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One Cup Too Many -
A butterfly dejected by unrequited love for a pretty flower was drowning his anguish with a little booze of salt and amino acids. He’s well-bred and knows it is inappropriate, but the water pressure building inside demanded a quick release. Unable to contain anymore, he blared out, “Pardon me, will you move your self-serving eyes away? I’m fighting a losing battle against my bladder and must pee.” Quickly averting my gaze, I pretended to pick the imaginary bits of loo paper stuck to my shoes. Then I heard it loud and clear. The trees were laughing mad hard as his weepy gush turned into the bawling Niagara Falls? After his ease, the relieved Mormon returned to the grime fulfilling his abdomen with another round of drinks. If you want to know the mood of a butterfly, eavesdrop on his tune while he is in the shower.
(11 of 24 - upload continues on Friday…)
University & Course: University of London, Goldsmiths College, BA Fine Art.
Medium: Mixed Media, Audio Visual Loop and Sculpture
Artist Profile: I’m interested in exploring the subject surrounding the polymorphic nature within the human consciousness condition through my art practice in new media involving various software programs and the computer interface. Thomas Naickomparambil professor of philosophy, defines the word polymorphic when paired with the term, ‘consciousness’:
…“our consciousness is not governed by strictly intellectual concerns most of the time. This is due to the fact that the human conscious is polymorphic in nature. Etymologically the term ‘polymorphism’ is derived from the two Greek words polus (many) and morphe (form). Consequently, the expression ‘polymorphism of human consciousness’ signifies the (many forms) of human consciousness. The different patterns of consciousness often do not have clear-cut and fixed boundaries. They can overlap, mix, conflict and interfere with each other.1
An example is when using the medium of 3-D animation software, I am aware of my presence in front of a computer as well as the disembodied perception of being embodied within the machine whilst building, modeling and moving around an object. Perhaps using new media and in particular the computer as an implement in art making allows for new possibilities representing a polymorphic consciousness resembling the critical theory of post-humanism that is clarified as a transition in human consciousness or an “embodied medium through which critical consciousness is manifested. A narrativised, textualised version of a human,” or in other words “a non-physical manifestation of self.”2 It is as if symbolically the idea of both polymorphic consciousness and post-humanism found in new media gave demise to my use of the paintbrush in which I perceive as a metaphor for (Renaissance) humanism. In his book, The Posthuman Condition Consciousness Beyond the Brain, artist and academic writer, Robert Pepperell eloquently puts it, that from the beginning of our existence we have attempted to “extend our physical abilities with tools”; this is the “extensionist” (post-human) view of human nature, “… where (Renaissance) humanists saw themselves as distinct beings in an antagonistic relationship with their surroundings, post-humans regard their own being as embodied in an extended technological world.”
Piece Description: In the current video and sculpture installation piece titled, Buddha Hand Lemon (Citron) and Young Girl in Los Angeles, I’m investigating further the notion of an immersive embodied space driven by an electronically mediated environment, yet I seek that ‘it does not take itself too seriously’ and has room to include a critical distance. In the discourses of immersive aesthetics complete illusory is ideal, but illusory is subjugated by it’s very nature as it is artificial and can never be real. Much like the city of Los Angeles that appears as a lush (man-made) paradise, but in actuality it is a desert. Also as in my past works, my concerns are related to a sense of cultural identity, which develops across race, class, gender and cultural disposition. I’m absorbed not solely in the facets of the occurrence of polymorphic consciousness, but the luminal negotiation in between these identities where other potentials may emerge.
Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) is a large butterfly with contrasting colors that belongs to the Swallowtail family. A common South-Asian butterfly, it is widely distributed and has thirteen subspecies. The female is polymorphic and with mimetic forms.
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
Anisopheidole antipodum are limited to the drier parts of Australia and can be found nesting in open soil or under rocks. Little is known about their biology, but they are thought to be specialist predators of termites.
Besides certain morphological traits that differentiate them from similar looking species, one of the most interesting features are their very small eyes. So small in fact that they do not number greater than 5 ommatidia! This looks quite funny, most especially on the larger workers, as their heads are quite long and bulbous. This of course owes to their mostly subterranean existence.
The other attractive characteristic of this species is that the workers are highly polymorphic for size. This further differentiates it from similar ants, such as Pheidole, who only have bimorphic workers - a major and a minor. In these ants, the size of the workers is highly variable, with the smallest being only a few millimeters long and the largest about 3x as big, with any number of sizes in-between.
Below you can see the powerful mandibles and large head of a larger worker (6-7mm long @ 2.5:1) and some details of the smaller workers (3-4mm long @ 3.5:1 and cropped).
This specimen was discovered in northern Mississippi. Specimens from this area are in a state of taxonomic confusion based on morphology and genetic data. There may just be one polymorphic species or as many as three different species that are very similar morphologically. Since Orconectes etnieri is the oldest species name in this currently confusing group, it has been conservatively assigned to animals from this population. This animal was caught in a baited minnow trap placed in a first order stream that emanates from a steep sided ravine that is periodically (usually) dry.
Necrolytic migratory erythema is a rare inflammatory dermatosis.which occurs in 70% of patients with the glucagonoma syndrome.
Its clinical features are polymorphic mucocutaneous manifestations, encompassing multiple annular erythematous scaling and crusting patches with hyperpigmentation. These lesions can affect the entire body with a predilection for the perineum, buttocks, groin, abdomen, and limbs — in other words, areas that are subject to increased pressure and friction. The only two reported oral findings are angular cheilitis and atrophic glossitis.
Bullous, erosive oral mucositis with areas having lichenoid features are visible on the tongue and the upper and lower lips (Panel A) and inside the right cheek (Panel B). The patient's entire body, including the back, is covered with purplish, confluent erythematopapulous scaling and crusting lesions with a keratotic surface (Panel C). Histologic analysis of the skin (Panel D, left) shows hyperparakeratosis and spongiosis, accompanied by the presence of necrotic keratinocytes, and vascular proliferation. Histologic analysis of the oral mucosa (Panel D, right) shows a prominent neutrophilic, eosinophilic, and plasmacellular infiltrate (hematoxylin and eosin).
The patient's nutritional status was normal. Routine hematologic tests revealed mild hyperglycemia, hypoalbuminemia, a glucagon level of 73 pg per milliliter (normal range, 25 to 250), and a zinc level of 134 μg per deciliter (normal range, 60 to 250). Tumor markers showed a CA-125 level of 232 U per milliliter (normal range, 0 to 35) and a β2-microglobulin level of 2924 ng per milliliter (normal range, 600 to 2600). Total-body computed tomography revealed the presence of an ovoid mass measuring 40 mm in diameter in the upper lobe of the right lung, with prominent striae hooking the apical and costal homolateral pleura. No evidence of a pancreatic tumor was detected. Needle biopsy of the lung with ultrasonographic guidance revealed a small-cell lung cancer. A diagnosis of nonglucagonoma-associated necrolytic migratory erythema was made. The patient died 2 months later.
