Orchid Species Photographs
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Mexican Hat (Ratibida columnifera), is so-named because it is supposedly reminiscent of sombreros in Mexican festivals. It's also called Prairie Coneflower in some guidebooks.
This member of the aster family is a native species found along the Eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, and south to Mexico. This photo was taken at water's edge of Berkeley Lake, a small lake at the northern edge of Denver, Colorado.
My #1 target species in Sandestin this week - Amanda's pennants - were in good numbers but only in one stretch of one freshwater pond at Santa Rosa Beach. Not a pennant we have in North Georgia, so these were lifers for me a year ago down there. I've popped in & out of Flickr this week - so will be around to catch up! If I missed a shot you really want me to see - just drop me a note so I don't miss it. Hope everybody is good!
Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. The genus name comes from the Provençal French Aigrette, egret a diminutive of Aigron, heron. The species epithet garzetta is from the Italian name for this bird, garzetta or sgarzetta.
It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. It breeds colonially, often with other species of water birds, making a platform nest of sticks in a tree, bush or reed bed. A clutch of bluish-green eggs is laid and incubated by both parents. The young fledge at about six weeks of age.
Its breeding distribution is in wetlands in warm temperate to tropical parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. A successful colonist, its range has gradually expanded north, with stable and self-sustaining populations now present in the United Kingdom.
It first appeared in the UK in significant numbers in 1989 and first bred in Dorset in 1996
In warmer locations, most birds are permanent residents; northern populations, including many European birds, migrate to Africa and southern Asia to over-winter there. The birds may also wander north in late summer after the breeding season, and their tendency to disperse may have assisted in the recent expansion of the bird's range. At one time common in Western Europe, it was hunted extensively in the 19th century to provide plumes for the decoration of hats and became locally extinct in northwestern Europe and scarce in the south. Around 1950, conservation laws were introduced in southern Europe to protect the species and their numbers began to increase. By the beginning of the 21st century the bird was breeding again in France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Britain. It has also begun to colonise the New World; it was first seen in Barbados in 1954 and first bred there in 1994. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the bird's global conservation status as being of least concern..
Scientific classification:
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Gastropoda
Subclass:Heterobranchia
Order:Stylommatophora
Family:Helicidae
Subfamily:Helicinae
Tribe:Allognathini
Genus:Hemicycla
Specimens found in tree near a ravine.
Updated 20250712:
Species: H. guamartemes
Barranco de Azuaje, Firgas, Gran Canaria, Islas Canarias
Species: Coenagrion puella.
The Azure damselfly is a pale blue, small damselfly that is commonly found around most waterbodies from May to September. Info: The Wildlife Trusts.
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Scientific classification:
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Gastropoda
Subclass:Heterobranchia
Order:Stylommatophora
Suborder:Helicina
Superfamily:Orthalicoidea
Family:Odontostomidae
Genus:Clessinia
Spixia Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1898 is unaccepted, moved to Clessinia Doering, 1875
Shell length: 19mm
Maldonado, Uruguay
this shrike species was called Common Fiscal but now it has been split into 2 species , the Northern and the Southern Fiscal. It was also called Fiscal Shrike in the past
Enonkishu Conservancy in the Greater Masai Mara ecosystem, Kenya
Lanius humeralis
Noordelijke gekraagde klauwier
Pie-grièche à dos noir
Stanleywürger
Alcaudón Fiscal Norteño
Fiscal settentrionale
picanço-fiscal-do-norte/picanço-de-dorso-preto
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Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Juv)
Double click
The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.
Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.
Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.
Population:
UK breeding:
46,000 pairs
Species: Carduelis carduelis.
The striking red crown, golden back, and bright yellow wings of the goldfinch make it one of our prettiest garden birds. It happily visits birdtables and feeders across the UK. Info: The Wildlife Trusts
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Sedum…l ist eine Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Dickblattgewächse (Crassulaceae)
Mit etwa 420 Arten ist sie die umfangreichste Gattung dieser Familie.
