Caribou are still hunted in Greenland and in North America. In the traditional lifestyles of some of Canada's Inuit peoples and northern First Nations peoples, Alaska Natives, and the Kalaallit of Greenland, caribou is an important source of food, clothing, shelter and tools.
The Caribou Inuit are inland-dwelling Inuit in present-day Nunavut's Kivalliq Region (formerly the Keewatin Region, Northwest Territories), Canada. They subsisted on caribou year-round, eating dried caribou meat in the winter. The Ihalmiut are Caribou Inuit that followed the Qamanirjuaq barren-ground caribou herd.
There is an Inuit saying in the Kivalliq Region:
The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf who keeps the caribou strong.
— Kivalliq region
Elder Chief of Koyukuk and chair for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group Benedict Jones, or Kʼughtoʼoodenoolʼoʼ, represents the Middle Yukon River, Alaska. His grandmother was a member of the Caribou Clan, who travelled with the caribou as a means to survive. In 1939, they were living their traditional lifestyle at one of their hunting camps in Koyukuk near the location of what is now the Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge. His grandmother made a pair of new mukluks in one day. Kʼughtoʼoodenoolʼoʼ recounted a story told by an elder, who "worked on the steamboats during the gold rush days out on the Yukon." In late August, the caribou migrated from the Alaska Range up north to Huslia, Koyukuk and the Tanana area. One year when the steamboat was unable to continue, they ran into a caribou herd estimated to number 1 million animals, migrating across the Yukon. "They tied up for seven days waiting for the caribou to cross. They ran out of wood for the steamboats, and had to go back down 40 miles to the wood pile to pick up some more wood. On the tenth day, they came back and they said there was still caribou going across the river night and day."
The Gwich'in, an indigenous people of northwestern Canada and northeastern Alaska, have been dependent on the international migratory Porcupine caribou herd for millennia. To them caribou — vadzaih — is the cultural symbol and a keystone subsistence species of the Gwich'in, just as the buffalo is to the Plains Indians. Innovative language revitalisation projects are underway to document the language and to enhance the writing and translation skills of younger Gwich'in speakers. In one project, lead research associate and fluent speaker Gwich'in elder Kenneth Frank works with linguists who include young Gwich'in speakers affiliated with the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks to document traditional knowledge of caribou anatomy. The main goal of the research was to "elicit not only what the Gwich'in know about caribou anatomy, but how they see caribou and what they say and believe about caribou that defines themselves, their dietary and nutritional needs, and their subsistence way of life." Elders have identified at least 150 descriptive Gwich'in names for all of the bones, organs and tissues. Associated with the caribou's anatomy are not just descriptive Gwich'in names for all of the body parts, including bones, organs, and tissues, but also "an encyclopedia of stories, songs, games, toys, ceremonies, traditional tools, skin clothing, personal names and surnames, and a highly developed ethnic cuisine." In the 1980s, Gwich'in Traditional Management Practices were established to protect the Porcupine caribou, upon which the Gwich'in depend. They "codified traditional principles of caribou management into tribal law" which include "limits on the harvest of caribou and procedures to be followed in processing and transporting caribou meat" and limits on the number of caribou to be taken per hunting trip.


Several Norwegian municipalities have one or more reindeer depicted in their coats-of-arms: Eidfjord, Porsanger, Rendalen, Tromsø, Vadsø and Vågå. The historic province of Västerbotten in Sweden has a reindeer in its coat of arms. The present Västerbotten County has very different borders and uses the reindeer combined with other symbols in its coat-of-arms. The city of Piteå also has a reindeer. The logo for Umeå University features three reindeer.
The Canadian 25-cent coin or "quarter" features a depiction of a caribou on one face. The caribou is the official provincial animal of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and appears on the coat of arms of Nunavut. A caribou statue was erected at the centre of the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, marking the spot in France where hundreds of soldiers from Newfoundland were killed and wounded in World War I. There is a replica in Bowring Park in St. John's, Newfoundland's capital city.
Two municipalities in Finland have reindeer motifs in their coats-of-arms: Kuusamo has a running reindeer and Inari has a fish with reindeer antlers.


