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Quetzal

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Quetzal

Be striking like a male quetzal.

  • Quetzals are tropical birds native to Central American woody and rainforest habitats.
  • The scientific name of quetzals is Pharomachrus, which covers five species, and they are from the family Trogonidae, the family of trogons, although there is one more species, and it has the scientific name Euptilotis, and belongs to the same family.
  • Quetzals have a diet that generally consists of fruit, such as berries, and animals of small size, like lizards, frogs and insects.
  • Male quetzals have brightly coloured luminous feathers, that are mostly green and red, with an orange to yellow crest, while females generally have duller colours with the addition of brown or grey.
  • Quetzals grow to be around 32 to 40.5 centimetres (12.6 to 16 inches) in height, and they generally weigh between 200 to 225 grams (7 to 8 ounces).
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Quetzal
Image courtesy of vil.sandi/Flickr
  • Quetzals have trouble walking on their unstable feet, that are designed for perching in the heights of trees, as they have two toes facing backwards, and the other two forwards.
  • The tail of quetzals consists of two feathers that can be between 65 cm (25.6 inches) and one metre (three feet) in length, although the females do not have such long tails.
  • The sounds made by quetzals range from whines, chirps and whistles; they mostly live alone; and they are most active during the twilight hours.
  • Quetzals lay eggs in holes that they carve in tree trunks, laying one to three at a time, and the eggs and chicks are looked after by both parents.
  • The population of quetzals is said to be threatened by illegal deforestation and exotic pet trades, with an estimated 50,000 left in the wild.
Bibliography:
Quetzal, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/quetzal/
Quetzal, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/birds/quetzal/
Quetzal, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzal

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Ribwort Plantain

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Ribwort Plantain

Ribwort plantains have a barren look.

  • Ribwort plantain is a plant native to Asia, Europe and North Africa, and depending on the location and growing conditions, it will grow as a perennial, biennial or annual.
  • ‘Ribwort plantains’ are also known as ‘narrowleaf plantains’, ‘English plantains’, ‘buckhorn plaintains’, ‘lamb’s tongues’, ‘rib grass’ and ‘ribleaves’.
  • The scientific name of a ribwort plantain is Plantago lanceolata, and it is from the family Plantaginaceae, the family of plantains.
  • Ribwort plantain leaves grown in a rosette formation, and the underside of the long green leaves always feature five obvious veins.
  • Ribwort plantains typically grow to be approximately 50 centimetres (20 inches) in height, and they have tall flower spikes, with heads that are surrounded by numerous tiny white petals.

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  • The bitter leaves of ribwort plantains are edible and can be eaten cooked or raw, while the seeds can be cooked whole or ground like flour.
  • Ribwort plantains are easily grown from seed in low quality soil, with a preference for full sunlight, and as a result, the plants are increasingly used in pastures for livestock fodder.
  • Ribwort plantain plants have been used medicinally for a variety of purposes, including the slowing or stopping of bleeding, and treating  inflammation, and they can be used to hasten skin healing.
  • Countries such as Australia, has seen ribwort plantains introduced, and this has resulted in them being an invasive weed in some areas.
  • Ribwort plantain plants are useful for textile purposes, as they can be made into dye; the fibres from the leaves can be used; and the seeds can be treated to stiffen fabric.
Bibliography:
Environmental Weed Profiles, 2011, Trees For Life, https://www.treesforlife.org.au/sites/default/files/Ribwort%20Plantain_Weed%20Profile.pdf
Plantago lanceolata – L., 2012, Plants For A Future, http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Plantago+lanceolata
Plantago lanceolata, n.d, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants, http://keys.trin.org.au:8080/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Plantago_lanceolata.htm

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Street Name

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Street Name

Did you remember that street name?

  • Street names, also known as ‘road names’ or ‘odonyms’, are names that most commonly have two parts, used to identify and classify a street or road.
  • Typically, a street name has a unique or ‘specific’ name, such as ‘Clyde’, as well as a classifying or ‘generic’ name, such as ‘Street’.
  • Street names may include a direction in the name, such as ‘north’, often used to describe separate parts of the street.
  • Commonly, the specific part of street names originates from notable people’s surnames, vegetation, natural items or numbers.
  • A single road may receive multiple street names, commonly referring to the same street within two different areas, sections or boundaries.

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  • Occasionally, highways and main streets are left unnamed, but instead are referred to by a number.
  • Common classifications of street names include drives, roads, streets, avenues, lanes, highways, boulevards, courts, crescents, freeways and expressways.
  • Street names are typically presented on a sign, known as a ‘street sign’, at the intersections, and the signs may be colour coded, as a further identifier.
  • The generic part of a street name generally refers to the size, shape, function, or surrounding geography of the road.
  • Sometimes streets are renamed, and this can be for a variety of different reasons, from political to language changes, or a negative association.
Bibliography:
History of Street Names and Street Naming in North America, 2009, Potifos, http://potifos.com/streetname.html
Soniak M, What’s the Difference Between a Street and a Road?, 2012, Mental Floss, http://mentalfloss.com/article/30020/whats-difference-between-street-and-road
Street or Road Name, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_or_road_name

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Amazon Basin

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Amazon Basin

Take in the beauty of the Amazon Basin.

