View allAll Photos Tagged Aggregation
Nanyuki
Kenya
East Africa
The common patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas), also known as the wadi monkey or hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa.
Adult males are considerably larger than adult females, which average 49 cm (19 in) in length. Adult males average 12.4 kg (27.3 lb) and adult females 6.5 kg (14.3 lb), showing a high degree of sexual dimorphism.
Reaching speeds of 55 km/h (34 mph), it is the fastest runner among the primates. The life span in the wild can be up to about 20 years.
It is found in many parts of central, western, and eastern Africa. It also has been introduced to Puerto Rico. The species avoids dense woodlands and lives in more open tropical savanna.
The common patas monkey lives in multi-female groups of up to 60 individuals (although much larger aggregations have been reported). The group contains just one adult male.The common patas monkey feeds on insects, gum, seeds, and tubers, a diet more characteristic of much smaller primates. – Wikipedia
Wikipedia: The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
Conservation status: Least Concern
The Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) is the nearest large galaxy to our own Milky Way and one of the most magnificent objects in the night sky. Visible as a faint small smudge from a dark site on a moonless night, M31 is a gigantic aggregation of hundreds of billions of stars at a distance of about 2.5 million light years.
Once thought to be a nebula inside our own Galaxy, its true nature was discovered by Edwin Hubble in 1925, which measured the distance of this "island universe" by studying a special class of pulsating stars known as Cepheids.
M31 is classified as a spiral galaxy with its galactic plane inclined about 13 degrees to our line of sight, and it is therefore seen nearly edge-on. It has, as our own Galaxy, a number of smaller satellite galaxies, the most prominent of which are M32 (the bright, star-like concentration at bottom right at the edge of the spiral arm) and M110, the more extended bright patch at upper left. Astronomers have found evidence of a massive black hole at the center of this galaxy (as is the case for our own Milky Way).
They have also calculated that we are in a collision course with our grand neighbor in space: approaching each other at a speed of about 100 Km/sec, the two galaxies will collide in about 4 billion years and maybe merge into a giant elliptical galaxy.
Image Details:
Telescope: Orion EON ED 80/500 refractor
Mount: Modified Vixen Sphinx (NexSXW)
Camera: Canon EOS 20Da
Light frames: 19 x 3 mins (total: 57 mins), ISO 1600, Daylight WB, no filter
Guiding: Skywatcher 80/400 refractor, Skywatcher Synguider autoguider
Processing: DSS 3.3.4, Adobe Photoshop CS6
Taken at Muthurajawela Wetlands while traveling in a boat.
Stay safe my dear Flickr friends.
FACTS:
The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching.
Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
(Wikipedia)
Thank you for your visits, faves and comments. Constructive criticism and suggestions are most welcome!
DFC_1992
Center focus on a Spot Swordtail in a sea of mud=puddling butterflies.
Wikipedia: Graphium nomius, the spot swordtail, is a butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia that belongs to the swallowtail family. The spot swordtail gets its name from the line of distinct white spots along the margin of its wings. It is known from southern and eastern India (including Sikkim and Assam), Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphium_nomius
Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behavior most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology. This behavior also has been seen in some other insects, notably the leafhoppers, e.g. the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae.
L'alabastro si trova in masse con conformazione generalmente ovoidale, con un peso che varia da pochi chilogrammi a pochi quintali. Didatticamente sono detti "arnioni", comunemente "ovuli", e riposano sia in depositi superficiali che in aggregazioni sotterranee, dette cave, in cui è necessario scavare gallerie.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvglW3KNSsQ
Alabaster is found in masse
s with a generally ovoid conformation, with a weight ranging from a few kilograms to a few quintals. Didactically they are called "arnioni", commonly "ovules", and they rest both in superficial deposits and in underground aggregations, called quarries, in which it is necessary to dig tunnels.
Rothschild's swordtail (left) and other butterfly eating minerals on river bank in Manu National Park.
Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology.
Protesilaus earis, the Rothschild's swordtail, is a species of butterfly found in the Neotropical realm.
Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, Manú National Park
Please don't use my images without my permission. All images © Aivar Mikko.
Male Phidippus audax bold jumping spider. This species is one of the first to appear after the long winter months. Photographing a male can be quite challenging as they rarely sit still. A common species, yet I never tire of their friendly and familiar faces.