The green tree frog is native to northern and eastern regions of Australia and to the lowlands of New Guinea. Distribution is limited mostly to areas with warm, wet tropical climates. Its range spans from Irian Jaya to Port Moresby, and is most abundant on Daru Island. The IUCN suggests "scattered locations" in both New Guinea and Indonesia. In Australia, its range extends from the Kimberley region of Western Australia through the Northern Territory and Queensland to north and central New South Wales and the extreme northeasterly part of South Australia. Its total extent of land occupancy is around 4,078,600 square kilometres (1,574,800 sq mi).
The species has been introduced to both the United States and New Zealand. In the United States, it is restricted to two regions within Florida, where it was possibly introduced through the pet trade. Only small populations have been found there, and whether they have caused any ecological damage as an invasive species is unknown. In New Zealand, several individuals were liberated in various locations in 1897 and 1899, and a further accidental introduction was made in the 1940s. No sightings have been reported of this species since the 1950s.
Depending on their location, green tree frogs occupy various habitats, but are not usually found in tropical rainforests. They are often found in the canopy of trees near water bodies, but also occupy terrestrial habitats well away from water. They favour old stands of Eucalyptus, where the trees have hollows in which water collects. They are common along inland waterways and can survive in swamps (among the reeds) or in grasslands in cooler climates.
Green tree frogs are little troubled by the presence of humans and often live in close association with them. They sometimes stray inside houses and are found in such places as sinks and toilets. They can also be found on outside windowsills at night, eating insects attracted to the light, and they may gather under outdoor lighting for the same reason. They sometimes occupy tanks (cisterns), downpipes (downspouts), and gutters, as these have high humidity and are usually cooler than the external environment. They may be drawn to the downpipes and tanks during the mating season because the fixtures amplify their calls. Green tree frogs seem to have homing abilities, being able to return to locations from which they were caught from a considerable distance after being displaced.


Black rat bone remains dating to the Norman period were discovered in Great Britain. The black rat occurred in prehistoric Europe and in the Levant during postglacial periods. The specific origin of the black rat is uncertain due to its disappearance and reintroduction. Evidence such as DNA and bone fragments also indicate that it did not originate in Europe, but migrated from Southeast Asia, possibly Malaysia. It probably spread across Europe in the wake of the Roman conquest. Possibly, speciation occurred when it colonized southwestern India, which was the primary country from which Romans obtained their spices. Since the black rat is a passive traveler, it could have easily traveled to Europe during the trading between Rome and the Southwest Asian countries. The black rat in the Mediterranean region differs genetically from its Southeast Asian ancestor by having 38 instead of 42 chromosomes. It is a resilient vector for many diseases because of its ability to hold so many infectious bacteria in its blood. It played a primary role in spreading bacteria contained in fleas on its body, such as the plague bacterium (Yersinia pestis) which is responsible for the Plague of Justinian and the Black Death.
A study published in 2015 indicates that other Asiatic rodents served as plague reservoirs, from which infections spread as far west as Europe via trade routes, both overland and maritime. Although the black rat was certainly a plague vector in European ports, the spread of the plague beyond areas colonized by rats suggests that the plague was also circulated by humans after reaching Europe.


Rattus rattus populations were common in Great Britain, but began to decline after the introduction of the brown rat in the 18th century. R. rattus populations remained common in seaports and major cities until the late 19th century, but have been decreased due to rodent control and sanitation measures. The Shiant Islands in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland are often cited as the last remaining wild population of R. rattus left in Britain but evidence demonstrates that populations survive on other islands (e.g. Inchcolm) and in localised areas of the British mainland.  Recent National Biodiversity Network data show populations around the U.K., particularly in ports and port towns. This is supported by anecdotal records from London and Liverpool.
As of winter 2015 the Shiant Isles Recovery Project (a joint initiative between RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage) is underway to eradicate Rattus rattus populations on the islands.


American avocets were previously found across most of the United States until extirpated from the East Coast. The breeding habitat consists of marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west, as far north as southern Canada.  These breeding grounds are largely in areas just east of the rocky mountains including parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Utah, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and even down to parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Their migration route lands them in almost every state in the western United States. The avocet's wintering grounds are mainly coastal. Along the Atlantic Ocean, they are found in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. There are also wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, Texas, and Mexico, and along the Pacific Ocean in California and Mexico. There are resident populations in the Mexican States of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Mexico City and Puebla, and in Central California.


Shooting and trapping of American avocets led to population decline until the 1900s. During this time, the species was extirpated from most of the East Coast of the United States. By 1918, Avocets became protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712). Since that time, other threats have emerged. Contaminants and toxins such as DDT, selenium, and methylmercury, have increased in American Avocet habitats in recent years. Although the effects are highly contested, these increased concentrations have potential negative effects on American avocet breeding success, especially because Avocet chicks are more susceptible to environmental disruptions than adults. The avocet also faces habitat loss. While agricultural and industrial environments have become alternate habitat for the avocet, natural wetlands are decreasing rapidly. Additionally, increases in the salinity levels of wetlands have had adverse effects on the breeding and development of avocets. Young avocets in saline or hypersaline environments often combat weight loss and dehydration. Although American avocets face numerous environmental challenges, numbers have stayed steady, and according to the National Audubon Society, numbers have been increasing steadily in the eastern United States for the past few years.


