The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), also called the Shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open, dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated by prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.). Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day, although they tend to avoid the midday heat. Like many other kinds of owls, though, burrowing owls do most of their hunting during dusk and dawn, when they can use their night vision and hearing to their advantage. Living in open grasslands as opposed to forests, the burrowing owl has developed longer legs that enable it to sprint, as well as fly, when hunting.


Before European colonization, burrowing owls probably inhabited every suitable area of the New World, but in North America, they have experienced some restrictions in distribution since then. In parts of South America, they are expanding their range with deforestation. The western burrowing owls (A. c. hypugaea) are most common in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and in several counties in Colorado and their population is reportedly threatened.
Burrowing owls range from the southern portions of the western Canadian provinces through southern Mexico and western Central America. They are also found in Florida and many Caribbean islands. In South America, they are patchy in the northwest and through the Andes, but widely distributed from southern Brazil to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Burrowing owls are year-round residents in most of their range. Birds that breed in Canada and the northern U.S. usually migrate south to Mexico and the southern U.S. during winter months.


This species can live for at least 9 years in the wild and over 10 years in captivity. They are often killed by vehicles when crossing roads, and have many natural enemies, including badgers, coyotes, and snakes. They are also killed by both feral and domestic cats and dogs. Two birds studied in the Parque Nacional de La Macarena of Colombia were free of blood parasites.
Burrowing owls often nest and roost in the burrows made by ground squirrels, a strategy also used by rattlesnakes. When threatened, the owl retreats to the burrow and produces rattling and hissing sounds similar to those of a rattlesnake. The behavior is suggested to be an example of acoustic Batesian mimicry and has been observed to be an effective strategy against animals that are familiar with the dangers posed by rattlesnakes.


The nesting season begins in late March or April in North America. Burrowing owls usually only have one mate but occasionally a male will have two mates. Pairs of owls will sometimes nest in loose colonies. Their typical breeding habitat is open grassland or prairie, but they can occasionally adapt to other open areas like airports, golf courses, and agricultural fields. Burrowing owls are slightly tolerant of human presence, often nesting near roads, farms, homes, and regularly maintained irrigation canals.
The owls nest in a burrow, hence the name burrowing owl. If burrows are unavailable and the soil is not hard or rocky, the owls may excavate their own. Burrowing owls will also nest in shallow, underground, man-made structures that have easy access to the surface.
During the nesting season, burrowing owls will collect a wide variety of materials to line their nest, some of which are left around the entrance to the burrow. The most common material is mammal dung, usually from cattle. At one time it was thought that the dung helped to mask the scent of the juvenile owls, but researchers now believe the dung helps to control the microclimate inside the burrow and to attract insects, which the owls may eat.
The female lays an egg every one or two days until she has completed a clutch, which can consist of four to 12 eggs (usually 9). She then incubates the eggs for 3–4 weeks while the male brings her food. After the eggs hatch, both parents feed the chicks. Four weeks after hatching, the chicks can make short flights and begin leaving the nest burrow. The parents still help feed the chicks for 1–3 months.
Site fidelity rates appear to vary among populations. In some locations, owls will frequently reuse a nest several years in a row. Owls in migratory northern populations are less likely to return to the same burrow every year. Also, as with many other birds, the female owls are more likely to disperse to a different site than are male owls.


When hunting, they wait on a perch until they spot prey. Then, they swoop down on prey or fly up to catch insects in flight. Sometimes, they chase prey on foot across the ground. The highly variable diet includes invertebrates and small vertebrates, which make up roughly one-third and two-thirds of the diet, respectively. Burrowing owls mainly eat large insects and small rodents. Although burrowing owls often live close to ground squirrels (Marmotini), they rarely prey upon them.
Rodent prey is usually dominated by locally superabundant species, like the delicate vesper mouse (Calomys tener) in southern Brazil. Among squamates and amphibians, small lizards like the tropical house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia), and frogs and toads predominate. Generally, most vertebrate prey is in the weight class of several grams per individual. The largest prey are usually birds, such as eared doves (Zenaida auriculata) which may weigh almost as much as a burrowing owl.
Regarding invertebrates, the burrowing owl seems less of a generalist. It is extremely fond of termites such as Termitidae, and Orthoptera such as Conocephalinae and Copiphorinae katydids, Jerusalem crickets (Stenopelmatidae) and true crickets (Gryllidae). Bothynus and Dichotomius anaglypticus scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae) were eaten far more often than even closely related species by many burrowing owls across central São Paulo (Brazil). Similarly, it was noted that among scorpions Bothriuridae were much preferred, among spiders Lycosidae (wolf spiders), and among millipedes (Diplopoda) certain Diplocheta. Small ground beetles (Carabidae) are eaten in quantity, while larger ones are much less popular as burrowing owl food, perhaps due to the vigorous defense the large species can put up. Burrowing owls are also known to place the fecal matter of large herbivorous mammals around the outside of their burrows to attract dung beetles, which are used to provide a steady source of food for the owls. Burrowing owls can also predate on invertebrates attracted to artificial night lighting.
Unlike other owls, they also eat fruits and seeds, especially the fruit of tasajillo (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) and other prickly pear and cholla cacti. On Clarion Island, where mammalian prey is lacking, they feed essentially on crickets and prickly pear fruit, adding Clarión wrens (Troglodytes tanneri) and young Clarion mourning doves (Zenaida macroura clarionensis) on occasion.


The burrowing owl is endangered in Canada and threatened in Mexico. It is a state threatened species in Colorado and Florida and a California species of special concern. It is common and widespread in open regions of many Neotropical countries, where they sometimes even inhabit fields and parks in cities. In regions bordering the Amazon Rainforest they are spreading with deforestation. It is therefore listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Burrowing owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. They are also included in CITES Appendix II.


The major reasons for declining populations in North America are loss of habitat, and control programs for prairie dogs. While some species of burrowing owl can dig their own burrows, most species rely on burrowing animals to burrow holes that the owls can use as shelter and nesting space. There is a high correlation between the location of burrowing animal colonies, like those of ground squirrels, with the presence of burrowing owls. Rates of burrowing owl decline have also been shown to correlate with prairie dog decline. Western burrowing owls, for example, nest in burrows made by black-tailed prairie dogs since they are unable to dig their own. However, prairie dog populations have experienced a decline, one of the causes of this being prairie dog eradication programs. When prairie dogs dig burrows, they can uproot plants in the process. This is most common in agricultural areas, where burrows cause damage to existing crops, creating a problem for local farmers. In Nebraska and Montana, eradication programs have already been put in place to manage the population of prairie dogs. Eradication programs for ground squirrels have also been put in place. In California, California ground squirrels have been known to feed on crop seedlings as well as grasses meant for cattle, which prevents crop growth and decreases food supply for cattle. However, as burrowing animal populations decrease, burrowing owls become more vulnerable to exposure to predators. With fewer burrows available, burrowing owl populations will be more concentrated, with more owls occupying fewer burrows . As a result, predators will more easily detect owl populations and be capable of eliminating larger broods of owls at once. Prairie dogs and ground squirrels also act as a buffer between owls and their predators, since they become the target prey rather than the owls. Another benefit prairie dogs in particular provide burrowing owls takes the form of their alarm calls, which alert burrowing owls if predators are nearby, therefore giving the owls ample time to hide or escape. Without burrowing animals, almost every aspect contributing to suitable and safe living for burrowing owls will no longer be available. Organizations have tried contributing to the conservation of burrowing owls by digging artificial burrows for these owls to occupy in areas with no active colony of burrowing animals. However, creating artificial burrows is not sustainable and is not effective as a long term solution.


The little owl (Athene noctua), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at the end of the 19th century and into the South Island of New Zealand in the early 20th century.
This owl is a member of the typical or true owl family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl, the other grouping being the barn owls, Tytonidae. It is a small, cryptically coloured, mainly nocturnal species and is found in a range of habitats including farmland, woodland fringes, steppes and semi-deserts. It feeds on insects, earthworms, other invertebrates and small vertebrates. Males hold territories which they defend against intruders. This owl is a cavity nester and a clutch of about four eggs is laid in spring. The female does the incubation and the male brings food to the nest, first for the female and later for the newly hatched young. As the chicks grow, both parents hunt and bring them food, and the chicks leave the nest at about seven weeks of age.
Being a common species with a wide range and large total population, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "least concern".


The little owl is a small owl with a flat-topped head, a plump, compact body and a short tail. The facial disc is flattened above the eyes giving the bird a frowning expression. The plumage is greyish-brown, spotted, streaked and barred with white. The underparts are pale and streaked with darker colour. It is usually 22 centimetres (8.7 in) in length with a wingspan of 56 centimetres (22 in) for both sexes, and weighs about 180 grams (6.3 oz).
The adult little owl of the most widespread form, the nominate A. n. noctua, is white-speckled brown above, and brown-streaked white below. It has a large head, long legs, and yellow eyes, and its white “eyebrows” give it a stern expression. Juveniles are duller, and lack the adult's white crown spots. This species has a bounding flight like a woodpecker. Moult begins in July and continues to November, with male starting before female.
The call is a querulous kiew, kiew. Less frequently, various whistling or trilling calls are uttered. In the breeding season, other more modulated calls are made, and a pair may call in duet. Various yelping, chattering or barking sounds are made in the vicinity of the nest.