Single exposure, hand held, diffused flash.
Notes: During the winter they may form aggregations in protected spaces. Females lay their eggs under the bark of trees or shrubs. Male TBL 6-13 mm.
Wikipedia: The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-wattled_lapwing
Conservation status: Least Concern
Moynaguri Tea Estate, Shalbahan, Tetulia, Panchagarh, Bangladesh
The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
Source: Wikipedia
The Casa della Pesa, Waaghaus, is a historic building dating back to the 13th century, located in the center of Bolzano. It owes its name to the fact that once wheat was weighed there before being sold in the square in front of it which, in fact, is called Piazza del Grano. Recently restored, the building currently houses a cultural center, Waag, which has become a place of meeting and aggregation.
23 febbraio 2020 - Coronavirus: Carnevale di Venezia finito. Vietata da oggi ogni forma di aggregazione ...
Any form of aggregation starting today is prohibited ...
DSC_3269
Orange-Barred Sulphur and other butterflies eating minerals on river bank in Manú National Park.
Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology.
Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, Manú National Park
Please don't use my images without my permission. All images © Aivar Mikko.
Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis)
Very Rare Vagrant to the UK.
This is a large and distinctive thrush. The male has black from the chin to the breast with a greyish black tail. The upperparts are grey and the underparts are whitish with orange-red underwing coverts. Females and immatures are similar but the black on the throat and breast is replaced with dusky streaking.
Black-throated thrushes breed along the edges of clearings in coniferous or mixed deciduous forest, often in the undergrowth of Siberian Pine Pinus sibirica or mixed spruce fir forest, especially along watercourses or in swampy areas.
Breeds solitarily or in loose aggregations of pairs in late May through to late July. The nest is made of grasses and thin twigs bound with earth and lined with fine grasses, moss or lichens. The nest is usually placed within 1.5 to 2m of the ground, sometimes on the ground. Otherwise the behaviour is similar to that of the fieldfare T. pilaris. In winter often found in large flocks with other thrushes such as Tickell's thrush T. unicolor, eye-browed thrush T. eunomus and mistle thrush T. viscivorus, on migration often with dusky thrush. Roosts in dense evergreen vegetation. Feeds on the ground on invertebrates and also feeds on various berries, cherries and some seeds.
The breeding range of the black-throated thrush extends from the extreme east of Europe to Western Siberia and north-west Mongolia. The wintering range extends from the Middle East, although uncommon in the Arabian Peninsula to eastern Burma. As a vagrant it has occurred in Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan as well as to most of Europe west of its normal range.
Mud-puddling is a feeding behaviour displayed by butterflies. Although they primarily feed on nectar they seek out other essential nutrients including minerals and amino acids in moist substances such as rotting plant matter and mud. Where the conditions are suitable, butterflies form aggregations while mud-puddling.
There are six species of butterflies in this photo taken at Phnom Kulen National Park, Cambodia. I have identified two species. The large butterflies are yellow helens, Papilio nephelus. The white butterfly in flight is the same as the yellow and white butterflies with a dark edge at the edge of their wings. They are chocolate albatrosses, Appias lyncida.
Thanks for visiting. I am very grateful to those who take the time to comment or fave.
A grey heron landing with a fresh fish in it's beak.
Grey herons are widely distributed, occurring throughout much of Asia as far east as Japan. They also breed in South Africa, while migrants are regular throughout much of Africa. Grey Herons are generalists in habitat use. They are typically found in and around shallow water, generally along watercourses and shorelines, and usually in locations having roost trees nearby. They may occur in inland fresh waters, along estuaries, or in marine habitats. Shallow water, relatively large prey, and 4 or 5 months of an ice-free breeding season seem to be essential characteristics of suitable habitat.
The Grey Heron usually hunts solitarily, but in situations where food is more concentrated, birds may feed in loose aggregations or even mixed species flocks. The usual method of capturing prey is by a rapid Bill Thrust, preceded by retracting its head and neck. Pecking is used on dry ground, such as for earthworms. Food is nearly always dipped in the water, if available, before being swallowed. It is handled by biting, stabbing, and pounding to soften, to remove spines, to position for swallowing (fish are swallowed head first), or for breaking into smaller pieces.
Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis)
Very Rare Vagrant to the UK.
