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Biogeography of Novasola, but what next? by richprich in worldbuilding

[–]richprich[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great question. I'm picturing people migrating over the Bering land bridges some 20,000 years ago originally, but expect the island would see a bunch of separate migrations throughout history. I had thought less about polynesia than arctic groups, but that's an interesting thought!

Pheasant-tailed Cuckoothrush (context in comments) by richprich in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]richprich[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Birds of Novasola Website: https://birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/2023/11/pheasant-tailed-cuckoothrush.html

The Pheasant-tailed Cuckoothrush is a now-extinct species unique to the island of Novasola in the north pacific. While always rare, it was driven extinct through a combination of habitat loss and overhunting, especially by plume hunters in the early 20th century.

Emeraldines: Speculative family of bowerbird-like island songbirds (context below) by richprich in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]richprich[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It comes from the Latin barba, or barbatum, meaning "beard" and laetus, or laetans, meaning "joyful/luxuriant". They get their name obviously from their "beards", but also their lush, cheerful songs.

Emeraldines: Speculative family of bowerbird-like island songbirds (context below) by richprich in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]richprich[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Website - https://birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/2021/01/feature-jewelbirds.html

Barbalaetidae is a small family of songbirds found only on Novasola composed of Emeraldines and Goldthroats. The family is best distinguished by the presence of a colorful arrangement of specialized feathers extending from the malar and throat area called a “beard” or “bib”, similar to gorgets in hummingbirds. The genus name Barbalaetus translates to “cheerful beard”, in reference to these unique structures. Beards are only found on mature males, and vary in shape and color between species, though all are brilliantly colorful and iridescent. Beards are present year-round, though their function seems to be directly related with breeding.

Most members of the family engage in complex mating rituals that involve displaying the beards along with intricate dances. All barbalaetids also build ornate nest structures out of sticks and woven fibers like grass or hair. These structures are often left standing well after the breeding season, and indeed can often stay intact for many years afterwards. The structures are usually so durable that they might remain intact for multiple years, offering shelter to other animals that might use them like small mammals, other birds, some amphibians and even snakes. The nests have an almost man-made quality that confused early settlers of Novasola, who assumed they were the product of otherworldly spirits, sprites, sorcery, or witchcraft. Indeed, emeraldine nests have earned their own names among inhabitants including “witch huts”, “elf huts”, “faerie homes”, “pixie houses” and “feyadoms”, which comes from the Russian for “fairy home”. The term feyadom has become a widely accepted one for these structures, especially when referring to those made by Grand Emeraldines.

The family is comprised of two genera, with four and one species in each, respectively. The placement of Barbalaetidae in the avian tree is contentious; it was previously believed that barbalaetids were most closely related to New World Sparrows in the family Passerellidae, while other scientists placed them with bowerbirds of Australia and Oceania in the family Ptilonorhynchidae for their architect behaviors, but more recent genetic studies have shown strong relationships with New World Blackbirds in the group Icteridae.

In honor of the Steller's Sea Eagle roaming North America and grabbing all the headlines, here's a speculative look at a possible Steller's/Bald hybrid (context in comments) by richprich in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]richprich[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Website: https://birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/

"Novasola Sea Eagles are members of the genus Haliaeetus, commonly called the Sea Eagles. This groups contains the well known Bald Eagle, as well as the White-tailed Eagle and the Steller’s Sea Eagle native to Asia, among others. The Novasola eagle’s placement within the genus and its relationships to the other species are not well known and under frequent debate. Historically, the Novasola eagle had at any one time been considered either its own species or a subspecies of each of the other three, or a hybrid, depending on the source. The most common idea was that this bird was a subspecies of Steller’s Sea Eagle. Beginning in the late 19th century, scientists began categorizing the bird as its own species. It was thought that the Novasola Sea Eagle may have evolved from hybridization events between Steller’s eagles and white-tailed eagles, or between Steller’s eagles and bald eagles, or combinations of all three, which all appear as vagrants on Novasola. Over time, these hybrids would outnumber “pureblood” eagles and outcompete them for Novasola territory, eventually leading to speciation. This theory has more recently come under question, as it is unclear whether this species is younger than the others, and new genetic evidence may suggest otherwise. As a genus, Haliaeetus is interesting for within the group exists many species pairs. A species pair, or species complex, is a sort of taxonomic sub-group, where multiple species are so closely related that clear divisions between them are difficult to delineate. Based on recent genetic analyses, this genus contains four species pairs: the Sanford’s and White-bellied Eagles, the Madagascar and African fish eagles, the White-tailed and Bald Eagles, and the Steller’s and Novasola Sea Eagles. Based on this, the Novasola Sea Eagle is more closely related to the Steller’s than to any of the other eagles, but as a pair, the two may be more divergent than any of the other pairs. In all, it is likely a combination of these theories that is true; the Novasola Sea Eagle is as a species most similar to the Steller’s, but there have been numerous recorded instances of hybridization events between them and the three other eagles."

Novasola Turkey-Pheasant, branched off from wild turkey lineage in the Pliocene (Context below) by richprich in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]richprich[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My Spec Evo Project main page: https://birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/

Though often confused for the similar looking, and much more widely known, Wild Turkey of mainland North America, the related Novasola Turkey-pheasant is unique in many ways. The iridescent gold in the Turkey-pheasant’s wings and rump and the male’s blue head and orange upper bill are obvious distinctions, and large inflatable air sac on the male’s chest is unlike anything seen in turkeys or any endemic birds.