This owl usually perches in an elevated position ready to swoop down on any small creature it notices. It feeds on prey such as insects and earthworms, as well as small vertebrates including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. It may pursue prey on the ground and it caches surplus food in holes or other hiding places. A study of the pellets of indigestible material that the birds regurgitate found mammals formed 20 to 50% of the diet and insects 24 to 49%. Mammals taken included mice, rats, voles, shrews, moles and rabbits. The birds were mostly taken during the breeding season and were often fledglings, and including the chicks of game birds. The insects included Diptera, Dermaptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Some vegetable matter (up to 5%) was included in the diet and may have been ingested incidentally.
The little owl is territorial, the male normally remaining in one territory for life. However the boundaries may expand and contract, being largest in the courtship season in spring. The home range, in which the bird actually hunts for food, varies with the type of habitat and time of year. Little owls with home-ranges that incorporate a high diversity of habitats are much smaller (< 2 ha) than those which breed in monotonous farmland (with home-ranges over 12 ha).  Larger home ranges results in increased flight activity, longer foraging trips and fewer nest visits.  If a male intrudes into the territory of another, the occupier approaches and emits its territorial calls. If the intruder persists, the occupier flies at him aggressively. If this is unsuccessful, the occupier repeats the attack, this time trying to make contact with his claws. In retreat, an owl often drops to the ground and makes a low-level escape. The territory is more actively defended against a strange male as compared to a known male from a neighbouring territory; it has been shown that the little owl can recognise familiar birds by voice.
The little owl is partly diurnal and often perches boldly and prominently during the day. If living in an area with a large amount of human activity, little owls may grow used to humans and will remain on their perch, often in full view, while people are around. The little owl has a life expectancy of about 16 years. However, many birds do not reach maturity; severe winters can take their toll and some birds are killed by road vehicles at night, so the average lifespan may be on the order of 3 years.


Athyrium filix-femina is now commonly split into three species, typical A. filix-femina, A. angustum (narrow lady fern) and A. asplenioides (southern lady fern).
Athyrium filix-femina is cespitose (the fronds arising from a central point as a clump rather than along a rhizome). The deciduous fronds are light yellow-green, 20–90 centimetres (7.9–35.4 in) long and 5–25 cm (2.0–9.8 in) broad. Sori appear as dots on the underside of the frond, 1–6 per pinnule. They are covered by a prominently whitish to brown reniform (kidney-shaped) indusium. Fronds are very dissected, being 3-pinnate. The stipe may bear long, pale brown, papery scales at the base. The spores are yellow on A. angustum and dark brown on A. asplenioides.
A. filix-femina is very hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as −20 °C (−4 °F) throughout its range.


The great purple hairstreak (Atlides halesus), also called the great blue hairstreak, is a common gossamer-winged butterfly species in parts of the United States. It is actually a Neotropical species; its North American range only includes the warm-temperate and subtropical parts of that continent, and it ranges southwards almost to the Isthmus of Panama. The type specimen, however, was shipped to Europe from the Colony of Virginia, probably around the time of the United States Declaration of Independence.
The common names refer to the butterfly's two main colors – dusky purple on the underside, and iridescent blue above. Particularly the males are very colorful in flight – brilliant blue and velvety black, with bright red and golden markings – but when sitting down they show their inconspicuous dusky purple underside. On each hindwing, there are two tails, with one short and one long tail, lending itself to the name "hairstreak". Several subspecies are recognized.
Its caterpillar larvae feed on the mistletoe genus Phoradendron.


After about 16 days from pupation to hatching, the adult butterfly will emerge from its chrysalis. Adult butterflies have their orange and black colorings to signal the protective toxins and even have a behavior of rubbing their wings together. This draws attention to the markings on their back wings that serve as a "false head." During flight season, which stretches from spring to early summer, and from early fall to winter, ovipositing females preferentially target isolated mistletoe plants that have trunks of a smaller diameter to lay their eggs on, which is likely to minimize competition from other ovipositing butterflies.
The great purple hairstreak has various natural enemies including parasitoid wasps, the species being Apanteles sp. as well as Metadontia amoena.


Atrichoseris is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. It contains only one known species, Atrichoseris platyphylla, known by the common names tobacco weed, parachute plant, and gravel ghost.
A. platyphylla is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States (southern California, Arizona, Nevada and the southwestern corner of Utah) and northwestern Mexico (Sonora, Baja California).
The plant produces a low basal rosette of rounded leaves patterned with gray-green and purple patches at ground level. It sends up a weedy-looking thin branching stem up to 70 centimetres (28 inches) tall, topped with a number of attractive, fragrant white or pink-tinged flowers, about 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) wide, the layered ray florets rectangular and toothed. The flowers bloom between February and May. The hairless fruit has the shape of a five-sided club.
The genus name, Atrichoseris, means 'chicory plant without hairs', referring to the fruit, and the specific epithet, platyphylla, means 'flat-leaved'.


Atriplex lentiformis is a spreading, communal shrub reaching one to three meters in height and generally more in width. It is highly branched and bears scaly or scurfy gray-green leaves up to 5 centimeters long and often toothed or rippled along the edges. This species may be dioecious or monoecious, with individuals bearing either male or female flowers, or sometimes both. Male flowers are borne in narrow inflorescences up to 50 centimeters long, while inflorescences of female flowers are smaller and more compact. Plants can change from monoecious to dioecious and from male to female and vice versa.
This species blooms in June and July.


Atriplex lentiformis grows  in the Mesquite Bosque vegetative association with the native Arrowweed - Pluchea sericea, Velvet mesquite - Prosopis velutina, and others in the Lower Colorado River Valley and Gila River valleys of southwestern Arizona, southeastern California, and northwestern Mexico.
The maximum height occurs where a groundwater source supplies plentiful moisture, and saline soil conditions are optimal for the quailbush with other plants losing from the competition. However, the invasive species  Tamarisk - Tamarix ramosissima and tumbleweed, Tumbling oracle - Atriplex rosea are successful and problematic competitors. The saltbush can reach 3.5 metres (11 ft) tall and wide in advantageous growing locales, with the form becoming a large flattened hemisphere, with adjacent hemispheres merging into an impenetrable thicket mass.


Atta texana is a fungus-farming ant species of the genus Atta, found in Texas, Louisiana, and  northeastern states of Mexico. Common names include town ant, parasol ant, fungus ant, Texas leafcutter ant, cut ant, and night ant.  It harvests leaves from over 200 plant species, and is considered a major pest of agricultural and ornamental plants, as it can defoliate a citrus tree in less than 24 hours. Every colony has several queens and up to 2 million workers. Nests are built in well-drained, sandy or loamy soil, and may reach a depth of 6 m (20 ft), have 1000 entrance holes, and occupy 420 m² (4,500 sq ft).


The nuptial flights of A. texana synchronize in regions; the virgin queens and males fly at night.


Wilson et al. (2010) discovered that morphologically similar Attevid moths were assigned two different names, Atteva ergatica in Costa Rica and Atteva punctella in North America, but had identical DNA barcodes. Combining DNA barcoding, morphology and food plant records also revealed a complex of two sympatric species that are diagnosable by their DNA barcodes and their facies in Costa Rica. However, neither of the names could be correctly applied to either species, as A. ergatica is a junior synonym and A. punctella a junior homonym. By linking the specimens to type material through morphology and DNA barcoding, they determined that the species distributed from Costa Rica to southern Quebec and Ontario, should be called A. aurea, whereas the similar and marginally sympatric species found in Central America should be called A. pustulella.
The name Phalaena (Tinea) punctella was recognized as a junior homonym almost immediately after its description but has been retained through several major works. The two objective replacement names proposed were Tinea punctella (Fabricius, 1787) and Crameria subtilis (Hübner, 1822). The oldest valid name to replace Phalaena punctella is Tinea pustulella but this remained overlooked until recently. Over time seven more nominal taxa were synonymized under Atteva pustulella, being Deiopeia aurea (Fitch, 1857), Poeciloptera compta Clemens, 1861, Oeta compta floridana (Neumoegen, 1891), A. edithella (Busck, 1908), A. exquisita (Busck, 1912), A. ergatica (Walsingham, 1914) and A. microsticta (Walsingham, 1914).
There were early suspicions that A. aurea and A. pustulella might represent different species, the former distributed in the United States, the latter in South America, but at the time there was insufficient material to support this view (Walsingham 1897). A recent taxonomic review of New World Atteva introduced several nomenclatural changes and recognized three separate species within the long-standing concept of A. pustulella: A. pustulella, A. aurea and A. floridana. The most recent treatment retains A. floridana as a synonym of Atteva aurea.


Aulostomus chinensis is a medium-sized fish which grows up to 80 cm in length. Its body is elongated and compressed laterally, with a long, tubular snout which has a small barbel at its inferior extremity. The protusible mouth can be extended forward to catch prey. On the top posterior part of the body, the dorsal fin is composed of two parts, the first anterior is a set of isolated spines and the second is a small ray fin. This latter fin is similar in shape to the anal fin which is just under. The pelvic fins are located in the middle of the body and are small, with one basal black spot.
The body coloration can be uniform or mottled in a range of grey, brown, or dark green. Some fish are uniformly bright yellow. The rear part of the body is normally black with white dots. Two black spots are present on the tail. The compound set of the long caudal peduncle and the caudal fin is yellowish, whatever the fish coloration. Caudal fin usually has two round black spots, at least one black spot occurs on the top and sometimes a second spot on the low part.


Aurelia aurita and other Aurelia species feed on plankton that includes organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, tunicate larvae, rotifers, young polychaetes, protozoans, diatoms, eggs, fish eggs, and other small organisms. Occasionally, they are also seen feeding on gelatinous zooplankton such as hydromedusae and ctenophores. Both the adult medusae and larvae of Aurelia have nematocysts to capture prey and also to protect themselves from predators.
The food is caught with its nematocyst-laden tentacles, tied with mucus, brought to the gastrovascular cavity, and passed into the cavity by ciliated action.  There, digestive enzymes from serous cell break down the food. Little is known about the requirements for particular vitamins and minerals, but due to the presence of some digestive enzymes, we can deduce in general that A. aurita can process carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.