This is a large and distinctive thrush. The male has black from the chin to the breast with a greyish black tail. The upperparts are grey and the underparts are whitish with orange-red underwing coverts. Females and immatures are similar but the black on the throat and breast is replaced with dusky streaking.
Black-throated thrushes breed along the edges of clearings in coniferous or mixed deciduous forest, often in the undergrowth of Siberian Pine Pinus sibirica or mixed spruce fir forest, especially along watercourses or in swampy areas.
Breeds solitarily or in loose aggregations of pairs in late May through to late July. The nest is made of grasses and thin twigs bound with earth and lined with fine grasses, moss or lichens. The nest is usually placed within 1.5 to 2m of the ground, sometimes on the ground. Otherwise the behaviour is similar to that of the fieldfare T. pilaris. In winter often found in large flocks with other thrushes such as Tickell's thrush T. unicolor, eye-browed thrush T. eunomus and mistle thrush T. viscivorus, on migration often with dusky thrush. Roosts in dense evergreen vegetation. Feeds on the ground on invertebrates and also feeds on various berries, cherries and some seeds.
The breeding range of the black-throated thrush extends from the extreme east of Europe to Western Siberia and north-west Mongolia. The wintering range extends from the Middle East, although uncommon in the Arabian Peninsula to eastern Burma. As a vagrant it has occurred in Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan as well as to most of Europe west of its normal range.
Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis)
Very Rare Vagrant to the UK.
This is a large and distinctive thrush. The male has black from the chin to the breast with a greyish black tail. The upperparts are grey and the underparts are whitish with orange-red underwing coverts. Females and immatures are similar but the black on the throat and breast is replaced with dusky streaking.
Black-throated thrushes breed along the edges of clearings in coniferous or mixed deciduous forest, often in the undergrowth of Siberian Pine Pinus sibirica or mixed spruce fir forest, especially along watercourses or in swampy areas.
Breeds solitarily or in loose aggregations of pairs in late May through to late July. The nest is made of grasses and thin twigs bound with earth and lined with fine grasses, moss or lichens. The nest is usually placed within 1.5 to 2m of the ground, sometimes on the ground. Otherwise the behaviour is similar to that of the fieldfare T. pilaris. In winter often found in large flocks with other thrushes such as Tickell's thrush T. unicolor, eye-browed thrush T. eunomus and mistle thrush T. viscivorus, on migration often with dusky thrush. Roosts in dense evergreen vegetation. Feeds on the ground on invertebrates and also feeds on various berries, cherries and some seeds.
The breeding range of the black-throated thrush extends from the extreme east of Europe to Western Siberia and north-west Mongolia. The wintering range extends from the Middle East, although uncommon in the Arabian Peninsula to eastern Burma. As a vagrant it has occurred in Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan as well as to most of Europe west of its normal range.
Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis)
Very Rare Vagrant to the UK.
This is a large and distinctive thrush. The male has black from the chin to the breast with a greyish black tail. The upperparts are grey and the underparts are whitish with orange-red underwing coverts. Females and immatures are similar but the black on the throat and breast is replaced with dusky streaking.
Black-throated thrushes breed along the edges of clearings in coniferous or mixed deciduous forest, often in the undergrowth of Siberian Pine Pinus sibirica or mixed spruce fir forest, especially along watercourses or in swampy areas.
Breeds solitarily or in loose aggregations of pairs in late May through to late July. The nest is made of grasses and thin twigs bound with earth and lined with fine grasses, moss or lichens. The nest is usually placed within 1.5 to 2m of the ground, sometimes on the ground. Otherwise the behaviour is similar to that of the fieldfare T. pilaris. In winter often found in large flocks with other thrushes such as Tickell's thrush T. unicolor, eye-browed thrush T. eunomus and mistle thrush T. viscivorus, on migration often with dusky thrush. Roosts in dense evergreen vegetation. Feeds on the ground on invertebrates and also feeds on various berries, cherries and some seeds.
The breeding range of the black-throated thrush extends from the extreme east of Europe to Western Siberia and north-west Mongolia. The wintering range extends from the Middle East, although uncommon in the Arabian Peninsula to eastern Burma. As a vagrant it has occurred in Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan as well as to most of Europe west of its normal range.
