A large cuckoo, distinctive in all plumages, but usually secretive, keeping to the interior of dense trees in many habitats, even inner cities and fields. Adult males glossy black with dull lime-green bill; females and immatures blackish brown with white dots on the wings and strong streaking on head and throat. Adults have ruby-red eyes. Females lay eggs in the nests of other large birds, including crows, shrikes, and starlings. Song is a loud, persistent “ko-EL!” similar to a peacock’s call. (eBird)

-------------

A bird that is far more frequently heard than seen. Given its size, it is remarkably capable of disappearing into a tree. This one, though, came out into the sun just as we were heading off for the day's birding adventures.

Changi Villiage, Singapore. March 2024.

Birding Singapore.

Attractive duck with distinctive triangular head; forehead slopes seamlessly into the long bill. Males are white-bodied with black chest, reddish-brown head, and red eye. Females are dull grayish-brown with unique head profile and dark brown eye. Breeds in lakes and marshes. Winters in any large body of water with submerged aquatic vegetation on which to feed. Dives frequently, searching for vegetation and invertebrates. Often gathers in large flocks in nonbreeding season. (eBird)

Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. March 2022.

The distinctive red-brown fur and long bushy tail of the fox are a familiar sight almost everywhere in the British Isles. Foxes are intelligent, adaptable mammals, opportunistic, with unfussy palates, and they make use of a wide range of habitats, including those of towns and cities. They are social animals, living in family groups of a breeding pair, together with cubs in the spring, and sometimes other subordinate juveniles and adults. The latter are usually young born the previous year and help with the rearing of cubs, feeding, grooming and playing with them. Each group occupies a territory, which is marked with urine and scats. Dens (called ‘earths’) may be dug in banks or make use of (disused or occupied) badger setts or old rabbit burrows. In urban areas, favoured sites for dens are under buildings or sheds, and in overgrown gardens and cemeteries.

Foxes hunt and scavenge with keen senses of smell and hearing, and probably use the latter to locate earthworms, which can make up a large part of their diet.

Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated.

As I am following the chronology of the trip I should now be heading North again. However I could not resist posting another shot from the Lofoten Islands. This is the incredibly beautiful village of Reine a fishing village which is located on the island of Moskenesøya .It was a long drive from Svolvar to Reine but when I turned a bend in the road and saw the village my jaw just dropped. I have a lot of shots of the Lofotens so will be returning to them in the future but tomorrow we carry on North towards Tromso

A little bit of information on the Lofoten Islands from wiki

Lofoten is an archipelago in the county of Nordland, Norway. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude. Lofoten is known for its distinctive scenery with mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands.

Lofoten is located at the 68th and 69th parallels north of the Arctic Circle in Norway. Lofoten encompasses the several principal islands, running from north to south are: Hinnøya, Austvågøy, Gimsøy ,Vestvågøy, Flakstadøya and Moskenesøya. Winter temperatures in Lofoten are very mild considering its location north of the Arctic Circle .This is a result of the Gulf Stream and its extensions: the North Atlantic Current and the Norwegian Current. Røst and Værøy are the most northerly locations in the world where average temperatures are above freezing all year.

What Wiki forgot to say is that these Islands are astonishingly beautiful…if you have a few quid spare go and visit them

THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE A COMMENT IT’S MUCH APPRECIATED.

IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW MY STREAM I SUGGEST YOU OUGHT TO READ MY PROFILE FIRST

The distinctive red-brown fur and long bushy tail of the fox are a familiar sight almost everywhere in the British Isles. Foxes are intelligent, adaptable mammals, opportunistic, with unfussy palates, and they make use of a wide range of habitats, including those of towns and cities. They are social animals, living in family groups of a breeding pair, together with cubs in the spring, and sometimes other subordinate juveniles and adults. The latter are usually young born the previous year and help with the rearing of cubs, feeding, grooming and playing with them. Each group occupies a territory, which is marked with urine and scats. Dens (called ‘earths’) may be dug in banks or make use of (disused or occupied) badger setts or old rabbit burrows. In urban areas, favoured sites for dens are under buildings or sheds, and in overgrown gardens and cemeteries.

Foxes hunt and scavenge with keen senses of smell and hearing, and probably use the latter to locate earthworms, which can make up a large part of their diet.

Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated.