The common firecrest breeds in lowland broadleaf forest, preferring cork oak and alder where available, otherwise beech and holly. It also uses mixed broadleaf and conifer woodland, and stands of spruce, European silver fir, cedar and pines, often with undergrowth of juniper, ivy and wild rose. In drier Mediterranean habitats it is found in conifers, evergreen oak, and mixed woodlands up to 2,800 m (9,200 ft). Unlike more specialised birds such as Eurasian nuthatch and common treecreeper, both of which forage on trunks, the crests do not need large woodlands, and their population density is independent of forest size. In winter it is less reliant on conifers than the goldcrest, moving from forest to fringes and scrub. It occurs singly or in pairs, spending much time in the tree canopy, although frequently venturing into bushes and other lower vegetation. This species can thrive in fairly urban areas, provided that suitable habitat is available in parks or large gardens; population densities in gardens can be comparable with the maximum levels found in natural habitats.
The nominate subspecies breeds in Europe from southern England, France, Spain and Portugal east to Belarus, northwestern Ukraine, and Greece, and north to the Baltic and southern Latvia. There are isolated populations east of the main range in Abkhazia, the Crimea and Turkey. Its range lies between the 16 and 24 °C (61 and 75 °F) July isotherms. Southern birds are largely resident, unlike northern and eastern populations which are migratory, wintering mainly in Mediterranean areas and the far west of Europe from Portugal north to Britain. R. i. balearicus is resident in the Balearic Islands and the northern parts of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. This species has been recorded as a vagrant from Norway, Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Egypt and Lebanon. In July 2020, it was reported that the common firecrest was now nesting in at least two locations in southern Finland.


The goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific names. The scientific name, R. regulus, means king or knight. Several subspecies are recognised across the very large distribution range that includes much of the Palearctic and the islands of Macaronesia and Iceland. Birds from the north and east of its breeding range migrate to winter further south.
This kinglet has greenish upper-parts, whitish under-parts, and has two white wingbars. It has a plain face contrasting black irises and a bright head crest, orange and yellow in the male and yellow in the female, which is displayed during breeding. It superficially resembles the common firecrest, which largely shares its European range, but the latter's bronze shoulders and strong face pattern are distinctive. The song is a repetition of high thin notes, slightly higher-pitched than those of its relative. Birds on the Canary Islands are now separated into two subspecies of the goldcrest, but were formerly considered to be a subspecies of the firecrest or a separate species, Regulus teneriffae.
The goldcrest breeds in coniferous woodland and gardens, building its compact, three-layered nest on a tree branch. Ten to twelve eggs are incubated by the female alone, and the chicks are fed by both parents; second broods are common. This kinglet is constantly on the move as it searches for insects to eat, and in winter it is often found with flocks of tits. It may be killed by birds of prey or carry parasites, but its large range and population mean that it is not considered to present any significant conservation concerns.


