Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The rockfowl begins to incubate after both eggs are laid

The rockfowl begins to incubate after both eggs are laid.[19] The time the rockfowl spends incubating varies greatly, though it is mostly for less than five minutes at a time with nearly two hours between sessions.[29] Both the male and female rockfowl incubate.[19] When the incubating bird's mate comes, it gives a brief call that causes the incubating bird to leave the nest.[29] Sony VPCY21S1E/P Battery In the two days prior to hatching, the adult rockfowl prods at the eggs, sometimes with food in its beak.[29] Incubation lasts for 21 to 24 days.[29] When the infants hatch, they hatch about a day apart.[29] The adult rockfowl quickly remove the eggshell fragments from the nest.[29] The newborn weighs only 12 grams (0.42 oz) after hatching, but it quickly gains weight.[29] Sony VPCY21S1E/SI Battery The eyes open and the tail begins to grow on the fifth day.[19] During the first couple of days, food is brought to the nestlings three to six times an hour, peaking in the evening.[21][28] Begging nestlings expose their beak and gape to their parent, though they do not make a sound.[28] The second-hatched nestling often fails to gain weight and dies, Sony VPCCW1E8R/WU Battery and there is evidence suggesting that the adults cannibalize the remains.[29] For the first ten days after hatching, one adult rockfowl stays and guards the nestlings while the other collects food; despite this, nests have been destroyed by chimpanzees and drills.[2][29] The chicks leave the nest after 24 days.[19] Sony VPCCW1S1E Battery

 Infanticide has been recorded in this species, with rockfowl killing other rockfowl's young.[31] In one case, a second pair of rockfowl moved onto a nest after killing the first pair's nestlings.

In Cameroon, the Grey-necked Rockfowl is respected by the indigenous peoples and, in some cases, even feared.[2] Sony VAIO PCG-5S1M Battery It is known by many names to the indigenous peoples of Nigeria, with most of the translating to "bird of the rocks" or "fowl of the stream".[32] Hunters sheltering in the rockfowl's nesting caves have been known to kill and eat adult rockfowl, though it is generally thought to be too small to eat and is left for children to hunt.[29][32] Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1M Battery In the 1950s and 1960s, western zoos desired this species, leading to a large demand to collect the rockfowl for display.[33] British conservationist and author Gerald Durrell made this species a target on two of his trips to Cameroon, which he describes in The Bafut Beagles and A Zoo in My Luggage.[5] Sony VAIO PCG-7171M Battery The trade of this species is non-existent today, and, as the zoo population did not sustain itself despite sporadic breeding, the last captive rockfowl died at the Frankfurt Zoo in 2009.[25][33] The Grey-necked Rockfowl has been depicted on numerous postage stamps from Cameroon and Nigeria, as well as stamps from Benin and Togo, where it does not live.[3Sony VAIO PCG-7186M Battery

4]It is considered one of the most difficult species of bird to see in the wild.[11] The Grey-necked Rockfowl is a symbol for both conservation and ecotourism efforts in its range.[33] This species is considered one of the five most desirable birds in Africa by ornithologists.

The Grey-necked Rockfowl is considered to be Vulnerable due to habitat destruction, Sony VAIO PCG-81112M Battery its isolated populations, collection of adults, predation, and a low breeding success rate.[2] Its habitat is being destroyed to create large agricultural fields and cocoa plantations, as well as for logging and slash-and-burn agriculture.[20] Due to the highly specialized requirements for its habitat, its population is very fragmented, and the species is believed to be naturally rare.[28] Sony VAIO PCG-31111M Battery Competition for its nesting sites is a result of these strict requirements and can lead to infanticide.[21] Its estimated population is between 2,500 and 10,000 individuals, though it is believed that the population is at the lower end of the estimate.[20] However, due to the inaccessibility of some parts of its range, it is also possible that this species is more common than believed.[33] Sony VAIO PCG-31311M Battery The population of some of these colonies is reaching the minimum levels needed for long-term viability.[2] It also falls victim to spring traps set for mammals by hunters.[20] However, a more serious threat to its numbers was the widespread collection of rockfowl for display in zoos in the 1950s and 1960s.[33] Sony VAIO PCG-8152M Battery