The beautiful and highly distinctive Pin-tailed Manakin is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, where it is not rare but the species is nonetheless highly prized by birdwatchers, especially as its unusually quiet vocalisations can render it unobtrusive, making encounters much less frequent than with other manakins that occur in the same region. The male Pin-tailed Manakin is one of the most unmistakable and prettiest of manakins, and even the female is difficult to confuse given that it shares the male’s ‘unusual’ head shape and ‘pin-tail’ central rectrices. The species prefers humid forest, woodlots and mature second growth, perhaps most frequently in valleys. Its systematic relationships have only recently been elucidated, although its uniqueness has long been recognised by taxonomists. However, some facets of the Pin-tailed Manakin’s life history, especially its breeding biology and diet, are still relatively poorly known. birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/pitman1/cur/introduction

This beautiful male was photographed at Tapiraí - São Paulo. Wishing everyone a Peaceful Thursday and for those who celebrate a Peaceful Thanksgiving!

Thanks a lot for your visits, comments, faves, invites, etc. Very much appreciated!

© All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. All rights reserved. Please contact me at thelma.gatuzzo@gmail.com if you intend to buy or use any of my images.

My instagram if you like: @thelmag and @thelma_and_cats

Small falcon with distinctive male plumage; gray head, rusty back, gray tail with broad black tip. Female is brownish above, barred on back, wings, and tail. Note rather pointed wingtips (unlike rounded wings of sparrowhawks and Shikra), and distinct dark spotting on breast. Fairly common in open and lightly wooded country, farmland, heathland; often seen over rough grassland beside roads and at airports. Perches on wires and posts, and typically hunts by hovering, at times fairly high overhead.​ Very similar to Lesser Kestrel. (Courtesy e.bird)

Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated 👍

The Tre Cime di Lavaredo, also called the Drei Zinnen, are three distinctive battlement-like peaks, in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. They are probably one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps. The three peaks, from east to west, are:

Cima Piccola / Kleine Zinne ("little peak")

Cima Grande / Große Zinne ("big peak")

Cima Ovest / Westliche Zinne ("western peak").

Tre Cime as seen from the foot of Torre di Toblin mountain

The peaks are composed of well-layered dolomites of the Dolomia Principale formation, Carnian to Rhaetian in age, as are many other groups in the Dolomites.

Until 1919 the peaks formed part of the border between Italy and Austria-Hungary. Now they lie on the border between the Italian provinces of South Tyrol and Belluno and still are a part of the linguistic boundary between German-speaking and Italian-speaking majorities. The Cima Grande has an elevation of 2,999 metres. It stands between the Cima Piccola, at 2,857 metres, and the Cima Ovest, at 2,973 metres.

The Three Peaks rise on the southern edge of the extensive pinnacle plateau with the Langen Alm, an alpine plateau at around 2200 m to 2400 m, which here forms the end of the Rienz Valley (Valle della Rienza). There are three small mountain lakes, the Zinnenseen. This area north of the mountains to the peaks to the municipality of part Toblach in South Tyrol and the Natural Park Three Peaks (up to 2010 Sesto Dolomites Nature Park), the since 2009 is part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

The ridge of the battlements, which runs in a west-east direction, forms the border with the municipality of Auronzo di Cadore in the province of Belluno, which also represents the German-Italian language border. To the northeast, this ridge continues to the 2454 m high Paternsattel (Forcella Lavaredo), where it turns north to the mountains Passportenkopf and Paternkofel. In the west it sits across the Forcella Col di Mezzo transition to the Zinnenkuppe and on to the 2252 m high Katzenleiterkop.

To the southwest of the Drei Zinnen, the Forcella Col di Mezzo is followed by the Plano di Longeres plateau above the Valle di Rinbianco, a side valley of the Rienz Valley. Immediately south of the western pinnacle, the Forcella di Longeres saddle separates the Plano di Longeres from the Vallone di Lavaredo, a side valley of the Piave valley. To the south lies the Cadini group.

Cortina d'Ampezzo, 17 kilometers southwest, is the largest city in the area. Other larger towns are Toblach 13 kilometers northwest and Innichen 12 kilometers north.

Ospreys are very large, distinctively shaped hawks. Despite their size, their bodies are slender, with long, narrow wings and long legs. Ospreys fly with a marked kink in their wings, making an M-shape when seen from below.

Ospreys are brown above and white below, and overall they are whiter than most raptors. From below, the wings are mostly white with a prominent dark patch at the wrists. The head is white with a broad brown stripe through the eye. Juveniles have white spots on the back and buff shading on the breast.

Ospreys search for fish by flying on steady wing-beats and bowed wings or circling high in the sky over relatively shallow water. They often hover briefly before diving, feet first, to grab a fish.

The distinctive orange breast of both sexes contributed to the European robin's original name of "redbreast", orange as a colour name being unknown in English until the 16th century, by which time the fruit of the same name had been introduced.

