Leucistic White RAVEN of Qualicum Beach
Corvus corax
©Vancouver Island Birds/Mike Yip
Vancouver Island’s Qualicum Beach seems to be a special place, with white Ravens showing up every year for the past ten years reported the Vancouver Sun. This year there is only one new white raven that has been seen, but that hasn’t stopped birders.
The Globe & Mail reported
“… The birds are thought to be leucistic and not albino, the result of a genetic defect producing chicks lacking normal pigmentation.”
The Times Colonist explained how it is thought the genetic defect works.
“White ravens are the result of the mating of two common ravens with the same genetic defect. The same pair could produce many generations of white ravens, since common black ravens are monogamous and long-lived.”
One bird photographer, Mike Yip, claims some of the white ravens have blue eyes. According to the Times Colonist,
“Leucism is the result of a reduction of all types of pigmentation while albinism is the reduction of just melanin.”
Mike Yip has posted some excellent photographs of the white ravens, along with normally-coloured ravens and other beautiful birds found on Vancouver Island on his site, Vancouver Island Birds.
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EURASIAN WOLF yawning at St, Petersberg Zoo
Canus lupus
© Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters
Apparently this fella was exhausted after celebrating the zoo’s 146th birthday…
The Eurasian Wolf also known as the, European, Common or Forest Wolf is a subspecies of grey wolf which has the largest range among wolf subspecies and is the most common in Europe and Asia, ranging through Mongolia, China, Russia, Scandinavia, Western Europe and the Himalayan Mountains. Compared to their North American cousins, Eurasian wolves tend to have longer, more highly placed ears, narrower heads, more slender loins and coarser, tawnier coloured fur. Compared to Indian wolves, Eurasian wolves are larger, and have longer, broader skulls. In Europe, wolves rarely form large packs like in North America, as their lives are more strongly influenced by human activities. Because of this, Eurasian wolves tend to be more adaptable than North American wolves in the face of human expansion.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Wolf
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GREAT MORMON BUTTERFLY
Papilio memnon
©Chris Chafer (sandpiper2)
@sculcuvant reblogged the Great Mormon caterpillar post and commented :“Great Mormon Butterfly?” Sounds like an ironic drag-queen stripper.” which I loved… So here the butterfly is one of her glorious morphs.
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Great Mormon is a large butterfly that belongs to the Swallowtail family and is common to South-Asia. It is widely distributed and has thirteen subspecies. The female is polymorphic and with mimetic forms.
The butterfly is large with 120 to 150 mm span— 4.75-6” sounds about right. It has four male and many female forms, the females being highly polymorphic and many of them being mimics of unpalatable butterflies. This species has been studied extensively for understanding the genetic basis for polymorphy and Batesian mimicry. As many as twenty-six female forms are reported.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mormon
Other Butterfly “Stripper pal” posts include:
CATERPILLAR of the GREAT MORMON BUTTERFLY
Papilio memnon
by Haentjens Raphaël - Macropixels
These caterpillars have a interesting defense mechanism — First they have fake eyes on either side of their head to make them look like a snake, then they have an organ in their head called the osmeterium. When threatened, the caterpillars display the osmeterium, which resemble two brightly colored ‘horns’ sticking up from the caterpillar’s head. The osmeterium can emit foul-smelling terpenes. The smell, the horns and the caterpillar’s thrashing movements, helps to ward off predators.
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ADHEMARIUS ROESSLERI
Family: Sphingidae
©artour_a
Adhemarius roessleri is a species of moth in the family Sphingidae. It was described by Eitschberger in 2002, and is known from Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, northern Peru and French Guiana—though this one was photographed in Venezuela.
There are probably at least two generations per year.
The larvae probably feed on Ocotea species, such as Ocotea veraguensis, Ocotea atirrensis and Ocotea dendrodaphne.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhemarius_roessleri
http://www.guianensis.fr/photos_sphingidae_1.htm
http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/aganngan.htm
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FEATHER MANTIS
Toxodera fimbriata
©Arddu
3.5” or 85mm in length
Endemic to Malaysia
More closely resembling a predatory walking stick than a mantis, this Toxodera species nevertheless has little in common with stick insects.