There is a risk that it will be negatively affected by ecotourism due to disturbances in its daily routine if proper viewing procedures are not followed.[20]

Cameroon is the only nation with a national law protecting this species.[2] This law prohibits killing the rockfowl, though it can be captured with a proper permit.[20] Sony VAIO PCG-61111M Battery International trading of the Grey-necked Rockfowl is governed under CITESAppendix I, meaning that legal trading of this species is only authorized in extraordinary circumstances.[33] In 2006 BirdLife International drafted an international action plan to provide strategies for protecting this species.[2] Sony PCG-71213M Battery

This plan focused on surveying the remaining habitat, raising awareness amongst the local populace, and limiting the continued destruction of its habitat.[2]

This rockfowl is protected in some of the areas in which it lives by national parks.[2] Additionally, there seems to be little habitat destruction in Gabon and on Bioko as the locations in these places in which the rockfowl lives is believed to be too inaccessible for future human development.[20] Sony PCG-71311M Battery

Recent surveys have also discovered new populations of the Grey-necked Rockfowl.

Geneva (/dʒɨˈniːvə/; French: Genève, IPA: [ʒə.nɛv]; Arpitan: Genèva, IPA: [dzəˈnɛva] and German: Genf; IPA: [gɛnf][3]) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zurich) and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Sony PCG-71312M Battery Situated where the Rhone exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The municipality (ville de Genève) has a population (as of March 2013) of 194,245, and the canton (République et Canton de Genève, which includes the city) has 472,530 residents.[1] In 2007, the urban area, or agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise (Great Geneva or Grand Genève in French) Sony PCG-71212M Battery

had 1,240,000[4] inhabitants in 189 municipalities in both Switzerland and France.[5]

Geneva is a global city, a financial centre, and worldwide centre for diplomacy and the most important UNinternational co-operation centre with New York thanks to the presence of numerous international organizations, Sony VAIO PCG-5J4M Battery including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations[6] and the Red Cross.[7] Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organisations in the world[8]. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war. Sony VAIO PCG-5K1M Battery Geneva was ranked as the world's ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt, and third in Europe after London and Zurich.[9] A 2009 survey by Mercer found Geneva to have the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world (behind Vienna and Zurich for expatriate people; Sony VAIO PCG-5K2M Battery

it is narrowly outranked by Zurich).[10] The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis and the "Peace Capital".[11] In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the fourth and fifth most expensive city in the world.

The name Geneva is probably of Celtic origin. Sony VAIO PCG-5J5M Battery The city was mentioned in Latin texts with the spelling Genava. The name takes various forms in modern languages. Thus, it is Geneva /dʒɨˈniːvə/ in English and, French: Genève [ʒ(ə)nɛv],[13] German: Genf [ˈɡɛnf] (  listen), Italian: Ginevra [dʒiˈneːvra], and Romansh: Genevra. Another theory is that Geneva is derived from "Genévrier" which is the French word for "juniper".Sony VAIO PCG-5L2M Battery

There is occasional confusion between Geneva and the Italian port of Genoa (in Italian Genova) as they seem to share a Celtic root, genu / genawa, meaning "estuary".

Geneva was a border town, fortified against the Celtic tribe Helvetii, when the Romans took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop at this time. Sony VAIO PCG-6S4M Battery In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, when it was granted a charter giving it a high degree of self-governance. Around this time the House of Savoy came to (at least nominally) dominate the city. In the 15th century, an oligarchic republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In the first half of the 16th century, Sony VAIO PCG-6W1M Battery the Protestant Reformationreached the city, causing religious strife during which Savoy rule was thrown off and Geneva flirted with joining the Swiss Federation. In 1536, with Protestantism in the ascendancy, John Calvin, the founder of Calvinism, became the spiritual leader of the city. By the 18th century, however, Sony VAIO PCG-6W2M Battery Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city elite, who tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk – to the point that an abortive revolution took place in 1782. In 1798, revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1815, Geneva was admitted to the Swiss Confederation. Sony VAIO PCG-7Z1M Battery

In 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of many international organizations.