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
Velella velella shot at Fort Funston. ©2014 Weir2x (Please link to weir2x.com or contact us for unwatermarked image.)
The order Siphonophora, to which the Velella velella was originally placed, consists of highly polymorphic, free-swimming or floating colonies. The Velella, in accordance, was not considered to be a single animal but rather organisms which are linked together.
Skops Uil
(Otus senegalensis)
Scops owls are typical owls (family Strigidae) mostly belonging to the genus Otus. Approximately 45 living species are known, but new ones are frequently recognized and unknown ones are still being discovered every few years or so, especially in Indonesia. For most of the 20th century, this genus included the American screech owls, which are now again separated in Megascops based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological and DNA sequence data. Otus is the largest genus of owls in terms of number of species.
Scops owls in the modern sense are restricted to the Old World. A single North American species, the flammulated owl, was provisionally placed in Otus and has now been moved to its own monotypic genus. See below for details.
As usual for owls, female scops owls are usually larger than the males of their species, with owls of both sexes being compact in size and shape. All of the birds in this genus are small and agile. Scops owls are colored in various brownish hues, sometimes with a lighter underside and/or face, which helps to camouflage them against the bark of trees. Some are polymorphic, occurring in a greyish- and a reddish-brown morph.
Scops owls hunt from perches in semi-open landscapes. They prefer areas which contain old trees with hollows; these are home to their prey which includes insects, reptiles, small mammals such as bats and mice and other small birds. The owls will also eat earthworms, amphibians and aquatic invertebrates. Scops owls have a good sense of hearing which helps them locate their prey in any habitat. They also possess well-developed raptorial claws and a curved bill, both of which are used for tearing their prey into pieces small enough to swallow easily.
Scops owls are primarily solitary birds. Most species lay and incubate their eggs in a cavity nest that was originally made by another animal. During the incubation period, the male will feed the female. These birds are monogamous, with biparental care, and only fledge one young per year. The young of most scops owls are altricial to semialtricial.
As opposed to screech owls, scops owls have only a single type of call. This consists of a series of whistles or high-pitched hoots, given with a frequency of 4 calls per second or less, or of a single, drawn-out whistle. Calls differ widely between species in type and pitch, and in the field are often the first indication of these birds' presence, as well as the most reliable means to distinguish between species. Some, like the recently described Serendib scops owl (Otus thilohoffmanni), were discovered because their vocalizations were unfamiliar to experts in bird-calls.
The genus name is from the Latin otus for an eared owl.
Due to a nomenclatorial dispute, the generic name Scops is not used by either the scops or the screech owls (which when only a few species were known were placed together), nor by any other animal. In 1760, Mathurin Jacques Brisson had established the genus Scopus for the hammerkop, a peculiar African bird. Paul Möhring in 1758 had already used the name Scops for this bird however, and believing this name to be valid Morten Thrane Brünnich replaced Scopus with it in 1772. The scops and screech owls, which were placed in Otus by Thomas Pennant in 1769 (as he too believed that Moehring's Scops was valid) were moved to Scops by Marie Jules César Savigny in 1809. Lorenz Oken in 1817 changed this to Scopus, also under the impression that Scops was the older name for the hammerkop, and valid.
However, the names established by Moehring pre-date the official start date of Linnean nomenclature in zoology as regulated by the ICZN, which is December 31, 1758 – the last day of the year in which the 10th edition of Linné's Systema Naturae was published. Hence, Scopus as established by Brisson is indeed the valid generic name of the hammerkop, and the first valid use of Scops was in 1772 by Brünnich – which according to modern rules of zoological nomenclature was unjustified however, as the name he believed to be reinstating had never been technically valid in the first place.
Wikipedia
Kleinsingvalk
(Micronisus gabar)
The gabar goshawk (Micronisus gabar) is a small species of African and Arabian bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
The gabar goshawk is polymorphic and occurs in two distinct forms which fluctuate in relative abundance across the geographic range of the species. The more frequent, paler form has mostly grey upperparts with a conspicuous, white rump and white and grey barring on the chest, thighs and underwings, and a dark grey, barred tail. In contrast, the less frequent form, which accounts on average for approximately 25 percent of the overall population, is almost completely black. In both forms of adult the eyes are dark, and the long legs and the cere are red. The cere and the legs are yellow in immatures and the plumage is generally browner, with the pale birds having untidy barring on the chest than the adult. The females are significantly larger than the males, the male's weigh 90 - 173g and the females 167 - 240g The body length is 28–36 cm and the wingspan 63 cm.
The gabar goshawk is usually considered to be sedentary, but immature birds are somewhat nomadic and some small migratory movements have been recorded in parts of its range. It is most frequently observed alone, but pairs are also common, particularly during the breeding season, when the male is often observed pursuing the female through trees, or calling from his perch. The small platform nest is typically constructed using thin twigs and positioned in a vertical fork in the crown of a thorny tree, such as an acacia. One notable aspect of their nest construction is that the birds collect spider webs including the live spiders, the spiders spin new webs which may help camouflage the nest, and the spiders may consume arthropods that would parasitize the chicks.
The eggs are laid from July to December, peaking in September to November. The normal clutch is two eggs, but up to four may be laid, and these are mainly incubated by the female for about 33–38 days. Once hatched, the chicks are brooded by the female for the first 19–21 days of their lives, while the male brings her food to feed to them. They leave the nest around 35–36 days old, becoming fully independent about one month later.
Small birds are the major part of the gabar goshwak’s diet, with small mammals, reptiles, and insects also taken on occasion. The prey is typically flushed from trees and caught following a persistent and energetic pursuit. The gabar goshawk sometimes hunts from the perch, swooping down to catch prey off the ground or in flight. They have also been recorded attacking the nests of colonial birds such as weavers by clawing their way destructively through the nest top to snatch the chicks from the nest.
Known predators of the gabar goshawk include tawny eagles, Wahlberg's eagles, and Ayres's hawk-eagles.
Wikipedia
Witkruispsrewer
Kleinsingvalk
(Micronisus gabar)
The gabar goshawk (Micronisus gabar) is a small species of African and Arabian bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
The gabar goshawk is polymorphic and occurs in two distinct forms which fluctuate in relative abundance across the geographic range of the species. The more frequent, paler form has mostly grey upperparts with a conspicuous, white rump and white and grey barring on the chest, thighs and underwings, and a dark grey, barred tail. In contrast, the less frequent form, which accounts on average for approximately 25 percent of the overall population, is almost completely black. In both forms of adult the eyes are dark, and the long legs and the cere are red. The cere and the legs are yellow in immatures and the plumage is generally browner, with the pale birds having untidy barring on the chest than the adult. The females are significantly larger than the males, the male's weigh 90 - 173g and the females 167 - 240g The body length is 28–36 cm and the wingspan 63 cm.
