42 mount Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 30/3.5 Lydith lens from the 60's with a 9mm M42 extension tube attached. A third party M42 to EOS adapter incorporated. Image shot wide-open and hand-held, with a touch of fill-flash. Apart from RAW conversion and the most basic of edits, image shot as is.
This is the art of painting with vintage glass.
I love my lydith..
The two viaducts at Chapel Milton connect the former Midland Railway London to Manchester via Derby line to the Hope Valley line. Chinley South Junction is located where the two lines meet just out of shot to the right.
Freightliner's 66605 can just be espied through the arch of the nearer viaduct heading for Peak Forest Cemex with a working from Bletchey. Friday 6.4.18.
Rob's excellent drone image shows the splendour of these viaducts extremely well, and the "chicken wishbone" divergence of the lines connecting to the Hope Valley Line:
www.flickr.com/photos/robmcrorie/26408865547/
For the Phoenix Railway Photographic Circle and alternative railway photography, follow the link:
Dank voor het bekijken, commentaren, favorieten en kritiek. Geen verder gebruik zonder mijn uitdrukkelijke toestemming.
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Back at the children's fishing pond at the end of Hall Road this morning chasing this little sandpiper.
Its breeding habitat is near fresh water across most of Canada and the United States. They migrate to the southern United States and South America.
These are not gregarious birds and are seldom seen in flocks.
Actitis is a small genus of two species, the spotted and the common sandpiper in the Sandpiper family, Scolopacidae.
Actitis is part of the shank-tattler-phalarope clade and less closely related to the calidrid sandpipers. Based on the degree of DNA sequence divergence and putative shank and phalarope fossils from around the Oligocene/Miocene boundary some 23-22 million years ago, Actitis presumably diverged from its closest relatives in the Late Oligocene. Given the much higher diversity of the prehistoric members of the group in Eurasia it is likely that they originated there, possibly being isolated as the remains of the Turgai Sea dried up, which happened just around this time.
Wikipedia.
Taken from what would now be the northbound carriageway of the A380, 47806 sweeps past Aller Divergence with 1E33, the 0958 Paignton-Newcastle Virgin Cross Country service on 25 August, 2001.
One more look at the crossing point of Fifth Avenue and Broadway just north of the Flatiron public plaza.
Not an easy photograph in the forest at night but this is an owl at the top of the avian food chain in its forest habitats. A large secretive nocturnal bird of prey, so a magnificent sighting for us.
Their habitats are scattered throughout the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia where they occupy a range of woodlands but with isolated colonies developing some divergence from the species characteristics. This one at Kandalama, Sri Lanka.