Breeding males are distinctive with dark reddish-brown cap and sides, along with buffy nape. Two bold white wingbars. Females and fall birds are duller; most show at least some chestnut coloring on sides. Dullest birds are similar to Blackpoll and Pine Warblers; look for streaks on back, well-defined wingbars, and cleaner greenish-yellow head and neck. Prefers conifers during migration, but can be found in any woodland. Breeds in the boreal forest. In most of U.S. , only seen during migration. Winters in Central and South America. Listen carefully for extremely high-pitched, squeaky-wheel song, similar to a fast Black-and-white Warbler. (eBird)

Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, Ontario, Canada. May 2014.

C-FLRJ, a British Aerospace Avro 146-RJ85, on approach to runway 05 at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario. It was arriving as SMM8541 (Summit Air Ltd.) from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

A distinctive red finchlike bird found in woodlands, forest edges, shrubby areas, urban parks, and gardens. Males are mostly dark red with a cinnamon back, and a black crown with a bright red center. Females lack the crest and are mostly dark brown with a cinnamon breast and rump. Both sexes have white eyerings. The song is a series of two alternating whistles.

Ipal Ecolodge, Peru. October 2018.

beautiful Robin

A distinctive looking bunting around 15-16 cms long and found in rocky habitats in parts of Northern, Western and Central India. The bird is rare pretty in much of South India though. They are also found in a large range across China and South Asia as per ebird.

The bird is impossible to miss since the colors are quite unique and distinctive. It prefers rocky terrain and is usually found on the slopes foraging on the ground looking for grain. The female too has a crest though it is much smaller, and the overall body color is a dull olive color.

There was a sunflower farm with millets in between and we found a pair - male and female foraging in them. Sometimes, they preferred the millet, but other times, the birds landed on the ground between the rows of sunflower plants and foraged on the ground. I wanted a shot of the bird with sunflower behind, but that wasn't meant to be.

Many thanks in advance for your likes and feedback. Much appreciated.

Taken in my back garden.

About blackbird-sized and striking black-and-white. It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or by its distinctive spring 'drumming' display. The male has a distinctive red patch on the back of the head and young birds have a red crown.

The Red-bellied Grackle is a distinctive rare blackbird of cloud forest in the Colombian Andes. It is large, long-tailed, and heavy-billed with a bright red belly and otherwise glossy black plumage. Red-bellied Grackles moves through the forest in groups, giving a variety of calls. While it has been recorded from all three ranges of the Andes in Colombia, contemporary localities are few.

neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p...

Distinctive in beauty and magnificence...the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly !

Pushing on that trigger is like pulling magic into my very soul...Darrell.

Have a fun and creative day Dear Flickr friends !

Found in one of the few places I can get to on a tiny mobility scooter, where I can climb down onto grass and kneel on a gardening kneeling mat using the scooter as a counter balance. Once done I can then very carefully lie down to get the shot. easier said than done.

Horse mushrooms are bigger than field mushrooms and have a distinctive aniseedy smell when cut. Although that might sound alarming they safe to eat.

A large bird around 38-40 cms long sporting a distinctive eye patch and endemic to India and Sri Lanka. The tail itself is maybe around 15-20 cms long. This is the most common of the three Malkoha species found in India. These birds belong to the large cuckoo family, but they are non-parasitic, i.e. they don't demonstrate brood parasitism. It doesn't lay its eggs in other birds nests.

The bird is easily recognizable by the pale bluish eye ring from which it derives its name. We sighted this bird foraging in the trees next to a country road while driving slowly. Luckily it didn't fly away and gave this nice shot.

The birds feed on insects, caterpillars and other small vertebrates. They have a easy to remember loud hollow call. I think the nesting season is just complete - 2 weeks ago, we sighted 3 juveniles in one tree right next to the road - all of them darted off into the tree as soon as we stopped our vehicle.

Thanks in advance for your views and / or feedback. Much appreciated.

The distinctive wing pattern and shape of Emesis make them instantly recognisable as a genus. Emesis mandana, in common with several other Emesis species, is quite variable in colour, ranging from dull reddish to bright orange-yellow. This butterfly is common and widespread throughout much of central and South America.

This species apparently occurs in primary and secondary forest habitats at altitudes between sea level and at least 2000m, but is most frequently encountered below 800m.

(La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level)

www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Amazon%20-%20Emesis%20manda...

Ruthie Is My Age In Cat Years

I have taken the following Section from From "Conscious Cat":

______________________________

“Tortitude” – The Unique Personality of Tortoiseshell Cats

Posted by Ingrid

Tortitude = tortoiseshell cat personality

Tortoiseshell cats are named for their distinctive coloring – a combination of patches of black, brown, amber, red, cinnamon and chocolate. The size of the patches varies from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of color. The term “tortoiseshell” is used for cats with brindled coats that have few or no white markings. Cats of this coloring with larger areas of white fur are called calicos. Sometimes, these colors present in lighter versions such as lilac or cream. Torties with this lighter coloring are called dilute torties. Occasionally, the typical tortoiseshell colors are also seen in a tabby (striped) pattern, and these cats are sometimes referred to as “torbies.”

Tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Tortoiseshell and calico coats are the result of the interaction between genetic and developmental factors. The occasional and very rare male tortoiseshell cat is the result of a genetic mutation.

In addition to their distinctive coloring, torties also have a reputation for unique personalities, sometimes referred to as “tortitude.” They tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of their human. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely independent, feisty, and unpredictable. They’re usually very talkative and make their presence and needs known with anything from a hiss to a meow to a strong purr.

My Note: I would say Ruthie is insistent! When Miss Ruth wants to be fed something new and different than what she is given, she will call with a series of rapid intense meows, in a loud demanding tone.

These traits are stronger in tortoiseshell cats than in calicos – it seems as though these traits are somewhat diluted with the addition of more white to the color scheme.

____________________________

From Wikipedia:

Torties, i.e., Tortoiseshell Cats

Tortoiseshell describes a coat coloring found almost exclusively in female cats.[1][2] Also called Torties for short, they combine two colors other than white, either closely mixed or in large patches.[2] The colors are often described as red and black, but "red" can instead be orange, yellow, or cream[2] and "black" can instead be chocolate, grey, tabby, or blue.[2] A tortoiseshell cat with the tabby pattern as one of its colors is a Torbie.

"Tortoiseshell" is typically reserved for cats with relatively small or no white markings. Those that are largely white with tortoiseshell patches are described as tricolor,[2] tortoiseshell-and-white (in the United Kingdom), or calico (in Canada and the United States). Tortoiseshell markings appear in many different breeds as well as in non-purebred domestic cats.[3] This pattern is especially preferred in the Japanese Bobtail breed.[4]

Folklore[edit]

Cats of this coloration are believed to bring good luck in the folklore of many cultures.[10] In the United States, these are sometimes referred to as money cats.[11] The Japanese Maneki Neko figurine is almost always a calico cat.

Thank you very muh for the visits, faves and comments. Cheers

Black-fronted Dotterel

Scientific Name: Elseyornis melanops

Description: The Black-fronted Dotterel is a small wader with a distinctive black face-mask and breast-band and prominent chestnut scapulars (shoulder feathers). In juveniles, the breast-band is initially absent but a brown band slowly appears as the bird develops. Legs are pink orange, and the bill is red with a black tip. The dark eye is ringed with red. In flight the wings look broad and the tail short, while the black and white contrast is striking. Flight is slow with almost hesitant wing beats. This species is also called the Black-fronted Plover.

Similar species: The adult and immature Black-fronted Dotterel are unmistakable, though the juvenile could be confused with the juvenile and immature Red-capped Plover.

Distribution: The Black-fronted Dotterel is widespread throughout Australasia.

Habitat: The Black-fronted Dotterel is found in the shallow margins of wetlands, lakes, rivers, sewage farms, storm drains and marshes. It is normally always near freshwater and is not often seen on the coast.

Seasonal movements: Breeding resident.

Feeding: The Black-fronted Dotterel eats small molluscs as well as aquatic and terrestrial insects. When it forages, it keeps its body horizontal while bobbing its head to look for food, often running then stopping suddenly to peck at food items.

Breeding: The Black-fronted Dotterel lays its eggs in a shallow scrape, often on pebbly ground and quite close to water. It may have more then one brood per year. Both parents incubate the eggs and look after the young.

Calls: Sharp 'tip' call, singular or repeated three or four times.

Minimum Size: 16cm

Maximum Size: 18cm

Average size: 17cm

Average weight: 32g

Breeding season: September to February

Clutch Size: 2 to 3 eggs

Incubation: 27 days

Nestling Period: 25 days

(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net)

See flic.kr/p/2nMMJZD and flic.kr/p/2nYE4dd

© Chris Burns 2022

__________________________________________

All rights reserved.

This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.

A distinctive looking bunting around 15-16 cms long and found in rocky habitats in parts of Northern, Western and Central India. The bird is rare pretty in much of South India though. They are also found in a large range across China and South East Asia as per ebird.

This is the male and is impossible to miss since the colors are quite unique and distinctive. It prefers rocky terrain and is usually found on the slopes foraging on the ground looking for grain. The female too has a crest though it is much smaller, and the overall body color is a dull olive color.

We were quite excited to see the bird since it is quite rare in our state and there are only a handful of sightings. Luckily, we also got great shots and spent a good time with the bird.

Many thanks in advance for your likes and feedback. Much appreciated.