The gabar goshawk is usually considered to be sedentary, but immature birds are somewhat nomadic and some small migratory movements have been recorded in parts of its range. It is most frequently observed alone, but pairs are also common, particularly during the breeding season, when the male is often observed pursuing the female through trees, or calling from his perch. The small platform nest is typically constructed using thin twigs and positioned in a vertical fork in the crown of a thorny tree, such as an acacia. One notable aspect of their nest construction is that the birds collect spider webs including the live spiders, the spiders spin new webs which may help camouflage the nest, and the spiders may consume arthropods that would parasitize the chicks.
The eggs are laid from July to December, peaking in September to November. The normal clutch is two eggs, but up to four may be laid, and these are mainly incubated by the female for about 33–38 days. Once hatched, the chicks are brooded by the female for the first 19–21 days of their lives, while the male brings her food to feed to them. They leave the nest around 35–36 days old, becoming fully independent about one month later.
Small birds are the major part of the gabar goshwak’s diet, with small mammals, reptiles, and insects also taken on occasion. The prey is typically flushed from trees and caught following a persistent and energetic pursuit. The gabar goshawk sometimes hunts from the perch, swooping down to catch prey off the ground or in flight. They have also been recorded attacking the nests of colonial birds such as weavers by clawing their way destructively through the nest top to snatch the chicks from the nest.
Known predators of the gabar goshawk include tawny eagles, Wahlberg's eagles, and Ayres's hawk-eagles.
Wikipedia
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
Indian Paradise Flycatcher
The Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia that is widely distributed. As the global population is considered stable, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Myanmar.
Males have elongated central tail feathers, and a black and rufous plumage in some populations, while others have white plumage. Females are short-tailed with rufous wings and a black head. Indian paradise flycatchers feed on insects, which they capture in the air often below a densely canopied tree.
Three subspecies are recognized:
Himalayan paradise flycatcher (T. p. leucogaster) – (Swainson, 1838): Originally described as a separate species. Breeds in the western Tian Shan, in Afghanistan, in the north of Pakistan, in northwestern and central India, in Nepal’s western and central regions; populations occurring in the east of Pakistan and in the south of India migrate towards the foothills of the Himalayas in spring for breeding.
T. p. paradisi – (Linnaeus, 1758): breeds in central and southern India, central Bangladesh and south-western Myanmar; populations occurring in Sri Lanka in the winter season are non-breeding.
Ceylon paradise flycatcher (T. p. ceylonensis) – (Zarudny & Harms, 1912): found in Sri Lanka.
Adult Indian paradise flycatchers are 19–22 cm (7.5–8.7 in) long. Their heads are glossy black with a black crown and crest, their black bill round and sturdy, their eyes black. Female are rufous on the back with a greyish throat and underparts. Their wings are 86–92 mm (3.4–3.6 in) long. Young males look very much like females but have a black throat and blue-ringed eyes. As adults they develop up to 24 cm (9.4 in) long tail feathers with two central tail feathers growing up to 30 cm (12 in) long drooping streamers.
Young males are rufous and have short tails. They acquire long tails in their second or third year. Adult males are either predominantly bright rufous above or predominantly white. Some specimens show some degree of intermediacy between rufous and white. Long-tailed rufous birds are generally devoid of shaft streaks on the wing and tail feathers, while in white birds the shaft streaks, and sometimes the edges of the wing and tail feathers are black.
In the early 1960s, 680 long-tailed males were examined that are contained in collections of the British Museum of Natural History, Chicago Natural History Museum, Peabody Museum, Carnegie Museum, American Museum of Natural History, United States National Museum and Royal Ontario Museum. The specimens came from almost the entire range of the species, though some areas were poorly represented. The relative frequency of the rufous and white plumage types varies geographically. Rufous birds are rare in the extreme southeastern part of the species' range. Throughout the Indian area and, to a lesser extent, in China, asymmetrically patterned intermediates occur. Intermediates are rare or absent throughout the rest of the range of the species. In general, long-tailed males are
predominantly rufous with some white in wings and tail — collected in Turkestan, Kashmir, northern India, Punjab, Maharashtra, Sikkim and in Sri Lanka;
predominantly rufous with some white in wings — collected in Iran, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Punjab, Kashmir, northern and central India, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Nepal;
predominantly rufous with some white in tail — collected in Punjab, northern and central India, Kolkata, Sri Lanka and in the Upper Yangtze Valley in China;
predominantly white with some rufous in tail and wings — collected in Kashmir, Maharashtra, Sichuan and North China;
predominantly white with some rufous in tail — collected in Maharashtra and Fuzhou, China;
predominantly white with back partly rufous — collected in Punjab and Chennai;
moulting from rufous into white plumage — collected in North Bihar.
Possible interpretations of this phenomenon are : males may be polymorphic for rufous and white plumage colour; rufous birds may be sub-adults; and there may even be two sympatric species distinguishable only in the male.
They are migratory and spend the winter season in tropical Asia. There are resident populations in southern India and Sri Lanka, hence both visiting migrants and the locally breeding subspecies occur in these areas in winter.
According to Linné’s first description Indian paradise flycatchers were only distributed in India. Later ornithologists observed this spectacular bird in other areas, and based on differences in plumage of males described several subspecies.
Indian paradise flycatchers inhabit thick forests and well-wooded habitats from Central Asia to south-eastern China, all over India and Sri Lanka to Myanmar.
Indian paradise flycatchers are noisy birds uttering sharp skreek calls. They have short legs and sit very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. They are insectivorous and hunt in flight in the understorey. In the afternoons they dive from perches to bathe in small pools of water.
The breeding season lasts from May to July. Being socially monogamous both male and female take part in nest-building, incubation, brooding and feeding of the young. The incubation period lasts 14 to 16 days and the nestling period 9 to 12 days. Three or four eggs are laid in a neat cup nest made with twigs and spider webs on the end of a low branch. The nest is sometimes built in the vicinity of a breeding pair of drongos, which keep predators away. Chicks hatch in about 21 to 23 days. A case of interspecific feeding has been noted with paradise flycatcher chicks fed by Oriental white-eyes.
