Study the following passage carefully
Pheasants are shy, charming birds known for their brilliant plumage.
These beautiful birds occupy an important niche in nature’s scheme of
things. Of the 900 bird species and 155 families, the pheasants belong to
the order Galliformes and family Phasinidae. The Galliformes are
known as game birds and this includes, pheasants, partridges, quails,
grouse, francolins, turkeys and megapodes.
There are 51 species of pheasants in the world and these are
shown in the identification chart brought out by the Environment
Society of India (ESI). The purpose of this chart is to create
awareness among members of the school eco-clubs under the
National Green Corps (NGC) of the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Government of India.
Except for the Congo Peafowl, all the other pheasants are
from Asia. Scientists believe that all pheasants originated from
the Himalayas, and then scattered into Tibet, China, Myanmar,
South and South East Asian countries as well as the Caucasus
Mountains. The jungle fowl and the peafowl spread to South India
and Sri Lanka long before the early settlers established themselves
in the Indo-Gangetic plain.
About a third of all the pheasants in the world are found in India.
The male blue peafowl (the peacock) is the best known member
of the pheasant family and is India’s national bird. It occupies a
prominent place in India’s art, culture and folklore.
Pheasants – Beautiful Birds of Asia
Notes
1. Pheasants: Introduction
1.1 Shy & charming birds
1.2 Known for brilliant plumage
1.3 Occupy an imp. niche in nature
2. Classification
2.1 Order – Galliformes
2.2 Family – Phasinidae
2.3 Galliformes include:
2.3.1 pheasants,
partridges,quails,grouse,francolins,turkeys,megapodes
3. Species & Awareness
3.1 51 species found worldwide
3.2 Identification chart by ESI
3.3 Purpose: create awareness among eco-clubs under NGC Ministry
of Environment and Forests, Government of India
4. Origin & Distribution
4.1 Except Congo Peafowl, all are from Asia
4.2 Originated in Himalayas
4.3 Spread to: Tibet,China,Myanmar S. & SE Asia,Caucasus
Mountains.
4.4 Jungle fowl & peafowl reached South. India & Sri Lanka early
5. Pheasants in India
5.1 About one-third species found in India
5.2 Blue peafowl (peacock) – best known member
5.3 National bird of India
5.4 Holds an imp. place in art, culture & folklore
Abbreviations / Key
Abbreviation. Meaning
Intro. Introduction
Imp Important
Env. Environment
GoI Government of India
NGC National Green Corps
ESI Environment Society of India
S. South
SE South East
Mts. Mountains
Summary
Pheasants are shy and attractive birds famous for their colourful
plumage. They belong to the order Galliformes and family Phasinidae,
which also includes several other game birds. There are 51 species of
pheasants in the world, and the Environment Society of India has
prepared an identification chart to create awareness among school
eco-clubs. Scientists believe that pheasants originated in the Himalayas
and later spread across different parts of Asia. India is home to nearly
one-third of all pheasant species. The blue peafowl, commonly known as
the peacock, is India’s national bird and has a significant place in the
country’s art, culture and folklore.
Green Sahara
The Great Desert Where Hippos Once Wallowed
The Sahara sets a standard for dry land. It’s the world’s largest
desert. Relative humidity can drop into the low single digits. There
are places where it rains only about once a century. There are
people who reach the end of their lives without ever seeing water
come from the sky.
Yet beneath the Sahara are vast aquifers of fresh water, enough
liquid to fill a small sea. It is fossil water, a treasure laid down in
prehistoric times, some of it possibly a million years old. Just 6,000
years ago, the Sahara was a much different place.
It was green. Prehistoric rock art in the Sahara shows something
surprising: hippopotamuses, which need year-round water.
