Species Hierarchy
Kingdom ANIMAL (ANIMALIA)
Phylum BACKBONED ANIMALS (CHORDATA)
Class BIRD (AVES)
Order BIRD - NIGHTJAR (CAPRIMULGIFORMES)
Family BIRD - FROGMOUTHS (PEDARGIDAE)
Common name: FROGMOUTH - TAWNY
Scentific name: PODARGUS STRIGOIDES

Species Info:

This lifeform is found in Australia. This lifeform is common in suitable environments.

Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is found in Australia and Tasmania. There are five races.  This bird is about 14 inches long.

Frogmouth Family (Podargidae) is a family of 12 species of birds found from Malaysia through Indonesia to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia. These birds are primarily insect feeders that watch from trees and then pounce on their prey. Although related to the nighthawks, the Frogmouths are poor fliers, and lead a different kind of life.

Nightjars and Goatsuckers (Order Caprimulgiformes) are an order of less than 100 species of birds that are found worldwide. Included in this order are the families of Oilbirds, Frogmouths, Potoos, Owlet-Nightjars, and Nightjars.

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago.  However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

 

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OWL - BARRED
STRIX VARIA
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STEATORNIS CARIPENSIS
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