Kunst im Philanthropin Frankfurt/Main, 1982, from l.t.r.: Istvan Laurer / Alfred Harth (with Jonathan) / Dirk Sommer / Ulrich Diekmann / Manfred Stumpf / Eva Stumpf / Stefan Grunenberg / Petra Seelenmeyer / Petra Falk / Joachim Raab / Georg Hüter / Beate von Essen / Bernd Vossmerbäumer / Michael Meyer / Mathias Völcker
Alfred 23 Harth’s early formation can be read as a remarkable intertwining of play, discipline, and conceptual awakening that would later come to characterize his multidisciplinary oeuvre. The boyhood dream of becoming an architect already contained a telling dialectic: on the one hand, the imaginative freedom of building ephemeral huts in the garden, one after another; on the other hand, the precision of constructing variations within given parameters. These garden architectures were not merely child’s play but may be understood retrospectively as proto-installations, temporary structures that mediated between imagination and actuality, an early rehearsal of the experimental crossings between construction, performance, and image that marked Harth’s mature practice.
A decisive rupture, almost an initiation ritual into modern art, occurred in 1958 when his elder brother Dietrich took him to a Dada exhibition in Frankfurt am Main. The timing was crucial: postwar Germany was only just beginning to reopen itself to the radical avant-gardes suppressed under fascism. For the young Harth, Dada presented not only a set of provocative images but also the lived possibility that art could destabilize categories, break down hierarchies, and operate conceptually as much as materially. The work The Navel—a simple black dot on white paper, accompanied by a title that displaced perception into language—sharpened this awareness. What mattered was not the mark itself but the dynamic between sign and referent, artwork and its commentary. The epiphany here was not aesthetic pleasure in the traditional sense but recognition of art as a space of thought, irony, and intellectual tension. This was nothing less than the beginning of a lifelong trajectory in which Harth would consistently return to the interface of sound, image, and idea.
In the following years, Harth immersed himself with voracity in every available art medium. School courses gave him the discipline of drawing, painting, and craft; his own appetite for performance led him to stage small situations, often masked or disguised, anticipating the performative interventions of the happening movement. The acquisition of his first camera at twelve extended his field into visual experimentation, while his pencil drawings of jazz musicians revealed both his growing fascination with musical improvisation and his awareness of biography as a narrative lens for art. What is striking here is the simultaneity of practices—music, drawing, performance, photography—that refused to be subordinated to a single discipline. Even before formal professional training, Harth was cultivating a polymorphic artistic identity in the spirit of the avant-garde.
The turn at fifteen to oil painting coincided with a parallel transformation in music: the gift of a tenor saxophone by his parents, an instrument that would guide him into deep engagement with jazz and improvisation. This was not simply the adoption of a hobby but the entry point into an emerging identity as a musician-artist, one who would soon refuse to see music and art as separated categories. Music, drawing, film, and conceptual play converged into a holistic practice that aligned with the growing international awareness of intermedia arts in the 1960s.
Attending the Goethe Gymnasium in his final school years refined this eclecticism. As an art-focused program with an ambition to train future cultural producers, it provided him with a sweeping introduction to international avant-garde currents, from Informel painting and Fluxus to Concept Art and experimental film. What Harth absorbed was not only technique but also a certain intellectual ecology: Frankfurt at that time was a city where cultural exchange, experimental music, and critical thought interacted dynamically. Together with Hubertus Gassner, who would later become a prominent museum director, Harth initiated happenings and other art events. Harth and founded the centrum freier cunst. Such a venture signaled more than youthful ambition: it represented the determination to create autonomous platforms for hybrid work when established institutions remained largely indifferent. Here Harth’s music group Just Music performed alongside conceptual and photo-based works, embodying an ethos of cross-disciplinary experimentation that paralleled international movements but arose organically from the Frankfurt milieu.
By the time of his Abitur in 1968, Harth embodied a paradoxical combination: on the one hand, a youthful openness to every medium, on the other, a growing self-awareness of art as critical practice. His decision to study design at the Werkkunstschule Offenbach, later shifting to art pedagogy at Goethe University, should not be misunderstood as a retreat into conventional paths. Rather, it reflects his strategy of grounding avant-garde impulses in a broader discourse of form and teaching. His musical activities expanded concurrently, so that life at this junction became an intense negotiation of study, performance, and conceptual inquiry. Alfred Harth's focus on synästhetic creation was indeed a significant aspect of his artistic approach at that time. He was interested in exploring synaesthesia beyond traditional media like TV, film, or theater, aiming to realize multisensory or synästhetic works that integrated sound, visual elements, and space in novel ways. This approach reflected his broader interest in breaking conventional boundaries of artistic disciplines and engaging the audience in immersive, multi-layered experiences that could not be confined to a single medium or format.
Looking back, one sees that Harth’s early trajectory established key themes of his later career: the refusal of boundaries between disciplines; the privileging of concept and idea over medium-specificity; the creation of autonomous spaces for collaboration beyond institutional frameworks; and, above all, the conviction that art is not an object but a process—often ephemeral, contingent, and dialogic. The boy who once built huts in his parent’s garden was already rehearsing the logic of variation and improvisation that would structure his later works across music, performance, and visual art. To trace these beginnings is to see how Harth’s career was less a matter of progression from one discipline to another than an ongoing movement across media, always oriented toward the space where form touches thought.
Confiding resident of rocky hillsides in Namibia (like our Erongo Mountains where this photo was taken). The males are polymorphic, with variations in the extent of white, grey and black coloration.
It's the throat patch that's most immediately striking about this species, but it's the head-striping that's most intriguing. The species is polymorphic, which for this species means that the heads of some have white stripes on black backgrounds and the heads of others have tan stripe on dark brown backgrounds. Every adult has a bright yellow spot just above its bill. The White-throated Sparrow is six to seven inches long.
I took this picture almost a month ago, but I haven't done as much bird-watching as usual and have not been very successful either.
Thank you for taking the time to visit. I very much appreciate your generous spirit.
Unidentified. Anyone? Fallen polymorphic-shaped fruits from a large tree; likely a Fabaceae (Leguminosae). Exceptionally large seeds enclosed in a pulpy pod gnawed by wild animals.
RIUM, WP Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Entada spiralis Ridl. Fabaceae. [Malay - Beluru, Akar sintok (also sharing similar vernacular name with Caesalpinia parviflora]. Native to Indonesia (Sumatera), peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand. A huge liana with woody stem; bipinnate leaves, usually with 4 pairs in a pinna; flowers small and occur in dense racemes; seed pods are curled with 5-11 very large seeds to each pod. Claimed as the world's largest seed pod among the Fabaceae/Leguminosae. An important element in Malay aromatherapy, post-natal bath and body cleansing shampoo. The methanol crude extracts from this plant has been proven a potent anti-fungal drug against certain dermatophytes. Fibers of pounded vines after soaking in water produce copious foam when scrubbed.
Synonym(s):
Entada scheffleri Ridl.