"Mud-puddling, ou simplesmente puddling, é um comportamento mais conspícuo em borboletas, mas ocorre em outros animais, principalmente insectos; Eles procuram certas substâncias húmidas como a decomposição da matéria vegetal, lama e carniça e sugam o fluído. Onde as condições são adequadas, insetos conspícuos tais como borboletas, formam agregações em solo úmido, estrume ou carniça. Dos fluidos obtêm nutrientes como sais e aminoácidos que desempenham vários papéis na sua fisiologia, etologia e ecologia."
Texto da Wikipédia
Foto tirada na Estrada Parque Pantanal Sul - Brasil
------------------------------------------------
"Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain nutrients such as salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology."
Text from Wikipedia.
Photo taken in Pantanal Park Road - Brazil
These mining bees have been only recently described (Schmidt & Westrich 1993) as a distinct species. Until then, they were confused with another species of Colletes the morphologically very similar, but ecologically distinctive, Colletes halophilus.
The females of Colletes hederae are on average 13 millimetres (0.51 in) long, while the males are about 10 mm (0.39 in) long, significantly larger than the common colletes. The thorax of the adults is covered by dense orange-brown hair, while each abdominal segment has an apical orangey hair-band.
This species is very similar to the closely related heather colletes (Colletes succinctus) and even more to the sea aster mining bee (Colletes halophilus).
The adults emerge late in the year (the males from late August and the females a little later in early September) and remain on the wing until early November. The principal pollen forage plant is ivy (Hedera helix), (hence the specific epithet hederae), but both sexes will also nectar at ivy flowers too. When ivy is scarce, other species of plants are also visited. The females supply the larval brood cells almost exclusively with nectar and pollen of ivy flowers. When ivy flowering is delayed, females may also collect pollen at various members of the Daisy family (Asteraceae).
These are solitary bees and do not live in colonies and do not overwinter as adults. They nest in clay-sandy soils, especially in loess hills and soft-rock cliffs. Like many other solitary bees, they can often be found nesting in dense aggregations, sometimes numbering many tens of thousands of nests. In parts of the west European range of the species, Colletes hederae are frequently parasitized by the larvae of the meloid beetle Stenoria analis, which feed on the supply of nectar and pollen prepared by females bees in their nests.
The giraffe is a tall African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring, or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for raising the young.
The giraffe has intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for its peculiar appearance, and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. It is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable to extinction and has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Giraffes are still found in numerous national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
Wikipedia: The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-wattled_lapwing
Conservation status: Least Concern
(Note: I was trying to get chick and parent in the same frame, but the parent tries to lead you away from the chicks as a strategy of defense. If you happen to get too close both parents will continuously dive bomb you.)
A mixed group of mainly glassy tigers with some spot sword-tails and common blue bottles included.
Wikipedia: Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behavior most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology.
Feuer unter der Oberfläche. Das Eis ist geschmolzen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A planet awakens and new life arises? It is bubbling, the craters show the fire, you can feel the heat and the ice is already in the new state of aggregation of water. When will the first creatures be discovered?
As I was preparing this object for photography, I missed a little life, vibrancy to the spotty and patinated surface with the many dot holes. A little light from behind, maybe red? Some light from the side to highlight the texture better? Suddenly it looked like the surface of the moon and I decided to create a new planet ;-) What glows from the inside is the head of an old zinc can, illuminated by a bicycle light and sprinkled with drops of water. Maybe I should use the can again to water the flowers so the dust is washed off ...
///
EIn Planet erwacht und es entsteht neues Leben? Es brodelt, in den Kratern ist das Feuer zu sehen, man spürt die Hitze und das Eis ist bereits in den neuen Aggregatzustand des Wassers versetzt. Wann werden die ersten Lebewesen zu entdecken sein?