The goldcrest breeds in mature lowland and mountain coniferous woodlands, mainly up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft), and occasionally to 4,800 m (15,700 ft). It uses spruce, larch, Scots pine, silver fir and mountain pine, and in man-made landscapes also introduced conifers such as douglas fir. Breeding densities of up to 591 pairs per square km (1,530 pairs per square mile) have been recorded in Norway spruce in Ireland, and goldcrests constituted over 60% of all birds found in Welsh Douglas fir and Norway spruce plantations. Broad-leaved woods are used only when some spruce or firs are also present. Sites such as parks and cemeteries are used only when they offer suitable conifers that are not otherwise locally available. The height and nature of any undergrowth is irrelevant.
Unlike more specialised birds such as the Eurasian nuthatch and the Eurasian treecreeper, both of which forage on tree trunks, the kinglets do not need large woodlands, and their population density is independent of forest size. Once breeding is over, this species will readily move into deciduous trees and shrubs, heathland and similar more open habitats.
The Tenerife subspecies occurs in the mountain region previously occupied by laurisilva, but now dominated by tree heaths. It is common only in that habitat, becoming rare in pine forest, where it occurs only where tree-heath is also available.
The goldcrest has a huge range in Eurasia, breeding from Macaronesia to Japan. It is common in middle and northern temperate and boreal latitudes of Europe, between the 13–24 °C (55–75 °F) July isotherms, and thus predominantly in cooler climates than the firecrest. Further east it occurs discontinuously through southern Siberia to Sakhalin and Japan, in the Tian Shan mountains, northern Iran, and from the Himalayas east to central China.
This species has bred in Iceland since about 1999, and was widespread by 2004, although numbers are affected by hard winters. Breeding occurs intermittently in the Faroes. The goldcrest has occurred as a vagrant in Jordan and Morocco.
This species is partly migratory, northernmost populations deserting their breeding areas in winter. Birds winter in Europe and Asia south of the breeding range. Birds in northern Fennoscandia and Russia vacate their territories between late August and early November, with most leaving in late September to mid-October as the first cold weather arrives. Adverse conditions may lead to disorientation, large numbers gathering on ships on overcast or wet nights. Large influxes include 15,000 birds on the Isle of May in October 1982, and nearly 21,000 birds through a single site in Latvia during September and October 1983. Spring migration is complete by late March on the Mediterranean islands, but continues to late April or early May in northern Europe. The spring passage is much lighter than in autumn, suggesting high mortality on migration.
A study in the Baltic region showed that northern goldcrests were more likely to migrate, and increased their body mass beforehand; non-migratory southern birds did not increase their fat reserves. The travel speed of migrating goldcrests increased for those leaving later in the autumn, and was greater for the northernmost populations. Migration was faster on routes that crossed the Baltic Sea than on coastal routes, and the birds with the largest fat reserves travelled at the highest speeds. The ability to lay down fat is adversely affected in this tiny bird by poor health. In Hungary, goldcrests stopping temporarily on migration were mostly found in scrub, including blackthorn, hawthorn and pear, which provided some protection from sparrowhawks. Females migrated slightly earlier than males, but overall there were more males, with an average sex ratio of 1.6:1. Goldcrests can fly 250–800 km (160–500 mi) in one day, although they keep at a lower level in heavy headwinds. This is a tame and inquisitive bird, and tired migrants will land near or on humans, sometimes searching for food on their clothing.
The North Atlantic oscillation is an atmospheric phenomenon affecting the weather in Western Europe. When the atmospheric pressure variations in the North Atlantic are large, the springs in Europe are warmer. This brings forward the northward migration of those bird species (including the goldcrest) that winter mainly within western or southern Europe. A general climatic change resulting in more frequent positive North Atlantic oscillation events has led to earlier spring migration of these short-distance migrants since the 1980s. The warmer spring weather brings on plant growth, thus preparing the habitat for returning migrants. The effect is greatest in western and central Europe.


The goldcrest has a large range, estimated at 13.2 million km² (5.1 million mi²) and a total population estimated at 80–200 million individuals, and it is therefore classed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. There was some northward range expansion in Scotland, Belgium, Norway, and Finland during the 20th century, assisted by the spread of conifer plantations. The population is currently stable, although there may be temporary marked declines in harsh winters.
Although dense conifer growth can provide shelter for roosting at night, losses in hard winters can be heavy. In a Finnish study, only one-tenth of the wintering goldcrest population, which mainly fed on spiders, survived to spring. Each group roamed within a defined winter territory, and their winter survival depended on the density of the food supply. For these northern birds there is a trade off between staying put and risking starvation, or facing the perils of migration. Even in somewhat milder regions, where over-wintering is normal, exceptionally cold winters can cause such heavy losses that breeding populations take several years to recover. In 1930, the English ornithologist Thomas Coward wrote:
Until the severe winter of 1916–17 the Goldcrest was abundant and widespread, nesting in all the wooded portions of our islands; in 1920 it could have little more than an obituary notice, for the nesting stock was practically "wiped out." ... and for some years, even as a winter visitor, the Goldcrest remained rare, absent from most of its nesting haunts. It is, however, now fully re-established.
Conversely, populations can expand rapidly after a series of mild winters. In lowland Britain, there was an increase of 48% following the 1970/71 winter, with many pairs spreading into deciduous woodlands where they would not normally breed.