Entada schefferi "sensu auct., non Ridl." (misapplied)
Ref and suggested reading:
FRIM Flora Database
Kamus Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Malaysia.
www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/ild-46341
zipcodezoo.com/Plants/E/Entada_spiralis/
www.globalspecies.org/ntaxa/752817
www.iium.edu.my/revival/index.php/revival/article/view/19
www.melur.com/myherba.asp?plant_id=66&cat=HERBA
web.usm.my/mjps/MJPS%208%20SUPP%201%202010/MJPS%20ART%201...
proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea_detail.php?frt=&id=1075
[ID assistance Wee Foong, Singapore and Dr. Shamsul Khamis]
The Doris Longwing butterfly (Heliconius doris) is a neotropical butterfly found from Central America to the Amazon region; while most neotropical butterflies live only a few weeks, this one lives up to 9 months. It is polymorphic, so not all examples look the same, but background color is always black and cream bands are always on forewings; the patch coming from the hindwings can be red, green, blue, or cream (based on Chicago Botanic Garden information found on line). This specimen was seen in the 2013 Butterflies Live! exhibit at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden; the 2014 edition will run from May 2 through October 12.
The A. papilionacea group consists of just two species, A. papilionacea itself, commonly known as the Pink Butterfly Orchid and the Fan Lipped Orchid, A. collina. The former is a polymorphic species with a wide distribution and these factors unsurprisingly give rise to a significant range of natural and regional variations. First described by Linnaeus as long ago as 1759, the taxon has been intensely studied ever since, leading to the recognition of many forms and the creation of a list of synonyms far too extensive to detail in these pages (no less than 67 in 2013). A genetic study in 1993, comparing sub-species grandiflora, papilionacea and aegaea (then heroica) from around the Mediterranean, determined that the minimal genetic difference's discovered, were consistent with nothing more than separate geographic populations within a single cohesive gene pool and that being simple morphs, sub-species status could not be justified. These results were not universally accepted and new taxa continue to emerge.
A. papilionacea ssp aegaea was named according to the findings of a paper in 2013 by Lewis and Kreutz. which sought to restore some taxonomic order to a state of confusion in respect of the early flowering form of Pink Butterfly Orchid from the Aegean, formerly known variously as A. papilionacea ssp heroica, O. papilionacea ssp heroica or V. papilionacea var aegaea. Space does not permit even a precis of this interesting and thoroughly researched piece of work, other than to record its conclusion, which was that the basionym heroica was invalid as it is more correctly a synonym for A. laxiflora.
A. papilionacea ssp aegaea is a sturdy, dense flowered plant with a large lip, very reminiscent of grandiflora, albeit less broad shouldered. A distinctive feature of aegaea is the way in which the perianth is normally less closed than that of grandiflora and indeed most other sub-species. It ranges throughout the Aegean basin, across the Peloponnese to the Ionian islands in the west and with a relatively small diaspora in Anatolia to the east. It is an early flowerer which in Crete can be in full bloom by late February.
www.orchidsofbritainandeurope.co.uk/Anacamptis%20papilion...
The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), also known as the fire ant or RIFA, is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus Solenopsis in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a variant in 1916. Its current specific name invicta was given to the ant in 1972 as a separate species.
However, the variant and species were the same ant, and the name was preserved due to its wide use. Though South American in origin, the red imported fire ant has been accidentally introduced in Australia, New Zealand, several Asian and Caribbean countries, and the United States.
The red imported fire ant is polymorphic, as workers appear in different shapes and sizes.
The ant's colors are red and somewhat yellowish with a brown or black gaster, but males are completely black. Red imported fire ants are dominant in altered areas and live in a wide variety of habitats. They can be found in rain forests, disturbed areas, deserts, grasslands, alongside roads and buildings, and in electrical equipment. Colonies form large mounds constructed from soil with no visible entrances because foraging tunnels are built and workers emerge far away from the nest. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_imported_fire_ant
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Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Lacombe, LA 70445
Federal wildlife refuge on 15,000 acres of pine flatwoods and coastal marsh. This diverse habitat is a wonderful example of the natural coastline of Lake Pontchartrain. Home to hundreds of bird species, including the rare red-cockaded woodpecker, bald eagles and wading birds. www.louisiananorthshore.com/attractions/natural_attractio...
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image by Photo George
©2007/ 2020 GCheatle
all rights reserved
locator: 32 _GNP8715 fire ants
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
Thailand: on or around my wife's land in village of Nong Hualing near Pak Phli, Nakhon Nayok Province.
Growing in large, quite deep pond; my wife said this plant was deliberately introduced maybe around 2 years ago, rapidly spreading around whole perimeter.
[this and next 4 shots uploaded as "Trapa sp.", but now correctly identified by Forest & Kim. Some of the notes below are no longer so relevant]
See other closer shots. I am unable to say for sure which species this is, if more than one species is allowed for the genus. Mabberley's Plant-book (2008 edition) lists Trapa as monotypic and polymorphic, with T. bicornis and T. bispinosa as synonyms of T. natans. But Flora of China online at www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=1... allows 2 spp. for China, T. incisa and T. natans, both with very wide distributions through tropical and temperate Asia -- but neither is described as having yellow flowers! Otherwise, the small leaf size of these plants would make them T. incisa.
See also Angiosperm Phylogeny Website at www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ concerning family status. Trapaceae now absorbed into Lythraceae.
There lingers in my mind a slight doubt that this is even Trapa, perhaps some odd member of the Onagraceae that I have never come across before. Certainly the sepals and hypanthium (see adjacent shot) are suggestive of genera like Ludwigia.
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
I was tagged by tiburonsita and Okaypro to do this 16 Things "thing". I think it's only because they know I hate doing self-portraits!
1. When I was younger, the first thing that I wanted to be was an artist. Then an astronaut. Then a scientist. I became a scientist, but taught myself photography. Now I'm an artist (photographer).
2. I'm not scared of much, but I'm deathly afraid of spiders no matter how small they may be.
3. I've lived in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, California, and Costa Rica.
4. I took ballet for 10 years (3 -13 years old).
5. I used to play the piano, the french horn, and the trumpet. I've tried to learn viola, violin, and guitar. But I never seem to learn that I suck at all of them.
6. I went to Space Camp in 1989. Yes, I've seen the movie. No, I did not go into space. But sometimes I can be a real space cadet.
7. I worked on an insect project in Belize and came home with a parasite in my leg.
8. My favorite smells are mint and cooking garlic.
9. I'm sure that everyone thinks that I'm a crazy cat lady, but really, I'm only crazy about my cat, Luka. Luka was the souvenir I got from a guy I dated in Virginia.