Als ich dabei war, dieses Objekt zum Fotografieren aufzubauen, fehlte mir ein wenig Leben, Lebendigkeit zu der gefleckten und mit Patina versehenen Oberfläche mit den vielen Punktlöchern. Etwas Licht von hinten, vielleicht rot? Etwas Licht von der Seite, um die Struktur besser hervorzuheben? Plötzlich sah es aus wie die Oberfläche des Mondes und ich beschloss, einen neuen Planeten zu erschaffen ;-) Was hier so von Innen glüht, ist der Gießkopf einer alten Kanne aus Zink, erleuchtet durch eine Fahrradlampe und mit Wassertropfen besprenkelt. Vielleicht sollte ich die Kanne wieder einmal zum Gießen der Blumen verwenden, damit der Staub abgewaschen wird …
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
#MacroMondays 2018 / January 22 / #Speckled
/ HMM to everyone!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nikon Micro-Nikkor-P / 1:3.5 / 55 mm
flickr.com/photos/184806716@N02/52338220675/in/pool-inexp...
The giraffe is a tall African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring, or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for raising the young.
The giraffe has intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for its peculiar appearance, and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. It is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable to extinction and has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Giraffes are still found in numerous national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
Corythoichthys schultzi can reach a length up to 16 centimetres (6.3 in) in males. The body is cylindrical and very elongated. These pipefishes have a cryptic coloration making the difficult to be detected by both prey and predators. The basic color of the body is whitish, with small black, brown and reddish dashes and yellowish rings. The eyes are protruding and the snout is long, slightly compressed and thinner than the body. The caudal fin is present but quite small. Adults may form small aggregation. Ovoviviparous, the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch which is found under the tail. In this pouch they also carry the developing young pipefishes. (Wikipedia) Nuweiba, Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt
Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis)
Very Rare Vagrant to the UK.
This is a large and distinctive thrush. The male has black from the chin to the breast with a greyish black tail. The upperparts are grey and the underparts are whitish with orange-red underwing coverts. Females and immatures are similar but the black on the throat and breast is replaced with dusky streaking.
Black-throated thrushes breed along the edges of clearings in coniferous or mixed deciduous forest, often in the undergrowth of Siberian Pine Pinus sibirica or mixed spruce fir forest, especially along watercourses or in swampy areas.
Breeds solitarily or in loose aggregations of pairs in late May through to late July. The nest is made of grasses and thin twigs bound with earth and lined with fine grasses, moss or lichens. The nest is usually placed within 1.5 to 2m of the ground, sometimes on the ground. Otherwise the behaviour is similar to that of the fieldfare T. pilaris. In winter often found in large flocks with other thrushes such as Tickell's thrush T. unicolor, eye-browed thrush T. eunomus and mistle thrush T. viscivorus, on migration often with dusky thrush. Roosts in dense evergreen vegetation. Feeds on the ground on invertebrates and also feeds on various berries, cherries and some seeds.
The breeding range of the black-throated thrush extends from the extreme east of Europe to Western Siberia and north-west Mongolia. The wintering range extends from the Middle East, although uncommon in the Arabian Peninsula to eastern Burma. As a vagrant it has occurred in Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan as well as to most of Europe west of its normal range.
Shine a light on me...
Corythoichthys schultzi can reach a length up to 16 cm (6.3 in) in males. The body is cylindrical and very elongated. These pipefishes have a cryptic coloration making the difficult to be detected by both prey and predators. The basic color of the body is whitish, with small black, brown and reddish dashes and yellowish rings. The eyes are protruding and the snout is long, slightly compressed and thinner than the body. The caudal fin is present but quite small. Adults may form small aggregation. Ovoviviparous, the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch which is found under the tail. In this pouch they also carry the developing young pipefishes. (Wikipedia) Nuweiba, Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt
www.flickr.com/photos/184806716@N02/52695838895/in/explor...
Feb 19, 2023 #467
The giraffe is a tall African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring, or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for raising the young.
The giraffe has intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for its peculiar appearance, and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. It is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable to extinction and has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Giraffes are still found in numerous national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
Agapostemon
Some 42 species in the genus range from Canada to Argentina. All species of Agapostemon nest in the ground, sometimes in dense aggregations. In this and other communal species, multiple females share the same nest entrance, but beneath the common entrance burrow, construct their own portion of the nest. Thus each female digs her own brood cells and collects pollen and nectar to fashion the pollen ball upon which she will lay an egg.
The giraffe is a tall African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of Giraffa are known from the fossil record.
The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring, or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Males establish social hierarchies through "necking", combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for raising the young.
The giraffe has intrigued various ancient and modern cultures for its peculiar appearance, and has often been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. It is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable to extinction and has been extirpated from many parts of its former range. Giraffes are still found in numerous national parks and game reserves, but estimates as of 2016 indicate there are approximately 97,500 members of Giraffa in the wild. More than 1,600 were kept in zoos in 2010.
