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Jacamar is a common name for about 18 species of birds of the family Galbulidae of the order Piciformes, inhabiting South and Central America.
Jacamars range from 15.75 to 31 centimetres in length, their long, sharp bills accounting for up to a third of the total. The longest species, the paradise jacamar (Galbula dea), has a small body; its length is attributable to its long bill and elongated tail feathers. Most species are metallic greenish or bluish above and brown below.
Jacamars lay their eggs in holes drilled into earthen banks. Although most fly-catching birds have short broad bills, the long-billed jacamars are adept at snapping up flying insects.
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Jacana is a common name for any of six Old World and two New World species of tropical birds of the family Jacanidae, of the order Charadriiformes. Some Old World species are often called lily-trotters; this name reflects their ability to walk on water-lily leaves and other floating vegetation, thanks to their exceptionally long toes. In six of the species a horny shield covers the forehead as an extension of the bill, and all have either a bony knob or a sharp spur at the bend of the wing. The smallest species is the lesser jacana (Microparra capensis), of Africa, at 15 cm. The pheasant- tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus), of Asia, is about 56 centimetres long, but up to 25 centimetres of this is attributable to its long tail feathers; all other jacanas have short tails. The northern jacana (Jacana spinosa), of Central America and the West Indies, occurs as far north as southern Texas. Adults have the head and chest black, the body chestnut, and the wings bright yellow-green; in young birds the under parts are white.
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The jacaranda is a genus of American tropical ornamental trees belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. Most of the species are natives of Brazil. They are characterised by their terminal panicles of blue flowers, and more especially by their bipinnate leaves.
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The Jack Russell Terrier is a British breed of dog originating from the Reverend Jack Russell who created the breed as a hunting dog at the end of the 19th century as a dog that could hunt alongside hounds and also go to earth to drive out a fox. Jack Russells are lively and excitable dogs with a tendency to nip.
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The Jack snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) is a marsh bird similar to, but smaller than the snipe, with more distinctive stripes on its head.
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Jack-by-the-hedge (Alliaria officinalis) is a white-flowered biennial plant growing to 70 centimetres high.
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Jack-in-the-box (Hernandia Sonora) is a tree of the Hernandia genus. It is so named because of the noise the wind makes whistling through its persistent involucels.
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Jackal is a common name of any of four Old World wild dogs. The Asian, or golden, jackal (Canis aureus), is common from northern Africa to south-eastern Europe and India. The black backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), and the side-striped jackal (Canis adustus), inhabit eastern and southern Africa. The Simien jackal (Canis simensis), is found in central Ethiopia. Its size, narrow head, and pointed muzzle are fox like, but its other physical characteristics are similar to those of wolves. The coat is typically grizzled tawny buff in colour; the tip of the bushy tail is dark. The jackal feeds on carrion, small poultry, and occasionally fruit; it hunts at night, in small groups or in pairs, uttering its cry, called the pheal.
Jackals inhabit plains, deserts, and prairies, living during the day in holes in the ground. Their life span is 12 to 15 years.
Jackals interbreed with domestic dogs.
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Jackdaw is a common name for two birds of the family Corvidae. The European jackdaw (Corvus monedula) , is about 33 centimetres long. It is dark grey, blackest and glossiest on the head, back, wings, and tail, with a paler grey neck.
The Daurian jackdaw (Corvus dauuricus), of eastern Asia, is similar to the European jackdaw, but paler in colour, with a more common colour phase in which the foreback, neck, and belly are white. Originally nesting in hollow trees, jackdaws have adapted to urban life and nest on churches, castles, and other ornate buildings. Like other crows, they are omnivorous and noisy.
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The Jacob is a British breed of sheep. Slight of build, with the narrow, lean carcass typical of some of the ancient British breeds, they are immediately noticeable due to their black and white fleeces and prominent horns. Both males and females are horned, sporting two, four and occasionally six horns. Most striking to many people are four-horned rams with two vertical centre horns as much as two feet long, and two side horns curling down along the side of the head. Two-horned rams develop the more familiar classic double curl. Horns on the ewe are always shorter and more delicate than the rams' horns.
