Great eared nightjar
The great eared nightjar is one of the most common nocturnal birds of Australia. This species is found throughout much of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. They are often seen sitting motionless on exposed branches during the day, moving into cover at dusk. They feed mainly on insects taken from foliage, although some fruits and berries are eaten. Their breeding season occurs from September to November. The female lays 3–4 eggs in a nest located in a tree hollow, laying 2–3 clutches per year. The young fledge after about 50 days and reach independence after another 30 days.
Taxonomy
The great eared nightjar belongs to the family Caprimulgidae, which contains three genera: Caprimulgus, Macrodipteryx and Rhynchonycteris. These birds are nocturnal and live in tropical rainforests. They feed mainly on insects and small vertebrates.
Description
The great eared nightjar belongs to the genus Psophodes, which contains three other genera: the lesser eared nightjar, the greater eared nightjar, and the pygmy nightjar. All four are found in South America. The great eared nightjars live in forests and savannas where there are tall trees with dense foliage. They hunt insects and small vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, birds, bats, and rodents.
They nest in tree cavities, holes in rocks, crevices in cliffs, or under loose bark. Females lay one egg per clutch, usually 2–7 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for about 30 days. When the young hatch, both parents feed them for another 20–30 days. After fledging, the young remain dependent upon their parents for several months.
Distribution and habitat
The Indian pangolin is native to India and Bangladesh, where it lives in tropical evergreen forest and scrub. In India, it occurs throughout the country except in the north-eastern states of Mizoram and Manipur. It is common in southern parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Chandigarh. In Bangladesh, it is distributed across most of the country except in the extreme south-east corner. It is found in the Sundarbans mangrove forest, where it inhabits both primary and secondary forests. It is also found in the Eastern Himalayas, including Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and Yunnan Province in China.
In Sri Lanka, it occurs in dry deciduous and mixed dipterocarp forests of central and western provinces. In Laos, it occurs in Lao PDR’s Nam Phong District in Luang Prabang province. In Cambodia, it is known to occur in Mondulkiri Province. In Vietnam, it is found in the Central Highlands region of Đađi Loan National Park, Quảng Bình Province, Lâm Đồng Province, Gia Lai Province, Ninh Thuận Province.
Behaviour
The behaviour of animals is often fascinating to us. We watch birds fly, fish swim, insects crawl, and even whales dance. But what about the behaviour of plants? What do they think, feel, and how do they behave? Plants are living organisms just like animals, but unlike animals, they don’t move around much. Instead, most plant life stays put. Some plants grow up into trees and shrubs while others grow down into roots. Still others grow sideways or spread out over the ground.
Plants use different parts of their bodies to help them adapt to their environment. Leaves let light energy enter the plant, helping it photosynthesize. Flowers attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. And fruits provide food for both animals and humans.
In nature, plants interact with each other in many ways. For example, some plants compete with others for sunlight. Others protect themselves against herbivores by producing chemicals called toxins. Many plants communicate with one another using chemical signals. Even though plants lack eyes, they still sense changes in their surroundings.