Deutsche Trivialnamen sind Mauerpfeffer und Fetthennen.
Sedum ... l is a genus of flowering plants of the family (Crassulaceae)
With about 420 species, it is the largest genus of this family.
Female.
Species: Oenanthe oenanthe.
These migratory birds are seasoned travellers, embarking on an epic journey from Africa to the UK each spring. They favour upland habitats and nest in cavities between rocks. Info: Woodland Trust.
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Female.
Species: Oenanthe oenanthe.
A Robin-sized chat, the wheatear is a summer visitor to the UK, arriving here in early March and leaving in September for its African wintering grounds. It frequents open, rocky country, pasture, moorland and heath. Mainly a ground-dwelling bird, it can be seen running or hopping along. It breeds mainly in western and northern UK. Info: The Wildlife Trusts.
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Male.
Species: Lagopus lagopus.
The Red Grouse is an umistakeable bird - plump and round, with a gingery-red body as its name suggests. Found on upland heathlands, it is under threat from the nationwide, dramatic loss of these habitats.
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Male,
Species: Carduelis chloris.
Its twittering, wheezing song and flash of yellow and green as it flies, make this finch a truly colourful character. Nesting in a garden conifer, or feasting on black sunflower seeds, the greenfinch is a regular garden visitor, able to take advantage of food in rural and urban gardens. Although quite sociable, they may squabble among themselves or with other birds at the bird table. Info: RSPB.
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... reminds us all that some of our favorite creatures are at risk of going extinct.
"Animals are, like us, endangered species on an endangered planet, and we are the ones who are endangering them, it, and ourselves. They are innocent sufferers in a hell of our making."
(Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson)
Bengal tiger / Königstiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India
strolling towards the weekend - TGIF!
Species: Pyronia tithonus.
As its English names suggest, the Gatekeeper (also known as the Hedge Brown) is often encountered where clumps of flowers grow in gateways and along hedgerows and field edges. It is often seen together with the Meadow Brown and Ringlet, from which it is easily distinguished when basking or nectaring with open wings. Info: Butterfly Conservation.
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Some species of Agapanthus are commonly known as lily of the Nile (or African lily in the UK), although they are not lilies and all of the species are native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique) though some have become naturalized in scattered places around the world (Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Ethiopia, Jamaica, etc.). Agapanthus is a genus of herbaceous perennials that mostly bloom in summer. The leaves are basal, curved, and linear, growing up to 60 cm long. They are rather leathery and arranged in two opposite rows. The plant has a mostly underground stem called a rhizome (like a ginger 'root') that is used as a storage organ. The roots, which grow out of the rhizome, are white, thick and fleshy. The inflorescence is a pseudo-umbel subtended by two large bracts at the apex of a long, erect scape, up to 2 m tall. They have funnel-shaped or tubular flowers, in hues of blue to purple, shading to white. 1308
Female.
Species: Fringilla montifringilla.
Winter visitors with a taste for nuts. Flocks of brambling head to the UK each year, escaping the Scandinavian snow and taking advantage of the food on offer in our woods. Info: Woodland Trust.
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Lybia tessellata is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae. It is found in shallow parts of the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. Like other members of the genus Lybia, it is commonly known as the pom-pom crab or boxer crab because of its habit of carrying a sea anemone around in each of its claws, these resembling pom-poms or boxing gloves. L. tessellata is a small crab growing to a width of about 2.5 cm (1 in). The carapace is trapezoid in shape and the margin has a distinct tooth-shaped projection on either side, just behind the short-stalked eye. The surface of the carapace is marked into several differently coloured, geometric regions by a network of dark lines giving it the appearance of stained glass. (Wikipedia)
Female.
Species: Oenanthe oenanthe.
A Robin-sized chat, the wheatear is a summer visitor to the UK, arriving here in early March and leaving in September for its African wintering grounds. It frequents open, rocky country, pasture, moorland and heath. Mainly a ground-dwelling bird, it can be seen running or hopping along. It breeds mainly in western and northern UK. Info: The Wildlife Trusts.
