Lapwing (Birds).

Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are collectively calledlapwings but also contain the ancient Red-kneed Dotterel. A lapwing can be thought of as a larger plover.

The traditional terms "plover", "lapwing" and "dotterel" were coined long before modern understandings of the relationships between different groups of birds emerged: in consequence, several of the Vanellinae are still often called "plovers", and the reverse also applies, albeit more rarely, to some Charadriinae(the "true" plovers and dotterels).

In Europe, "lapwing" often refers specifically to the Northern Lapwing, the only member of this group to occur in most of the continent.

Contents

• 1 Systematics
  • 1.1 Evolution
  • 1.2 List of species in taxonomic order
• 2 Footnotes
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Systematics

While authorities generally agree that there about 25 species of Vanellinae, classifications within the subfamily remain confused. At one extreme, Peters recognised no less than 20 different genera for the birds listed in 2 genera here; other workers have gone so far as to group all the "true" lapwings (except the Red-kneed Dotterel) into the single genus Vanellus. Current consensus favors a more moderate position, but it is unclear which genera to split. The Handbook of Birds of the World provisionally lumps all Vanellinae into Vanellus except the Red-kneed Dotterel, which is in themonotypic Erythrogonys. Its plesiomorphic habitus resembles that of plovers, but details like the missing hallux (hind toe) are like those of lapwings: it is still not entirely clear whether it is better considered the basalmost plover or lapwing.

Many coloration details of the Red-kneed Dotterel also occur here and there among the living members of the main lapwing clade. Its position as the mostbasal of the living Vanellinae or just immediately outside it thus means that their last common ancestor - or even the last common ancestor of plovers and lapwings - almost certainly was a plover-sized bird with a black crown and breast-band, a white feather patch at the wrist, no hallux, and a lipochromic(probably red) bill with a black tip. Its legs were most likely black or the color of the bill's base.

1.1 Evolution

The fossil record of the Vanellinae is scant and mostly recent in origin; no Neogene lapwings seem to be known. On the other hand, it appears as if early in their evolutionary history the plovers, lapwings and dotterels must have been almost one and the same, and they are hard to distinguishosteologically even today. Thus, since the Red-kneed Dotterel is so distinct that it might arguably be considered a monotypic subfamily, reliably dating its divergence from a selection of true lapwings and plovers would also give a good idea of charadriid wader evolution altogether.

A mid-Oligocene - c.28 mya (million years ago) - fossil from Rupelmonde in Belgium has been assigned to Vanellus, but even if the genus were broadly defined, it is entirely unclear if the placement is correct. Its age ties in with the appearance of the first seemingly distinct Charadriinae at about the same time, and with the presence of more basal Charadriidae a few million years earlier. However, the assignment of fragmentary fossils to Charadriinae or Vanellinae is not easy. Thus, it is very likely that the charadriid waders originate around the Eocene-Oligocene boundary - roughly 40-30 mya - but nothing more can be said at present. If the Belgian fossil is not a true lapwing, there are actually no Vanellinae fossils known before the Quaternary.

The Early Oligocene fossil Dolicopterus from Ronzon (France) may be such an ancestral member of the Charadriidae or even the Vanellinae, but it has not been studied in recent decades and is in dire need of review.

Apart from the prehistoric Vanellus, the extinct lapwing genus Viator has been described from fossils. Its remains were found in the tar pits of Talara in Peru and it lived in the Late Pleistocene. Little is known of this rather large lapwing; it may actually belong in Vanellus.

Interestingly, the remaining Charadrii are highset and/or chunky birds, even decidedly larger than a lot of the scolopacid waders. The evolutionary trend regarding the Charadriidae - which make up most of the diversity of the Charadrii - thus runs contrary to Cope's Rule.

1.2 List of species in taxonomic order

Genus Vanellus

• Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
• White-headed Plover, Vanellus albiceps
• Southern Lapwing, Vanellus chilensis
• Grey-headed Lapwing, Vanellus cinereus
• Crowned Lapwing, Vanellus coronatus
• Long-toed Lapwing, Vanellus crassirostris
• River Lapwing or Spur-winged Lapwing, Vanellus duvaucelii
• Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
• Masked Lapwing, Vanellus miles
• Spur-winged Lapwing or Spur-winged Plover, Vanellus spinosus
• Banded Lapwing, Vanellus tricolor
• Blacksmith Lapwing, Vanellus armatus
• Black-headed Lapwing, Vanellus tectus
• Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus malabaricus
• Senegal Lapwing, Vanellus lugubris
• Black-winged Lapwing, Vanellus melanopterus
• African Wattled Lapwing, Vanellus senegallus
• Spot-breasted Lapwing, Vanellus melanocephalus
• Brown-chested Lapwing, Vanellus superciliosus
• Javanese Wattled Lapwing, Vanellus macropterus
• Sociable Lapwing, Vanellus gregarius
• White-tailed Lapwing, Vanellus leucurus
• Pied Lapwing, Vanellus cayanus
• Andean Lapwing, Vanellus resplendens

Genus Erythrogonys

• Red-kneed Dotterel, Erythrogonys cinctus

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapwing#List_of_species_in_taxonomic_order

External links

• Lapwing videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Lapwing Hatchlings video From Gallery of Living Nature.

