Category: Animals

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Animals Nature

The beautiful yet feisty Lilac-breasted roller bird, Africa’s most colorful bird

the beautiful yet feisty lilac breasted roller bird africas most colorful bird

The plumage on the lilac-breasted roller bird is gorgeous. The creature sports eight different colors to give it the impression of a mesmerizing rainbow.

Native to sub-Saharan Africa and the national bird of both Botswana and Kenya, the lilac bird is known to perch on treetops by the roadside so it can pounce on rodents and insects moving about on the ground.

An aggressive little fluff—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.

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Animals

The cassowary is living proof that birds are living dinosaurs

the cassowary is living proof that birds are living dinosaurs

The cassowary is further proof that birds are living dinosaurs.

Native to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia, the flightless Cassowary bird can grow up to a whopping 7 feet tall and weigh as much as 120 pounds. It’s the third-tallest and second-heaviest living bird.

But even more dinosauric are the cassowary’s razor-sharp talons that it uses to defend itself. Known as the “world’s most dangerous bird,” the cassowary can quickly kill a human with one strike of its dagger-like feet.

Interestingly, the cassowary also lay bright green and pale green-blue eggs during the breeding season. That’s almost as fascinating as the bird’s turquoise neck, shark fin-shaped casque, and glossy feathers — such a mythical and neat-colored creature!

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Animals Photography

The Fringed Leaf Frog

The Fringed Leaf Frog

The Fringed Leaf Frog (Cruziohyla craspedopus) is one of the rarest amphibians in the world.

The 3-inch creature lives a reclusive life up in the Amazon rainforest’s high canopies — it rarely visits the ground — in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The Fringed Leaf Frog

The frog’s coloration, of course, is stunning — intermixing green, blue, and purple. It also can feature pale blue patches on its back.

The myriad colors provide the frog with superb camouflage to conceal it from hunting monkeys. It also makes a soft, croaking sound.

Like all rainforest species, the Fringed Leaf Frog faces the threat of habitat loss. So if you see one perched for a photo opportunity, remember to leave it be.

The Fringed Leaf Frog
The Fringed Leaf Frog
The Fringed Leaf Frog
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Animals

The elephant trunk snake

The Elephant trunk snake (Acrochordus javanicus) is among the largest freshwater snakes in the world.

This weird-looking snake has unique wrinkly scalation and a chunky body, resembling an elephant’s trunk. Its face also looks like a pug or seal.

elephant trunk snake

Given the snake’s aquatic nature, it’s often mistaken as an eel. But the elephant trunk snake rarely leaves the water. The creature mostly lives in the streams and lagoons in Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Non-venomous — it has a forked tongue — elephant trunk snakes make popular exotic pets.

elephant trunk snake
elephant trunk snake
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Animals

The freaky Potoo bird

Potoo bird

The Potoo bird (Ghost bird) from Central and South America can appear freaky.

The strange-looking bird possesses a hooked snake-like bill with a massive gape the animal uses to swallow moths and other insects.

A nocturnal insectivore, their yellow eyes glow up into massive googly balls at night. Yet, they are unrelated to owls.

Potoo bird

The potoo bird enjoys excellent camouflage, living life perched upon a tree branch during the day.

In addition to looking like a muppet, the bird may be best known for its sound, projecting a creepy melancholic song.

Potoo bird
Potoo bird
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Animals

The stealthy ghost crab

The stealthy ghost crab

The ghost crab is about as big as your hand but as fast as lightning. 

The eight-legged little creature moves across sandy beaches at 100 body lengths per second, which is blazing fast compared to the human and cheetah, which achieve speeds of 11 and 20 body lengths per second. 

The stealthy ghost crab

In other words, you’d be lucky to photograph one. Be prepared for it to dash away as soon as it gets a glimpse of you. The ghost crab typically burrows deep holes in the sand and reemerge late in the day.

But within those stalky eyes and cute little faces are teeth that growl at predators when threatened. The ghost crab is the first example of an animal that uses its stomach to communicate. 

Meanwhile, the crabs survive off insects, small clams, and other sand crabs. 

The stealthy ghost crab
The stealthy ghost crab
The stealthy ghost crab
Categories
Animals Nature Photography

The pink-eyed hover goby

The pink-eyed hover goby

The pink-eyed hover goby (Bryaninops natans) is a fish with a see-through body and yellow organs. 

No bigger than an inch, it’s so transparent you can even see its bones in its body. 

The pink-eyed goby hovers above the tips of Acropora corals in shallow lagoon reefs of the Indo-Pacific area.  

Here are few more images of the cool little fish.  

The pink-eyed hover goby
The pink-eyed hover goby
The pink-eyed hover goby
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Animals

Gorgeous eyelashes of the Secretary bird

gorgeous eyelashes of the secretary bird

The Secretary bird (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. Its snake-stomping legs can deliver up to 43 pounds of force. The raptor is also known for its speed, earning the nickname “devil’s horse.”

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.

Gorgeous eyelashes of the Secretary bird
Gorgeous eyelashes of the Secretary bird
Gorgeous eyelashes of the Secretary bird
Gorgeous eyelashes of the Secretary bird
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Animals Nature

Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth

cosmic caterpillar

See the universe in the marvelous googly-eyed cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth (Eudocima phalonia), and you’ll never be the same.

Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth

While dazzling as the cosmos, the caterpillar is a serious pest in its moth stage, destroying ripe and riping fruit harvests across Hawaii, Australia, to West Bengal, India.

Here are some more pics of the cosmic caterpillar in its advanced larva stage and its appearance as an adult moth. It does an incredible leaf mimic.

Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth
Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth
Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth
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Animals Nature

The giant crowned flying fox is a human-size bat from the Philippines

Here’s a creature from the Philippines that will stop you in your tracks. The giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus) grows as large as 3 feet with a 5-6 feet wingspan.

It is quite simply one of the largest bats in the world.

giant crowned flying fox

You’d think that the megabat the size of a 6-year-old kid would be a threat, but it’s harmless — the animal is vegetarian and primarily munches on fruit. For that reason, it is also known as the golden-capped fruit bat. The bats even help spread seeds as pollinators. 

Unfortunately, the species is endangered and facing extinction due to poaching in the forest.

giant crowned flying fox
giant crowned flying fox
giant crowned flying fox