10. I love to travel alone.
11. I've had LASIK surgery on my eyes 3 years ago. My horrible horrible vision is now perfect.
12. The first record that I ever owned was "I Love Rock & Roll" by Joan Jett & the Black Hearts when I was 6. The first concert that I ever saw was Barry Mannilow at Hersheypark with my mom when I was 8.
13. I published a paper in a college journal about my research in South Carolina: "Sexual Dimorphism and Breeding Behavior in a Polymorphic Red-Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus v. viridescens) Population".
14. I collect vintage and toy cameras and have at least 50-60 of them.
15. I used to work for the Army as a contractor. I got to blow shit up, ride in a tank, and fly in a helicopter. And it was AWESOME!
16. I discovered an archaeological site on the same military installation (in California) when doing some archaeological surveys. It was a chipping station where Native Americans made stone tools. It was properly named "Gingerich 1".
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
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A bad virus is going around, spread by CAMERA MEMORY CARDS, a first symptom is:
Show hidden files and folders Doesn’t Work, and seems to be NO SOLUTION !
Edhiker's backups had also become infected by this rapidly self replicating virus. Just inserting an infected flash drive in a computer system may infect all attached drives(format C: no work here), and then hides its tracks. Use one of these infected cards in another computer... you get the message. Took a day of hard work to solve it, see EDHIKER'S BLOG at: edhiker.blogspot.com/
More notes- Makes copies of itself on Flash / Removable Drives in order to propagate itself. - Checks if an update is available after install and upon reboot of the computer. If a never version is available, downloads and installs it. - www.bluetack.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=18228
More - "High risks are typically installed without user interaction through security exploits, and can severely compromise system security. Such risks may open illicit network connections, use polymorphic tactics to self-mutate, disable security software, modify system files, and install additional malware. These risks may also collect and transmit personally identifiable information (PII) without your consent and severely degrade the performance and stability of your computer."
These threats are increasing, see www.viruslist.com/en/analysis?pubid=204791985
47 COSAS QUE HACER EN ESTE TALLER. ACTIVIDAD PARA FAMILIAS CON PALOMA CALLE
Este invierno Paloma Calle nos invitó a ampliar todas las posibilidades creativas de la acción. En dos sesiones, niños y adultos inventaron una performance múltiple y polimórfica compuesta de 47 microacciones. Durante la primera sesión todos los participantes idearon las acciones que quisieron realizar (desde cantar su canción favorita hasta llegar a la luna) y las posibilidades de realización de este proyecto. En la segunda sesión lo llevaron a cabo de manera conjunta en una intervención en el CA2M abierta al público que deseó verlo o participar.
This winter Paloma Calle invited us to expand all the creative possibilities of the action. In two sessions, children and adults invented a multiple and polymorphic performance composed of 47 microactions. During the first session all the participants devised the actions they wanted to do (from singing their favorite song to the moon) and the possibilities of realizing this project. In the second session they carried out it jointly in an intervention in CA2M open to the public that wanted to see or participate.
Fotografías/ photographs: Andrea Ayala
CA2M - 47 COSAS QUE HACER EN ESTE TALLER
______________________________________________
Enlaces: WEB CA2M | FACEBOOK CA2M | YOUTUBE CA2M | TWITTER CA2M
Scops-owls are Strigidae (typical owls) belong to the genus Otus. Approximately 45 living species are known, but new ones are frequently recognized and unknown ones are still being discovered every few years or so, especially in Indonesia. For most of the 20th century, this genus included the American screech-owls which are now again separated in Megascops based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological and DNA sequence data.
Scops-owls in the modern sense are restricted to the Old World, except for a single North American species - the Flammulated Owl - that is only provisionally placed here and is likely to be moved out of Otus eventually. See below for details.
As usual for owls, female scops-owls are usually larger than the males of their species, with owls of both sexes being compact in size and shape. All of the birds in this genus are small and agile. Scops-owls are colored in various brownish hues, sometimes with a lighter underside and/or face, which helps to camouflage them against the bark of trees. Some are polymorphic, occurring in a greyish- and a reddish-brown morph.
This bird put on a nice little show of bird yoga on top of a cellphone tower on my morning commute. I love the back lighting of the morning sun in this shot.
ze-no-STEEJ-ee-uh or ze-no-STEG-ee-uh -- Greek: xeno (strange); stegia (covering) ... Dave's Botanary
try-den-TAY-ta -- three-toothed ... Dave's Botanary
commonly known as: narrowleaf morning glory • Bengali: হলুদ কলমি লতা holud kolmi lawta, প্রসারিণী prosharini • Gujarati: ભીંતગરીયો bhintagariyo • Hindi: प्रसारिणी prasarini • Kachchhi: ઝામરવલ jhamarval, ટોપરાવલ toparaval • Kannada: ಇಲಿಕಿವಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು ilikivi soppu, ಪ್ರಸಾರಣಿ prasaarani • Konkani: काळी वेल kali vel • Malayalam: പ്രസാരണി prasaarani, തലനീളി thalaneeli • Marathi: काळी वेल kali vel • Odia: ପ୍ରସାରଣୀ prasarani • Rajasthani: प्रसारिणी prasarini • Sanskrit: प्रसारिणी prasarini • Tamil: முதியோர் கூந்தல் mutiyor kuntal • Telugu: లంజ సవరం lanja savaram, సీతమ్మ జడ seethamma jada, సీతమ్మ సవరం seetamma savaram, సుంచు మూతి sunchu mutthi
botanical names: Xenostegia tridentata (L.) D.F.Austin & Staples ... homotypic synonyms: Convolvulus tridentatus L. • Evolvulus tridentatus (L.) L. • Ipomoea tridentata (L.) Roth • Merremia tridentata (L.) Hallier f. ... infraspecific: Xenostegia tridentata subsp. tridentata ... and more at POWO, retrieved 07 February 2025
~~~~~ DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
throughout (except n-w India); including Lakshadweep islands
Names compiled / updated at Names of Plants in India.
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.
This Butterfly is large specie with 15 different subspécies from India North Part Assam , Sikkim, Burma, China Southern , Indochina , Japan , Bornéo , Malaysia , Indonésia , Philippines .
member of papilionidaé/Papilioninaé
Discover by Linnaéus 1758
Common Name : Great Mormon
Wingspan 13 to 15 cm
This specie is polymorphic and have much various form and male is Black and female have got some white spot and red patches
The subspécie Papilio Memnon Agénor Distantianus is présent in Assam , Sikkim, Burma, Yunnan, Indochina and Malaysia Péninsular
The female show in the photo have got some white spot and red patches on the wings
Vitis (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce wine. The study and cultivation of grapevines is called viticulture.