Birds Beyond Our Borders....

As spring approaches, millions of birds will wing their way back to North America. Red Knots near Tierra del Fuego will make a remarkable journey to the arctic tundra. Swainson’s Hawks leave their winter homes in Argentina, flying north for up to 22,500 kilometres. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have already begun to make landfall after crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

From disappearing marshlands and unregulated hunting, to pesticides and pollution along major flyways, migrating birds face an arduous journey in search of healthy habitat. In 2007, Audubon (BirdLife Partner) issued a report revealing an alarming decline in America’s best known birds. More than one third of all Neotropical species are in decline. The good news is a visionary act that triples every dollar taxpayers invest. Since its passage in 2000, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act has helped protect more than 1.2 million hectares of vital bird habitat. For our country’s investment of $35 million dollars, it has leveraged $150 million more in private funding.

“The results can be seen across our hemisphere”, said Audubon President David Yarnold. “More than 300 conservation projects were brought to life by this act. I was fortunate to see this for myself last fall, meeting with our Partners Pronatura in Mexico, where a dozen ranchers set aside more than 1,200 hectares of forestlands in a narrow corridor essential for the annual migration of raptors.”

Yarnold joined Ambassadors from Brazil, Panama, the Bahamas and Dominican Republic among others, plus co-host Jeff Trandahl, Executive Director, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, at a special celebration to mark the tenth anniversary of the initiative.

“This innovative public-private partnership energizes local, on-the-ground conservation and habitat restoration initiatives throughout the Western hemisphere”, said Glenn Olson, Audubon’s Donal O’Brien Chair in Bird Conservation. “It is pivotal to Audubon’s Important Bird Area programme, which aims to protect 150 million hectares of essential sites for breeding, migrating and wintering along the flyways in the US and frames our work with BirdLife International and other partners in Latin America.”

Other leaders slated to attend the March 10 evening event at the Hall of the Americas include Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Inzula; leaders from the Department of Interior, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the Inter-American Development Bank, plus Audubon’s Director of Bird Conservation, Dr Greg Butcher, and Mike Daulton, Audubon’s Vice President of Government Relations.

“Congress has the opportunity to use this Act to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in private funds, which is a great deal for the American taxpayer,” Daulton said. “Birds also provide a return on our investment by helping the US economy in many ways. They contribute as pollinators, help control insects and rodents, and disperse seeds. They also attract birdwatchers, who spend on binoculars, cameras, books, mobile apps and ecotourism.”

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, bird watching and other wildlife-related recreation generates $122 billion in spending every year. Their surveys also suggest that one in five Americans watches birds. Many species of migrants also have significant cultural value such as swallows as harbingers of spring.

Ice sculpture

Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because of their limited lifetime.

The lifetime of a sculpture is determined primarily by the temperature of its environment and thus, a sculpture can last from mere minutes to possibly months. There are several ice festivals held around the world, hosting competitions of ice sculpture carving.

Raw Material

Sculpting ice presents a number of difficulties due to the variability and volatility of the material. Ice may be sculpted in a wide range of temperatures and the characteristics of the ice will change according to its temperature as well as the surrounding temperatures. Sculptures are generally carved from blocks of ice and these blocks must be carefully selected to be suitable for the sculptor's purposes and should be free of undesired impurities. Typically, ideal carving ice is made from pure, clean water. However, clear, transparent ice is a result of the freezing process and not necessarily related to the purity of the water. Clear ice blocks are usually the result of slow freezing from one direction, often with circulation of the water that allows impurities to escape. The water molecules are allowed to line up into the typical crystal lattice while impurities remain in the unfrozen water. Certain machines and processes allow for slow freezing and the removal of impurities and therefore are able to produce the clear blocks of ice that are favored by ice carvers. However, not all blocks that are carved are clear ice. White ice blocks look like snow and are sometimes carved. Colored ice blocks are produced by adding dyes to the ice and can be carved as well. In some instances, clear ice and colored ice are combined to create a desired effect.