The species is naturalised and invasive in parts of North America. Rhamnus cathartica has a competitive advantage over native trees and shrubs in North America because of root competition, the shade it produces, and it leafs out before native species. Of the annual carbon gain in R. cathartica, 27–35% comes from photosynthesis occurring before the leaves of other plants emerge. Soil in woodlands dominated by R. cathartica was higher in nitrogen, pH and water content than soil in woodlands relatively free of R. cathartica, probably because R. cathartica has high levels of nitrogen in its leaves  and these leaves decompose rapidly.
Rhamnus cathartica is also associated with invasive European earthworms (Lumbricus spp.) in the northern Midwest of North America. Removing R. cathartica led to a decrease of around 50% in the biomass of invasive earthworms.
Soils enriched by extra nitrogen from decayed buckthorn leaves and additional earthworm activity have a negative impact on North American forest ecosystems: "Invasive earthworms, which need rich litter, break [buckthorn leaves] down rapidly, destroying beneficial fungi and exposing bare soils in the process.  These soils provide ideal conditions for buckthorn germination and seedling growth but many native trees and shrubs need the beneficial fungi and will not reproduce without it."
Common buckthorn can be found in most northern states of the United States and it is particularly prevalent in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.  A current map of its distribution can be found at Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDmapS). This species is largely bird-dispersed, but only a subset of bird species that eat the fruit are competent dispersers. It is winter hardy in USDA zones: 3 to 8. It is a prohibited species in a few US states; Minnesota lists it as a Restricted noxious weed making it illegal to import, sell, or transport the plant, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, also restrict or ban the plant, and Vermont lists it as a Class B noxious weed.


Hollyleaf redberry is found in the western United States, distributed in California, southern Oregon, southern Nevada and Arizona. It is found in elevations below 8,000 feet (2,400 m).
It grows in a diverse range of habitats including canyon slopes and bottoms, open hillsides, roadsides, rock faces, sandstone ridges, serpentine slopes and stream benches. It inhabits plant communities like the chaparral, chaparral-desert transition, coastal sage scrub, desert scrub, foothill woodland, meadows, montane forest plant communities, riparian areas and woodlands. in southern California, it provides significant cover in coastal sage scrub, in mid-elevation xeric and mesic chaparral, and, at higher elevations between 3,500 to 6000 feet, in montane chaparral. It is adapted to grow in a variety of soil types including alkaline, sand, clay and serpentine soils. It can tolerate shade and does well as an understory plant in lightly wooded areas. It can be found in areas with precipitation between 12 and 79 inches, and once established, the plants are very drought tolerant and can even tolerate occasional flooding.


This fish is mainly found along the southern border of Canada extending along from Manitoba to the Atlantic Ocean, south along the east coast of the United States and slightly inland to South Carolina and Georgia. Scientists hypothesize that 20,000 years ago, as the glaciers retreated, blacknose dace recolonized the region from a single refugium in modern-day Connecticut, as soon as 75 years after the ice receded.
This fish tends to inhabit headwaters, creeks, and small rivers with swiftly moving water. However, fry mature in slower moving portions of the habitats like shoals and pool margins. The species as a whole prefers cool, rocky areas and uses the stones to rest under and around. They also use overhanging vegetation and undercut banks for additional refuge. In the winter, they migrate from headwater streams into rivers and can be found in deeper water under banks.


The blue-eyed darner (Rhionaeschna multicolor, syn. Aeshna multicolor) is a common dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae; native to the western United States, it is commonly sighted in the sagebrush steppe of the Snake River Plain, occurring east to the Midwest from central Canada and the Dakotas south to west Texas and Oklahoma. In Central America it occurs south to Panama. This is usually the second earliest darner to emerge in the spring, with the California darner emerging first. It hunts small flying insects while on the wing.


The grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) is a small insectivorous bird. There is no sexual dimorphism. It is a common fantail found in Australia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The species is considered by many to be conspecific with the New Zealand fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa); however, differences in its calls lead some authorities to treat it as a separate species. The studies of grey fantail in 1999 by Richard Schodde and Ian Mason recommended that Tasmanian grey fantail was formally classified as R. albiscapa and New Zealand fantails populations as R. fuliginosa


Most bird species typically build one nest, whereas grey fantails commonly build more than one nest before egg-laying, and seven nests have been recorded as the highest number in a breeding season. In a recent study, there is a hypothesis explaining nest abandonment in this species. Abandoned nests could be used for confusing predators. In fact, a large number of abandoned nests exposed on trees are significantly less concealed than nests that eventually received eggs. However, these abandoned nests were incompletely built, probably in response to the attention of predators (such as pied currawongs), because these predators may destroy incomplete nests when looking for eggs. In addition, pied currawongs are larger than grey fantails, which presents a considerable risk for adult grey fantails. Therefore, desertion might be an adaptation of grey fantails, with these nests used for eliminating hazards from cryptic predation. Some of the materials from decoy nests could be used to construct the subsequent breeding nest. The location of the breeding nest varies during the nest-building phase, ensuring a site with sufficient security to prepare for breeding. The parent birds build compact, cup-shaped nests, usually in the forks of trees, made from moss, bark and fibre, and often completed with spider's web. According to the records of the sizes of the nests by Richard and Donaghey, which were observed in three regions of southern Australia, the average size of nests were 5.7 cm (5.1-6.4 cm) external diameter, 4.1 cm (3.8-4.4 cm) internal diameter, and 2.9 cm (2.5-3.2 cm) internal depth.