Most cultivated Vitis varieties are wind-pollinated with hermaphroditic flowers containing both male and female reproductive structures, while wild species are dioecious. These flowers are grouped in bunches called inflorescences. In many species, such as Vitis vinifera, each successfully pollinated flower becomes a grape berry with the inflorescence turning into a cluster of grapes. While the flowers of the grapevines are usually very small, the berries are often large and brightly colored with sweet flavors that attract birds and other animals to disperse the seeds contained within the berries.
Grapevines usually only produce fruit on shoots that came from buds that were developed during the previous growing season. In viticulture, this is one of the principles behind pruning the previous year's growth (or "One year old wood") that includes shoots that have turned hard and woody during the winter (after harvest in commercial viticulture). These vines will be pruned either into a cane which will support 8 to 15 buds or to a smaller spur which holds 2 to 3 buds.
Description
Flower buds are formed late in the growing season and overwinter for blooming in spring of the next year. They produce leaf-opposed cymes. Vitis is distinguished from other genera of Vitaceae by having petals which remain joined at the tip and detach from the base to fall together as a calyptra or 'cap'. The flowers are mostly bisexual, pentamerous, with a hypogynous disk. The calyx is greatly reduced or nonexistent in most species and the petals are joined together at the tip into one unit but separated at the base. The fruit is a berry, ovoid in shape and juicy, with a two-celled ovary each containing two ovules, thus normally producing four seeds per flower (or fewer by way of aborted embryos).
Other parts of the vine include the tendrils which are leaf-opposed, branched in Vitis vinifera, and are used to support the climbing plant by twining onto surrounding structures such as branches or the trellising of a vine-training system.
In the wild, all species of Vitis are normally dioecious, but under domestication, variants with perfect flowers appear to have been selected.
The genus Vitis is divided into two subgenera, Euvitis Planch. have 38 chromosomes (n=19) with berries borne on clusters and Muscadinia Planch. 40 (n=20) with small clusters.
Wild grapes can resemble the single-seeded Menispermum canadense (moonseed), which is toxic.
Species
Most Vitis species are found mostly in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in North America and eastern Asia, exceptions being a few in the tropics and the wine grape Vitis vinifera which originated in southern Europe and southwestern Asia. Grape species occur in widely different geographical areas and show a great diversity of form.
Their growth makes leaf collection challenging and polymorphic leaves make identification of species difficult. Mature grapevines can grow up to 48 centimetres (19 inches) in diameter at breast height and reach the upper canopy of trees more than 35 metres (115 feet) in height.
Many species are sufficiently closely related to allow easy interbreeding and the resultant interspecific hybrids are invariably fertile and vigorous. Thus the concept of a species is less well defined and more likely represents the identification of different ecotypes of Vitis that have evolved in distinct geographical and environmental circumstances.
The exact number of species is not certain. Plants of the World Online states 81 species are accepted, but lists 84. More than 65 species in Asia are poorly defined. Approximately 25 species are known in North America and just one, V. vinifera has Eurasian origins; some of the more notable include:
Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape, native to the Eastern United States, especially the Southeastern United States
Vitis amurensis, native to the Asian continent, including parts of Siberia and China
Vitis arizonica, The Arizona grape is native to Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Texas, and Northern Mexico.
Vitis berlandieri, native to the southern North America, primarily Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas. Primarily known for good tolerance against soils with a high content of lime, which can cause chlorosis in many vines of American origin
Vitis californica, the California wild grape, or Northern California grape, or Pacific grape, is a wild grape species widespread across much of California as well as southwestern Oregon
Vitis coignetiae, the crimson glory vine, a species from East Asia grown as an ornamental plant for its crimson autumn foliage
Vitis labrusca L., the fox grapevine, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the Eastern United States and Canada. The Concord grape was derived by a cross with this species
Vitis riparia, the riverbank grapevine, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the entire Eastern United States and north to Quebec
Vitis rotundifolia (syn. Muscadinia rotundifolia), the muscadine, used for jams and wine. Native to the Southeastern United States from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico
Vitis rupestris, the rock grapevine, used for breeding of Phylloxera resistant rootstock. Native to the Southern United States
Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia.
Vitis vulpina, the frost grape, native to the Eastern United States, from Massachusetts to Florida, and west to Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas Treated by some as a synonym of V. riparia.
Plants of the World Online also includes:
Vitis acerifolia Raf.
Vitis amoena Z.H. Chen, Feng Chen & WW.Y. Xie
Vitis baihuashanensis M.S.Kang & D.Z.Lu
Vitis balansana Planch.
Vitis bashanica P.C.He
Vitis bellula (Rehder) W.T.Wang
Vitis betulifolia Diels & Gilg
Vitis biformis Rose
Vitis blancoi Munson
Vitis bloodworthiana Comeaux
Vitis bourgaeana Planch.
Vitis bryoniifolia Bunge
Vitis × champinii Planch.
Vitis chunganensis Hu
Vitis chungii F.P.Metcalf
Vitis cinerea (Engelm.) Millardet
Vitis davidi (Rom.Caill.) Foëx
Vitis × doaniana Munson ex Viala
Vitis erythrophylla W.T.Wang
Vitis fengqinensis C.L.Li
Vitis ficifolia Bunge
Vitis flavicosta Mickel & Beitel
Vitis flexuosa Thunb.
Vitis girdiana Munson
Vitis hancockii Hance
Vitis heyneana Schult.
Vitis hissarica Vassilcz.
Vitis hui W.C.Cheng
Vitis jaegeriana Comeaux
Vitis jinggangensis W.T.Wang
Vitis jinzhainensis X.S.Shen
Vitis kaihuaica Z.H.Chen, Feng Chen & W.Y Xie
Vitis kiusiana Momiy.
Vitis lanceolatifoliosa C.L.Li
Vitis longquanensis P.L.Chiu
Vitis luochengensis W.T.Wang
Vitis menghaiensis C.L.Li
Vitis mengziensis C.L.Li
Vitis metziana Miq.
Vitis monticola Buckley
Vitis mustangensis Buckley
Vitis nesbittiana Comeaux
Vitis × novae-angliae Fernald
Vitis novogranatensis Moldenke
Vitis nuristanica Vassilcz.
Vitis palmata Vahl
Vitis pedicellata M.A.Lawson
Vitis peninsularis M.E.Jones
Vitis piasezkii Maxim.
Vitis pilosonervia F.P.Metcalf
Vitis popenoei J.L.Fennell
Vitis pseudoreticulata W.T.Wang
Vitis quinlingensis P.C.He
Vitis retordii Rom.Caill. ex Planch.
Vitis romanetii Rom.Caill.
Vitis ruyuanensis C.L.Li
Vitis saccharifera Makino
Vitis shenxiensis C.L.Li
Vitis shizishanensis Z.Y.Ma, J.Wen, Q.Fu & X.Q.Liu
Vitis shuttleworthii House
Vitis silvestrii Pamp.