There are various sizes of ice blocks that are produced artificially. Naturally made blocks can be cut to almost any size from frozen rivers or from "ice quarries," which are essentially lakes or ponds that have frozen over. Large ice blocks must be moved by heavy machinery and are used for large ice sculpting events or as part of an ice hotel.

Techniques

The temperature of the environment affects how quickly the piece must be completed to avoid the effects of melting; if the sculpting does not take place in a cold environment, then the sculptor must work quickly to finish his piece. Some sculptures can be completed in as little as ten minutes if the carver is using power tools such as chainsaws and specialty bits fitted to a die grinder.

Ice sculptors also use razor-sharp chisels and hand saws that are specifically designed for cutting ice.

As various technologies are adapted for use with ice carving, many sculptures are now created largely by machine. CNC machines and molding systems are now commonly used to create ice sculptures and complicated logos from ice. Color effects are also possible by a number of techniques, including the addition of colored gels or sand to the ice.

This art form is traditionally taught in culinary schools using text books such as Ice Sculpting the Modern Way, Joseph Amendola's Ice Carving Made Easy and Mac Winker's Ice Sculpture: The Art of Ice Carving in 12 Systematic Steps. There are also small schools that teach ice carving.

Uses

Ice sculptures feature decoratively in some cuisines and may be used to enhance the presentation of foods, especially cold foods such as seafood or sorbets. The story of the creation of the dish Peach Melba recounts that Chef Auguste Escoffier used an ice swan to present the dish.[1] At holiday buffets and Sunday brunches some large restaurants and hotels will use ice sculptures to decorate the buffet tables. Cruise ship buffets are also famous for their use of ice sculptures.

Ice sculptures are often used at wedding receptions, usually as some form of decoration. Popular subjects for ice sculptures at weddings are hearts, doves, and swans. Swans have a reputation for monogamy, partly accounting for their popularity.

Ice sculptures may be used at a bar, in the form of an ice luge, or even the entire bar may be made of ice.

Ice sculpture around the world

There are a number of international ice and snow sculpting events around the world. The largest events are, understandably, held in countries with cold winters. Due to land distribution and population densities in the higher latitudes, large ice sculpture events are almost exclusively held in the Northern Hemisphere. A number of countries, some listed below, have established traditions of ice sculpting and have made contributions to the art. Ice artists from these countries regularly appear at international ice sculpture events.

Canada

In Canada, Quebec City, Quebec holds an ice sculpture festival each year during the Quebec City Winter Carnival. The sculpture festival lasts about three weeks. For the sheer variety of ice sculptures and the number of visitors, the Quebec festival is regarded by some as the best in the world. Each year, about twenty teams are chosen to participate in the competition. Half of these teams come from Canada and the others come from other countries. Ice sculpting started to become important in Quebec in the 1880s, as traditional sculptors, like Louis Jobin, turned their skills on this less permanent medium.

Each year Lake Louise, located in Banff National Park, holds a three day event called Ice Magic in the 3rd weekend of January. Sanctioned by the National Ice Carving Association, Professional carvers are invited to compete in this event staged in the shadow of the glacier-clad Mt. Victoria. Twelve teams of three carvers are given 15 blocks of ice, weighing 300 lb each, which they must transform into ice sculptures in three days. Weather permitting; the sculptures will remain on display through March.

In the National Capital Region of Canada the Crystal Garden international invitational ice-carving competition starts every February, as part of the Winterlude winter festival of Ottawa. The competition site has been located in Confederation Park in Ottawa and also on the shores of Leamy lake in Gatineau, across the Ottawa River. There is a solo category, a pairs category and a one-bloc challenge. In addition to the sculptures done in the competition many ice sculptures are made to decorate the many Winterlude sites.

In Kingston, Ontario, the annual FebFest snow sculpture competition in Confederation Park in features snow forts by Royal Military College of Canada and Queens University. The snow fort must not only be pleasing to look at but also safe for children to play on. In 2008, Royal Military College of Canada's snow fort was modelled after the MacKenzie Building in the Second EmpireMansard roof and a central tower incorporating a working clock, flanked by projecting end towers and a slide. Both teams worked through the night, filling rectangular recycling bins with snow. In addition, ice sculptures of hockey players were made in memory of the first hockey game between Royal Military College of Canada and Queens University.

About 10 km East of Quebec city, near Montmorency Falls and within the grounds of the Duchesnay winter resort the first Ice hotel in North America is erected each January. Small and medium sized ice sculptures are used to decorate the interiors.

