Misplaced Pages

#711288

54-585: Céreste-en-Luberon ( French pronunciation: [seʁɛst ɑ̃ lyb(ə)ʁɔ̃; -lybeʁɔ̃] , literally Céreste in Luberon ; before 2024: Céreste ; Occitan : Ceirèsta ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France . It is known for its rich fossil beds in fine layers of "Calcaire de Campagne Calavon" limestone, which are now protected by the Parc naturel régional du Luberon and

108-405: A genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae . They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing. They have predominantly pale plumage, except for the brown and Peruvian pelicans . The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all pelicans become brightly coloured before

162-594: A complex communal courtship involving a group of males chasing a single female in the air, on land, or in the water while pointing, gaping, and thrusting their bills at each other. They can finish the process in a day. The tree-nesting species have a simpler process in which perched males advertise for females. The location of the breeding colony is constrained by the availability of an ample supply of fish to eat, although pelicans can use thermals to soar and commute for hundreds of kilometres daily to fetch food. The Australian pelican has two reproductive strategies depending on

216-615: A fish eater, the Australian pelican is also an eclectic and opportunistic scavenger and carnivore that forages in landfill sites, as well as taking carrion and "anything from insects and small crustaceans to ducks and small dogs". Food is not stored in a pelican's throat pouch, contrary to popular folklore. Pelicans may also eat birds. In southern Africa, eggs and chicks of the Cape cormorant are an important food source for great white pelicans. Several other bird species have been recorded in

270-579: A long history of cultural significance in mythology , and in Christian and heraldic iconography . The name comes from the Ancient Greek word pelekan (πελεκάν), which is itself derived from the word pelekys (πέλεκυς) meaning "axe". In classical times, the word was applied to both the pelican and the woodpecker. The genus Pelecanus was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae . He described

324-475: A massive influx of tourists during the warm season. It is a favourite destination for French high society and British and American visitors because of the pleasant and picturesque towns and villages, comfortable way of life, agricultural wealth, historical and cultural associations, as well as hiking trails. Samuel Beckett notably lived in Cave Bonelly, a vineyard near to Roussillon , during World War II . In

378-519: A phenomenon known as ground effect to reduce drag and increase lift . As the air flows between the wings and the water surface, it is compressed to a higher density and exerts a stronger upward force against the bird above. Hence, substantial energy is saved while flying. Adult pelicans rely on visual displays and behaviour to communicate, particularly using their wings and bills. Agonistic behaviour consists of thrusting and snapping at opponents with their bills, or lifting and waving their wings in

432-487: A similar technique is the Peruvian pelican, but its dives are typically from a lower height than the brown pelican. The Australian and American white pelicans may feed by low plunge-dives landing feet-first and then scooping up the prey with the beak, but they—as well as the remaining pelican species—primarily feed while swimming on the water. Aquatic prey is most commonly taken at or near the water surface. Although principally

486-420: A threatening manner. Adult pelicans grunt when at the colony, but are generally silent elsewhere or outside breeding season. Conversely, colonies are noisy, as chicks vocalise extensively. Pelicans are gregarious and nest colonially. Pairs are monogamous for a single season, but the pair bond extends only to the nesting area; mates are independent away from the nest. The ground-nesting (white) species have

540-412: A valid description. Fossil finds from North America have been meagre compared with Europe, which has a richer fossil record. Several Pelecanus species have been described from fossil material, including: Pelicans are very large birds with very long bills characterised by a downcurved hook at the end of the upper mandible, and the attachment of a huge gular pouch to the lower. The slender rami of

594-532: A varied taxonomic history. Tropicbirds , darters , cormorants, gannets, boobies, and frigatebirds, all traditional members of the order, have since been reclassified: tropicbirds into their own order, Phaethontiformes , and the remainder into the Suliformes. In their place, herons, ibises, spoonbills, the hamerkop, and the shoebill have now been transferred into the Pelecaniformes. Molecular evidence suggests that

SECTION 10

#1732863176712

648-436: A week, they are able to put their heads into their parents' pouches and feed themselves. Sometimes before, but especially after being fed the pelican chick may seem to "throw a tantrum" by loudly vocalizing and dragging itself around in a circle by one wing and leg, striking its head on the ground or anything nearby and the tantrums sometimes end in what looks like a seizure that results in the chick falling briefly unconscious;