Buy this photo on Getty Images : Getty Images

The Heydar Aliyev Center is a building complex in Baku, Azerbaijan designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and noted for its distinctive architecture and flowing, curved style.The Center houses a conference hall (auditorium), a gallery hall and a museum.

Submitted: 10/11/2015

Just disappeared from the list

Tried it again on 03/05/2018

Accepted: 03/05/2018

Die U-Bahnstation Rödingsmarkt in Hamburg wurde am 29. Juni 1912 eröffnet. Sie ist Teil der ursprünglichen Ringlinie der Hamburger Hochbahn und zählt zu den ältesten U-Bahnstationen der Stadt. Die Station zeichnet sich durch ihre Lage oberirdisch auf einem Viadukt aus, was ihr ein besonderes architektonisches Flair verleiht. / The Rödingsmarkt subway station in Hamburg was opened on June 29, 1912. It is part of the original ring line of the Hamburg U-Bahn and is one of the city's oldest subway stations. The station is uniquely situated above ground on a viaduct, giving it a distinctive architectural charm. (Quelle: Internet)

La Ceja, Colombia

The Red-bellied Grackle is a distinctive rare blackbird of cloud forest in the Colombian Andes. Red-bellied Grackles moves through the forest in groups, giving a variety of calls. While it has been recorded from all three ranges of the Andes in Colombia, contemporary localities are few. Deforestation is thought to have been a major reason for declines.

Source: Neotropical Birds

A striking gray, yellow, and green bushshrike with a dark eye, an orange chest, and a distinctive yellow forehead and short eyebrow. The juvenile lacks an eyebrow. Singles and pairs occasionally join mixed-species flocks in thornveld and broadleaf woodland, riparian forest, and thickets. The species creeps slowly through the mid-canopy of trees, hunting insects and small vertebrates, and is often first detected by its loud ringing “what-to-tooo-dooo” song and scolding “skeeeeet” calls and clicks. The larger Gray-headed Bushshrike differs from Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike by having a more robust bill, a pale-yellow eye, and no eyebrows. (eBird)

----------------

Another find in the archive. Heading out from Accra towards Lake Volta, we stopped along the river to see what could be seen. Well, this beautiful bushshrike was high up in a tree. The first of just two of these birds seen on the trip.

Akwamu Road, Ghana. February 2019.

Ashanti African Tours.

Japanese festival in Düsseldorf 2015

A DISTINCTIVE WADER, dumpy, rounded body, rather short legs, and its incredibly long straight bill, to probe vertically down-wards in soft mud, in a manner of a sewing machine. A shy retiring bird!

Seen at Stodmarsh N R, in Kent, in the distinguished company of Steve Ashton and Little John. and what a joy to see some sun!!!

===================================================

THANK YOU for your visit, any comments are very appreciated, and find encouraging, will return the visit very shortly, if already not done so. ..............Hope you are all well, Bless you all.........................Tomx.

It is a bird in the honeyeater family, and endemic to Australia. It is grey, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow patch behind the eye and white tips on the tail feathers. It's a vocal species with a large range of songs, calls, scoldings and alarms, and almost constant vocalisations. They are gregarious and territorial; they forage, bathe, roost, breed and defend territory communally.

The noisy miner is a large honeyeater, 24–28 centimetres (9.4–11.0 in) in length, with a wingspan of 36–45 centimetres (14–18 in), and weighing 70–80 grams (2.5–2.8 oz). Male, female and juvenile birds all have similar plumage: grey on the back, tail and breast, and otherwise white underneath, with white scalloping on the nape and hind-neck, and on the breast; off-white forehead and lores; a black band over the crown, bright orange-yellow bill, and a distinctive patch of yellow skin behind the eye; a prominent white tip to the tail; a narrow olive-yellow panel in the folded wing; and orange-yellow legs and feet. A juvenile can be distinguished by softer plumage, a brownish tinge to the black on its head and the grey on its back, and a duller, greyish-yellow skin-patch behind the eye.

The noisy miner is a gregarious species, and the birds are rarely seen singly or in twos; they forage, move and roost in colonies that can consist of several hundred birds

The noisy miner does not use a stereotyped courtship display; displays can involve 'driving', where the male jumps or flies at the female from 1–2 metres (3.3–6.6 ft) away, and if she moves away he pursues her aggressively.

The noisy miner primarily eats nectar, fruit, and insects, and occasionally it feeds on small reptiles or amphibians.

34746

Due to its distinctive and recognizable shape, the tower, also known as il Filarete, has become a symbol of Milan. The tower designed by architect Antonio Averulino in 1452 was elegant and decorated with marble inserts. Less than a century after its completion in 1521, the tower collapsed. The current building is the result of a tireless study of the available documents and iconography, by Luca Beltrami, to reconstruct the tower as faithfully as possible to the Renaissance original. The Filarete Tower was dedicated in 1905.