Aurelia does not have respiratory parts such as gills, lungs or trachea; it respires by diffusing oxygen from water through the thin membrane covering its body. Within the gastrovascular cavity, low oxygenated water can be expelled and high oxygenated water can come in by ciliated action, thus increasing the diffusion of oxygen through cell. The large surface area membrane to volume ratio helps Aurelia to diffuse more oxygen and nutrients into the cells.
The basic body plan of Aurelia consists of several parts. The animal lacks respiratory, excretory, and circulatory systems. The adult medusa of Aurelia, with a transparent look, has an umbrella margin membrane and tentacles that are attached to the bottom. It has four bright gonads that are under the stomach. Food travels through the muscular manubrium while the radial canals help disperse the food. There is a middle layer of mesoglea, gastrodervascular cavity with gastrodermis, and epidermis. There is a nerve net that is responsible for contractions in swimming muscles and feeding responses. Adult medusae can have diameters up to 40 cm (16 in).
The medusae are either male or female. The young larval stage, a planula, has small ciliated cells and after swimming freely in the plankton for a day or more, settles on an appropriate substrate, where it changes into a special type of polyp called a "scyphistoma", which divides by strobilation into small ephyrae that swim off to grow up as medusae. There is an increasing size from starting stage planula to ephyra, from less than 1 mm in the planula stage, up to about 1 cm in ephyra stage, and then to several cm in diameter in the medusa stage.
A recent study has found that A. aurita are capable of lifecycle reversal where individuals grow younger instead of older, akin to the "immortal jellyfish" Turritopsis dohrnii.
There has been a study presenting that Aurelia's body system isn't significantly affected by artificial materials like microbeads, which can be found in cosmetic and personal care products. Aurelia aurita was able to recognize that microbeads were not food so there wasn't any physiological or histological harm.


The brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) is a fairly large species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in West, East and southern Africa. This species is an almost obligate predator of a variety of snakes. A very solitary bird, the brown snake eagle has a prolonged breeding cycle and raises a single eaglet. Although probably naturally scarce, it is classified as a least concern species as it continues to occur over a very broad range.


This species is distributed widely in Africa. In west Africa, ranges from southeastern Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, eastern and western Guinea, Sierra Leone, the northern, inland parts of Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria as well as inland in Mali and Niger. From there they range across to southern Chad, southern Sudan, South Sudan, inland in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia and central Ethiopia and in southern Somalia through much of Kenya, Uganda and the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo down through southern Africa to about half of Namibia, all of Botswana and Zimbabwe and northeastern and eastern South Africa. Although it is not migratory, brown snake eagles may be somewhat nomadic, with cases of birds on territories stretching up to 200 km (120 mi) apart. Furthermore, ringed birds have been known to travel 2,100 km (1,300 mi) away (from South Africa to the Democratic Republic of the Congo). This species dwell in open woods and wooded savanna, most often preferring areas where gulley or wooded hillocks break up flat areas, apparently preferring somewhat more densely wooded areas than related snake eagles. This species may dwell at any elevation from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) high.


The swamp harrier is widespread through Australasia and many islands in the south-west Pacific region, including much of Australia (except the arid region), New Zealand (where it is common in open country), Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and as stragglers on some subantarctic islands. It is usually found in wetlands and well-watered open country.
The swamp harrier only became established in New Zealand within the last few hundred years, after lowland forests were extensively cleared by the first Polynesian settlers. It is absent from the fossil record. According to archeological and genetic research, humans arrived in New Zealand no earlier than about 1280, with at least the main settlement period between about 1320 and 1350, consistent with evidence based on genealogical traditions. The Eyles's harrier (Circus teauteensis), a larger harrier species endemic to New Zealand, became extinct after human settlement. All swamp harrier remains from New Zealand that have been studied in detail are some 1000 years old at most, meaning that they post-date human settlement. There is no evidence for widespread coexistence of swamp and Eyles's harriers in New Zealand. Apparently, despite their considerable differences, the two harriers were still ecologically similar enough to competitively exclude one another, and only when the endemic Eyles's harrier became extinct could the swamp harrier become established.
The swamp harrier has benefited from European settlement, and is now very common, especially in open farmland.


The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus)  is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl.
It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Europe and southern temperate Asia. In the mildest regions, such as France and Great Britain, hen harriers may be present all year, but the higher ground is largely deserted in winter.
The northern harrier was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the hen harrier.


The northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA.
The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas in winter with breeding birds in more northerly areas moving to the southernmost USA, Mexico, and Central America. In milder regions in the southern US, they may be present all year, but the higher ground is largely deserted in winter. This bird inhabits  prairies, open areas, and marshes.
The northern harrier was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Eurasian hen harrier.


Cirsium andersonii is a North American species of thistle known by the common names Anderson's thistle and rose thistle. It is native to California, Oregon, and Nevada, where it grows in the woodlands and forest openings of the local high mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada and the southern Cascade Range. It has also been reported from Idaho.
This native thistle is a perennial herb growing erect to a maximum height approaching 100 cm (39 in). It produces one to multiple stems, simple or branching, which may be hairless to quite woolly. The deeply lobed and sharply cut leaves are borne on spiny-winged petioles, the longest toward the base of the plant reaching over 30 centimetres (12 inches) long. The inflorescence bears one or more flower heads, each up to 5 centimeters long by 4 wide at the largest. The head is lined with spiny, purple-tipped phyllaries which curve outward. The head contains many red, purplish, or rose pink flowers, each up to 4.5 centimeters long. The fruit is an achene with a brown body 6 or 7 millimeters long topped with a pappus which may be 4 centimeters in length. The flower heads attract hummingbirds.
It was originally named Cnicus andersonii after Charles Lewis Anderson by Asa Gray; its name was later changed to Cirsium andersonii by Petrak.


Cirsium muticum has been found across every province of Canada from Labrador and Newfoundland to Saskatchewan. In the United States, it grows primarily in the Northeast, the Great Lakes region, and the Appalachians, with isolated populations scattered across the South from Texas to the Carolinas.
Cirsium muticum is found mostly in alkaline swamps, wetlands, marshes and low forests but some races have been known to grow in wet alpine climates.


Cirsium pitcheri, sometimes called Pitcher's thistle or dune thistle, is a species of thistle native to sand dune shorelines along the upper Great Lakes.  It is native to Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario.  It is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a threatened species.


The Pitcher's thistle is found exclusively along the shorelines of Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior, particularly in areas of sand dunes.  Two of the largest remaining populations have been identified in the Nordhouse Dunes area of the Manistee National Forest, and within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  In addition, Pitcher's thistle continues to grow and flower in some smaller state parks and private tracts along these lake shores.


The golden-headed cisticola is omnivorous, primarily eating invertebrates such as insects and small slugs, but also eating grass seeds. It typically forages on the ground for food, hiding from its prey among various plants, such as grass, and moving slowly. It usually inhabits a single place throughout its life, but habitat changes sometimes cause it to move to a different location. Records from New Guinea and Tasmania have shown it to be a wandering bird, and it possibly undergoes partial migration in China. It is often difficult to detect in the non-breeding season, which has made it difficult to analyze when it travels to different areas. It produces a variety of sounds distinct from other birds, which, according to the Sunshine Coast Council, range from a "teewip" to a "wheezz, whit-whit". It is most often found single or in small flocks, but outside of the breeding season groups can be larger.


Adults have brown upperparts with a light brown belly and flanks and a white throat and breast. The back is black with white stripes. They have a dark cap with a white line over the eyes and a short thin bill.
The male's song is a loud gurgle used to declare ownership of territory; western males have a more varied repertoire.
This little bird is native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Their breeding habitat is marshes with tall vegetation such as cattails across North America. In the western United States, some birds are permanent residents. Other birds migrate to marshes and salt marshes in the southern United States and Mexico. their non-breeding range is in the southern United States going into Mexico and their breeding range is in the northeastern United States going into Canada.
Measurements:
Length: 3.9–5.5 in (9.9–14.0 cm)
Weight: 0.3–0.5 oz (8.5–14.2 g)
Wingspan: 5.9 inches (15 cm)


The trifoliate orange, Citrus trifoliata or Poncirus trifoliata, is a member of the family Rutaceae. Whether the trifoliate oranges should be considered to belong to their own genus, Poncirus, or be included in the genus Citrus is debated. The species is unusual among citrus for having deciduous, compound leaves and pubescent (downy) fruit.
It is native to northern China and Korea, and is also known as the Japanese bitter-orange, hardy orange or Chinese bitter orange.
The plant is a fairly cold-hardy citrus (USDA zone 6) and will tolerate moderate frost and snow, making a large shrub or small tree 4–8 m (13–26 ft) tall. Because of its relative hardiness, citrus grafted onto Citrus trifoliata are usually hardier than when grown on their own roots.


C. m. californicum (S.Watson) Govaerts - California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Sonora, Coahuila
C. m. intermedium Kük. - Australia, New Caledonia
C. m. jamaicense (Crantz) Kük. - Latin America from Mexico to Argentina; West Indies; southeastern United States from Texas to Delaware; naturalized in tropical Africa and on many oceanic islands including Canary Islands, Madagascar, New Guinea, Hawaii
C. m. mariscus - Europe, northern Asia and North Africa from Ireland and Morocco to Japan, including Germany, Italy, France, Scandinavia, Poland, Balkans, Ukraine, Russia, Siberia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Himalayas, Kazakhstan, China, Korea


Greater spotted eagles may disperse widely during migration, usually by about October (or sometimes September) on through November as well as February to April in spring, being found more broadly in distribution than during breeding or wintering. While migrating, greater spotted eagles may be seen in much of Eastern Europe, Anatolia and almost throughout the Middle East, Central Asia (from Kazakhstan south) and western South Asia. This species is prone to vagrancy.Vagrancy has been reported in several countries in Europe including the Netherlands, Great Britain, Gibraltar and the Czech Republic. They are sometimes documented in central and east Afghanistan. Its regular breeding range no longer extends as far westwards as Germany but birds are still occasionally seen there with a few records per decade. Even young birds disperse widely; the Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden has a specimen (C 21845) shot in November 1914 near Bernsdorf in Saxony. It is a juvenile, and though its exact age cannot be determined it is heavily spotted and probably less than 20 months old. Additionally, vagrancy has been reported in several nations of Africa including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Cameroon, Chad, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana. They also may distribute in East Asia across the southern part of the Russian Far East, eastern China and discontinuously in Southeast Asia from Myanmar and Thailand down through the Malay Peninsula. Occasionally, a greater spotted eagle may be documented even in Indonesia (i.e. Sumatra).