  • The tropical Amazon Basin includes the Amazon River and surrounding areas, in South America, and it drains large volumes of water into the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Approximately two fifths of South America is covered by the Amazon Basin, which equals an area of around 6.9 million square kilometres (2.67 million square miles).
  • The Amazon Basin is the largest of its type on earth, and includes the world’s greatest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest, which covers a majority of the basin.
  • The Amazon Basin contains numerous rivers and tributaries, numbering into the thousands, and the collective flow of water from these sources, into the ocean, is approximately a sixth of the world’s total.
  • The Amazon Basin is said to be the home to over 1500 species of birds, 14,000 mammal species, 2,200 species of fish, 1000 amphibian species, many reptiles, and thousands of insect species.
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Part of the Amazon Basin
Image courtesy of Olga Stavrakis/Flickr
  • The Amazon Basin area houses millions of people, including significant populations of indigenous Americans, with the majority settled around the rivers.
  • Typically, the Amazon Basin has a wet and hot atmosphere; floods are common; and while cold temperatures are not, they do suddenly occur and can be damaging to the flora and fauna.
  • Parts of the Amazon Basin have been cleared for agricultural or mining purposes, notably for soybeans, cattle and gold; and the deforestation has caused extinction of many species.
  • Portuguese and Spanish are the most spoken languages of the Amazon Basin area, while hundreds of indigenous and nearly lost languages are evident.
  • The peak, Yerupajá, in Peru’s Waywash mountain range, is the Amazon Basin’s tallest watershed point, reaching 6,635 metres (21,768 feet) in height.
Bibliography:
Amazon Basin, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_basin
Amazon Basin – Brazil, 2015, World Wildlife Fund, http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0168
Amazon Basin Facts, n.d, Meet Our Animals, http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/amazonia/facts/basinfacts.cfm

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Apple Sauce

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Apple Sauce

Add an abundance of flavour with apple sauce.

  • Apple sauce is a culinary sauce that uses apples as its primary ingredient, and it is usually a dull yellow colour that can have a slight green or red tinge, especially if the skin of the apples is used.
  • The words ‘apple sauce’ can be combined as one word ‘applesauce’, and the substance is also known as ‘apple compôte’, which is taken from the French term.
  • Liquids, such as water; spices, such as cinnamon; and/or flavours, such as honey or sugar, are all typical ingredients in apple sauce.
  • Apple sauce is commonly served with meat dishes, notably pork, as well as vegetables, and sometimes it accompanies sweet dishes, like pancakes.
  • Apple sauce requires the cooking of chopped apples in a liquid, and it can easily be made at home, or found in jars, tubs or tins, sold commercially in supermarkets.

Apple Sauce, Yellow, Condiment, Flavour, Applesauce, Ten Random Facts, Culinary

  • In some countries, apple sauce is served as a dessert, and it can be used as an ingredient in other foods, like cake, as a flavouring or sweetener.
  • Although apple sauce can be highly chunky, the sauce is often finely puréed; while the higher the apple’s acidity, the finer the purée will be.
  • Apple sauce has been made for hundreds of years, being cooked in the medieval period in Europe, and it was an efficient process to keep uneaten or unsold apples from rotting during winter months.
  • Apple sauce is a popular homemade baby food, as it is relatively easy to make, and easily digestible by babies.
  • Apple sauce is very high in vitamin C, and it also has significant quantities of fibre, as well as pectin, that has traditionally been used to treat diarrhoea.
Bibliography:
Apple sauce, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_sauce
Food history: applesauce, 2014, Erinnudi.com, http://www.erinnudi.com/2014/09/05/food-history-applesauce/
Jensen S, A brief history of Applesauce, 2012, Info Barrel, http://www.infobarrel.com/A_Brief_History_of_Applesauce

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Crab-eating Macaque

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Crab-eating Macaque

Crab-eating macaques are not so fascinated by crabs.

  • Crab-eating macaques are medium-sized monkeys originating in jungle and forest areas, generally with nearby water access, in Asia’s south-east.
  • ‘Crab-eating macaques’ are also known as ‘long-tailed macaques’, ‘java monkeys’ and ‘cynomolgus monkeys’.
  • Crab-eating macaques have the scientific name Macaca fascicularis, being from the family Cercopithecidae, the family of Old World monkeys, and the species includes ten subspecies.
  • The typical size of a crab-eating macaque is 38 to 55 centimetres (15 to 22 inches) in height and they generally weigh between 3 to 9 kilograms (6.6 to 20 pounds).
  • Crab-eating macaques most often live in troops with four to twenty others of their own species, and the group commonly contains more females than males, although there is generally a dominant male, which is decided by combat.
Crab-eating Macaque, Animal, Primate, Mammal, Singapore, Asian, White, Stare
A Crab-eating Macaque
Image courtesy of Brian Jeffery Beggerly/Flickr
  • Typically, crab-eating macaques have a lengthy tail of 40 to 65 centimetres (16 to 26 inches), and fur coloured a combination of grey, yellow, white and brown.
  • The diet of crab-eating macaques consists mostly of fruit, nuts and seeds, and they also consume other vegetation, as well as animals, such as birds and their eggs, fish, lizards, frogs, crabs and other crustaceans.
  • Female crab-eating macaques give birth to one baby at a time, although young ones can be subject to infanticide or kidnapping, and they have an average lifespan of 15 to 30 years.
  • Crab-eating macaques may use water to wash food, or use stones to open tough, enclosed items, and they have been studied for medical reasons, as these monkeys are effected by disease in similar ways to humans.
  • Crab-eating macaques have been introduced into some parts of Asia, and in some areas they are thought of as pests, while in other areas, they are considered sacred.
Bibliography:
Crab-eating Macaques, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/crab-eating-macaque/
Crab-eating Macaques, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab-eating_macaque

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