The existing masonry city pool was completed in 1829.Commonly known as the East Gate, The official name is Ying Si Gate, It means the city gate that welcomes the morning sun. This is a national historic site.
Unlike a crossroads, Eight lanes and even ten lanes, Vehicles in
four or five directions Automotive flow aggregation, In this place
vehicleof preserved historical sites, Around Hsinchu East Gate.The is in a counterclockwise direction, Round the old building of this city gate Keep moving forward, These car sare like doing circular motion, Feel the centrifugal force of the physical world.
現有的磚石城池於1829年完工。俗稱東門，官方名稱是迎曦門，這意味著歡迎早晨陽光的城門，屬於國家古蹟。
不同於十字路口，八線道甚至是十線道，四個方向或是五個方向的汽車流動聚集，在保留的歷史遺跡這個地方，新竹東門周圍。車輛以逆時針的方向，繞行這個城門老建築繼續向前行進，這些汽車就像在做圓周運動，感受物理世界的離心力。
Wikipedia: The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-wattled_lapwing
Conservation status: Least Concern
(Note: I was trying to get chick and parent in the same frame, but the parent tries to lead you away from the chicks as a strategy of defense. If you happen to get too close both parents will continuously dive bomb you.)
"Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain nutrients such as salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology."
Text from Wikipedia.
Rio Mutum - Barão de Melgaço - Brasil
As I processed this image from my trip to Tanzania, I thought of the dangers a mother Giraffe and her calf face as they search the Serengeti for food and shelter.
Brought to mind Helen Reddy’s 1974 song "You and Me Against the World."
The Giraffe:
Giraffes usually inhabit savannas and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach.
Lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and African wild dogs may prey upon giraffes. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations.
Males establish social hierarchies through "necking,” combat bouts where the neck is used as a weapon. Dominant males gain mating access to females, which bear sole responsibility for rearing the young.
(Wikipedia)
(Nikon Z6ll, 24-70/4.0 @ 58mm, 1000 @ f/8, ISO 220, processed to taste)
This wasp is associated with sandy soils and frequents inland heaths and commons. It can also be found on the coast especially around dunes and landslips.
The prey species are various weevils. Nests are deep burrows dug in the soil, from which side-tunnels radiate leading to cells at depths of 20 to 25 cm. In sandy areas, dense aggregations containing thousands of nests may form. Each cell is provisioned with 3 to 14 weevils, the number depending on prey size and sex of offspring.
Heterogaster urticae can reach a body length of about 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in). These shiny bugs show yellow-brown to brown pronotum and corium. Antennae are gray-yellow. The head and pronotum are covered with whitish long erect hairs. These bugs are also characterized by the alternate dark and light markings on the legs and connexivum. Moreover, fore femora are armed with a single spine and the pale tibiae show three dark annulations. The rostrum reaches only to the middle coxae.
Adults overwinter beneath bark or in hollow woody stem. They emerge in the following spring and mate in June and July. During mating male and females may remain coupled together for 3–4 days. Eggs are laid with a copious secretion in the ground near the host plant. Larvae can be found until September. The new generation is complete from late summer onwards. Adults often forms conspicuous aggregations on nettles. The main hosts plants in Europe are the stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), but the bugs have been also reported on other species of Urtica and on roots of the marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) (Poaceae).
With a magnificent view of Rome in the background, even on a cloudy, chilly winter day, St Peter's Square is an amazing sight from this vantage. It is hard to describe the opulence of every structure, truly every piece of the Vatican. It is a living testament to over 500 years of building, collecting, sculpting, painting, in the name of God and the Catholic Church. Whether one believes in the doctrine or the methods, the aggregation of such wealth and artistry is breathtaking and completely unparalleled in human history.
www.propeakphotography.com/warehouse/art_print_products/s...
Select Fine Art prints of this and other images can be purchased at bit.ly/ProPeak
20% off for first-time subscribers!