Dedicated wintering areas tend to be more limited and isolated than where the species is seen in migration. The central wintering areas for the species are principally the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Indomalayan realm. Small pockets may exist in southwestern Spain and bordering Portugal, South France, northeastern Italy, western Greece (where sometimes even considered the most common wintering eagle), small areas of southern Bulgaria, eastern Romania and southern Moldova. Other wintering areas including northeastern Egypt, southern Sudan and adjacent South Sudan, north-central Ethiopia, scattered areas of the Middle East including northern Israel, Kuwait and central Syria. More continuously they are found through much of the southern coastal Arabian Peninsula, including broadly along the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia coast as well as west and southern Yemen, southern Oman, coastal United Arab Emirates and eastern Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, they winter in southeastern Turkey, Azerbaijan, southeastern Georgia, rather eastern Iraq, broadly in western, northern and eastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, western Afghanistan and far western Pakistan. They are also found discontinuously in eastern Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, southern Bhutan into northwestern Myanmar. In India, the winter range is through Indo-Gangetic Plain to Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal to Assam (including the North Cachar hills) and northeastern hill states extending south through central India. They were once reasonably common in the Malabar and Carnatic coasts but likely only back over a hundred years ago. After another gap, they are found in much of southern and central Myanmar, central and southern Thailand, southern Laos, the northern tip of Vietnam, discontinuously in southeastern Vietnam and much of Cambodia and southern coastal Malaysia. In China wintering greater spotted eagles range from Jiangsu and Anhui continuously down to northern Guangdong across to Taiwan, as well as seldom in Korea.


This species hunts mainly on the wing, quartering over relatively open ground a bit like a harrier or soaring high above, dropping or diving steeply when prey is spotted. Brown & Amadon describe the hunting greater spotted eagle as "Although not a very active species it is not exactly sluggish, and on the wing it has the look of a true eagle". Greater spotted eagles will scatter waterfowl by stooping low over their flock, then selecting isolated individuals for attack. Sometimes the greater spotted eagle still-hunts from a perch, a method more commonly employed by other eagles of similar distribution, and often hunts on foot as well. It mostly takes prey on ground or on the water. Also some kleptoparasitic attacks are carried out on other birds of prey. Although scavenging for carrion seems to occur almost aseasonally, it is likely rather more prevalent during non-breeding times, with mostly fresh prey brought to greater spotted eagle nests. Greater spotted eagles are attracted often to grass fires and swarming locusts, often along with other predators such as steppe eagles, during non-breeding times. During the breeding season in Biebrza National Park in Poland, hunting behaviours were studied. It was found that the peak flying and hunting times were 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, with the eagles rarely flying before 9:00 AM and often in repose from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Prey deliveries may have been more varied when involving the male, the main food provider, than later into the season when the female resumed hunting. In Biebrza, hunting territories defended from conspecifics as well as lesser spotted eagles and other large birds of prey. Per the Biebrza data, the hunting success was 34% for the male up to mid-July after which success declined to 20%. The hunting success rates of greater spotted eagles seems to rather high, as aforementioned 34% for much of the breeding season, which is much higher at comparable times than golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), which has a hunting success rate of around 20%, lesser spotted eagles with a success rate of 24% and somewhat higher than Bonelli's eagles (Aquila fasciata), at a 28.5% hunting success rate. Pellets are considered the most reliable way to determine greater spotted eagle foods as prey remains alone can be biased towards birds.
The greater spotted eagle is a slightly opportunistic predator but tends to favor rather particular prey types. The diet tends to be composed mostly of small mammals. There is some dietary similarity to the better-known lesser spotted eagle but the greater spotted includes more birds in foods and favors larger prey. Beyond mammals and birds, the greater spotted eagle will sometimes prey on amphibians, reptiles (mainly small-to-mid-sized snakes) and occasionally small fish and insects. As can be expected by their habitat preferences, they tend to focus on vertebrates that are associated with water. Generally its prey spectrum is somewhat diverse, at slightly fewer than 150 known prey species, more diverse than the known diet of steppe eagles, similar in diversity to that of the lesser spotted eagle but possibly about half as diverse of the diet of the eastern imperial eagle. It is sometimes stated that they tend to take prey mostly up to only 250 g (8.8 oz). This was backed this up via estimations from another source that around 22% of the diet will weigh 63 g (2.2 oz) or less, 37% of diet will weigh 63 to 125 g (2.2 to 4.4 oz) and around 30% will weigh 125 to 250 g (4.4 to 8.8 oz) and that generally most prey will weigh under 1,000 g (2.2 lb). Based on this source, the mean estimated prey size for the greater spotted eagle may fall around approximately 157 g (5.5 oz). A large food study from Belarus found that 41.9% of prey had a body mass of 51 to 200 g (1.8 to 7.1 oz) and 38.3% was made by prey estimated at 11 to 50 g (0.39 to 1.76 oz); however, the primary source of prey biomass was from prey weighing 601 to 1,200 g (1.325 to 2.646 lb) at 34% of the biomass and prey weighing over 1,200 g (2.6 lb) made up 16% of the biomass. The mean estimated size of male prey deliveries in a Estonian study was merely 57.8 g (2.04 oz). This is as opposed to study from Belarus where the mean estimated size of prey deliveries by males was 161.2 g (5.69 oz). The mean prey sizes are roughly similar to those of larger steppe eagles and somewhat higher than those of lesser spotted eagles, which tended to heavily focus on prey weighing under 63 g (2.2 oz) weight range of prey (around 60% of diet), however most Aquila eagles tended to take prey typically that were slightly to considerably higher in weight than the prey typical of greater spotted eagles. However, sometimes the greater spotted eagle is credited with successful attacks on large prey.
In the largest known food study for greater spotted eagle the diet was studied in 3 different habitats in Belarussian Polesia, from natural to mixed to modified habitats. 797 prey items were identified total, but often not to species. Many, surprisingly, were unidentified invertebrates which made up 15.8%, with beetles (also unidentified to species) being a further 14.9%. Assorted Microtus voles were important in Polesia, namely  the common (Microtus arvalis), tundra (Microtus oeconomus) and East European voles (Microtus mystacinus) made up collectively 23.4% of the diet by number. Other significant prey were European water vole (Arvicola terrestris) at 8.9%, common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) at 4.1%, mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) at 3.3%, water rail (Rallus aquaticus) 3.1%, unidentified small passerines 2.9%, spotted crakes (Porzana porzana) 2.6% and grass snakes (Natrix natrix) 2.3%. Significant in biomass but less so to numbers were the northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus), European mole (Talpa europaea), Anas dabbling ducks, grey herons (Ardea cinerea), Eurasian bitterns (Botaurus stellaris) and black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), with very small numbers of very large birds being taken. Bird prey in Polesia made up 68% of the diet, mammals 25.3%, reptiles 3.4%, fish 3% and amphibians 0.3%. Of 102 prey items in the Belarussian Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park, 38.2% were European water voles, 7.8% were European moles, 5.9% each Sorex shrews, Microtus voles, and unidentified passerine species and 8.7% were common frogs. At a nest in Estonia, of 105 visually identified prey items, Microtus species and further unidentified rodents comprised some 63% by number, however they made up only 28% by biomass, while birds formed only 19% numerically but 56% of biomass.45% of avian prey species were medium-sized, e.g. hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia), grey partridge (Perdix perdix), northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and hooded crow (Corvus cornix). Other European studies have been largely confined to wintering greater spotted eagles. In the Amvrakikos Wetlands of Greece, 95 prey items were determined, being composed almost exclusively of water birds. The main prey here were common teal (Anas crecca) (17.9% by number, 15.9% by biomass), common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) (16.8% by number, 14.9% by biomass), Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope ) (11.6% in number, 27.4% in biomass), unidentified Anas ducks (5.3%, 7.8% in biomass), Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) (4.2% by number, 8.7% by biomass) and little egret (Egretta garzetta) (3.2% by number, 4.7% biomass), with a smallish contribution by ground beetles, passerines and snakes. Over 8 years of study in Natural Park of El Fondo in the Spanish Province of Alicante almost entirely large prey was taken here, i.e. few to none small rodents such as voles. Among the 100 prey items found, the main prey were common moorhen (23.1% by number, 15.2% in biomass), common teal (8.97% by number, 6.44% by biomass) and black rat (Rattus rattus) (7.69% by number, 3.01% by biomass), with unidentified Rattus making up 7.69%  by number, 2.76% by biomass. Other notable regular prey here were black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Eurasian coots and northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), while large prey, making up much of the biomass were common carp (Cyprinus carpio) at 18.9% of biomass, grey heron at 11.7% of biomass and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) at 9% of the biomass.
In nests in Western Russia, a mean total of 53% of the diet was small mammals and 45% was birds. The diet upon study in the Leningrad reigon was led by European water vole at nearly 51% of 79 prey items followed by introduced muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) at 13.9% of diet and common teal 3.8% of diet, with 20.2% of diet made up of by frogs, most probably common (Rana arvalis) but also some moor frogs (Rana temporaria). 322 non-carrion prey items were found for greater spotted eagles in the Belaya River, 59% of which were mammals. The diet was largely European water vole at 32.6%, followed by smaller voles and mice. It was found that the Belaya eagles ate a large balances of reptile prey, which were found to comprise 19.5% of the diet. 15% of all vertebrate prey, in fact, was European adders (Vipera berus), adders and grass snakes being the primary reptile prey. The greater spotted eagle took average sized snakes and were not seen to prey on small snakes, nor to take many particularly large snakes, usually with the snake sizes estimated at up to 40 to 45 cm (16 to 18 in) long, occasionally 60 cm (24 in) or more. The eagles in Belaya are often seen grasping snakes about the head. In Belaya, only 6.5% of the diet was birds and they were mainly significant only in the Oka Nature Reserve and the eagles of the region occasionally partook in carrion feeding, including moose (Alces alces) carcasses. In a compilation study from the Volga region, Ural Mountains and Western Siberia, 74.7% of the diet was mammalian in 482 prey items in the regions. The main prey species was the European water vole at an average of 32.4% of diet (28.1-36.8%), followed by common vole at avg 11.4% (0-17%), tundra vole at 6.2% (1.9-16.9%), birds comprised about 16% of diet, most importantly Eurasian coots and Podiceps grebes, followed by rooks (Corvus frugilegus). In the Tyva Republic, more terrestrial, upland hunting can be projected since the Daurian pika (Ochotona dauurica) was reportedly the main prey for greater spotted eagles. Similarly, in Khakassia, the greater spotted eagle were said to hunt mostly the long-tailed ground squirrel (Spermophilus undulatus), the only area known where ground squirrels were said to be preferred over voles in breeding areas for these eagles.
The diet is generally more erratically known in non-European wintering areas, while, like many other raptors of similar region, migrating greater spotted eagles typically fast until they reach their wintering terminus point. The most well-studied Asian wintering population of the species in terms of dietary behaviour is likely in Bharatpur in India, particularly in Keoladeo National Park. It was found that the greater spotted eagles here occupied a greater range of habitat than other spotted and Aquila eagle. Winter numbers are up to 30 for this species, with them recorded to exploit the full 9 km (5.6 mi) length of the local marshland, their numbers peaking in November and December and then diminishing after January. Here greater spotted eagles are non-territorial and free ranging. Like most other wintering migrant raptors here, the greater spotted eagle becomes a highly opportunistic feeder that shows a preference for easily attainable foods, akin to the milvine kites they often overlap with in the winter quarters. The greater spotted eagles regularly come down to carrion, pirate food from other birds, feed on stranded fish and, perhaps most regularly, hunting and taking young herons, storks and other water birds from heronries. When regularly hunting around them, the greater spotted eagles often approach the heronry in a hover, creating tumult throughout the heronry, as the heronry settles they often suddenly drop onto singled out nest, the eagle defeathers the squab (nestling water bird) on the nest itself and commences feeding. The Bharatpur greater spotted eagles tend to shows a slight preference for slow moving prey, but also takes fast flying birds like waders and ducks and often tests flocks of coots with low flights over water and continually "buzzing" the birds until an opportunity presents itself via an individual isolated. Often perches extensively on a favorite lookout post with Acacia nilotica favored in Bharatpur. Some possible nighttime hunting has been inferred for greater spotteds in Bharatpur but they typically hunt by day. During inclement weather in Bharatpur, the eagles may pause hunting. As many as 7-10 greater spotted eagles are attracted by a conspecific’s heronry kill and subsequently often jostle each other. Often this results in the eagle’s accidentally drop the kill into the water, though those dropped onto dry ground frequently become food for wild boars (Sus scrofa) and golden jackals (Canis aureus). In one case, two adult greater spotted eagles and a single immature eastern imperial eagle destroyed at least 30 water bird nests in a single day. Out of 79 hours of observation on greater spotted eagles, 49% of the time was spent foraging, increasing to 72% by March due to scarcer foods. Meanwhile, they spent 26.4% of observed time resting and 20.6% of the time soaring, with soaring rising to 35% in February. The greater spotted eagles consumed a daily mean of 240 g (8.5 oz) per day, with most foods nourishing them over several days, and they reportedly hunted the most diverse prey range of any raptor of the region. In the general Indian subcontinent, greater spotted eagles are known to freely scavenge carrion, as well as to feed on small wetland dwellers such as frogs, especially Indus valley bullfrogs (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus), and chameleons and Calotes lizards on land nearby. A general aptitude in the region has been reported for avian prey, largely larger rails such as moorhens, Eurasian coots and gray-headed swamphens (Porphyrio poliocephalus), as well as waterfowl and (mostly young) storks, herons and egrets; however upland birds such as rufous treepies (Dendrocitta vagabunda), Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) and Indian rollers (Coracias benghalensis) seem to be in the spectrum there too. Though rare at large carrion, greater spotted eagles in the Indian subcontinent seem to be attracted to terrapins maimed or partially eaten by Pallas's fish eagles (Haliaeetus leucoryphus), Egyptian (Neophron percnopterus) and red-headed vultures (Sarcogyps calvus). The Indian wintering eagles do not appear to shun hunting terrestrial creatures and have been seen to hunting also snakes, rodents and other small mammals in the region.
Ancedotal evidence of the diet of wintering greater spotted eagles was attained in the central plains of Thailand. Here they were seen to eat dead fish in drained ponds as well as to actively hunt and to pirate food from other raptors. They were seen to prey on domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) that became separated from their large farm flocks as well as to feed on dead lesser whistling ducks (Dendrocygna javanica) found to be killed by poisons meant to kill off snails. One farther prey species reported to be likely highly important to this region’s greater spotted eagles is the ricefield rat (Rattus argentiventer). Despite not being an eagle considered to show an aptitude for attacking large or varied prey, sometimes greater spotted eagles seem to be capable of taking very varied and sometimes substantially sized prey. It has been detected that small invertebrates may be taken at times, including ground beetles, locusts and non-native red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). The greater spotted eagle takes a range of birds ranging down to the size of the 18.4 g (0.65 oz) common reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus). They can take fairly large water birds up to the size of grey herons, mallards, fledgling painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala), Asian openbills and greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) as well as some cormorants and flamingoes. Most such water bird prey may weigh somewhere between 1,200 and 3,000 g (2.6 and 6.6 lb). Sometimes the greater spotted eagle will attack or feed on cranes, although they not infrequently scavenge these as well. Many attacks attempted against cranes are reportedly unsuccessful against these tough prey. Likely cases of predation on adult common cranes (Grus grus) have been reported while one a demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) was unsuccessful while they were considered a potential threat possibly to the young of red-crowned cranes (Grus japonica). In some cases, they may taking cranes weighing up to some 5,000 g (11 lb). Outside of avian prey, less varied prey is known to be taken of other taxa, though mammals have been taken ranging from Eurasian harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) and common shrew (Sorex araneus), weighing no more than 8 g (0.28 oz) up to the size of a nearly grown European hare (Lepus europaeus), potentially weighing up to 3,000 g (6.6 lb). Sometimes greater spotted eagles may prey upon around a half dozen species of mustelid mostly assorted weasels but also including those to the size of European pine martens (Martes martes), a large adult of which is nearly equal to their own weight.


