Copy of `Lee Ouzman - Wildlife photography terms`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Lee Ouzman - Wildlife photography terms Category: Animals and Nature > Wildlife Photography Date & country: 27/09/2013, USA Words: 570

Territoriality
Behavior pattern in birds concerned with the occupation and defense of a territory, often characterized by intensive singing and clashes with rivals.

Terrestrial
Living on land (not aquatic or arboreal).

Teak woodland
see Baikiaea woodland.

Temporal canthus
The outer corner of the eye closest to the ear.

Terminal
At the end or tip of a structure.

Terminal band
The terminal band refers to the contrasting stripe at the tip of the tail.

Taxonomy (adj. taxonomic)
The science of classification of plants and animals according to their evolutionary relationships.

Tailband
Contrastingly pigmented area of the tail, perpendicular to the axis of the tail.

Talon
Sharply hooked claw used for holding and killing prey, e.g. in birds of prey.

Tarsus (pl. tarsi)
The tarsometatarsus; the lower part of the leg of a bird, usually bare of feathers. The part of the leg between the knee and the foot of the bird, similar to the lower leg in humans.

Taxon (pl. taxa)
A neutral term for any formally established scientific name, at any level in a taxonomic grouping, e.g. genus, species, subspecies.

Tail coverts
The short tail feathers covering the base of the long tail feathers.

Tail numbering
The tail numbering is a system developed to assign a number to each tail feather which can convey certain characteristics about certain species.

Synonym
A different name proposed for the same species or subspecies. According to the rules of zoological nomenclature, the older name takes precedence, ie. must be used instead of the later name.

Syntype
Anyone of a series of skins collected in a locality from which the Type is collected.

Syrinx
The voice box of the bird; located at the lower end of the trachea.

Tail
Feathers extending from the rear of the bird and used for balance and as an asset to attract potential mates.

Supraloral line
A contrasting line between the eye and the bill.

Supraorbital ridge
Protruding bony 'eyebrow ridge' (especially in raptors and albatrosses).

Sympatric
Occurring together in the same area. (See also allopatric and parapatric).

Syndactyl
Toes 3 and 4 fused at the base, e.g. kingfishers and hornbills (three toes forward, one backwards). In the case of trogons, toes 3 and 4 are forward and fused at the base, and toes 1 and 2 face backwards. (See Zygodactyl).

Supra-
A prefix meaning 'above', e.g. supraloral lines are those above the lores.

Supercilliary Stripe/Line
Stripe immediately above the eye. Also called supercilium or eyebrow, it is the arch of feathers over the eye in the same approximate location as the human eye brow.

Superspecies
One of a group of very closely related Species with non-overlapping breeding ranges, e.g. as found in some vultures, swifts and batises. A term no longer used frequently.

Supercilium
'Eyebrow', or part of the head immediately above the eye; in many birds marked by a superciliary stripe. The arch of feathers over the eye.

Subtropical
Relating to areas adjacent to the tropics where summers are hot but winters are nontropical.

Subspecies
Morphologically and geographically defined populations or 'races' within a species. The different subspecies of a species interbreed where (and if) their ranges overlap and for this reason, in these areas of contact the distinctions between subspecies tend to lose distinctiveness (zones of intergradation).

Sub-terminal
Just short of the tip of a structure (usually refers to tail).

Subterminal band
The bands of contrasting colour located just before the tip of the tail.

Subsong
Loose, rambling, quiet song (especially of young birds), often bearing little similarity to full adult song.

Stoop
Form of aerial dive in which wings held almost fully closed (e.g. Peregrine Falcon).

Strandveld
Tall and dense shrubland along the southern and Western Cape coastline.

Striated (noun striations)
Streaked, i.e. usually dark marks aligned along a bird's long axis.

Subadult
Bird intermediate in age and plumage between immature and adult.

Submalar mark
Or submalar stripe; mark or line of contrastingly dark plumage between the malar and the throat feathers.

Stitch
(of foraging) To make multiple rapid probes - with bill (as in many waders).

Staging area
Place where large numbers of birds traditionally gather en route to breeding or sometimes wintering areas, where they feed and/or roost before continuing onward.

Spermatogenesis
The process of sperm formation.

Spish
To attract birds by making hissing noise between teeth. Birds attracted either out of curiosity or because noise resembles alarm call, signalling the presence of, e.g., snake or owl.

Spur
Sharp bony projection on the shoulder of the wing or the leg (rear of the tarsus).

Squamosal
Scale-like.

Staffelmauser (= wave moult)
(of flight feathers) With more than one generation of feathers present, because second (even third or fourth) wave of moult has started before previous wave(s) has/have finished.

Spectacle
The spectacle refers to the combination of the eye ring and supraloral line.

Spectacles
Informal term for a combination of contrastingly pigmented lores and eye rings, which resemble eyeglass frames.

Speculum
Iridescent, reflective dorsal patch on the secondaries of a duck's wing, best seen in flight; contrasts with the rest of the wing.