China

In China, Heilongjiang Province is the most significant region for ice sculpture. The most famous event is the increasingly popular International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival held annually in Harbin. The festival has consistently increased in size over the years, with more talented artists involved and more impressive techniques and pieces on show. Ice sculpture decoration ranges from the modern technology of lasers to traditional ice lanterns. The climate of Heilongjiang is very cold and ice is plentiful. Objects of all sizes appear, up to and including building-sized pieces.

France

French Chef Auguste Escoffier was responsible for one of the most famous early ice sculptures and French sculptors are regular participants at the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Ireland

Not traditionally known for Ice sculpture, Ireland has produced some well respected sculptors, winning The International Ice Sculpture Festival in Jelgava, Latvia, in years past. See also Duthain Dealbh.

Japan

The Japanese city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaidō is famous for its winter carnival, in which teams compete to create ice sculptures. Some of these creations are the size of multiple-story buildings. Japanese sculptors have made many contributions to the art. Notable Japanese ice sculptors include Yukio Matsuo, author of "Ice Sculpture: Secrets of a Japanese Master," Mitsuo Shimizu, author of several Japanese books on ice sculpture, and Junichi Nakamura, winner of multiple world ice sculpting titles. Ice sculpture has been popular in Japan since the 1930's and an early advocate and teacher in the country was Shuko Kobayashi, the first chairman of the Japan Ice Sculpture Association.

Philippines

Most of the Filipino ice sculptors working abroad (Hotel & Luxury Cruises) came from Paete, Laguna, a small town approximately 100 km. east of Manila. The name Paete came from the word "paet", which means "chisel". Paete was declared by Philippine President Arroyo as "The Carving Capital of the Philippines" as their speciality andmain source of income is woodcarving. Yearly, Paetenians are having Ice Carving Competition every last week of July, one way to celebrate their town Fiesta. About 50 young natives of this town have been participating each year.

Russia

An annual competition is held at Moscow's Gorky Park, Perm Gorky Park, in Salekhard and other cities. Several Russian ice sculptors have won events at the World Ice Art Championships, including Vladimir Zhikhartsev, Sergei Loginov, and Vitaliy Lednev

Sweden

Each winter since 1991, an ice hotel has been reconstructed in the village of Jukkasjärvi. ICEHOTEL, as it is known, is the oldest and most popular of a number of ice hotels that have since been constructed in a number of countries. ICEHOTEL is constructed almost entirely of ice and snow and each of the guest rooms feature different themes and elaborate ice and snow carving.

Belgium

Ice sculptures were displayed at the Ice Sculpture Festival on November 28, 2010 in Brugge, Belgium. More than 300,000 kilograms of ice are shipped in for sculptors to work on in the special tents and it runs until January 16, 2011.

United States

Since 1989, Alaska has hosted the annual World Ice Art Championships. Nearly 100 sculptors come from around the world each year to sculpt large blocks of pristine natural ice sometimes referred to as "Arctic Diamonds." The event is run almost exclusively by volunteers.

In a typical year, more than 45,000 spectators pass through the gates of the Ice Park home of the World Ice Art Championships. The competition is broken down into two main categories: Single Block and Multi-Block and each competition is further separated into Abstract and Realistic sculptures. One of the most popular attractions is the Kids Park where children of all ages can glide down ice slides or spin in ice twirly tops.

Typically held the last week of February and the first week of March, spectators may view the sculptors at work during the championship competitions. In the Single Block Classic, teams of up to two persons work on a 3'×5'×8' (90 cm × 150 cm × 200 cm) block of naturally formed Alaskan ice, weighing roughly 7,800 pounds (3,500 kg). In the Multi-Block Classic, teams of up to four persons each receive ten blocks of approximately 6'×4'×3' (180 cm × 100 cm × 90 cm) each weighing about 4,400 pounds (2,000 kg). to create their crystal masterpieces. Teams that compete in both the Single Block and Multi-Block events must handle a total of 50,000 pounds (23 t) of ice. Power tools and scaffolding can be used in both events: assistance from heavy equipment is only permitted in the Multi-Block Classic Competition. Thus, participation in the event requires strength, endurance, and engineering skill as well as mastery of basic ice sculpture techniques and artistic vision.

The National Ice Carving Association (NICA), based in Oak Brook, Illinois (in the Chicago metro area) is an organization of ice carvers and those interested in ice carving. NICA sanctions and supports various ice sculpture competitions around the United States and in Canada and has held a yearly National Championship since 1991. The Association has developed a point system for judging the quality of ice sculptures created in timed competitions and certifies competition judges. NICA also was responsible for managing the ice carving competition held in conjunction with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and provided support for the 2006 event in Italy. In 2007, NICA started a "Tour of Champions" that rewards high scores over several competitions, usually including the National Championships.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_sculpture.

Ice sculpture...