The species builds a large stick nest which may measure about 70 to 110 cm (28 to 43 in) across and be up to 100 cm (39 in) deep. Apparently nests appeared significantly smaller in the Indian subcontinent than in their more typical northerly nesting haunts, at around 60 cm (24 in) across, shorter than the eagle’s own total length, and merely around 5 to 15 cm (2.0 to 5.9 in) deep. The nests built by this species tend to have some particular features. Namely, the species tends to utilize fresh branches with foliage or green needles (where nesting in conifer predominated forests) still attached for their nest sticks (most other acciptrids prefer sparse or leafless branches while building nests). Nests are lined with green leaves, pine needles and grass, as is common in accipitrids, and they may be added continuously throughout the breeding cycle. The nest is normally located in a tree usually in the main fork, a large lateral branch or even the top of typically large broadleaf trees just inside forests. Russian compilation studies reflect that about 68.7% of found greater spotted eagle nests were on deciduous trees with the remaining balance in coniferous trees. In the Russian Nizhny Novgorod region nests were typically located on birches (10 out of 11 that were found) and one on a black alder (Alnus glutinosa). In Poland, birch such as downy birch (Betula pubescens) appear popular in use. In the Volga-Ural area, alder forests were preferred, with 71.4% of pairs with found active nests using it, while in Western Siberia they prefer pine forests, 55.9% of the time. Within the Altai-Sayan region, preferred nest trees were birch (50% of the time) and larch trees (31.25% of the time). Acacia arabica and Mangifera indica were reportedly used in Pakistan, and Mitragyna parvifolia in India, and were reportedly sometimes even on agricultural land. In essentially every Russian study, nests were almost invariably in floodplain forests. Nesting sites in the Volga-Ural area averaged 510.7 m (1,676 ft) from the nearest forest edge, but were often in the densest part of the forest stands. The nest can be 5 to 25 m (16 to 82 ft) above the ground or water, though usually 8 to 12 m (26 to 39 ft). In Nizhny Novgorod, nest heights were from 7 to 14 m (23 to 46 ft) above the ground  From a sample of 83, in the Volga-Ural area, the average nest height was 9.58 m (31.4 ft) while in Western Siberia it was 7.22 m (23.7 ft), ranging variously from 3 to 20 m (9.8 to 65.6 ft), nest sites appearing lower in the more conifer based Western Siberia area. Nest heights were lower still at a mean of 6.5 m (21 ft) in the Altai-Sayan region. Rarely, nests are recorded in treeless regions in shrubs, for instance in a Western Siberian steppe on a Salix shrub at just under 3 m (9.8 ft) above the ground. A nest in Altai-Sayan was reportedly only 2 m (6.6 ft) above the ground. Even more rarely, nests have been reportedly located on the ground. At times, they may use the nests of other birds, most likely other birds of prey but even a Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) nest was reportedly once used.