“We don’t have much evidence of a tropical paradise out there,
but we had something perfectly liveable,” says Jennifer Smith, a
geologist at Washington University in St [Link] [Link] 79
12/5/2024 10:14:34 AM Reprint 2026-27 80 Hornbill
The green Sahara was the product of the migration of the
paleo-monsoon. In the same way that ice ages come and go, so too
do monsoons migrate north and south. The dynamics of earth’s
motion are responsible. The tilt of the earth’s axis varies in a
regular cycle — sometimes the planet is more tilted towards the
sun, sometimes less so. The axis also wobbles like a spinning top.
The date of the earth’s perihelion — its closest approach to the
sun — varies in a cycle as well.
At times when the Northern Hemisphere tilts sharply towards
the sun and the planet makes its closest approach, the increased
blast of sunlight during the north’s summer months can cause the
African monsoon (which currently occurs between the Equator and
roughly 170N latitude) to shift to the north as it did 10,000 years
ago, inundating North Africa.
Around 5,000 years ago the monsoon shifted dramatically
southward again. The prehistoric inhabitants of the Sahara
discovered that their relatively green surroundings were undergoing
something worse than a drought (and perhaps they migrated
towards the Nile Valley, where Egyptian culture began to flourish
at around the same time).
“We’re learning, and only in recent years, that some climate
changes in the past have been as rapid as anything underway
today,” says Robert Giegengack, a University of Pennsylvania
geologist.
As the land dried out and vegetation decreased, the soil lost its
ability to hold water when it did rain. Fewer clouds formed from
evaporation. When it rained, the water washed away and evaporated
quickly. There was a kind of runaway drying effect. By 4,000 years
ago the Sahara had become what it is today.
No one knows how human-driven climate change may alter the
Sahara in the future. It’s something scientists can ponder while
sipping bottled fossil water pumped from underground.
“It’s the best water in Egypt,” Giegengack said — clean,
refreshing mineral water. If you want to drink something good, try
the ancient buried treasure of the Sahara.
Joel Achenback
Staff Writer, Washington Post
Title: The Green Sahara: From Paradise to Desert
Notes
1. Sahara in the Present
1.1 World's largest desert
1.2 Extremely dry with very low humidity
1.3 Rainfall occurs very rarely
1.4 Vast underground aquifers of fossil water
2. Green Sahara in the Past
2.1 Around 6,000–10,000 years ago, Sahara was green
2.2 Rock art depicts hippopotamuses, indicating permanent water
2.3 Region supported life and vegetation
3. Reasons for Climatic Change
3.1 Migration of the paleo-monsoon
3.2 Changes in Earth's movement:
3.2.1 Variation in axial tilt
3.2.2. Wobbling of Earth's axis
3.2.3 Change in perihelion (Earth's closest approach to the Sun)
3.3 Increased sunlight shifted the African monsoon northwards
4. Desertification of the Sahara
4.1 Monsoon shifted south about 5,000 years ago
4.2 Vegetation declined rapidly
4.3 Soil lost water-retaining capacity
4.4 Less evaporation led to fewer clouds
4.5 Rapid drying transformed Sahara into a desert
5. Future Outlook
5.1 Scientists continue studying climate change
5.2 Human-induced climate change may alter the
Sahara again
5.3 Fossil water remains an important natural resource
Abbreviations / Key
RH – Relative Humidity
Aqrs – Aquifers
Foss. – Fossil
Veg. – Vegetation
Clim. – Climate
Chg. – Change
Mon. – Monsoon
Evap. – Evaporation
Scits. – Scientist
Res. – Resource
Summary
The Sahara, now the world's largest and driest desert, was once a green
and fertile land with rivers, lakes and wildlife such as hippopotamuses.
This transformation occurred because of changes in Earth's tilt, orbit and
the migration of the African paleo-monsoon. Around 5,000 years ago,
the monsoon shifted southward, leading to reduced rainfall, loss of
vegetation and rapid desertification. Today, the Sahara contains vast
underground reserves of ancient fossil water. Scientists continue to study
how natural and human-induced climate change may influence the future
of this remarkable desert.