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Giant cathedral termite mounds in the Litchfield National Park, Australia. Sometimes called Spinifex Termites (Nasutitermes triodiae)
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©2016 Fantommst
Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), aka two-horned giraffe,] is a species of giraffe native to Southern Africa. It is one of the four species of giraffe recognized by the International union for the Conservaton of Nature (IUCN).
Okavanga Delta, Botswana.
Conservation status: vulnerable
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Giant cathedral termite mounds in the Litchfield National Park, Australia. Sometimes called Spinifex Termites (Nasutitermes triodiae)
All rights reserved. Written permission required for usage.
Please do not use this photo on any websites or for personal use.
Thank you.
©2016 Fantommst
Giant cathedral termite mounds in the Litchfield National Park, Australia. Sometimes called Spinifex Termites (Nasutitermes triodiae)
All rights reserved. Written permission required for usage.
Please do not use this photo on any websites or for personal use.
Thank you.
©2016 Fantommst
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Sacred Kingfisher
Scientific Name: Todiramphus sanctus
Description: The Sacred Kingfisher is a medium sized kingfisher. It has a turquoise back, turquoise blue rump and tail, buff-white underparts and a broad cream collar. There is a broad black eye stripe extending from bill to nape of neck. Both sexes are similar, although the female is generally lighter with duller upper parts. Young birds are similar to the female, but have varying amounts of rusty-brown edging to feathers on the collar and underparts, and buff edges on the wing coverts.
Distribution: The Sacred Kingfisher is common and familiar throughout the coastal regions of mainland Australia and less common throughout Tasmania. The species is also found on islands from Australasia to Indonesia and New Zealand.
Habitat: The Sacred Kingfisher inhabits woodlands, mangroves and paperbark forests, tall open eucalypt forest and melaleuca forest.
Seasonal movements: In Australia, Sacred Kingfishers spend the winter in the north of their range and return south in the spring to breed.
Feeding: Sacred Kingfishers forage mainly on the land, only occasionally capturing prey in the water. They feed on crustaceans, reptiles, insects and their larvae and, infrequently, fish. The birds perch on low exposed branch on the lookout for prey. Once prey is located, the Sacred Kingfisher swoops down and grasps it in its bill, returning to the perch to eat it.
Breeding: For most of the year Sacred Kingfishers are mainly solitary, pairing only for the breeding season. Usually two clutches are laid in a season. Both sexes excavate the nest, which is normally a burrow in a termite mound, hollow branch or river bank. The nest chamber is unlined and can be up to 20m above the ground. Both sexes also incubate the eggs and care for the young.
Calls: The voice of the Sacred Kingfisher is a loud "ek ek ek ek" repeated continuously throughout breeding season. Birds also give a "kee kee kee" in excitement and a series of chirring, scolding notes when alarmed.
Minimum Size: 19cm
Maximum Size: 24cm
Average size: 21cm
Average weight: 45g
Breeding season: September to December; occasionally extended to March, if conditions are favourable.
Clutch Size: 3 to 6
Incubation: 18 days
Nestling Period: 26 days
(Sources: www.birdsinbackyards.net and "The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds - Second Edition")
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© Chris Burns 2025
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We've had some hot weather lately and that always brings out the termites. This particular morning they were gathering in the millions (and then some) in the gently swirling eddies below the clifftops. Would they show up in a photo? Only one way to find out. This is only a minute part of the whole. The numbers are beyond imagining.
the Meridian termite or as the locals call them ‘Magnetic’ Termite Mounds (Amitermes meridionalis) which produce unusual wedge-shaped mounds aligned in a roughly North-South direction. These mounds occur in large numbers on the black soil plains, which become waterlogged in the wet season.
Old build done for Hibernia. Meant to be a terraforming/mining vehicle utilised in rugged environments.
These termite mounds are only a few minutes from my Dundee Beach block in the Northern Territory of Australia. I captured this image using the focus stacking app on my Nikon D850, it consists of 17 images that I rendered using Helicon Focus 7 software.
The lights on this termite mound in Emas National Park, Brazil, are from tiny click beetle larvae (Pyrearinus termitilluminans), which glow from burrows on the outside. The larvae do not blink on and off like fireflies, but leave their lights on, hoping to attract flying insects (like winged termites & ants), which they then grab with their sharp mandibles. When conditions are right, some mounds can glow with the lights of dozens of these larvae, turning the structures into Seussian-looking Christmas trees. The adult beetles also bioluminesce - and are not necessarily safe from predation by the larvae.
Termites in rotten wood of a tree hole
Bicentennial Park, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, 2017
Images of Australia: 57/100
The Magnetic Termite Mounds are unique and found exclusively in northern Australia. The mounds have a precise north-south orientation, with thin edges pointing north-south and broad backs facing east-west.
This alignment is a sophisticated temperature control mechanism that helps maintain optimal conditions for the termite colonies inside.
The termites construct these mounds using a mixture of saliva, sand, and droppings, The mounds can survive for 50 to 100 years and are complete with arches, tunnels, chimneys, insulation, and nursery chambers, that can all withstand decades of the harsh climate while maintaining perfect internal climate control.
Two bombardier beetles (Brachinus sp.) attacking a termite. Many insects defend themselves with smelly/irritating chemicals; these small beetles turn that dial up to 11. They mix chemicals in their abdomen, and the resulting reaction reaches near boiling, partially vaporizes, and the noxious mixture is emitted under pressure with an audible pop.
A winged termite has come to a soggy end. The white circles are bubbles of air on the lower surface of the wings. Winged termites take to the air after rain on a nuptial flight looking for a partner. Not a happy end for this one!
Back in Kruger - to be precise, the Lower Sabie Area.
We stopped at a big termite hill. At least 6 little Dwarf Mongooses were popping in and out of the holes in that hill. We thought it was quite cute, until we figured out why they were so agitated....! It slithered around at the base of the hill. Our ranger Jan whispered "Spitting Cobra!".
What seemed to us like an adorable playground, was in fact the scene of a battle at life and death in Dwarf Mongoose's territory...
After the fly and the ants, here are the termites ...
Après la mouche et les fourmis, voici les termites ...