The City Council (Conseil administratif) constitutes the executive government of the City of Geneva and operates as acollegiate authority. It is composed of five councilors, each presiding over a department. Sony VAIO PCG-8Y2M Battery The president of the executive department acts as mayor. City president in 2012 is Rémy Pagani. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the City Parliament are carried by the City Council. The election of the City Council is held every four years. The executive body holds its meetings in the Palais Eynard, near the Parc des Bastions. Sony VAIO PCG-8Y3M Battery

The building was built between 1817 and 1821 in Neoclassical style.

The City Parliament (Conseil municipal) holds legislative power. It is made up of 80 members, with elections held every four years. The City Parliament decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the City Council and the administration. Sony VAIO PCG-8Z1M Battery The sessions of the City Parliament are public. Unlike members of the City Council, members of the City Parliament are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Geneva allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Parliament. The Parliament holds its meetings in the Town Hall (Hôtel de Ville), in the old city.[15] Sony VAIO PCG-8Z2M Battery

In 2010 Geneva City Council was made up of two representatives of the SDP (Social Democratic Party, one of whom is the mayor), one member of the FDP (Free Democratic Party), one member of the Green Party and one member of the À gauche Toute party.

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 21.4% of the vote. Sony VAIO PCG-8Z3M Battery

The next three most popular parties were the SVP (19.92%), theGreen Party (17.96%) and the LPS Party (13.43%). In the federal election, a total of 39,413 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 46.8%.[17]

In the 2009 Grand Conseil election, there were 83,167 registered voters of which 32,825 (39.5%)  voted. Sony VAIO PCG-7112M Battery The most popular party in the municipality was the Les Verts with 15.8% of the ballots. In the canton-wide election they received the second highest proportion of votes. The second most popular party was the Libéral(with 14.1%). They were first in the canton-wide election, while the third most popular party was the Les Socialistes (with 13.8%), fourth in the canton-wide election.[18] Sony VGP-BPL15/B Battery

For the 2009 Conseil d'État election, there were 83,103 registered voters of which 38,325 (46.1%) voted.[18]

In 2011, all the municipalities held local elections, and in Geneva there were 80 spots open on the municipal council. There were 117,051 registered voters of which 41,766 (35.7%) voted. Out of the 41,766 votes, Sony VGP-BPS15/B Battery

there were 224 blank votes, 440 null or unreadable votes and 1,774 votes with a name that was not on the list.

Geneva is located at 46°12' North, 6°09' East, at the south-western end of Lake Geneva, where the lake flows back into theRhône River. It is surrounded by two mountain chains, the Alps and the Jura. Sony VGP-BPL15/S Battery The city has an area of 15.93 km2 (6.2 sq mi), while the area of the canton is 282 km2(108.9 sq mi), including the two small enclaves of Céligny in Vaud. The part of the lake that is attached to Geneva has an area of 38 km2 (14.7 sq mi) and is sometimes referred to as Petit lac (small lake). The canton has only a 4.5 km (2.8 mi) long border with the rest of Switzerland. Sony VGP-BPS15/S Battery

Of 107.5 km (66.8 mi) of border, 103 are shared with France, the Départment de l'Ain to the north and the Département de la Haute-Savoie to the south.

Of the land in the city, 0.24 km2 (0.093 sq mi) or 1.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi) or 3.1% is forested. Sony VGP-BPS15 Battery

Of the rest of the land, 14.63 km2(5.65 sq mi) or 91.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.49 km2 (0.19 sq mi) or 3.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.1% is unproductive land.[19]

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.4% of the area while housing and buildings made up 46.2% and transportation infrastructure 25.8%, while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 15.7%. Sony VGP-BPL15 Battery

All the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 0.3% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 2.9% is in rivers and streams.

The altitude of Geneva is 373.6 metres (1,225.7 ft), and corresponds to the altitude of the largest of the Pierres du Niton, two large rocks emerging from the lake which date from the last ice age. Sony VGN-P series Battery Sony VGN-P11Z/Q Battery

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