Species
The taxonomic rank below genus. A population of organisms that interbreed freely with one another, or are judged likely to interbreed freely with one another were they to be in geographical contact, but which do not normally interbreed with other species, and which usually also differ consistently in morphological or genetic features from other species.

Speciation
The process through which new species evolve from those in existence.

Spatulate
Shaped like a spoon or a spatula.

Single-brooded
Refers to birds that, after successfully rearing a first brood, do not attempt to nest again in the same season (see Double-brooded, Multi(ple)-brooded).

Site fidelity
Faithfulness to a particular site.

Soft parts
Unfeathered areas of the body - bill, eyes, legs, feet and any bare skin, wattles, etc.

Song
Vocalization used mostly by male birds to attract a mate or to define and defend a territory (compare

Shrubland
Vegetation dominated by short woody plants less than 2 m tall.

Siblicide
Killing of one chick by another to reduce competition for food (see Cainism).

Sibling species
Species that are very closely related to one another and have the same immediate ancestor (in some cases possibly to the extent that their recognition as distinct taxa is not warranted).

Side
The area between the belly, the wing and back, It is equivalent to the area between the human armpit and the hip bone.

Shoulder
The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the

Sexual dichromatism
Condition in which male and female of same species have markedly different plumages.

Sexual dimorphism
Where male and female of the same species differ in morphology, including size, shape, plumage pattern or colour, or sometimes a combination of these, e.g. Stonechat.

Shaft
The main stem (rachis) of any feather.

Shaft streak
A fine line of pale or dark colour in the plumage, produced by the feather shaft.

Serial polygyny
A polygamous breeding system in which one male mates with several females in succession.

Scree
Loose rock debris covering a slope.

Scrub
Dry habitat (also called

Secondaries
Inner long flight feathers of the wing attached to the ulna ('arm'), which together with the primaries form the remiges (flight feathers).

Secondary coverts
The feathers that cover and protect the secondaries.

Sedentary
Used to describe birds that are resident in the same place year-round.

Semi-precocial
Referring to chicks that hatch open-eyed, covered with down, and capable of leaving the nest soon, but which stay at the nest and are fed by parents (as in tern and gull chicks).

Savanna
Lightly wooded habitat with a grassy understorey, typically dominated by Acacia, Rhus, Commiphora and Euclea tree species. Informally referred to as 'bushveld'.

Scansorial
Adapted to or specialized for locomotion by climbing, especially on tree trunks.

Scapular
Feathers situated on the upperparts between the mantle and the wing coverts. Short feathers in the area where the bird

Roost
A place where a bird sleeps, sometimes in groups.

Ruff
A fringe of feather growth on the neck of a male bird used in courtship displays.

Rufous
Reddish-brown.

Rump
The area between the lower back and base of the tail.

Sahel
Semi-desert zone immediately south of the Sahara Desert.

Saltpan
Shallow basin in a desert region containing salt and gypsum deposited by an evaporated salt lake; also a flat area of dry or drying salt water that opens or once opened onto tidal water.

Riparian
Of or on river banks.

Rictus
Base of the bill where the mandibles join; gape, commissure.

Rictal bristles
Specialised stiff, whisker-like protrusions about the base of the bill, e.g. in nightjars.

Rhamphotheca
Keratinised outer layer of bill.

Resident
Usually non-migratory and present throughout the year.

Restio
Sedge-like plants in the family Restionaceae, which are components of fynbos.

Renosterveld
Dwarf shrubland associated with low-lying areas in the fynbos biome, usually dominated by renosterbos Elytropappus rhinocerotis.

Remiges
Refers to the flight feathers-primaries, secondaries, and tertials.

Remex
(pl. remiges)

Recurved
(of bill) Upcurved (e.g. as Pied Avocet and Terek Sandpiper).

Raptor
Birds with strongly hooked beaks and sharp talons for catching and tearing prey. Usually used with reference to the diurnal birds of prey (Falconiformes), but applies also to owls (Strigiformes). Generally hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls. These birds prey upon Mammals, smaller birds, and other animals. A bird of prey.

Rectrices
The principal feathers that make up the tail. They range in number from eight to twenty-four.

Rectrix (pl. rectrices)
Tail feather.

Proximal
Towards the body (e.g. carpal joint is proximal to wing tip) (see Distal).

Pupil
Contractile aperture in iris.

Race
Subspecies, a geographical population whose members all show constant differences (e.g. in plumage or size) from those of other populations of the same species.

Rachis
The central shaft of a feather.

Range
Geographic area typically occupied by a species.

Primary numbering
The primary numbering is a system developed to assign numbers to each primary feather for easier identification.

Primary projection
The extent to which folded primaries project beyond tertials.

Primary shaft
The stiff central axis of the primary feather, sometimes distinctly visible in flying birds if the feather color is contrastingly dark.

Proventriculus
Forepart of the stomach, between the oesophagus and the gizzard.

Preening
The process by which a bird cleans, arranges, and cares for its feathers, usually by using its bill to adjust and smooth feathers.