Despite maintaining a fairly vast breeding range, covering at least 9 million square kilometers, in a band from the Baltic Sea in Europe right across to the Pacific Ocean with minor outpost in the Indian subcontinent, this eagle occurs at extremely low densities. The populations and trends of the species have been considered fairly poorly studied in the past, but a strong declining trend has been detected. Rough estimates in the 1990s indicated some 11 pairs in a huge area of northeastern Poland, around 2,000 km² (770 sq mi) and only some 20-30 pairs in a huge study area of 85,000 km² (33,000 sq mi) in European Russia, with no more than 900 pairs west of the Urals. More refined subsequent efforts put the number of breeding pairs in the European Union at 810 to 1100 breeding pairs. Furthermore, in the 1990s, it was extrapolated from Indian wintering populations that the more eastern population is surely less than four figures. Birdlife International in the 1990s estimated the Russian population at 2800-3000 pairs. More recently, Birdlife has estimated the global population as no more than 3800-13,200 total mature individuals worldwide. Color-banding recovery studies have determined that of 1370 European band recoveries of spotted eagles, only 3.6% were greater spotted eagles, while hybrid greater x lesser spotted eagles comprised 2.7%, the remaining numbering being all lesser spotted eagles.  Greater spotted eagles are considered extripated as a breeding species from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic (where they may have never consistently bred) and Slovakia, as well as Israel where they last bred in the 1960s. Meanwhile, the Finland breeding population is also likely almost gone. Steady reduction in Ukraine down to 40-50 pairs by 1985 and a 12-20% overall reduction of the Ukrainian population was estimated, from 1920s to 1990s. The numbers of greater spotted eagles in Estonia declined 14% in the period merely from 2004 to 2010, with declines having been detected for some time there. The number of breeding pairs in Belarus is as many 150-200 pairs (with confirmed counts of somewhat over 100 breeding pairs) and this is considered the most important breeding area known outside of Russia.
Where the total numbers in European Russia were once estimated at around 1000 breeding pairs in the 1960s, it is estimated that there are fewer than 700 pairs left there. The range has shrunk in the Russian Far East, where it once widely found but is now restricted to below the middle Amur, along the Ussuri and south Primorsky although anecdotal information suggests that it is still somewhat common in the whole Western Siberian lowlands from the Ural Mountains to the middle Ob River. In Kazakhstan, there are an estimated 74-97 breeding pairs of the species. Wintering estimates are more scattered and efforts to tabulate numbers in India show they continue to occur quite broadly but in perhaps slightly lowered and more scattered numbers. In Armenia, it is considered one of the two rarest of the nation’s 30 raptor species, along with the eastern imperial eagle. Wintering numbers of greater spotted eagles in the Mediterranean Basin were found to total about 300-400 individuals, with a bit under 34% of these in Israel, just under 32% in Greece, 16% in Turkey, somewhat smaller numbers in Romania and Spain and tiny numbers in Southeastern Europe, Montenegro and France. Around 50 individuals winter in Turkey per other sources. The species appears fairly rarely in Ethiopia and Eretria where they are seen singly and sparsely in most cases. In essentially every nation of its distribution, the greater spotted eagle has a Vulnerable status. As a species, the greater spotted eagle is classified as vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN.


The species is believed to be endemic to southern Africa, New Zealand and Australia, but has been spreading to other continents and is often invasive. Clathrus archeri now has a global distribution and has been naturalized in Europe and North America. It was first discovered in the UK over a century ago (~1914) and has spread across much of Europe. Clathrus archeri was likely introduced via wool fabric in supplies for WWI. As climate changes drive niche habitat lost, Clathrus archeri is expected to become threatened in Australia but is expected to expand to northeast Europe. The expansion of Clathrus archeri in Europe is further supported by its invasion into 2 new Romanian sites in July 2013. Furthermore, Clathrus archeri has been found in 90 sites in Poland as of 2013, 65% of which are located in forests. Recent modeling studies in Poland expect the alien species to occur in areas with a thick layer of snow, which does not melt in winter, at higher altitudes, where the water deficit is low.


The species occurs throughout the Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, North America, and Asia. In North America, it is more common east of the Rocky Mountains. It has also been recorded from Australia and South Africa. In 2006, it was reported from the Arctic zone of the Ural Mountains, in Russia.
The fungus grows in woodland and in grassland on moist soil, and is presumed to be saprobic, rotting fallen leaf litter and dead grass stems. The fruit bodies tend to grow in groups, tufts or clusters. Although they can grow singly, they are typically inconspicuous unless in clusters.


In North America, Clavaria fragilis has been called "by far our most common Clavaria". In northern Europe, it is one of a suite of "CHEG" fungi (CHEG standing for "Clavarioid fungi-Hygrocybe-Entoloma-Geoglossaceae") considered to be indicator species of old, unimproved grassland (permanent grassland that has not been cultivated for some years). Though such grasslands are a threatened habitat in Europe, C. fragilis is one of the commoner CHEG species. It is, nonetheless, on the national red list of threatened fungi in the Netherlands and Slovenia.


The fruit bodies of Clavaria zollingeri grow either solitarily, in groups, or in clusters on the ground in grassy spots, usually near hardwood trees, or with mosses. It is a saprobic species, deriving nutrients by breaking down organic matter. It has a widespread distribution, and has been found in Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America, and Asia (including Brunei, India, and Korea).  In North America, the distribution is restricted to the northeastern regions of the continent. Rare in Europe, it is listed in the Red Lists of threatened species in Denmark and Great Britain. In Ireland, it is used as an indicator species to help assess the fungal diversity of nutrient-poor grasslands, a habitat under threat. It was recorded from the Netherlands for the first time in 2006.


Clavulina cristata, commonly known as the white coral fungus or the crested coral fungus, is a white- or light-colored edible coral mushroom present in temperate areas of the Americas and Europe. It is the type species of the genus Clavulina.
The commonly used species name cristata was coined in 1790 by Danish mycologist Theodor Holmskjold (as Ramaria cristata).  However, Linnaeus described apparently the same fungus as Clavaria coralloides in Species plantarum in 1753.  Therefore, according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, the name Clavulina coralloides should be used in preference to Clavulina cristata, although the latter name is in more common use.


C. parviflora is an annual herb growing in a clump or spreading to a maximum length of about 30 centimeters. The basal leaves are linear, often with an indistinct petiole.  Some races may have lance-shaped blades on long, tapering petioles. There are also leaves on the flower stem which may be similar in shape or may be rounded or squared and sometimes fuse together to create a bowl around the stem. The herbage is green to pink in color. The inflorescence is a cluster of up to 40 small flowers, each with petals a few millimeters long and white to pink-tinted, or deep pink in color.  The largest flowers, up to 1 cm in diameter, are found in Claytonia parviflora subsp. grandiflora, which is a subspecies endemic to the foothills and lower slopes of the western Sierra Nevada of North America.  Together with Claytonia perfoliata and Claytonia rubra, Claytonia parviflora comprises what is almost certainly a polyploid pillar complex.
There are four well-defined subspecies of Claytonia parviflora: Claytonia parviflora subsp. grandiflora, Claytonia parviflora subsp. parviflora, Claytonia parviflora subsp. utahensis, and Claytonia parviflora subsp. viridis


Together with two other Claytonia species, Claytonia parviflora and C. rubra, C. perfoliata comprises what is almost certainly a polyploid pillar complex, which is based on three diploid species.  Two key studies on the population ecology and genetics of the C. perfoliata complex were published in 2012.


The common name of miner's lettuce refers to how the plant was used by miners during the California Gold Rush, who ate it to prevent scurvy. It is in season in April and May, and can be eaten as a leaf vegetable. The entire plant is edible, except the roots, and it provides vitamin C. Most commonly, it is eaten raw in salads, but it is not quite as delicate as cultivated lettuce. Sometimes, it is boiled like spinach, which it resembles in taste and chemical composition. Caution should be used because wild C. perfoliata can sometimes accumulate toxic amounts of soluble oxalates (also present in spinach).
The plant is known as palsingat or, possibly, lahchumeek in Ivilyuat and it was eaten fresh or boiled as a green by the Ivilyuqaletem (Cahuilla) of Southern California. It, along with Claytonia exigua, is available for gathering in the early spring.
It has been widely naturalized in western Europe, after being introduced there in the 18th century, possibly by the naturalist Archibald Menzies, who brought it to Kew Gardens in London in 1794.


Clematis drummondii is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that is native to the Southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) and northern Mexico. Common names include old man's beard, Texas virgin's bower, and barba de chivato.  It is a white-flowered vine that can be found clambering among other wildflowers, on shrubs and on fence rows. The natural habitat of C. drummondii includes the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts as well as prairies and grasslands.  The sap of this plant is caustic, although its foliage, stems, and roots can be used for dye if caution is used while handling and if breathing the fumes is avoided.


Clematis paniculata is native to New Zealand. It was naturalised on the Chatham Islands and can be found throughout North, South and Stewart Island.


The spotted turtle ranges from southern Maine, Quebec, and Ontario, south along the eastern US to Florida in the east and central Indiana and Ohio in the west. Disjunct populations exist in the Canadian portion of its range and also in central Illinois, central Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Indiana. In Indiana and Illinois, the species is found only in the northern portion of the state but it is found on most of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The highly fragmented distribution of spotted turtles in Ohio only covers the northern two-thirds of the state.
The spotted turtle occupies a variety of habitats including swamps, bogs, fens, marshes, woodland streams, and wet pastures. Also, brackish streams that are influenced by tides can also serve as a home to this turtle in addition to ditches, vernal pools, and sedge meadows. For a habitat to be sufficient for spotted turtle survival it must have areas of soft substrate and at least some aquatic vegetation. An optimum habitat would include shallow and slow-moving waters with soft muddy soil, sedge tussocks, water lilies, sphagnum moss, and cattails. Because it is so often found in areas that contain duckweed, the yellow spots on these turtles may serve as a form of camouflage. The spotted turtle avoids artificial reservoirs and deep, open-water areas.
The spotted turtle can be decidedly terrestrial, spending a good amount of time on land and sometimes basking on patches of grass near its body of water. The females during times of nesting will travel onto land and lay eggs on sunny soil. Nesting also may take place in other terrestrial locations, for instance near man-made dikes or the nest of a muskrat.


