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

Primaries
The long outer flight feathers of the wing, usually numbering ten in all, attached to the 'hand' and which together with the secondaries form the remiges (flight feathers).

Primary coverts
The primary coverts are shorter feathers that cover and protect the primary flight feathers.

Predation
When one animal kills another for food. The animal that is taken is the prey, and the animal doing the taking is the predator.

Polynya
Area of open water surrounded by sea ice.

Polytypic
Having two or more taxonomic divisions; usually applies to those species divisible into two or more subspecies. (See also Monotypic).

Population
The total number of individuals of a single species inhabiting a given area.

Post-orbital process
Small forward-pointing notch in skull behind eye.

Precocial
Describes young bird that is active from hatching and leaves nest soon afterwards (see Altricial).

Polymorphic
Having two (then called dimorphic) or more distinct colour morphs within a species, independent of age, sexual, seasonal or subspecific variation, e.g. Mountain Wheatear.

Polygyny
Breeding system in which one male mates with more than one female. Females usually undertake all parental care.

Polygamy (adj. polygamous)
A mating system in which an individual will have more than one sexual partner; polyandry and polygyny are specific variants of polygamy.

Pollex
Innermost digit of forelimb.

Polyandry (adj. polyandrous)
Simultaneous mating of one female with two or more males, e.g. jacanas.

Polychromatic
Haying many colour morphs.

Podotheca
Horny covering of unfeathered part of leg.

Plunge-dive
To dive on aquatic prey from the air.

Plumes
Large, conspicuous, showy, feathers.

Pipping
Stage at which chick first breaks through shell of egg.

Piscivorous
Fish-eating birds. The Osprey is piscivorous.

Pishing
Giving vocal imitations of parid calls (that sound a bit like steam escaping in quick bursts) to attract woodland birds.

Plumage
The feathers that cover a bird's body.

Plume
A long, showy display feather, e.g. in nesting egrets.

Phenology
The study of patterns of events in nature, especially in the weather and in the behaviour of plants and animals.

Phenotype
Observable physical properties of an organism.

Phylogeny
The patterns of evolutionary history and inter-relationships of a group of taxa, usually depicted in a tree-like diagram ('evolutionary tree').

Pinnae
Elongated feathers projecting from the upper body area, generally the neck or head.

Permanent Resident
A species of bird that does not migrate and so spends the entire year in the same region.

Pelagic
Oceanic, living far from land except when nesting, e.g. albatrosses.

Peripheral vision
Having eyes located more on the side of the head, which increases visibility to the side and behind. Most prey animals have peripheral vision.

Pectoral patch
A well-defined dark area of plumage on either side of the breast, e.g. Red-capped Lark.

Peck Order
The rank of the several members of a social hierarchy; arrangement according to dominance.

Pectinate
Comb-like; bearing numerous tooth-like projections as in the middle claw of nightjars.

Pause-travel technique
Foraging technique whereby bird walks forward, then pauses to search for prey (e.g. plovers).

Patagial mark or patch
Dark patch on leading edge of underside of inner wing.

Patagium
Expandable membranous fold of skin between body and leading edge of wing.

Passerines (Passeriformes)
The largest and most recently evolved order of birds; includes the 'songbirds' that are characterised by a complex syrinx (voice-box) or 'perching birds' that have feet adapted for perching, with three toes facing forward and one facing backward (anisodactyl). In the current Southern African order, all the birds from the broadbills and pittas onwards.

Passage migrant
Birds passing through on migration from one point to another, but not stopping over, or only stopping briefly.

Passage
(in reference to migration) The active movement of migrating birds, often in large numbers.

Partial migrant
A term applied to a species in which only part of the population migrates annually.

Partial albinism
Most common form of albinism, in which colour pigments are lacking in parts of plumage and/or soft parts, producing patchy appearance.

Parapatric
(applied to two or more species) Having ranges that abut, but do not overlap.

Paratype
A specimen forming part of the original series collected in a locality from which a single specimen, or holotype, has been selected as the type of a species; may be collected at any time subsequent to the description of the species.

Pamprodactyl
Foot arrangement with all four toes directed forwards (e.g. swifts); toe 1 sometimes reversible (e.g. mousebirds).

Palearctic
The zoogeographical region which includes Europe, North Africa and northern Asia east to eastern Siberia.

Ossuary
Accumulation of bones and fur that may surround nest of some ground-nesting owls. Also open rocky area on which bones are dropped by Bearded Vultures.

Outer primaries
The outer primaries are the primary feathers on the wing farthest from the body. They often appear to be the longest feathers on the wing.

Outer secondaries
The outer secondaries are the secondary feathers of the wing furthest away from the body.

Outer tail feathers
The tail feathers farthest from the centre.