The 70 m high Torre Filarete is a magnificent example of military renaissance architectural style

WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre.

What3Words

///trailers.ripen.grownup

The Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sized diving duck known for its striking golden-yellow eyes and the distinctive whistling sound its wings make in flight. They are found across the boreal forests of North America and Eurasia and are a common winter resident in many temperate areas.

Appearance: Adult males have a glossy, iridescent dark green head with a round white patch near the base of the bill, a black back, and white neck, breast, and sides. Females have a chocolate brown head, a mostly gray body, and a black bill that often has a yellow tip during the breeding season.

Size: They typically measure between 40-51 cm (16-20 inches) in length, with a wingspan of around 77-83 cm (30.5-32.5 inches).

Behavior: Goldeneyes are agile, fast-flying ducks that can reach speeds over 40 miles per hour. They are excellent swimmers and divers, using their feet for propulsion underwater and typically feeding in shallow waters less than 13 feet deep. They often forage in synchronized dives within their flocks

Diet: Their diet consists mainly of aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans, mollusks, and insect larvae. During the breeding season, insects are their predominant prey, while crustaceans are key during migration and winter. They also consume small fish, fish eggs, and some plant matter.

Taken at Rochedale South, Logan, Queensland.

Females have grey skin around the eye and lack distinctive head markings. They are brown-green above and dull-white below, streaked with brown. Both sexes have a blackish bill.

Figs are a particularly popular food item, although they will feed on most soft fruits and berries in canopy trees. The illustrated bird is feeding on the berries of the native Alexander Palm. Insects are also important components of their diet.

The distinctive concrete units of Montreal's Habitat 67, an experimental modular housing complex designed by renown architect Moshe Safdie. Conceived as his master's thesis in architecture at McGill University, Safdie was awarded the project to be built as a pavilion for Expo 67, despite his relative inexperience. In the spirit of a new openness that characterized this period, the exhibition was entitled “Man and his World” after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s philosophical memoire. Housing was one of the main themes of Expo 67 Habitat 67 comprises over 350 prefabricated concrete boxes arranged in various combinations which was envisioned as the future for urban living.

WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre.

What3Words

///trailers.ripen.grownup

The Common Crane (Grus grus), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a large, graceful, migratory bird with a distinctive trumpeting call that is widespread across Europe and Asia. Known for its elaborate courtship dances and conservation success story in areas where it had previously become extinct, it is classified as a species of Least Concern globally.

Key Characteristics and Appearance:

Size:

As the UK's tallest bird, the common crane stands around 110–120 cm (about 4 feet) tall, with a large wingspan of 220–250 cm (7-8 feet).

Plumage:

It is mostly slate-grey, with a black and white head and upper neck, and a notable bare red patch on its crown.

Distinctive Feature: Adults have elegant, drooping, curved tail feathers (actually elongated inner wing feathers or tertials) that form a "bustle".

In Flight:

Unlike herons, cranes fly with their long necks and legs fully outstretched. They often travel in large, V-shaped formations and can reach astonishing altitudes of up to 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) during migration.

Habitat and Diet:

Common cranes are highly adaptable, inhabiting a variety of wetlands, including bogs, marshes, and swampy forest clearings during the breeding season. During migration and winter, they often gather in large flocks in open areas, such as agricultural fields and floodplains, where they can forage for food and roost in shallow water for safety.

They are omnivorous, with their diet changing seasonally. They primarily eat plant matter like roots, seeds, and grains, supplementing this with animal prey such as insects, snails, amphibians, and small rodents, especially when breeding and feeding their young.

Behavior and Life Cycle

Sociality:

Common cranes are territorial during the breeding season but become very social, forming large flocks during migration and wintering.

Courtship:

They are famous for their elaborate "dances," which involve bobs, bows, pirouettes, and throwing vegetation in the air. This behavior serves to reinforce lifelong monogamous pair bonds and can occur at almost any time of year.

Reproduction:

Pairs typically lay one or two eggs in a large nest built on the ground in shallow water. Both parents incubate the eggs for about a month, and the chicks fledge around 9-10 weeks of age, remaining with their parents through their first winter.

Lifespan:

In the wild, they typically live for about 13 years on average, though they can reach up to 26 years.

Similarly built to Mercat Crosses found across Scotland, the Culross iteration dates back to the 17th century. Though rebuilt in 1902 to preserve its integrity, the cross marks the heart of the town. Its cubical head has four distinctive sides, including the Culross coat of arms, the initials and coat of arms of its restorer, and a monogram for King James VI, alongside a unicorn – Scotland’s national animal.