The spotted turtle is one species whose sex is determined by temperature during embryonic development. Some researchers have claimed that global warming may deleteriously impact population sex ratios.
During the freezing temperatures of winter and the extreme heat of summer, spotted turtles become inactive during environmentally unfavorable conditions. However, the species appears to be relatively tolerant of drought conditions. Spotted turtles do become active very early in the spring, and are often active at relatively cold water temperatures during that season. Activity appears to peak during April and May in the northern part of the range. In the warmest part of the summer (when water temperatures exceed 30 °C), they may aestivate terrestrially or aquatically for long periods of time. During summer dormancy, the turtles may burrow into leaf litter in woodlands or marsh edges or open fields; others remain in muskrat burrows or other aquatic refuges. Litzgus and Brooks (2000) have questioned the common presumption that summer dormancy is an attempt by the turtles to avoid high temperatures; data from Ontario and elsewhere suggests that avoidance of predation and conservation of energy resources may be viable alternate explanations. No matter the explanation for dormancy, the "winter" dormant period may commence in late summer or fall, but in almost every instance after a return to aquatic habitats.
Spotted turtles home ranges tend to occupy limited areas of about 0.5 to 3.5 hectares (1.2 to 8.6 acres). Note that due to their size, these small turtles are highly vulnerable to predation, particularly during their frequent terrestrial wanderings. Many specimens will show mutilation injuries and scars from past predation attempts. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are particularly adept at consuming and killing this species. Spotted turtles have been observed to dive into the water and bury themselves in the bottom mud when surprised while basking. Muskrats kill many spotted turtles during the winter dormant period.


The plant is native to the eastern, southern, and central United States west to New Mexico and Arizona. It is also found in Asia, in: Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern China (Guangxi, Yunnan)
In the United States it has been recorded in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.


It is listed as an endangered species by the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The range of Clitoria mariana also includes parts of India, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, and Yunnan. In Virginia, it grows in habitats such as dry open forests, shale barrens, and rocky or sandy woodlands. The presence of this species is dependent on appropriate habitat, and it may be eliminated from an area by development, changes in land use, or competition with invasive species.


Cneoridium is a monotypic genus in the citrus family which contains the single species Cneoridium dumosum, commonly known as bushrue or coast spice bush. This perennial, evergreen shrub is native to the coast of southern California and Baja California, thriving in hot, dry conditions. This plant is characterized by a distinctive citrusy aroma and small, white flowers that appear from winter to spring. The flowers eventually become round berries that resemble a miniature version of the common citrus fruit.
Widely known and utilized by the indigenous peoples for centuries, this species was first discovered to Western science by Thomas Nuttall, on his trip to San Diego. Today this species is listed as imperiled, with some of its habitats threatened by coastal development, urbanization, military operations and fire suppression. It has also found its way into horticultural circles in the regions where it is native, providing gardeners with a low-maintenance shrub that gives off rewarding flowers. Despite attractive qualities like its distinctive fragrance and flowers, this species may cause blistering and burning rashes in people after contact with its foliage, a phenomenon common with members of the citrus family, known as phytophotodermatitis.


This species was first discovered to Western science by Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist and naturalist. Nuttalll had arrived in San Diego aboard the hide ship Pilgrim, staying in the harbor for three weeks as he waited for a Bryant and Sturgis ship to sail him back to Boston. Nuttall was one of few naturalists to step foot in the region at the time, being preceded by Menzies, Botta, Coulter, and Deppe, all of whom had only stopped in San Diego briefly. In Nuttall's stay in San Diego, he collected around 44 species of plants. Nuttall likely encountered this species on Point Loma, as he spent extensive time on the peninsula (for it was the original anchorage in the San Diego Bay) and it is home to an abundant population of this plant.
From Nuttall's work, eminent North American botanists John Torrey and Asa Gray described this species as Pitavia dumosa in their Flora of North America. However, the pair had failed to find Nuttall's notes on the plant, and had to describe this species based on incomplete specimens. The botanists also noted that this species appeared to differ from the Pitavia genus as circumscribed by Jussieu. Botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker later combined this species into Cneoridium dumosum, but he produced a nomen invalidum (invalid name) as he failed to specify the rank. Henri Ernest Baillon later corrected Hooker's mistake in 1873, with the fourth volume of his publication Histoire des Plantes, leading to the current name Cneoridium dumosum (Nutt.) Hook.f. ex Baill.
The genus Cneoridium is placed in the subfamily Amyridoideae, placing it as a close relative to Amyris, its sister clade, and Stauranthus. The three genera also share morphological features, such as their fleshy fruits, characterized in this genus by the berries.


The hawfinch is distributed in the whole of Europe, Eastern Asia (Palearctic including North Japan), and North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria). It has also been sighted in Alaska, but this is reported as an accidental presence.
It is not found in Iceland, parts of the British Isles, or certain Mediterranean islands. It is however found in southern Europe, such as in Spain and Bulgaria, as well as in central Europe, including parts of England and southern Sweden. The hawfinch's range has extended further north since the 1950s, and is now found as far north as Northern Norway.
In Asia it can be found in the Caucasus, northern Iran, Afghanistan, Turkistan, Siberia, Manchuria and North Korea.
The hawfinch typically inhabits deciduous forests during the spring to have offspring, often in trees that bear fruit, such as oak trees. They also incur into human areas, such as parks and gardens. They can also be found in pine woods, as long as there is a source of water in the vicinity.
During autumn and winter they seek food-providing forests, especially those with cherry and plum trees. As for height, the hawfinch is present in any altitude up to that which is limited by the size of the trees.


Their breeding habitat is deciduous woods from southern Canada to Mexico  and the Caribbean. They migrate to Central America, and as far south as northern Argentina. This bird is a rare vagrant to western Europe.


There is an ongoing debate regarding the taxonomic status of the western race and if it is distinct from those birds in the east. This question is significant to the conservation status of this species in the west, where it has declined to a tiny fraction of its population a century ago. Populations of this species in western North America are in steep decline. The bird disappeared from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon during the first half of the twentieth century. Eastern populations have declined as well, though not as precipitously. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the western Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Yellow-billed Cuckoos as threatened under the Endangered Species Act on 11/3/2014, and the service also has established 546,335 acres in nine western states as critical habitat for the western DPS of the yellow-billed cuckoo. Controversy over the taxonomic status and heavy pressure from livestock and mining industries caused the Trump administration to attempt to end the species' protections, and the FWS reviewed the bird's listing. In September 2020, the USFWS determined that the western DPS of yellow-billed cuckoo is distinct, and the listing as Threatened is warranted.


The boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius), colloquially known as the boatbill, is an atypical member of the heron family, and was formerly placed in a monotypic family, the Cochleariidae.  It lives in mangrove swamps from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil. It is a nocturnal bird, and breeds semicolonially in mangrove trees, laying two to four bluish-white eggs in a twig nest.


This siphonous green alga is of two subspecies in Great Britain and Ireland. They are similar, both are dark green in color. It forms long erect finger-like fronds. These grow to 40 cm or more long branching dichotomously. The cortex of the branches is formed by closely packed utricles, these are small cylindrical club-shaped structures formed from a single cell up to 1200 µm (micrometre) long. The rounded tips of these closely packed utricles give the frond a velvety texture. The fronds hang down from rocks during low tide, hence the nickname "dead man's fingers". The "fingers" are branches up to a centimeter wide and sometimes over 30 centimeters long.
Codium fragile occurs in the low intertidal zone, and subtidal on high-energy beaches.
It has no asexual (sporophyte) stage, and male and female gametes are both produced on separate plants.


This subspecies was introduced from Asiatic coasts of the Pacific to Norway, and to Denmark in 1919.


This subspecies is found in the low intertidal to subtidal zones around New Zealand at the North Island, South Island, Chatham Islands, Stewart Island, Auckland Island, Campbell Island as well as around the Falkland Islands.


The small heath is spread throughout the Western Palearctic, particularly in Europe where it has been reported in at least 40 different countries since 2002. It is commonly found in the United Kingdom, largely in England and Wales. Populations are also found in southwest Siberia, regions of Asia, and north Africa.
As a grasslands species, the small heath prefers open habitats with shorter grass compared to other related species. It is also found in an extensive range of environments including meadows, heaths, mountains (in the subalpine zone), and alongside railways. It has been sighted in calcareous grasslands throughout nineteen countries in Europe. For mating and oviposition, small heath butterflies prefer territories that are close to vegetation over areas that are open and clear.
The small heath also resides in biodiverse patches of green habitats (i.e. greenways, gardens, and parks) in urban areas. These fragments create less-isolated corridors throughout cities, which help butterflies disperse throughout this habitat.


The primary food resources for small heath larvae are different varieties of grass species. These include the Anthoxanthum odoratum, Poa pratensis, Agrostis stolonifera, and Festuca rubra, which commonly appear on some calcerous grasslands.


