View allAll Photos Tagged plain
The subfamily Danainae, which includes the Monarchs & Tigers, Nymphs and Crows, comprises of about 190 species worldwide.
Monarchs and Tigers belong to the genus Danaus. They are large butterflies, characterised by their orange wings, which have a black apex, and white subapical spots. On the males there is a patch of raised androconial ( pheromone emitting ) scales on the hindwings.
All butterflies in this subfamily are thought to be toxic or distasteful to avian predators. Their bodies contain toxins derived from the larval foodplants, often supplemented by further toxins derived from pyrrolizidine alkaloids in adult food sources.
The bright colours of the butterflies advertise their poisonous qualities to birds in the same way that the bands of yellow and black of wasps advertise the fact that they can sting. Any bird that suffers the unpleasant experience of tasting a Danaus is unlikely to attack any similarly coloured butterfly, so the advertising is beneficial to chrysippus - and to species which mimic it, such as Hypolimnas misippus.
This form of defence is called Batesian mimicry. It is only effective because the toxic species far outnumber the non-toxic species. If the situation was reversed, and most of the butterflies attacked were palatable, the mimicry would serve no purpose.
Danaus chrysippus is found across the entire African continent, throughout most of Asia south of the Himalayas, on most of the islands of the south Pacific, and across much of Australia.
This species occurs in many habitats ranging from deserts to savannah grasslands, dry deciduous woodlands, humid sub-tropical forests, gardens, parks and cities at altitudes between sea level and about 1500m.
The butterflies are usually encountered in three's and four's in the wet season, but can be found in greater numbers during the dry season, when they often outnumber all other species, especially in savannah / woodland and thorn scrub habitats.
They have a slow undulating flight, with fairly shallow wing beats. In overcast weather, or when roosting overnight, they hang suspended from twigs or grass stems, in sheltered forest edge habitats, sometimes in groups of half a dozen or more individuals.
Credit for the text: Adrian Hoskins/learnaboutbutterflies.com
This Plain-backed Thrush, Zoothera mollissima, was photographed in China, as part of a research project utilizing motion-activated camera-traps.
You are invited to go WILD on Smithsonian's interactive website, Smithsonian WILD, to learn more about the research and browse photos like this from around the world.
The Plain Prinia, or the Plain, or White-browed, Wren-Warbler(Prinia inornata) is a small warbler in the cisticola family. It is a resident breeder from Pakistan and India to south China and southeast Asia. It was formerly included in the Tawny-flanked Prinia, Prinia subflava (Gmelin, 1789), resident in Africa south of the Sahara. The two are now usually considered to be separate species.
This skulking passerine bird is typically found in wet lowland grassland, open woodland, scrub and sometimes gardens. The Plain Prinia builds its nest in a shrub or tall grass and lays 3-6 eggs. (The Tawny-flanked Prinia nests in herbage and lays 2–4 eggs.)
These 13–14 cm long warblers have short rounded wings, a longish tail, strong legs and a short black bill. In breeding plumage, adults are grey-brown above, with a short white supercilium and rufous fringes on the closed wings. Underparts are whitish-buff. The sexes are identical.
All our stuff has been moved from the kitchen and the living room to our little "conservatory" - havestue in Danish... Unfortunately it is totally rotten and we are having it torn down in a few weeks. But first it has to harbour all our precious things while the carpenters put down a new floor in the living room. I'm sad to see the old oak tree floor go in a way. I love all the square tiles and the way they make the light bounce in the room. But is is old and beyond salvation...
We are going to replace it with a white washed ash tree floor. It will be beautiful too...
Plains Gartersnake © Steve Frye. Photo taken on the Flying Circus Birders of Boulder Walk on September 12, 2020.