Many thanks to people who view or comment on my photos.
Species: Ardea purpurea.
Eagland Hill, Lancashire.
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I thought it was cute to see them on a road sign in Pitt Meadows. Sadly these beautiful birds have declined by 75% in the last 25 years. The decline is the greatest in Canada and are blue-listed in BC. If we don't do something soon we may lose this bird for good.
Santa Fe Island
Galapagos
Ecuador
These beautiful colorful locusts, endemic to the Galapagos Islands, typically grow to around 8 centimeters in length. The large painted locusts are an important part of the food chain on the islands, serving as principal prey for lava lizards and the Galapagos hawk.
The large painted locust is one of two species of painted locust endemic to the Galapagos Islands. First described by Carl Stål in 1861, they can easily be identified by their bright colouration.
They are found on all islands except for Española, where the small painted locust is present. They are abundant in the lowlands, particularly after heavy rainfall, and can often be seen surrounding lights on the inhabited islands.
The large painted locust is not closely related to any mainland species, but it is believed they most likely colonised the Galapagos Islands by flight as they are very strong fliers. They are also very good jumpers, easily able to reach up to 3 metres.
The large painted locust belongs to the genus Schistocerca. Commonly called bird grasshoppers, is a genus of grasshoppers, many of which swarm as locusts. There are around 50 other species in the genus of which the best known is the desert locust.
Species: Riparia riparia.
The tiny, brown-and-white sand martin is a common summer visitor to the UK, nesting in colonies on rivers, lakes and flooded gravel pits. It returns to Africa in winter. Info: The Wildlife Trusts.
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Tomcats' night attack bird on final at Yuma. After almost fifteen years of shooting Harriers on a regular basis, I am really going to miss seeing them flying around the Arizona skies.
Masai Mara National Park
Kenya
East Africa
Happy Caturday!
The lion (Panthera leo) is a species in the cat family (Felidae). The lion is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females with a typical weight range of 150 to 250 kg (331 to 551 lb) for the former and 120 to 182 kg (265 to 401 lb) for the latter. Male lions have a prominent mane, which is the most recognisable feature of the species.
A lion pride consists of a few adult males, related females and cubs. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The species is an apex and keystone predator, although they scavenge when opportunities occur.
Typically, the lion inhabits grasslands and savannas but is absent in dense forests. It is usually more diurnal than other big cats, but when persecuted it adapts to being active at night and at twilight.
In the Pleistocene, the lion ranged throughout Eurasia, Africa and the Americas from the Yukon to Peru but today it has been reduced to fragmented populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and one critically endangered population in western India.
It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern. - Source Wikipedia
Male...
This is a species that I have been trying to photograph in these last years, since I began travelling to the Pantanal, because it exists there too. This has been my first encounter with the species. I met a couple, but, unfortunately, they were too far and almost against the light. A real shame, because they are so beautiful and the photos (female in the next posting) don't make justice to their beauty...
Photo taken on the way to Río Silanche bird sanctuary... Ecuador
This is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae that is white with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. Being an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. A successful colonist, its range has gradually expanded north, with stable and self-sustaining populations now present in the United Kingdom. The birds are very similar in appearance to the Snowy Egret and share colonial nesting sites with these birds in Barbados, where they are both recent arrivals. The Little Egrets are larger, have more varied foraging strategies and exert dominance over feeding sites.
The Pantanal
Brazil
South America
The green iguana (Iguana iguana), also known as the American iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana. Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. The green iguana ranges over a large geographic area; it is native from southern Brazil and Paraguay as far north as Mexico and have been introduced from South America to Puerto Rico.
Considered an invasive species; in the United States, feral populations also exist in South Florida (including the Florida Keys), Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
A herbivore, it has adapted significantly with regard to locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It grows to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) with bodyweights upward of 20 pounds (9.1 kg). – Wikipedia
Female - Wild - Pantanal - Brasil.