Outer wing
The alula and the primary feathers.

Orbital ring
Ring of often brightly coloured bare skin encircling the eye.

Ornithologist
Scientist who studies birds.

Ortstreue
Fidelity to non-breeding site.

Oscines
Collective term for a suborder (Passeri) of the songbirds (passerines); (see also Suboscines).

Omentum (pl. omenta)
Fold in dorsal portion of membrane lining abdominal cavity.

Omnivorous
Eating both plant and animal foods of many kinds, eating anything that is considered digestible/edible. Crows are a common example.

Operculum
The smooth and featherless patch of skin located where the beak attaches to the forehead of certain birds. It is often enlarged and brightly coloured such as one can observe in pigeons, parrots and birds of prey. It is also called the cere.

Old World
The part of the world that was known to Europeans before Columbus' discovery of the Americas; Europe, Asia and Africa.

Oligotrophic
Low in nutrients, with low productivity.

Offshore waters
Open ocean waters, rather than nearshore waters; also called

Occiput
Rear portion of crown; hindhead.

Ocelli
Eye-like spots of iridescent colour eg. the Emerald-spotted Wod-Dove.

Nuchal crest
Crest positioned on the nape, e.g. Cuckoo Hawk.

Occipital plumes
The breeding or ornamental feathers (plumes) originating from the crown/nape of egrets.

Nuchal collar
A collar across the hind neck, e.g. as seen on Cape Turtle Dove (Ring necked Dove).

Nomadic
Of variable, often erratic movement with regard to time and area.

Nominate subspecies (race)
The original (first) taxon of a polytypic species to be described, in which the sub specific name mirrors the species name, e.g. Passer domesticus domesticus for the nominate subspecies of House Sparrow.

Non-native Species
Birds that have introduced or have been released from or have escaped captivity, eg. The Common (Indian) Mynah.

Non-passerine
All orders other than Passeriformes.

Nostril
The nostrils are the two small openings on the top of the bill; External naris.

Nomad
A species with no fixed territory, that wanders widely when not breeding, e.g. Lark-like Bunting.

Nictitating membrane
The third eyelid of the bird that can be closed for protection. It has its own moisturizing system similar to tear ducts.

Nidicolous
Describes a young bird that remains in nest after hatching (see Altricial).

Nidifugous
Describes a young bird that leaves the nest immediately after hatching (the term semi-nidifugous refers to those that leave within a few days) (see Precocial).

Nocturnal
Used to describe birds that are active at night. Most owls are nocturnal.

Neossoptile
The first of two down plumages of nestling.

Nestling
A young bird not yet ready to leave nest.

Nest-stained
Refers to eggs, especially of waterbirds, that become stained by damp plant material used for building nest.

New World
The Americas; the western hemisphere.

Niche
The role a bird plays in the ecosystem, including what it eats and where it lives (habitat).

Natal philopatry
Return to natal area to breed.

Nearctic
Zoogeographic region covering North America, Canada and Greenland (Iceland IS linked to Palearctic).

Near-endemic
Species whose range extends only marginally outside southern Africa.

Neck
The neck connects the head to the body of the bird.

Neck patch
A sac located on the neck that is inflatable and is only visible in males during courtship displays.

Nectivorous
Birds that feed largely on the nectar of flowers or the juices of fruit, such as hummingbirds.

Nail
Distinct horny plate at the end of the maxilla or mandible, most pronounced and obvious in larger tubenoses (in the order Procellariiformes).

Nape
Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

Nasal canthus
Anterior corner of eye.

Nasal fossa
The depression in which the bird

Msasa
A common tree in miombo woodland; Brachystegia spiciformis.

Mudflat
Area of mud along rivers, lakes, or other water bodies usually exposed by receding tides or by drought; often important habitat for foraging shorebirds and waterbirds.

Multi(ple)-brooded
Laying more than two clutches in one breeding season after successfully rearing earlier broods.

Myiasis
Infestation with dipteran larvae (e.g. maggots).

Mouth spot
Spot (usually several) that forms part of characteristic pattern inside mouths of nestlings.

Moustache/Mustache
Also called a malar streak, stripe or whisker it is the contrasting colour on each side of the chin down through the throat area.

Moustachial crescent
Distinct area of dark plumage forming a curve along the lower border of the auriculars above the malar and somewhat resembling a mustache (as in Prairie Warbler).

Mouth
The mouth is similar in function to the human mouth and refers to the cavity bounded by the bill.

Moult
The process of shedding old feathers and replacing them with new ones.

Morphology
Size and shape of external features, e.g. plumage, bill, etc.

Morph
A distinct plumage type that occurs alongside one or more other distinct plumage types exhibited by the same species.