Though it too spends much of its day motionless in nearly perfect camouflage, its motive is vastly more aggressive-striking out with blinding speed at nearly anything it can overpower.
It is a supernal hunter, and like many of the arthropods it preys upon, thoroughly enigmatic.
Source:
http://www.pheromonegallery.com/piece/110-Staff-Mantis-Study-%28SGO-21%29#view-details
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ORANGE BELLIED LEAFBIRD
Chloropisis hardwickii
© Pangkin
The Orange-Bellied Leafbird is a bird native to the eastern Himalayas and south China to the Malay Peninsula. It is brightly colored with an orange belly, a green back, a blue tail and flight feathers, and a black and blue patch over its throat and chest. It has a long, curved beak. It feeds on insects, spiders and nectar. Orange-bellied leafbirds make their nests from roots and fibers which are suspended from the edges of twigs at the end of a tree branch. They do not migrate.
The scientific name commemorates the English naturalist Thomas Hardwicke.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-bellied_Leafbird
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LEAFY SPINY SEED MIMICKING BUG
Pephricus livingstone
by artour_a
There’s not a lot I could find on the net about this insect family. Similar photos are tagged alternately as a weird African Assassin Bug and a True Weevil, but the most common name I could find was the Leafy Spiny Seed Mimicking Bug which hardly sounds official. An old book text Google pulled up, stated that they were nearly always found in Ethiopia, this on was photographed in Madagascar. I believe that they are smaller than an inch and this is a macro shot. The one thing that is certain is that they mimick a decaying leaf as a passive defense against being eaten. Other than that, it’s just very cool looking.
If you can find anything more on the Pephricus family, please shoot me the link. I did like that Google search kept insisting I must mean the Hungarian dish paprikash. :)
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FAIRY HAIRSTREAK
Hypolycaena lebona
©Adrian Hoskins
The African Hypolycaena species are popularly known as Fairy Hairstreaks. The various species can be distinguished from one another by examining the curvature and alignment of the orange median stripe on the underside, the configuration of the white markings on the upperside hindwings, and the hue of the metallic scales in the basal area of the upperside.
Location
Hypolycaena lebona is found from Sierra Leone to n.w. Tanzania.
Habitats
This is a rainforest species, which tends to be found along the narrower paths rather than in open sunlight. It occurs at altitudes between about 100-600m. Lifecycle The lifecycle is unknown. Adult behaviour Both sexes nectar at various wild flowers, usually holding their wings erect when feeding. They periodically oscillate their hindwings, which causes the little tails to wiggle, and this, together with the “false eye” marking at the edge of the wings diverts the attention of predators away from the butterfly’s head and body. Birds generally try to predict which direction a butterfly will take, so they aim their attack at a point just ahead of the butterfly. Hypolycaena hatita and other Theclinae turn this to their advantage
Source:
http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Africa%20-%20Hypolycaena%20lebona.htm
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GREEN JUNGLEFOWL
Gallus varius
© Dr Eric Tan a.k.a. MountainMan
This handsome junglefowl is confined to Java and the neighbouring islands of Lesser Sundas E to Flores, Sumba and Alor in Indonesia. Although not globally threatened, because the bird is commonly found around human settlements, especially in the heavily populated areas of Java, the long term survival of the species is in question. This junglefowl is overexploited as it is trapped for the pet trade, the male being prized for vocal competitions. Also, there is much hybridisation with the domestic fowl.
The male Green Junglefowl is instantly recognised by his differently coloured scaled plumage and the multicoloured comb and hackles. Another conspicuous feature is the presence of spurs, found only in the males (above: right leg).
Very little is known about its food and feeding habits, although it is known that these birds take insects and weed seeds. Again, its breeding behaviour is generally unknown.