The willie wagtail was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as Turdus leucophrys. Its specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek words leukos "white" and ǒphrys "eyebrow". Other early scientific names include Muscicapa tricolor by Vieillot, and Rhipidura motacilloides by naturalists Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827, who erected the genus Rhipidura. The generic term is derived from the Ancient Greek rhipis "fan" and oura "tail".
John Gould and other early writers referred to the species as the black-and-white fantail, although did note the current name. However, willie wagtail rapidly became widely accepted sometime after 1916. Wagtail is derived from its active behaviour, while the origins of willie are obscure. The name had been in use colloquially for the pied subspecies of the white wagtail (Motacilla alba) on the Isle of Man, and Northern Ireland.
Other vernacular names applied include shepherd's companion (because it accompanied livestock), frogbird, morning bird, and Australian nightingale. Many Aboriginal names are onomatopoeic, based on the sound of its scolding call. Djididjidi is a name from the Kimberley, and djikirridj-djikirridj is used by the Kunwinjku of western Arnhem Land. In Central Australia, southwest of Alice Springs, the Pitjantjatjara word is tjintir-tjintir(pa). Among the Kamilaroi, it is thirrithirri. In Bougainville Island, it is called tsiropen in the Banoni language from the west coast, and in Awaipa of Kieta district it is maneka. In the Solomon Islands Pijin it is sometimes called the polis (police) or pris (priest) bird, because of its black-and-white colouring.
The willie wagtail is unrelated to the Eurasian wagtails of the family Motacillidae. It is one of 47 members of the fantail genus Rhipidura; some authorities classify this group of birds as a subfamily Rhipidurinae within the drongo family Dicruridae, together with the monarch flycatchers, while others consider them distinct enough to warrant their own family Rhipiduridae. Early molecular research in the late 1980s and early 1990s revealed that the fantails belong to a large group of mainly Australasian birds known as the parvorder Corvida comprising many tropical and Australian passerines. More recently, the grouping has been refined somewhat and the fantails have been classified in a "core corvine" group with the crows and ravens, shrikes, birds of paradise, monarch flycatchers, drongos and mudnest builders.


The willie wagtail was a feature in Australian Aboriginal folklore. Aboriginal tribes in parts of southeastern Australia, such as the Ngarrindjeri of the Lower Murray River, and the Narrunga People of the Yorke Peninsula, regard the willie wagtail as the bearer of bad news. It was thought that the willie wagtail could steal a person's secrets while lingering around camps eavesdropping, so women would be tight-lipped in the presence of the bird. The people of the Kimberley held a similar belief that it would inform the spirit of the recently departed if living relatives spoke badly of them. They also venerated the willie wagtail as the most intelligent of all animals. Its cleverness is also seen in a Tinputz tale of Bougainville Island, where Singsing Tongereng (Willie Wagtail) wins a contest among all birds to see who can fly the highest, by riding on the back of the eagle. However, the Kunwinjku in western Arnhem Land took a dimmer view and regarded it as a liar and a tattletale. The willie wagtail was held to have stolen fire and tried to extinguish it in the sea in a dreaming story of the Yindjibarndi people of the central and western Pilbara, and was able to send a strong wind if frightened. In the Noongar language dialects, the willie wagtail is known as the Djiti-Djiti (pronounced Chitti-chitti) and the Willaring in the Perth region.
The Kalam people of New Guinea highlands called it konmayd, and deemed it a good bird; if it came and chattered when a new garden was tilled, then there would be good crops. It is said to be taking care of pigs if it is darting and calling around them. It may also be the manifestation of the ghost of paternal relatives to the Kalam. Called the kuritoro bird in New Guinea's eastern highlands, its appearance was significant in the mourning ceremony by a widow for her dead husband. She would offer him banana flowers; the presence of the bird singing nearby would confirm that the dead man's soul had taken the offering.
A tale from the Kieta district of Bougainville Island relates that a maneka, the willie wagtail, darting along a river bank echoes a legendary daughter looking for her mother who drowned trying to cross a flooding river in a storm. The bird has been depicted on postage stamps in Palau and the Solomon Islands, and has also appeared as a character in Australian children's literature, such as  Dot and the Kangaroo (1899), Blinky Bill Grows Up (1935), and Willie Wagtail and Other Tales (1929).