The Jacob fleece, which is properly described as white with black spots, is prized by hand spinners and weavers. The white and the black wool, which may fade at the tips to dark brown, may be blended to various shades of greys. The wool is of medium grade, and interestingly, the black wool, which grows out of black skin, frequently is shorter than the white wool, which grows from white skin. Ideally, the animal should be 40% black and 60% white, with certain characteristic patterns. The legs should be predominantly white, with black hooves and black knees and hocks desirable. The desired Jacob face is frequently referred to as 'badger faced' , with black cheeks and muzzle, but a white blaze down the front of the face. The nose should be black as well as the horns and ears.
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Jacquinia is a genus of West Indian and tropical American evergreen shrubs and trees belonging to the family Myrsinaceae. The leaves are crowded at the top of the branches, and are rigid and entire. The flowers have bell or salver-shaped corollas and are white or orange in colour.
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The Jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest and most powerful of the American members of the cat family, Felidae. The Jaguar is found as far north as Mexico and throughout South America, but it is especially abundant in the dense forests of Central America and Brazil. A mature jaguar is more than two meters long and stands 60 centimetres high at the shoulder. Its coat is a rich yellow, spotted with large black rosettes, each consisting of a circle of spots surrounding a central spot. The head and body are massive, and the legs are relatively short and thick. An adept climber and an excellent swimmer, the animal feeds on a wide range of arboreal, terrestrial, and aquatic animals. Although feared, it rarely attacks humans; in the pre-Columbian civilizations of Peru and Central America, it was worshiped as a god. Today the Jaguar is extensively hunted because of ranchers' claims that it attacks cattle, although studies indicate that such attacks are infrequent. In the tropical part of their range, Jaguars
appear to mate in any season, but elsewhere they mate during the latter part of the year. After a gestation period of about 100 days, the female bears two to four cubs, which reach maturity at about the age of two. The Jaguar has a life span of about 20 years.
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The Jalisco Milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum arcifera) is a Mexican species of Milk snake found around lake Chapala in south-western Mexico and distinguished by a mostly red belly, rings of red and a black head.
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The Jamaica Hope is a breed of cattle.
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Jamaica Sarsaparilla (Smilax ornata) is a large perennial climber of the family Liliaceae. The stems are erect, semi-woody and with large very sharp prickles one centimetres long. The leaves are large, alternate, stalked and almost evergreen with prominent veins. Jamaica Sarsaparilla is native to Central America but was introduced to Europe via Jamaica in the middle of the 16th century as a remedy for syphilis, and later came to be used for other chronic diseases. The leaves were smoked as a remedy for asthma. Confusingly, in Jamaica the term 'Sarsaparilla' is now used to describe high quality cannabis by the dealers.
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The Japanese Bobtail is a breed of domestic cat that has been known in Japan, Korea and China since at least 1000 AD. The breed is distinguished by a curious tail structure which gives the breed its name. This tail is about 5 cm long, and crooked, and is the result of a natural recessive gene, and only occurs when mating occurs between the breed. The first Japanese Bobtails arrived in the USA from Japan in 1968. An affectionate breed, they are renowned for greeting their owner with a wave of the paw. They enjoy swimming and the outdoors and the company of other cats of the same breed.
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The Japanese Chin is a breed of toy dog similar to the Pekingese and the Pug, that originated in China and was taken to Japan around 500 AD by Buddhist monks emigrating from China. Queen Victoria kept the breed and in 1882 the breed reached the USA. They have a silky coat, black or red and white in colour and are a bright and lovable companion.
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The Japanese Pagoda Tree (Sophora japonica) is a tall deciduous tree of the family Leguminosae, native to eastern Asia, with a dense, spherical crown and green, later grey, bark. The leaves are alternate, odd-pinnate with between nine and seventeen stalked, ovate to lanceolate, prickly tipped leaflets. The flowers are white in colour and arranged in loose terminal panicles. The fruit is a pod, constricted between the three or four, black, bean-shaped, poisonous seeds.
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The jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) is an Australian tree bearing timber of great hardness and durability. The timber was formerly used in Britain for street paving at the start of the 20th century.
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Jasmine is an Asian plant of the oleaceae family. It is a slender shrub or woody climber. The flowers are tubular with spreading lobes and the fruit is a berry.
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The Javanese Cat is an American classification giving to certain colourations of Balinese Cat, but is not a separate breed, being a Balinese Cat.
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The jay (Garrulus glandarius) is a colourful bird of the crow family noted for its black and white wings with a chequerboard patch of blue black and white.