Source: http://www.besgroup.org/2010/02/23/green-junglefowl/
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BARKING BOOBOOK or BARKING OWL
Ninox connivens
photo: Julie Edgley
As if Boobook wasn’t great enough on it’s own, this handsome owl has a voice that can range from a barking dog noise to a shrill “woman-like scream of great intensity.” :)
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The Barking Boobook (Ninox connivens), also known as the Barking Owl is a nocturnal bird species native to mainland Australia and parts of Papua New Guinea. They are a medium-sized brownowl and have an extremely characteristic voice that can range from a barking dog noise to a shrill woman-like scream of great intensity. Barking owls are often said to be the source to the myths and legends surrounding the Bunyip… (read more: Wikipedia)
(photo: Julie Edgley)
BUDDHA MOTH
Siculodes aurorula
©Adrian Hoskins
Adrian writes on his blog: There can be few members of the Lepidoptera as odd as this creature which confronted me in the rainforests of Trinidad. While walking along a trail, my attention was caught by what appeared to be a dead leaf which seemed to have fallen and settled on green foliage. A spider appeared to be sitting in the middle of it. Closer examination revealed that the “dead leaf” was in fact the wings of a moth, and the “spider” was it’s body and legs.
The animal had adopted an extremely odd posture, with it’s body upright, and its legs and outstretched wings held in a vertical plane. I gave it the nickname “Sit on it’s bum moth.” Identification proved very difficult as there is hardly any published material about neotropical moths available for reference.
For many years I was completely mystified by the insect, but it was was finally identified 10 years later by Mike Shaffer of the British Natural History Museum, as Siculodes aurorula, a member of the Thyrididae. My specimen was the first ever recorded in Trinidad.
The wings are a marvellous example of camouflage - perfectly disguised as a dead leaf, complete with windows to simulate the nibblings of insects, and spotted with dark areas that could easily be mistaken for leaf mould. The photograph finally revealed the reason for the incredibly long legs which had long puzzled entomologists who had studied the museum specimen. The moth needed long legs so that it could rest in this very odd upright posture.
Source: http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/
Other moths protection strategies:
Sycamore Moth disappearing into a tree
Metalmark Moth Mimicking a Jumping Spider
SECRETARY BIRD - by request
Sagittarius serpentarius
©San Diego Shooter
Head of an eagle, body of a stork, Secretary Birds are also known as “serpent eagles” - these highly skilled birds of prey are also famous as snake killers, which are part of their natural diet. They may use beak, wings and feet to kill a large snake; and they use their wings wings as shields to keep from being bitten. They can run so fast that they are sometimes referred to as “the devil’s horse.”
Why “Secretary” Bird?
There are a couple of potential origins of its name. One explanation was that the crest of long feathers at the back of its head resemble the quill pens that 19th century clerks stuck in their wigs. But recent findings indicate that its name was derived from the Arabic “saqr-et-tair”, meaning hunter-bird, which also translates into French as “secretaire”
Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Sahara.
The Secretary Bird is instantly recognizable as having an eagle-like body on crane-like legs which increases the bird’s height to around 1.3 m (4 ft) tall. This 140 cm (4.5 ft) long bird has an eagle-like head with a hooked bill, but has rounded wings. Body weight averages at about 3.3 kg (7.3 lbs) and the wingspan is over 2 m (6.6 ft).
The Secretary Bird enjoys a certain fame in Africa, specifically Sudan and South Africa, where it serves as a prominent Emblem on both countries’ Coat of Arms.
Source & More photos: http://www.avianweb.com/secretarybirds.html
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ATLAS MOTH - a correction of sorts
Attacus atlas
©Quartl
Shoot! I mixed up the photo/photo credit and link on my original Atlas Moth post, and by the time I realized it, it was already tagged under “science” and had been reblogged several times. I have fixed the errors on the original post and I can’t do anything about the reblogs… Anyway, this is the image I wanted to share—for one reason—the illusion of the snake heads at the top of the wings is really clear in this moth’s markings and not so much in the other — though the other choice is a more interesting photo :)
So, heres what I’m talking about:
Atlas moths are said to be named after either the Titan of Greek mythology, or their map-like wing patterns. In Hong Kong the Cantonese name translates as “snake’s head moth”, referring to apical extension of the forewing, which bears a passing resemblance to a snake’s head. This is easily seen in the photo above.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacus_atlas
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