702-461: A wingspan of as little as 1.83 m (6.0 ft). The largest is believed to be the Dalmatian, at up to 15 kg (33 lb) and 1.83 m (6.0 ft) in length, with a maximum wingspan of 3 m (9.8 ft). The Australian pelican's bill may grow up to 0.5 m (1.6 ft) long in large males, the longest of any bird. Pelicans have mainly light-coloured plumage, the exceptions being

756-463: Is darker than that of adults. Newly hatched chicks are naked and pink, darkening to grey or black after 4 to 14 days, then developing a covering of white or grey down . Anatomical dissections of two brown pelicans in 1939 showed that pelicans have a network of air sacs under their skin situated across the ventral surface including the throat, breast, and undersides of the wings, as well as having air sacs in their bones. The air sacs are connected to

810-541: Is highly variable. Pelicans live for 15 to 25 years in the wild, although one reached an age of 54 years in captivity. The diet of pelicans usually consists of fish, but occasionally amphibians , turtles, crustaceans , insects , birds, and mammals are also eaten. The size of the preferred prey fish varies depending on pelican species and location. For example, in Africa, the pink-backed pelican generally takes fish ranging in size from fry up to 400 g (0.9 lb) and

864-423: Is the case today). Pelicans swim well with their strong legs and their webbed feet. They rub the backs of their heads on their preen glands to pick up an oily secretion, which they transfer to their plumage to waterproof it. Holding their wings only loosely against their bodies, pelicans float with relatively little of their bodies below the water surface. They dissipate excess heat by gular flutter – rippling

918-421: The Luberon in southeastern France, and is remarkably similar to modern forms. Its beak is almost complete and is morphologically identical to that of present-day pelicans, showing that this advanced feeding apparatus was already in existence at the time. An Early Miocene fossil has been named Miopelecanus gracilis on the basis of certain features originally considered unique, but later thought to lie within

972-539: The Old World and spread into the Americas; this is reflected in the relationships within the genus as the eight species divide into Old World and New World lineages. This hypothesis is supported by fossil evidence from the oldest pelican taxa. Pelicans will frequent inland waterways but are most known for residing along maritime and coastal zones, where they feed principally on fish in their large throat pouches, diving into

1026-515: The Réserve naturelle géologique du Luberon . The river Calavon forms the commune's northern and northwestern borders. A Gallo-Roman period settlement was established in the quarter of today's Saint-Sauveur priory, possibly as a crossing control point for the river. Surviving relics of the Roman period include a potters' oven , an ancient tomb and Sarcophagi at Saint-Sauveur. The Priory of Carluc

1080-481: The shoebill and hamerkop storks (although these two birds are not actually true 'storks'), and are placed in the order Pelecaniformes . Ibises , spoonbills , herons , and bitterns have been classified in the same order. Fossil evidence of pelicans dates back at least 36 million years to the remains of a tibiotarsus recovered from late Eocene strata of Egypt that bears striking similarity to modern species of pelican. They are thought to have evolved in

1134-450: The 1,500 different species of plants, there are 700 species and sub-species of higher plants and 200 species of lichens. Rich fossil deposits are also preserved here, documenting for example ancient species related to songbirds , as well as an ancestral pelican . The Force de frappe or French strategic nuclear arsenal used to be located on the Plateau d'Albion before being dismantled in

SECTION 20

#1732863176712

1188-669: The American state of Utah 's Great Salt Lake , for example, some 600 miles (965 km) from the nearest coastline (the Pacific West Coast). They have also been seen hundreds of miles inland in North America, having flown northwards along the Mississippi River and other large waterways. Long thought to be related to frigatebirds , cormorants , tropicbirds , and gannets and boobies , pelicans instead are most closely related to

1242-459: The Australian white pelican was their next-closest relative. The great white pelican also belonged to this lineage, but was the first to diverge from the common ancestor of the other four species. This finding suggests that pelicans evolved in the Old World and spread into the Americas, and that preference for tree- or ground-nesting is more related to size than genetics. The fossil record shows that

1296-618: The abdomen, where surface protuberances may be caused by viscera changing size and position) to enable the overlying feathers to form more effective heat insulation and also to enable feathers to be held in position for good aerodynamics. Modern pelicans are found on all continents except Antarctica. They primarily inhabit warm regions, although breeding ranges extend to latitudes of 45° South (Australian pelicans in Tasmania ) and 60° North (American white pelicans in western Canada). Birds of inland and coastal waters, they are absent from polar regions,