A small, chunky, greyish hawk with a distinctive pale throat spliced by a vertical black throat stripe; has one or two (rarely) broad white bars across the black tail.

Occurs in singles or pairs in savanna and is often seen perched in the open, watching for insects, lizards, snakes, and other small vertebrates.

Calls a loud shrill “peeee-eeeuuu” or repeated “whuuua-whuuua-whuuaa”. It is shorter-legged and has a more powerful build than most sparrowhawks. Most similar to Gabar Goshawk, both having a broad white rump band in flight, but Lizard Buzzard is distinguished by its distinctive throat pattern, pale tail bands, and pale tail tips.

Distinctive, small social crow with contrasting, silvery-grey neck shawl and staring whitish eyes; juvenile has duller shawl and eyes. Walks confidently, and can be easy to see where not persecuted; associates readily with crows and Rooks. Flocks can number in the hundreds or thousands in the non-breeding season. Inhabits open and semi-open habitats, from towns and wooded parkland to farmland and sea cliffs; often around stone buildings and chimneys. Nests in cavities. Listen for its distinctive high-pitched “tchaw, tchaw” calls.

Striking and distinctive gooselike duck. Plumage bright ruddy overall with contrasting pale creamy head and neck; male has narrow black neck ring. Big white forewing patches striking in flight. Breeds in southeastern Europe and Central Asia, winters in South Asia. Often found around saline lakes; also reservoirs and agricultural fields. Escapees from waterfowl collections occasionally seen free-flying outside of native range. (eBird)

Hundreds of water birds were taking advantage of an ephemeral lake just outside of Merzouga, on the edge of the Erg Chebbi. According to our guide, this was the first time he had seen this lake in five years.

Lake Merzouga, Morocco. March 2019.

A distinctive looking bunting around 15-16 cms long and found in rocky habitats in parts of Northern, Western and Central India. The bird is rare pretty in much of South India though. They are also found in a large range across China and South Asia as per ebird.

The bird is impossible to miss since the colors are quite unique and distinctive. It prefers rocky terrain and is usually found on the slopes foraging on the ground looking for grain. The female too has a crest though it is much smaller, and the overall body color is a dull olive color.

There was a sunflower farm with millets in between and we found a pair - male and female foraging in them. Sometimes, they preferred the millet, but other times, the birds landed on the ground between the rows of sunflower plants and foraged on the ground. I wanted a shot of the bird with sunflower behind, but that wasn't meant to be.

Many thanks in advance for your likes and feedback. Much appreciated.

Anhinga - the Anhinga is among the most distinctive of American birds, with long, snakelike neck, straight bill, large fanlike tail resembling that of a turkey (Meleagris gallopavo; from which the former name Water Turkey was derived), corrugations on its central rectrices, and unique swimming, flight, and behavior patterns. This truly aquatic species spends its life in water or on branches overhanging protected, usually freshwater streams and ponds. Unlike most aquatic birds, Anhingas have fully wettable plumage and dense bones, adaptations that allow them to achieve neutral buoyancy in water, facilitating a slow, stalking hunting habit while submerged in shallow aquatic vegetation, where they spear fish. The neck vertebrae are arranged to allow a strong and rapid stab. While the bird is swimming on the surface, its body is usually submerged, with only the head and snakelike neck visible, making it obvious why the term “snake bird” is often applied. The word “Anhinga” is derived from a Tupi (Brazilian) Indian name, anhingá or anhangá, for the devil bird, an evil spirit of the woods (Jobling Jobling 1991).

Picture taken at Pantanal - Mato Grosso - in black and white for a PMBT!

Thanks a lot for your visits, comments, faves, invites, etc. Very much appreciated!

© All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. All rights reserved. Please contact me at thelma.gatuzzo@gmail.com if you intend to buy or use any of my images.

My instagram if you like: @thelmag and @thelma_and_cats

DISTINCTIVE LARGE WADER! with its long downcurved bill, a large flock of these have been at Sandwich Bay, Kent, for sometime, they graze the muddy surrounding fields, and return to the scrape for a drink, wash and prune. (58cm in length) Don't normally show flight captures, because its does not make such a interesting image, but had to show this beauty.

=============================================

THANK YOU, for your visit, your comment is very appreciated and find encouraging, and will soon return the visit, please stay safe my friends.....................Tomx.

Perhaps the most distinctive and enigmatic of the prehistoric monuments on Dartmoor are the stone rows. There are over seventy stone rows on Dartmoor today although there were probably once considerably more. There are two double stone rows near Merrivale on the west side of Dartmoor, and the famous quarry can be seen in the distance on the right. The monuments were probably built over a long period, between about 2500 BC and 1000 BC and it is now thought they are even older than Stonehenge.