The bananaquit was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Certhia flaveola. Linnaeus based his description on the "black and yellow bird" described by John Ray and Hans Sloane, and the "Black and Yellow Creeper" described and illustrated by George Edwards in 1751. The bananaquit was reclassified as the only member of the genus Coereba by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1809. The genus name is of uncertain origin but may be from a Tupi name Güirá for a small black and yellow bird. The specific epithet flaveolus is a diminutive of the Latin flavus meaning "golden" or "yellow".
Before the development of techniques to sequence DNA, the relationship of the bananaquit to other species was uncertain. It was variously placed with the New World warblers in the family Parulidae, with the buntings and New World sparrows in the family Emberizidae, or in its own monotypic family Coerebidae. Based on the results of molecular phylogenetic studies, the bananaquit is now placed in the tanager family Thraupidae and belongs with Darwin's finches to the subfamily Coerebinae.
It is still unclear if any of the island subspecies should be elevated to species, but phylogenetic studies have revealed three clades: the nominate group from Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Cayman Islands, the bahamensis group from the Bahamas and Quintana Roo, and the bartholemica group from South and Central America, Mexico (except Quintana Roo), the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. Several taxa were not sampled, but most of these are easily placed in the above groups based on zoogeography alone. Exceptions are oblita (San Andrés Island) and tricolor (Providencia Island), and their placement is therefore uncertain. In February 2010, the International Ornithological Congress listed bahamensis and bartholemica as proposed splits from C. flaveola.


The northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) or common flicker is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer (not to be confused with the Eurasian yellowhammer), clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls.  It is the state bird of Alabama (known by its colloquial name "Yellowhammer.")


Adults are brown with black bars on the back and wings. A mid- to large-sized northern flicker measures 28–36 cm (11–14 in) in length and 42–54 cm (17–21 in) in wingspan. The body mass can vary from 86 to 167 g (3.0 to 5.9 oz). Among standard scientific measurements, the wing bone measures 12.2–17.1 cm (4.8–6.7 in), the tail measures 7.5–11.5 cm (3.0–4.5 in), the bill measures 2.2–4.3 cm (0.87–1.69 in) and the tarsus measures 2.2–3.1 cm (0.87–1.22 in). The largest-bodied specimens are from the northern stretches of the species range, at the latitude of Alaska and Labrador, while the smallest specimens come from Grand Cayman Island. A necklace-like black patch occupies the upper breast, while the lower breast and belly are beige with black spots. Males can be identified by a black or red moustachial stripe at the base of the beak. The tail is dark on top, transitioning to a white rump which is conspicuous in flight. Subspecific plumage is variable.


The campo flicker (Colaptes campestris) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family. It is found in a wide range of open and semi-open habitats in eastern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina, with isolated populations in Amapá and southern Suriname. Though it frequently can be seen in trees or bushes, it is among the very few woodpeckers that spends a significant portion of its life on the ground. It breeds in holes in trees, termite mounds or earth banks. It is generally common and therefore considered to be of least concern by IUCN.
The southern population has a white throat (instead of a black throat) and is sometimes considered a separate species, the pampas flicker (Colaptes campestroides).
Focusing on the breeding aspect of campo flickers, they are "predominantly monogamous in both cooperative group and socially monogamous pairs, but in several cooperative groups, auxiliary females contributed eggs to the next” (Dias et al. 2013). Overall, the studies showed a complex social system in the species with high reproductive conflicts both within and among groups, both due to the new potential breeder or through the effect of group size.


The green-barred woodpecker (Colaptes melanochloros) is a species of bird in the family Picidae.  The scientific name melanochloros derives from the Greek melanos, meaning "black", and chloros, meaning "pale green", the principal colors of this bird. The golden-breasted woodpecker is sometimes included here as the southern subspecies group of this species and is sometimes considered a separate species, C. melanolaimus.
C. melanochloros (including the golden-breasted woodpecker) is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.


The golden-olive woodpecker (Colaptes rubiginosus) is a resident breeding bird from Mexico south and east to Guyana, northwest Argentina, as well as Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. It was formerly placed in the genus Piculus. The scientific name rubiginosus means "full of rust", describing the color of the bird's wings and back.


In the United States, C. variegatus is found in southern Arizona, southern California, southwestern New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. In Mexico, it is found in northwestern Baja California and Sonora.


The western banded gecko is secretive and nocturnal, with individuals remaining hidden during the day and emerging after sunset to forage for food. C. variegatus preys on small insects and spiders, and is one of the few reptiles that control scorpion populations by eating baby scorpions. Individuals prefer warm nights around 80°F, and they can often be seen near human habitations looking to make an easy meal of the insects attracted to landscape or porch lighting.
C. variegatus is preyed upon by many species including coyotes, foxes, snakes, larger lizards, and even large invertebrates such as tarantulas and solpugids. If captured, C. variegatus may squeak and may discard its tail in an attempt to distract the predator and escape. To deter predation, it can also curl its tails over its body to mimic a scorpion.
Breeding occurs during April and May. Females lay up to three clutches of one to two soft-shelled eggs in the spring and summer. Eggs hatch after six weeks.


The lesser violetear breeds from the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama; mountains of northern Venezuela, and the Andes from western Venezuela to western Bolivia.


The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), also known as the Virginia quail or (in its home range) bobwhite quail, is a ground-dwelling bird native to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Cuba, with introduced populations elsewhere in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. It is a member of the group of species known as New World quails (Odontophoridae). They were initially placed with the Old World quails in the pheasant family (Phasianidae), but are not particularly closely related. The name "bobwhite" is an onomatopoeic derivation from its characteristic whistling call. Despite its secretive nature, the northern bobwhite is one of the most familiar quails in eastern North America, because it is frequently the only quail in its range. Habitat degradation has likely contributed to the northern bobwhite population in eastern North America declining by roughly 85% from 1966 to 2014. This population decline is apparently range-wide and continuing.
There are 23 subspecies of northern bobwhite, many of which are hunted extensively as game birds. One subspecies, the masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi), is listed as endangered with wild populations located in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and a reintroduced population in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona.


The northern bobwhite can be found year-round in agricultural fields, grassland, open woodland areas, roadsides and wood edges. Its range covers the southeastern quadrant of the United States from the Great Lakes and southern Minnesota east to New York State and southern Massachusetts, and extending west to southern Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado front-range foothills to 7,000 feet, and all but westernmost Texas.
It is absent from the southern tip of Florida (where the extinct Key West bobwhite subspecies once lived) and the highest elevations of the Appalachian Mountains, but occurs in eastern Mexico and in Cuba, and has been introduced to Hispaniola (both the Dominican Republic and Haiti), the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands (formerly), Puerto Rico, France, China, Portugal, and Italy. Isolated populations also have been introduced in Oregon and Washington. The northern bobwhite has also been introduced to New Zealand.
There is no self-sustaining population in Pennsylvania, where the bird is considered extirpated; it is also considered extirpated in the states of New Hampshire and Connecticut. Its distribution in New York has been limited to Suffolk and Nassau Counties on Long Island, as well as potential population pockets in Upstate New York. The bird is considered declining or extirpated throughout much of the Northeastern United States.


The speckled mousebird (Colius striatus) is the largest species of mousebird, as well as one of the most common. It is found throughout most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.


Colocasia coryli (nut-tree tussock) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe and Asia. In the north of its range, the distribution area includes northern Scandinavia, while in the south the moth is limited to montane areas of western and northern Spain, Sicily, Greece and Asia minor. To the east, the range extends across the Palearctic to Lake Baikal. In the Alps it is found at elevations up to 1600 m.


Colocasia esculenta is thought to be native to Southern India and Southeast Asia, but is widely naturalised. Colocasia is thought to have originated in the Indomalayan realm, perhaps in East India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It spread by cultivation eastward into Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands; westward to Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean Basin; and then southward and westward from there into East Africa and West Africa, where it spread to the Caribbean and Americas.
Taro was probably first native to the lowland wetlands of Malaysia, where it is called taloes.
In Australia, Colocasia esculenta var. aquatilis is thought to be native to the Kimberley region of Western Australia; the common variety esculenta is now naturalised and considered an invasive weed in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.
In Turkey, Colocasia esculenta is locally known as gölevez and mainly grown on the Mediterranean coast, such as the Alanya district of Antalya Province and the Anamur district of Mersin Province.
In Macaronesia this plant has become naturalized, probably as a result of the Portuguese discoveries and is frequently used in the macaronesian diet as an important carb source.
In the southeastern United States, this plant is recognized as an invasive species. Many populations can be commonly found growing near drain ditches and bayous in Houston, Texas.


Lū is the Tongan word for the edible leaves of the taro plant (called talo in Tonga), as well as the traditional dish made using them. This meal is still prepared for special occasions and especially on Sunday. The dish consists of chopped meat, onions, and coconut milk wrapped in a number of taro leaves (lū talo). This is then wrapped traditionally in a banana leaf (nowadays, aluminum foil is often used) and put in the ʻumu to cook. It has a number of named varieties, dependent on the filling:
Lū pulu – lū with beef, commonly using imported corned beef (kapapulu)
Lū sipi –  lū with lamb
Lū moa – lū with chicken
Lū hoosi – lū with horse meat
Oceanian Atolls
The islands situated along the border of the three main parts of Oceania (Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia) are more prone to being atolls rather than volcanic islands (most prominently Tuvalu, Tokelau, and Kiribati). As a result of this, Taro was not a part of the traditional diet due to the infertile soil and have only become a staple today through importation from other islands (Taro and Cassava cultivars are usually imported from Fiji or Samoa). The traditional staple however is the Swamp Taro known as Pulaka or Babai, a distant relative of the Taro but with a very long growing phase (3–5 years), larger and denser corms and coarser leaves. It is grown in a patch of land dug out to give rise to the freshwater lense beneath the soil. The lengthy growing time of this crop usually confines it  as a food during festivities much like Pork although it can be preserved by drying out in the sun and storing it somewhere cool and dry to be enjoyed out of harvesting season.


In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, taro is commonly known as arrow root, ggobe, or nduma and madhumbe in some local Bantu languages. It is usually boiled and eaten with tea or other beverages, or as the main starch of a meal. It is also cultivated in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.