1350-432: The airways of the respiratory system, and the pelican can keep its air sacs inflated by closing its glottis , but how air sacs are inflated is not clear. The air sacs serve to keep the pelican remarkably buoyant in the water and may also cushion the impact of the pelican's body on the water surface when they dive from flight into water to catch fish. Superficial air sacs may also help to round body contours (especially over

1404-457: The breeding season. The eight living pelican species have a patchy, seasonally-dependent yet global distribution, ranging latitudinally from the tropics to the temperate zone . Pelicans are absent from interior Amazonian South America, from polar regions and the open ocean; at least one species is known to migrate to the inland desert of Australia 's Red Centre , after heavy rains create temporary lakes. White pelicans are also observed at

1458-522: The brown and Peruvian pelicans. The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all species become brighter before breeding season commences. The throat pouch of the Californian subspecies of the brown pelican turns bright red, and fades to yellow after the eggs are laid, while the throat pouch of the Peruvian pelican turns blue. The American white pelican grows a prominent knob on its bill that is shed once females have laid eggs. The plumage of immature pelicans

1512-565: The commune had its own Patriotic Society , a variation on the Jacobin Club theme, created in this case soon after 1792. This Alpes-de-Haute-Provence geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Luberon The Luberon is often advertised under the name Lubéron (with an acute accent on top of the "e"); some dictionaries justify that the two spellings are interchangeable. The total number of inhabitants varies greatly between winter and summer, due to

1566-508: The deep ocean, oceanic islands (except the Galapagos), and inland South America, as well as from the eastern coast of South America from the mouth of the Amazon River southwards. Subfossil bones have been recovered from as far south as New Zealand's South Island , although their scarcity and isolated occurrence suggests that these remains may have merely been vagrants from Australia (much as

1620-620: The diet of this pelican in South Africa, including Cape gannet chicks on Malgas Island as well as crowned cormorants , kelp gulls , greater crested terns , and African penguins on Dassen Island and elsewhere. The Australian pelican, which is particularly willing to take a wide range of prey items, has been recorded feeding on young Australian white ibis , and young and adult grey teals and silver gulls . Brown pelicans have been reported preying on young common murres in California and

1674-459: The distinguishing characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face, and fully webbed feet. This early definition included frigatebirds, cormorants, and sulids , as well as pelicans. The family Pelecanidae was introduced (as Pelicanea) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. Pelicans give their name to the Pelecaniformes, an order which has

Céreste-en-Luberon - Misplaced Pages Continue

1728-979: The eggs and nestlings of cattle egrets and nestling great egrets in Baja California , Mexico. Peruvian pelicans in Chile have been recorded feeding on nestlings of imperial shags , juvenile Peruvian diving petrels , and grey gulls . Cannibalism of chicks of their own species is known from the Australian, brown, and Peruvian pelicans. Non-native great white pelicans have been observed swallowing city pigeons in St. James's Park in London, England. Globally, pelican populations are adversely affected by these main factors: declining supplies of fish through overfishing or water pollution, destruction of habitat, direct effects of human activity such as disturbance at nesting colonies, hunting and culling, entanglement in fishing lines and hooks, and

1782-457: The global population of the brown pelican at 300,000. Numbers of brown pelican plummeted in the 1950s and 1960s, largely as a consequence of environmental DDT pollution, and the species was listed as endangered in the US in 1970. With restrictions on DDT use in the US from 1972, its population has recovered, and it was delisted in 2009. The Peruvian pelican is listed as near threatened because, although

1836-448: The great white pelican prefers somewhat larger fish, up to 600 g (1.3 lb), but in Europe, the latter species has been recorded taking fish up to 1,850 g (4.1 lb). In deep water, white pelicans often fish alone. Nearer the shore, several encircle schools of small fish or form a line to drive them into the shallows, beating their wings on the water surface and then scooping up

1890-410: The gullet head-first. A gull will sometimes stand on the pelican's head, peck it to distraction, and grab a fish from the open bill. Pelicans in their turn sometimes snatch prey from other waterbirds. The brown pelican usually plunge-dives head-first for its prey, from a height as great as 10–20 m (33–66 ft), especially for anchovies and menhaden . The only other pelican to feed using

