The rainbow of different colors on the lilac-breasted roller bird is gorgeous.
Native to sub-Saharan Africa and the national bird of both Botswana and Kenya, the bird is known to perch on treetops by the roadside so it can pounce on rodents and insects moving about on the ground.
Multicolored and aggressive — especially when intruders get too close to their nest — these birds are also renowned for the rolling flight pattern that sees them dip and dive from high in the sky in torpedo-like motion.
Attenborough’s fan-throated lizard (Sitana attenboroughii) is a species of fan-throated lizards endemic to India, primarily found in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The males flaunt their colorful dewlaps — loose skin on their necks — to woo potential mates during mating season. They also flash the fan-structured throat to challenge a potential rival in a territory. Females, meanwhile, have smaller white colored dewlaps.
This superb lizard lives mostly on the ground in open ground patches and takes its name after natural historian, David Attenborough.
The Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is your new favorite bird.
Endemic to Africa and the national bird of Sudan, the Secretary bird looks like a combination of an eagle and a crane. It’s snake-stomping legs can deliver up to 43 pounds of force.
But what’s most recognizable about this 4-foot terrestrial bird of prey is its beautiful, elongated eyelashes and eyelash-like feathers.
Don’t be ashamed to admit if the Secretarybird has better eyelashes than you.
Looking like the dragons out of a science fiction movie, Draco Volans are real-life flying lizards.
These mini flying creatures have developed the ability to glide up to 26 feet throughout thousands of years using their winglike extensions. So, they don’t actually fly, nor do they breathe fire.
But don’t get your hopes up about finding one as a pet. Located in Indonesia, the Draco Volan is nearly impossible to catch.
The Mary River Turtle is a remarkable creature for two main reasons.
It possesses specialized glands on its bottom that allow it to stay underwater for 72 hours—yes, it breathes through its genitals—two, the animal sports an algae-infused mohawk.
Named one of the world’s most vulnerable reptiles, the turtle lives in Mary River streams in southeastern Queensland, Australia. It uses the algae growing on its shell to camouflage itself from predators.
“We need to be a little bit more tortoise-y and a little less hare-ish,” best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell once said. While his message encourages people to slow down in this hyperspeed era, perhaps we need a little more punk in our lives too.
Rock on!
Photos: Chris Van Wyk
Of course, there’s always one band member who sports the bowl haircut (re Ringo of the Beatles). Here’s the Mary River turtle with algae strands on its body.
The enamel break bits off regularly to maintain sharpness, the same way a knife sharpens upon a blade.
“The material on the outer layer of the tooth exhibits a complex behavior of plasticity and damage that regulates ‘controlled’ chipping of the tooth to maintain its sharpness,” said Northwestern University Professor Horacio Espinosa.
The teeth continue to grow throughout life, helping the sea urchins ward off predators.
Not sure what’s more amazing about the African dung beetle, one that it rolls immaculate balls out of other animals dung or that it navigates from home to manure piles and back via celestial cues.
“These clever insects use the polarized light of the moon to navigate in a straight line,” writes Popular Mechanics. “Their eyes cannot see individual stars but a group of stars together, like the Milky Way, is dense enough to create a luminous line for them to follow.”
No stars, no problem! When the sun gets blocked or is directly overhead, the beetle uses its antennae to perceive wind signals. This way it can roll across the desert without getting lost.
But entomologist and photographer Piotr (Peter) Naskrecki of the Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory at Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique believes the Kheper subaeneus beetles are more interesting for what they do for mother Earth.
Few animals are as important to the African savanna ecosystem as the dung beetles and without their thankless toil the entire ecosystem would soon collapse, covered in a thick layer of waste.
Piotr Naskrecki
Keep in mind that the gathered feces, in which the beetle rolls into big balls, often weigh more than the beetle itself.
Here’s a bird you’ll never get tired of looking at.
Children’s author and illustrator Claude Ponti’s gigantic topiary named Poussin Endormi or Sleepy Chick resides in Jardin des Plantes’ botanical garden in Nantes, France.
One of the biggest influence over my work i always forget to mention : Claude Ponti. Amazing illustrator & story teller, his use of allegories & metaphors would keep me hooked and rereading his books. ☺️ pic.twitter.com/PQQMviteFR
The barrel owl isn’t known to travel outside the woods of the southeastern United States. But in 2020, anything seems possible.
Two owls, presumably boyfriend and girlfriend, have been discovered in New York’s Central Park. The star birds like to hide out in the hidden waters of The Loch.
Manhattan welcomes 270 plus bird species each year. But the rare arrival of the barred owl has brought birding fanatics out to photograph it. Check out some of the snaps.
@BirdCentralPark Barred Owl in the Central Park Loch today before the rain came. This was taken right before the owl decided to chase around the second Barred Owl in the loch. The second Barred Owl likes to stay high in the trees and is difficult to spot. pic.twitter.com/PwE4YkPA6n
This BARRED OWL, apparently now one of two in the Central Park Loch, though the only one actually being seen, is snoozing before a big Halloween night of hunting. pic.twitter.com/NL9Rd5lPIu
Bonus note: Along with the ability to rotate turning their necks 270 degrees in each direction, these gorgeous raptures can also blend in with their environments.