This lichen species is broadly distributed and may be found in most cold areas with exposed rock surfaces. The North American range includes the Sierra Nevada and northern Boreal forests of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Fennoscandia and Siberia. In the tropics it only occurs at high altitudes such as the Andes of Peru and Colombia. Further south the map lichen is found broadly across Patagonia, in the Falkland Islands, the sub Antarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula.
In Britain it can be found commonly growing on hard siliceous rocks, especially in upland regions. Its range covers virtually all of Scotland, much of North West England, and other upland areas in much of the rest of England, Wales and Ireland too.
In Spain it is found primarily in siliceous mountain ranges, although occasionally it can be found near sea level, even in southern Spain, where it is known from Cabo de Gata.


Through 2019, human studies evaluating R. rosea did not have sufficient quality to determine whether it has properties affecting fatigue or any other condition. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to manufacturers of R. rosea dietary supplement products unapproved as new drugs, adulterated, misbranded and in federal violation for not having proof of safety or efficacy for the advertised conditions of alleviating Raynaud syndrome, altitude sickness, depression or cancer.


In Russia and Scandinavia, R. rosea has been used for centuries to cope with the cold Siberian climate and stressful life. It is also used to increase physical endurance and resistance to high-altitude sickness, but the scientific evidence for such benefits is weak. The plant has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called hóng jǐng tiān.

A 2012 report by the European Medicines Agency on literature concerning the dried extract of R. rosea stated that "The published clinical trials exhibit considerable deficiencies in their quality. Therefore 'well-established use' cannot be accepted" and added:
"The traditional use as an adaptogen 'for temporary relief of symptoms of stress such as fatigue and sensation of weakness' is appropriate for traditional herbal medicinal products. ... The long-standing use as well as the outcome of the clinical trials support the plausibility of the use of the mentioned herbal preparation in the proposed indication."


This species of Rhododendron is native to the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, ranging from southern Pennsylvania and Ohio to northern Georgia. It has been reported historically in New York and Maryland, however its current native status in these states is undetermined. However, it can occur as an introduced species in anthropogenic habitats. It occurs naturally in mixed deciduous forests.


Rhus glabra, the smooth sumac, (also known as white sumac, upland sumac, or scarlet sumac) is a species of sumac in the family Anacardiaceae, native to North America, from southern Quebec west to southern British Columbia in Canada, and south to northern Florida and Arizona in the United States and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico.
One of the easiest shrubs to identify throughout the year (unless mistaken for poison sumac, in the absence of mature fruit), smooth sumac has a spreading, open-growing shrub growing up to 3 m (9.8 ft) tall, rarely to 5 m (16 ft). The leaves are alternate, 30–50 cm (12–20 in) long, compound with 11–31 oppositely paired leaflets, each leaflet 5–11 cm (2–4+1⁄4 in) long, with a serrated margin. The leaves turn scarlet in the fall. The flowers are tiny, green, produced in dense erect panicles 10–25 cm (4–10 in) tall, in the spring, later followed by large panicles of edible crimson berries that remain throughout the winter. The buds are small, covered with brown hair and borne on fat, hairless twigs. The bark on older wood is smooth and grey to brown.
In late summer it sometimes forms galls on the underside of leaves, caused by the parasitic sumac leaf gall aphid, Melaphis rhois. The galls are not harmful to the tree.


Although most species of Rhynchospora are found in tropics, R. alba is more restricted to the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, where climatic conditions favour the establishment of bogs and fens. It has a wide boreal distribution and is commonly found in the US (north of California and South Carolina), Canada, Europe, the Caucasus, China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula.
It is generally found at lower altitudes (below 850m), but has been found at higher altitudes at the southern edge of its range, for example in China and Puerto Rico.