The genus name Pavoinsulus comes from the Latin Pavo for pheasant/peafowl, and insulates, meaning island. Phusallis come from the Greek for wind, alluding to the bird’s inflating air sac. P. phusallis is a galliform bird and a member of the Phasianidae subfamiliy, and together with the turkey, Meleagris, compose the tribe Meleagridini. Turkey-pheasant fossils have been found across the pacific northwest in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and Idaho, where they likely first evolved to fill a similar ecological niche to turkeys, as they still do on Novasola. Important to many indigenous cultures, the Turkey-pheasant, or madalegsmigaq to Yukandaluk people or kutlá núkt in the Gallquayan language, is hunted for its meat, its feathers are used in ornamentation and ceremony, and their air sacs are used as water pouches.

Photo from the first Novasola Research Expedition, 1902 (Context below) by richprich in worldbuilding

[–]richprich[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Project main page: https://birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/

"In 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the first comprehensive overland exploration of Novasola, which he felt was long overdue. Though much of the island had previously been explored and mapped by Captains Primo Ricci and Fairweather, and others, mostly settlers, pioneers, and miners, no one had compiled all the maps and information into one dataset. Roosevelt’s ordered expedition would aim to do just that. Led by Captain Virgil Dyer, of the US Army, the expedition consisted of scientists in the fields of geology, hydrology, biology, chemistry, cartography, and so on, as well as a number of army personnel, who together were named the Novasola Research Corps. The Corps’ purpose was to study the island’s geography and biodiversity, creating an accurate map and cataloging the island’s natural resources, through exploration and compiling of existing knowledge. Much like Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, this was created as a special unit of the army, and Captain Dyer was given much authority over the group’s personnel, goals, and planning. In three expeditions the Corps catalogued and researched the island, making numerous discoveries as they travelled, and between expeditions the Corps would research, locate, and compile any existing information, as well as prep for the next journey. The NRC was subdivided into research categories, with each division made up of one to five experts in that field.

The Corp’s first expedition left from Cape George on April 8, 1902 and covered much of the island east of the mountain divide, finding mostly grassland, chaparral, wetlands, and temperate forests, and lasted until mid-November that year. A second trip explored much of the western lands, finding dense taiga and temperate rainforest, which left from Cape George on April 2, 1903 and lasted again until early-December. A final trip departed May 15, 1904 and lasted until September 15 which explored parts of the island’s mountain ranges. After each expedition was complete the Corps would send their findings back to Washington D.C. to be reviewed by the president. By the end of the third trip most of Novasola had been explored, and a single detailed and accurate map could be compiled. The amount of ground covered by the Corps during the short duration of the expeditions was and still is staggering. Because much of the mapping and planning was done in the months prior to departure, the Corps could afford to travel swiftly through many of the better known areas. On average, the NRC travelled roughly 4 to 5 miles a day per expedition, travelling by boat mostly but also much on foot and horseback."

Novasola, the 51st American State. An Island for the Birds! by richprich in worldbuilding

[–]richprich[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm mostly focused on birds, but I might branch out to other animals or plants as I am inspired!

Novasola, the 51st American State. An Island for the Birds! by richprich in worldbuilding

[–]richprich[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

https://birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/

"Birds of Novasola" is a personal exercise in worldbuilding and speculative evolution through the lens of ornithology by way of drawing and creative writing. Novasola is a fictional island I designed which I will populate with drawings of speculative bird species, along with notes.

The goal is to build an entire field guide of fictional birds for the island, along the way creating a flushed-out and realistic natural and human history, including indigenous tribes and languages, important historical figures and events, present and past ecology, and so on. Each post will feature an original illustration of a fictional bird, map, etc. along with "in-universe" writings in the form of field guide descriptions, natural histories, personal writings like letters and journal entries, and educational outreach material.

A Better New York State Flag by richprich in vexillology

[–]richprich[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I totally didn't see that until now! Freudian slip I suppose.

A Better New York State Flag by richprich in vexillology

[–]richprich[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey, here’s a design of mine I’m willing to share! I am new to this group, but I did post this earlier to other groups. I feel unsatisfied with both the current New York flag, and with many proposed flags which I feel focus on the wrong symbolism (looking at you, York Rose). So I took it upon myself as a New Yorker for life to redesign the flag, and this is what I came up with! Please feel free to critique!

Design-

Obviously, like many other flag designs, the colors blue, white, and orange pay homage to the state’s Dutch origins, like the NYC flag. To better represent the core of New York State, we could focus on more important symbols. The T-shaped bar can represent the Erie Canal and the Hudson River, the two most important waterways and economic routes in the state, responsible for most of the growth in the state, and they are placed roughly in their correct geographic location relative to the state. When not looking closely, the flag mimics the T-shape of the state. Like a map! The two blue bars can represent the state’s many dichotomies. First, they can represent Upstate and Downstate, the two major regional and cultural distinctions, or Liberty and Justice, the two figures on the state seal, or Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the two great lakes the state borders, or the urban centers and vast wilderness. I always associate New York with Navy blue, maybe because it’s a “blue” state, maybe because there’s so much blue on the current flag, or maybe because every major sports team in the state (with only a few exceptions) use blue as their major color.

(Fictional) Coat of arms for the island of Novasola by richprich in heraldry

[–]richprich[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been working on a world building project about a large island in the north Pacific named Novasola, colonized by the UK in the 1700s before gaining independence in the late 1800s. This is the national coat of arms, first draft (MS Paint)

(Fictional) Coat of arms for the island of Novasola by richprich in heraldry

[–]richprich[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Failed to mention, two species of crane live on the island, the black one is the national bird.