1944-650: The last two decades the Luberon has become known in the English-speaking world especially through a series of books by British author Peter Mayle chronicling his life as an expatriate settled in the Luberon village of Ménerbes . These are titled A Year in Provence , Toujours Provence and Encore Provence . Another of Mayle's books, a novel set in the Luberon, was made into a film called A Good Year (2006) directed by Ridley Scott , starring Russell Crowe and filmed in

1998-552: The late 1980s. Now, the underground site where the missile controls were located is a public multidisciplinary laboratory of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis , the Low Noise Underground Laboratory (LSBB) of Rustrel , Pays d'Apt. 43°47′46″N 5°13′26″E  /  43.79611°N 5.22389°E  / 43.79611; 5.22389 Pelican 8, see text Pelicans (genus Pelecanus ) are

2052-575: The local degree of environmental predictability. Colonies of tens or hundreds, rarely thousands, of birds breed regularly on small coastal and subcoastal islands where food is seasonally or permanently available. In arid inland Australia, especially in the endorheic Lake Eyre basin , pelicans breed opportunistically in very large numbers of up to 50,000 pairs, when irregular major floods, which may be many years apart, fill ephemeral salt lakes and provide large amounts of food for several months before drying out again. In all species, copulation takes place at

2106-404: The lower bill and the flexible tongue muscles form the pouch into a basket for catching fish, and sometimes rainwater, though to not hinder the swallowing of large fish, the tongue itself is tiny. They have a long neck and short stout legs with large, fully webbed feet. Although they are among the heaviest of flying birds, they are relatively light for their apparent bulk because of air pockets in

2160-429: The nest site; it begins shortly after pairing and continues for 3–10 days before egg-laying. The male brings the nesting material, in ground-nesting species (which may not build a nest) sometimes in the pouch, and in tree-nesting species crosswise in the bill. The female then heaps the material up to form a simple structure. The eggs are oval, white, and coarsely textured. All species normally lay at least two eggs;

2214-499: The others by placement in the subgenus Leptopelecanus but in fact species with both sorts of appearance and nesting behavior are found in either. DNA sequencing of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes yielded quite different relationships; the three New World pelicans formed one lineage, with the American white pelican sister to the two brown pelicans, and the five Old World species the other. The Dalmatian, pink-backed, and spot-billed were all closely related to one another, while

Céreste-en-Luberon - Misplaced Pages Continue

2268-599: The pelican lineage has existed for at least 36 million years; the oldest known pelican fossil was assigned to Eopelecanus aegyptiacus and was found in late Eocene (middle to late part of the early Priabonian stage/age) deposits of the Birket Qarun Formation within the Wadi Al-Hitan World Heritage Site in Egypt. A more complete fossil pelican of early Oligocene age is known from deposits at

2322-586: The population is estimated by BirdLife International to exceed 500,000 mature individuals, and is possibly increasing, it has been much higher in the past. It declined dramatically during the 1998 El Niño event and could experience similar declines in the future. Conservation needs include regular monitoring throughout the range to determine population trends, particularly after El Niño years, restricting human access to important breeding colonies, and assessing interactions with fisheries. The spot-billed pelican has an estimated population between 13,000 and 18,000 and

2376-616: The presence of pollutants such as DDT and endrin . Most species' populations are more or less stable, although three are classified by the IUCN as being at risk. All species breed readily in zoos, which is potentially useful for conservation management. The combined population of brown and Peruvian pelicans is estimated at 650,000 birds, with around 250,000 in the United States and Caribbean, and 400,000 in Peru. The National Audubon Society estimates

2430-429: The prey. Although all pelican species may feed in groups or alone, the Dalmatian, pink-backed, and spot-billed pelicans are the only ones to prefer solitary feeding. When fishing in groups, all pelican species have been known to work together to catch their prey, and Dalmatian pelicans may even cooperate with great cormorants . Large fish are caught with the bill-tip, then tossed up in the air to be caught and slid into

2484-473: The range of interspecific variation in Pelecanus . The Late Eocene Protopelicanus may be a pelecaniform or suliform – or a similar aquatic bird such as a pseudotooth ( Pelagornithidae ), but is not generally considered a pelecanid . The supposed Miocene pelican Liptornis from Patagonia is a nomen dubium (of doubtful validity), being based on fragments providing insufficient evidence to support