On the left is is Long Ash Leat. A leat is a man-made watercourse or stream designed to move water naturally, following the contours of the ground, to wherever it is required, whether that is a farm, a quarry, a mine or other industry. The early leats which date back to medieval times were in effect a power supply for the tin-mining industry. It is thought that the dozens of leats on Dartmoor add up to several hundred miles.

Source: www.dartmoorwalks.org.uk/resource/rows.php

The distinctive red-brown fur and long bushy tail of the fox are a familiar sight almost everywhere in the British Isles. Foxes are intelligent, adaptable mammals, opportunistic, with unfussy palates, and they make use of a wide range of habitats, including those of towns and cities. They are social animals, living in family groups of a breeding pair, together with cubs in the spring, and sometimes other subordinate juveniles and adults. The latter are usually young born the previous year and help with the rearing of cubs, feeding, grooming and playing with them. Each group occupies a territory, which is marked with urine and scats. Dens (called ‘earths’) may be dug in banks or make use of (disused or occupied) badger setts or old rabbit burrows. In urban areas, favoured sites for dens are under buildings or sheds, and in overgrown gardens and cemeteries.

Foxes hunt and scavenge with keen senses of smell and hearing, and probably use the latter to locate earthworms, which can make up a large part of their diet.

Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated.

Buckpool and Fens Pool Local Nature Reserve

What3Words

///thin.spill.bravo

The Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) is a medium-sized diving duck known for the distinctive crest of feathers on the back of its head, which gives it a "punk" or "rocking" appearance. It is a common and widespread species across temperate and northern Eurasia, found in lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and slow-flowing rivers.

Key Characteristics

Size:

Smaller than a Mallard, typically 40–47 cm (16–18 inches) in length with a wingspan of 67–73 cm (26–29 inches).

Identification:

Male (drake):

Mostly black plumage with striking white flanks (sides), bright golden-yellow eyes, and a prominent, drooping black tuft or crest. In certain light, their head feathers can show a purplish or greenish sheen.

Female (hen):

Mostly dark brown plumage, often with paler flanks and a shorter tuft than the male. Some females may have a white patch at the base of the bill, which can lead to confusion with the Scaup species, though the tuft is a distinguishing feature.

In flight:

Both sexes display a bold white stripe across the trailing edge of the wing.

Behavior:

They are highly aquatic and feed mainly by diving, typically for around 20 seconds at a time, to depths of up to 14 meters. They are social birds, often forming large flocks on open water during winter.

Habitat and Diet

Tufted Ducks prefer shallow freshwater bodies with good marginal vegetation for nesting. Their diet is omnivorous but primarily consists of aquatic invertebrates like:

Molluscs (mussels, clams, snails)

Aquatic insects and crustaceans

Seeds, roots, and buds of water plants

They can be found on urban park ponds, reservoirs, lakes, and sometimes coastal waters during the winter months, especially in ice-free areas.

Life Cycle and Migration

Breeding:

Pairs form in late winter or early spring, but the male leaves the female once incubation begins. The female builds a nest on the ground, usually near the water, and incubates a clutch of 8-11 eggs for about 25 days.

Parenting:

Ducklings are precocial, meaning they can swim and feed themselves shortly after hatching, but the female cares for and guides them until they fledge (are able to fly) at 45-50 days old.

Migration:

While some populations are year-round residents (such as in the British Isles), many Tufted Ducks are migratory, flying south and west from northern Europe and Russia in winter to milder climates. They occasionally appear as rare vagrants in North America.

Looks perfect to sand board down from right to left!

Lancelin is about 1.5 hours’ drive north of Perth. It was my first stop on the way to The Pinnacles. Probably best at sunrise/set (same as most spots) but with high level cloud plus low clouds, the sky was quite interesting as well.

The sand dunes are about two kilometres long and is nestled directly inland from Lancelin Township which are the biggest in Western Australia.

Sand boarding down 45 degree angle dunes or dirt bike or four wheel drive is what brings most tourists hence…

I went to the smaller/southern end to avoid foot steps, sand boards and tyre tracks. Light rain overnight may give the distinctive sand patterns.

www.lancelin.com.au

DISTINCTIVE AND NOISY WADER, seen at the top of the cliffs on Skokholm, off South West Wales, being protective as he must have had a young one in the area. They use that powerful bill to feed on mollusks and other invertebrates.

======================

THANK YOU for your continued support and any comments, it is always appreciated and never taken for granted. Keep safe and well dear friends, God bless you

Tomx

This Razorbill shows its distinctive blade shaped bill with white cross-band and line to the eye.

Thank you all for your kind responses.