Moynaguri Tea Estate, Shalbahan, Tetulia, Panchagarh, Bangladesh
The red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or animal movements and the sounds have been variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to the colloquial name of did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups and usually not far from water they sometimes form large aggregations in the non-breeding season (winter). They nest in a ground scrape laying three to four camouflaged eggs. Adults near the nest fly around, diving at potential predators while calling noisily. The cryptically patterned chicks hatch and immediately follow their parents to feed, hiding by lying low on the ground or in the grass when threatened.
Source: Wikipedia
Uno scorcio di un popolare cortile nei pressi del centro storico di Sciacca, in via S. Nicolo'. Due donne e forse un ragazzino, seduti su delle sedie di plastica bianca, chiacchierano fra loro cercando di godere dell'ombra all'interno del cortile in caldo pomeriggio di inizio estate. Scene che sono solite nei cortili, dove l'aggregazione tra le famiglie che vi abitano all'interno è sempre viva.
A glimpse of a popular courtyard near the historic center of Sciacca, in via S. Nicolo'. Two women and perhaps a little boy, sitting on white plastic chairs, chatting to each other trying to enjoy the shade inside the courtyard on a hot early summer afternoon. Scenes that are usual in courtyards, where the aggregation between the families who live inside is always alive.
These mining bees have been only recently described (Schmidt & Westrich 1993) as a distinct species. Until then, they were confused with another species of Colletes the morphologically very similar, but ecologically distinctive, Colletes halophilus.
The females of Colletes hederae are on average 13 millimetres (0.51 in) long, while the males are about 10 mm (0.39 in) long, significantly larger than the common colletes. The thorax of the adults is covered by dense orange-brown hair, while each abdominal segment has an apical orangey hair-band.
This species is very similar to the closely related heather colletes (Colletes succinctus) and even more to the sea aster mining bee (Colletes halophilus).
The adults emerge late in the year (the males from late August and the females a little later in early September) and remain on the wing until early November. The principal pollen forage plant is ivy (Hedera helix), (hence the specific epithet hederae), but both sexes will also nectar at ivy flowers too. When ivy is scarce, other species of plants are also visited. The females supply the larval brood cells almost exclusively with nectar and pollen of ivy flowers. When ivy flowering is delayed, females may also collect pollen at various members of the Daisy family (Asteraceae).
These are solitary bees and do not live in colonies and do not overwinter as adults. They nest in clay-sandy soils, especially in loess hills and soft-rock cliffs. Like many other solitary bees, they can often be found nesting in dense aggregations, sometimes numbering many tens of thousands of nests. In parts of the west European range of the species, Colletes hederae are frequently parasitized by the larvae of the meloid beetle Stenoria analis, which feed on the supply of nectar and pollen prepared by females bees in their nests.
zwei "Aggregatzustände" des Wassers ...
Prière de ne pas toucher, Please do not touch, Bitte nich berühren ... the temptation was big !!!
the temptation was great ... ;-) ...
_MG_171244_pa4
Various species of butterflies mud-puddling at Kaeng Krachan National Park.
Wikipedia: Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behavior most conspicuous in butterflies, but also occurring in other animals, primarily insects. The organism seeks out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion, and suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology.
The blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), also called the common wildebeest, white-bearded gnu or brindled gnu, is a large antelope and one of the two species of wildebeest. It is placed in the genus Connochaetes and family Bovidae, and has a close taxonomic relationship with the black wildebeest. The blue wildebeest is known to have five subspecies. This broad-shouldered antelope has a muscular, front-heavy appearance, with a distinctive, robust muzzle. Young blue wildebeest are born tawny brown, and begin to take on their adult coloration at the age of 2 months. The adults' hues range from a deep slate or bluish-gray to light gray or even grayish-brown. Both sexes possess a pair of large curved horns.
The blue wildebeest is a herbivore, feeding primarily on short grasses. It forms herds which move about in loose aggregations, the animals being fast runners and extremely wary. The mating season begins at the end of the rainy season and a single calf is usually born after a gestational period of about 8.5 months. The calf remains with its mother for 8 months, after which it joins a juvenile herd. Blue wildebeest are found in short-grass plains bordering bush-covered acacia savannas in southern and eastern Africa, thriving in areas that are neither too wet nor too arid. Three African populations of blue wildebeest take part in a long-distance migration, timed to coincide with the annual pattern of rainfall and grass growth on the short-grass plains where they can find the nutrient-rich forage necessary for lactation and calf growth.