Vitis sinocinerea W.T.Wang
Vitis sinoternata W.T.Wang
Vitis tiliifolia Humb. & Bonpl. ex Schult.
Vitis tsoi Merr.
Vitis wenchowensis C.Ling
Vitis wenxianensis W.T.Wang
Vitis wilsoniae H.J.Veitch
Vitis wuhanensis C.L.Li
Vitis xunyangensis P.C.He
Vitis yunnanensis C.L.Li
Vitis zhejiang-adstricta P.L.Chiu
There are many cultivars of grapevines; most are cultivars of V. vinifera. One of them includes, Vitis 'Ornamental Grape'.
Hybrid grapes also exist, and these are primarily crosses between V. vinifera and one or more of V. labrusca, V. riparia or V. aestivalis. Hybrids tend to be less susceptible to frost and disease (notably phylloxera), but wine from some hybrids may have a little of the characteristic "foxy" taste of V. labrusca.
The Latin word Vitis is feminine,[19] and therefore adjectival species names take feminine forms, such as V. vinifera.
Ecology
Phylloxera is an American root aphid that devastated V. vinifera vineyards in Europe when accidentally introduced in the late 19th century. Attempts were made to breed in resistance from American species, but many winemakers and customers did not like the unusual flavour profile of the hybrid vines. However, V. vinifera grafts readily onto rootstocks of the American species and their hybrids with V. vinifera, and most commercial production of grapes now relies on such grafts.
Commercial distribution
According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 75,866 square kilometres of the world is dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit. A portion of grape production goes to producing grape juice to be used as a sweetener for fruits canned "with no added sugar" and "100% natural". The area dedicated to vineyards is increasing by about 2% per year.
Domestic cultivation
Grapevines are widely cultivated by gardeners, and numerous suppliers cater specifically for this trade. The plants are valued for their decorative foliage, often colouring brightly in autumn; their ability to clothe walls, pergolas and arches, thus providing shade; and their fruits, which may be eaten as dessert or provide the basis for homemade wines. Popular varieties include:-
Buckland Sweetwater' (white dessert)
'Chardonnay' (white wine)
'Foster's Seedling' (white dessert)
'Grenache' (red wine)
'Muscat of Alexandria' (white dessert)
'Müller-Thurgau' (white wine)
'Phoenix' (white wine)
'Pinot noir' (red wine)
'Regent' (red wine)
'Schiava Grossa' (red dessert)
'Seyval blanc' (white wine)
'Tempranillo' (red wine)
The following varieties have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
'Boskoop Glory' (dessert/wine)
'Brant' (black dessert)
'Claret Cloak' or 'Frovit' (ornamental)
'New York Muscat' (black dessert)
'Purpurea' (ornamental)
Uses
The fruit of several Vitis species are grown commercially for consumption as fresh grapes and for fermentation into wine. Vitis vinifera is the most important such species.
The leaves of several species of grapevine are edible and are used in the production of dolmades and Vietnamese lot leaves.
Culture
The grapevine (typically Vitis vinifera) has been used as a symbol since ancient times. In Greek mythology, Dionysus (called Bacchus by the Romans) was god of the vintage and, therefore, a grapevine with bunches of the fruit are among his attributes. His attendants at the Bacchanalian festivals hence had the vine as an attribute, together with the thyrsus, the latter often entwined with vine branches. For the same reason, the Greek wine cup (cantharos) is commonly decorated with the vine and grapes, wine being drunk as a libation to the god.
The grapevine has a profound symbolic meaning in Jewish tradition and culture since antiquity. It is referenced 55 times in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), along with grapes and wine, which are also frequently mentioned (55 and 19, respectively). It is regarded as one of the Seven Species, and is employed several times in the Bible as a symbol of the Israelites as the chosen people. The grapevine has a prominent place in Jewish rituals: the wine was given a special blessing, "creator of the fruit of the vine", and the Kiddush blessing is recited over wine or grape juice on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. It is also employed in various parables and sayings in rabbinic literature. According to Josephus and the Mishnah, a golden vine was hung over the inner chamber of the Second Temple. The grapevine is featured on Hasmonean and Bar Kokhba revolt coinage, and as a decoration in mosaic floors of ancient synagogues.
In Christian iconography, the vine also frequently appears. It is mentioned several times in the New Testament. We have the parable of the kingdom of heaven likened to the father starting to engage laborers for his vineyard. The vine is used as symbol of Jesus Christ based on his own statement, "I am the true vine (John 15:1)." In that sense, a vine is placed as sole symbol on the tomb of Constantia, the sister of Constantine the Great, and elsewhere. In Byzantine art, the vine and grapes figure in early mosaics, and on the throne of Maximianus of Ravenna it is used as a decoration.
The vine and wheat ear have been frequently used as symbol of the blood and flesh of Christ, hence figuring as symbols (bread and wine) of the Eucharist and are found depicted on ostensories. Often the symbolic vine laden with grapes is found in ecclesiastical decorations with animals biting at the grapes. At times, the vine is used as symbol of temporal blessing.
In Mandaeism, uthras (angels or celestial beings) are often described as personified grapevines (gupna).
The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), also spelled Gyr Falcon, sometimes Gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia. It is mainly resident, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter[1].
The bird's common name comes from French gerfaucon, and in mediaeval Latin is rendered as gyrofalco. The first part of the word may come from Old High German gîr (cf. modern German Geier), "vulture", referring to its size compared to other falcons, or the Latin gȳrus ("circle", "curved path") from the species' circling as it searches for prey, unlike the other falcons in its range[2]. The male gyrfalcon is called a gyrkin in falconry.
Its scientific name is composed of the Latin terms for a falcon, Falco, and for someone who lives in the countryside, rusticolus.
Plumage is very variable in this highly polymorphic species: the archetypal morphs are called "white", "silver", "brown" and "black" though coloration spans a continuous spectrum from nearly all-white birds to very dark ones.
The Gyrfalcon is a bird of tundra and mountains, with cliffs or a few patches of trees. It feeds only on birds and mammals. Like other hierofalcons, it usually hunts in a horizontal pursuit, rather than the Peregrine's speedy stoop from a height. Most prey is killed on the ground, whether they are captured there or, if the victim is a flying bird, forced to the ground. The diet is to some extent opportunistic, but a majority of breeding birds mostly rely on Lagopus grouse. Avian prey can range in size from redpolls to geese and can include gulls, corvids, smaller passerines, waders and other raptors (up to the size of Buteos). Mammalian prey can range in size from shrews to marmots (sometimes 3 times heavier than the assaulting falcon), and often includes include lemmings, voles, ground squirrels and hares. They only rarely eat carrion.
The Gyrfalcon is the official bird of Canada's Northwest Territories.