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The Jerboas are any of ten genera and 25 species of jumping rodents of the family Dipodidae, found primarily in the arid regions of Africa and Central Asia. Jerboas have short front legs and are about 15 centimetres long from head to rump. With their long hind limbs-about ten centimetres -they can cover up to 2.7 m in a single leap, using their long, sometimes tufted tail for balance, or as a prop when sitting. They are sandy above and white below, often with the tip of the tail black; some species have large, broad ears.
Jerboas burrow in soil or sand and feed on plants, seeds, and insects. They do not require free water, obtaining sufficient amounts in their food. Some species breed more than twice in one year, the average litter being three. The Egyptian jerboa, Dipus sagitta, is a well-known species that is often tamed.
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The Jersey is a small, short-horned fawn or yellow brown coloured breed of domestic dairy cattle.
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The Jersey Giant is a breed of chicken.
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Jester is an English species of apple. It is a modern apple which produces heavy crops of brightly coloured red green and yellow fruit, with a light refreshing taste and lots of juice. The trees are said to be frost resistant.
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Jew's mallow (Corchorus olitorius) is an African annual plant belonging to the family Tiliaceae. It grows to a height of 45 centimetres and bears long, sharply-toothed leaves, the young leaves being eaten as a salad.
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Jewel beetle is the popular name for the Buprestidae family of insects of the order Coleoptera. In Britain the family is endangered, with some species believed to have become extinct during the 20th century. The larvae develop chiefly in wood or plant stems.
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Jewelweed, also known as Wild Balsam, Balsam-weed, Pale-touch-me-not, Spotted-touch-me-not, Slipperweed, Silverweed and Wild Lady's Slipper (Impatiens aurea or Impatiens biflora) is a tall and branching succulent annual plant of the family Geraniaceae, found growing in low-lying, damp rich soil beside streams and similar damp locations. The leaves are thin, ovate, more or less toothed and of a green colour. The slipper-shaped flowers are yellow and have long recurved tails.
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The Jezerskosolflorinavska is a breed of sheep that resulted from the crossbreeding of native white sheep with the Bergamasca sheep and with the Padova sheep. It resembles the Austrian Bergschaf that has a similar origin. The breed got its name after the breeding centres of Jezersko and Solflorinava. Its head has a convex profile and hanging ears. Its legs are long and strong. This breed is very convenient for lamb production in the Alpine and Pre-Alpine region. It used to be reared in farms in combination with cattle. From June to September the sheep grazed in the mountains and mountainous pastures while in spring and autumn they grazed in farms together with cattle. Since 1980 Jezersko-Solflorinavska sheep has been crossed by Romanovska sheep, hence number of pure breed animals has been decreased quickly. Therefore, a special program on preservation the pure breed has been started in 1991. It is financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Bovska sheep and Istrian Pramenka are also included in the preservation program.
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Jonagold is an American variety of apple that is a cross of Jonathan and Golden Delicious. The latter contributes a yellow background to Jonagold, while its Jonathan parentage adds an orange-red blush. Some newer sports or mutations are dominantly red. Jonagold is an all-purpose apple that is firm and juicy with appealing shades of flavours from tart to sweet.
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The Jubilee Indian Game is a breed of chicken.
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Judolia is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), formerly considered a subgenus of Leptura. There are two species occurring in Britain.
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Juglandeae is a family of mostly North American shrubs and trees, some of which have economic importance, their timber being employed in cabinet work. The staminate flowers of the family are borne in catkins, the pistillate in racemes or terminal clusters. The fruit is a drupe.
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Juglans is a genus of deciduous trees belonging to the family Juglandeae. The common walnut, Juglans regia is perhaps the best-known species. The fruit of all the species is edible and the timber of great value. All the species are handsome and some species are used as park trees.
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The July Highflier (Hydriomena furcata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 23 and 30 mm found in northern and central Europe, Asia and North America flying from June to September.
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The common juniper (Juniperus communis) is an evergreen shrub of the family Cupressaceae. Juniper has prickly needle-like blue-green leaves arranged in whorls of three on reddish-brown flexible twigs and dark purple berries of a pungent taste. The juice of the berries is extracted and used as a diuretic and flavouring in gin etc.
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Juniperus is the juniper genus of hardy, evergreen, coniferous trees and shrubs.
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The Jutland Horse is a Danish breed of heavy horse first developed in the 12th century and used by knights as well as for draft work. The Jutland Horse stands 15 hands high, is mainly chestnut in colour but may also be black or brown, which were their earlier colours.
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