2538-735: The reason is not clearly known, but a common belief is that it is to draw attention to itself and away from any siblings who are waiting to be fed. Parents of ground-nesting species sometimes drag older young around roughly by the head before feeding them. From about 25 days old, the young of these species gather in "pods" or " crèches " of up to 100 birds in which parents recognise and feed only their own offspring. By 6–8 weeks they wander around, occasionally swimming, and may practise communal feeding. Young of all species fledge 10–12 weeks after hatching. They may remain with their parents afterwards, but are now seldom or never fed. They are mature at three or four years old. Overall breeding success

2592-488: The region. Luberon is particularly rich in biological diversity. There are known to be around 1,500 species of plants, accounting for 30% of the flora and fauna in France, 17,000 species and sub-species of insects with almost 2,300 species of Lepidoptera, or nearly 40% of species living in France, 341 species and subspecies of vertebrate wildlife, 135 species of birds and 21 species of bats or 70% of species present in France. Among

2646-1475: The shoebill and the hamerkop form a sister group to the pelicans, though some doubt exists as to the exact relationships among the three lineages. The oldest known record of Pelicans is a right tibiotarsus very similar to those of modern species from the Birket Qarun Formation in the Wadi El Hitan in Egypt, dating to the late Eocene ( Priabonian ), referred to the genus Eopelecanus . P. rufescens P. philippensis P. crispus P. conspicillatus P. onocrotalus P. occidentalis P. thagus P. erythrorhynchos Suliformes Herons (Ardeidae) Ibises and spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) Hamerkop ( Scopus umbretta ) Shoebill ( Balaeniceps rex ) Pelicans ( Pelecanus ) Cladogram based on Hackett et al. (2008). The eight living pelican species were traditionally divided into two groups, one containing four ground-nesters with mainly white adult plumage ( Australian , Dalmatian , great white , and American white pelicans ), and one containing four grey- or brown-plumaged species which nest preferentially either in trees ( pink-backed , spot-billed and brown pelicans ), or on sea rocks ( Peruvian pelican ). The largely marine brown and Peruvian pelicans, formerly considered conspecific , are sometimes separated from

2700-487: The skeleton and beneath the skin, enabling them to float high in the water. The tail is short and square. The wings are long and broad, suitably shaped for soaring and gliding flight, and have the unusually large number of 30 to 35 secondary flight feathers . Males are generally larger than females and have longer bills. The smallest species is the brown pelican, small individuals of which can be no more than 2.75 kg (6.1 lb) and 1.06 m (3.5 ft) long, with

2754-568: The skin of the throat and pouch with the bill open to promote evaporative cooling . They roost and loaf communally on beaches, sandbanks, and in shallow water. A fibrous layer deep in the breast muscles can hold the wings rigidly horizontal for gliding and soaring. Thus, they use thermals for soaring to heights of 3000 m (10,000 ft) or more, combined both with gliding and with flapping flight in V formation , to commute distances up to 150 km (93 mi) to feeding areas. Pelicans also fly low (or "skim") over stretches of water, using

SECTION 50

#1732863176712

2808-512: The usual clutch size is one to three, rarely up to six. Both sexes incubate with the eggs on top of or below the feet; they may display when changing shifts. Incubation takes 30–36 days; hatching success for undisturbed pairs can be as high as 95%, but because of sibling competition or siblicide , in the wild, usually all but one nestling dies within the first few weeks (later in the pink-backed and spot-billed species). Both parents feed their young. Small chicks are fed by regurgitation ; after about

2862-740: The water and catching them at/near the water's surface. They can adapt to varying degrees of water salinity , from freshwater and brackish to—most commonly—seawater. They are gregarious birds, travelling in flocks, hunting cooperatively , and breeding colonially . Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees. The relationship between pelicans and people has often been contentious. The birds have been persecuted because of their perceived competition with commercial and recreational fishing. Their populations have fallen through habitat destruction , disturbance, and environmental pollution, and three species are of conservation concern. They also have

2916-664: Was founded in the eleventh century. Another priory, that of Saint-Sauveur-Au-Pont, belonged during the twelfth and thirteenth century to the Abbey of Saint Andrew at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon . The fiefdom was held initially by the Forcalquiers, and later by the Brancas family. By the start of the eighteenth century, the Estieu brothers were running a pottery oven . During the French Revolution

#711288