The jaguar is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. With a body length of up to 1.85 m and a weight of up to 158 kg, it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world.
Jaguars are the only big cat in the Americas and the third biggest in the world after tigers and lions. They look a lot like leopards, which live in Africa and Asia, but jaguars’ spots are more complex and often have a dot in the center.
These powerful cats were worshipped as gods in many ancient South American cultures, and representations of the jaguar show up in the art and archaeology of pre-Columbian cultures across the jaguar’s range.
Jaguars face a number of threats, including habitat fragmentation and illegal killing. South and Central America’s high rates of deforestation—for grazing land, agriculture, and other uses—have not only destroyed jaguars’ habitat but also broken it up. Fragmented forests mean that cats get boxed into patches of forest and can’t travel far to find new mates. That kind of isolation can lead to inbreeding and local extinctions.
Another threat jaguars face is retaliatory killings from ranchers. As grazing land replaces forests, jaguars are more likely to hunt cattle. In response—and sometimes in anticipation—cattle owners kill jaguars.
Poaching is another growing problem for jaguars. They’ve long been hunted for their pelts, and now there’s a growing illegal, international trade in jaguar teeth and jaguar bone products going to China.
Conservation Status: Near Threatened - in Brazil Threatened.
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NB: not captive, seen on an exterior wall.
White-fringed weevils are native to southern South America.
I learned that they are invasive here in Australia, now pests of agricultural crops.
Adults feed on the foliage of hundreds of plant species. Larvae feed on roots and their damage is more serious, especially on crops or young pines in plantations and nurseries.
10 mm body length.
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The Fiji crested iguana or Fijian crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) is a critically endangered species of iguana native to some of the northwestern islands of the Fijiian archipelago, where it is found in dry forest on Yaduataba (west of Vanua Levu), Yadua, Macuata , Yaquaga, Devuilau (Goat island), Malolo, Monu and Monuriki.
The Fiji crested iguana is a large stocky lizard distinguished from the Fiji banded iguana by the presence of three narrow, cream to white colored bands on males, rather than the broader bluish bands of the latter species. These whitish bands often have chevrons of black scales close to them. Brachylophus vitiensis is distinguished by its larger size growing to 75 centimetres (30 in) in length and weighing as much as 300 grams (0.66 lb). It is further distinguished by the presence of a taller spiny "crest" on its back with spines as long as 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) running from the nape of the neck to the base of its tail. When Fiji crested iguanas first hatch from their eggs they are dark green, but after several hours their skin becomes bright emerald green and narrow white bands can be seen along their body. Their eyes are reddish orange or pinkish gold in colour. Fiji crested iguanas are predominantly herbivorous feeding on the leaves, fruits, shoots, and flowers from trees and shrubs. These iguanas eat both the new leaves and the large flowers from trees and shrubs. 59569
A lovely Central American orchid species from Mexico to Panama growing from sea level to 1700 metres in mountainous terrain. Because of it's natural range of habitat, plants can be from tropical to quite cold growing. They are generally a lovely pale pink with purple and yellow centre.
The collared pratincole, scientifically known as Glareola pratincola, is an elegant bird belonging to the family Glareolidae. This species is known for its long, narrow wings and distinctive forked tail, which gives it a graceful appearance during flight.
My first encounter with collared pratincoles was a captivating experience dating back to the early eighties in the Ebro Delta in Spain. It was a mythical species for me, and I can still recall the excitement when I could observe the graceful flight of foraging collared pratincoles above my tent on the beach of Platja Eucalyptus where they hunt insects.
These birds breed in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, usually in sandy areas with little vegetation, such as coastal plains, riverbanks, and steppes. They migrate to sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia during the winter months.
Although they are generally not a threatened species, collared pratincoles are sometimes affected by habitat loss and disturbance of breeding areas due to human activities. Fortunately, they also benefit from protected natural areas and wetlands, where they can thrive.