Rhytidiadeplhus loreus is widespread and can be found in United States, Canada and Europe. In the United States it is specifically located in southeast Alaska, California and  eastern Montana. While in Canada it can be found in the providences of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec. Lanky moss can also be found in parts of Europe, mostly in mountainous regions where moisture can be trapped in shaded pockets of the mountains. It grows in north-western Europe in countries such as Norway, Iceland and Greenland. Lanky moss is usually a coastal species that grows in moist environments, preferably in shady, dark locations. It can be found in low elevation to subalpine elevations of 4,000 ft. In coniferous forests it is a dominant species of moss that covers the forest floor. It commonly covers decomposing wood such as a fallen trees or rotting logs. Lanky moss can also grow on rocks. It can also take on epiphytic qualities and grow at the base of living trees. Lanky moss grows exceptionally well on soil types such as raw humus, acid humus or peat. This is due to the amount of moisture, decaying matter and nitrogen in these top layers of soil that lanky moss can thrive on. Rhytidiadeplhus loreus is a flourishing and abundant moss that is not at risk of extinction. It is not listed on the COSEWIC website.


There are many cultivars of blackcurrant. 'Baldwin' was the mainstay of the industry for many years but it has now largely been superseded by more productive and disease-resistant varieties. During the 20th century in Europe, much hybridisation work has been carried out in order to reduce the plant's susceptibility to disease and frost and also to increase yields. This effort centered mainly in Scotland, Poland, and New Zealand.
In Britain the Scottish Crop Research Institute was tasked with developing new varieties suitable for growing in the north of the country. They produced new cultivars that had greater cold tolerance, especially in the spring, ripened earlier and more evenly and had greater fungal disease resistance. Frost tolerance was improved by selecting for late flowering and genetic research identified genes involved in resistance to gall mite and the blackcurrant reversion virus. 'Ben Lomond' was the first of the 'Ben' varieties and was released in 1975. This was followed by several other cultivars for the juicing industry such as 'Ben Alder' and 'Ben Tirran'. The cultivar 'Ben Hope' was released in 1998 with increased tolerance to gall mite, and in the same year, 'Ben Gairn' became available. It shows resistance to the reversion virus. For gardeners and the pick-your-own market, 'Ben Sarek', 'Ben Connan' and 'Big Ben' were introduced and have large, sweet berries. The cultivars 'Ben Connan' and 'Big Ben' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. and new varieties are being developed continually to improve frost tolerance, disease resistance, machine harvesting, fruit quality, nutritional content and fruit flavour.
Varieties producing green fruit, less strongly-flavoured and sweeter than typical blackcurrants, are cultivated in Finland, where they are called "greencurrants" (viherherukka). In Poland, the Research Institute of Horticulture has done work on improving the blackcurrant with regard to disease and pest resistance, fruit quality, adaptations to local conditions and mechanical harvesting. Researchers have crossed various varieties and introduced inter-specific genetic material from the gooseberry (Ribes grossularia), the red currant (Ribes rubrum) and the flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum). The resulting offspring were further back-crossed to R. nigrum. Cultivars produced include 'Tisel' and 'Tiben' in 2000 and 'Ores', 'Ruben' and 'Tines' in 2005. Further cultivars 'Polares' and 'Tihope' are being tested. Since 1991, New Zealand has become an important centre for research and development, as its temperate climate is particularly suitable for cultivation of the crop. Breeding programmes are concentrating on yield, large fruit size, consistency of cropping and upright habit.
In North America, there is a need for this fruit to have resistance to white pine blister rust. New cultivars such as 'Crusader', 'Coronet' and 'Consort' have been developed there by crossing R. nigrum with R. ussuriense and these show resistance to the disease. However the quality and yield of these varieties are poor as compared to non-resistant strains and only Consort is reliably self-fertile. Back-crossing these varieties to a parent have produced new strains such as 'Titania' that have a higher yield, better disease resistance, are more tolerant of adverse weather conditions and are suitable for machine harvesting. Two new releases from a black currant breeding program in British Columbia, Canada, 'Blackcomb' and 'Tahsis', were selected for their immunity to white pine blister rust and their frost tolerance.


The blackcurrant is native to northern Europe and Asia. Cultivation in Europe is thought to have started around the last decades of the 17th century. Decoction of the leaves, bark or roots was also used as a traditional remedy.
During World War II, most fruits rich in vitamin C, such as oranges, became difficult to obtain in the United Kingdom. Since blackcurrant berries are a rich source of the vitamin, and blackcurrant plants are suitable for growing in the UK climate, the British Government encouraged their cultivation and soon the yield of the nation's crop increased significantly. From 1942 onwards, blackcurrant syrup was distributed free of charge to children under the age of two. This may have given rise to the lasting popularity of blackcurrant as a flavouring in Britain. In Britain the commercial crop is completely mechanised and about 1,400 hectares of the fruit are grown, mostly under contract to the juicing industry. Commercially, most large-scale cultivation of blackcurrants is done in eastern Europe for the juice and juice concentrate market. As of 2017, major cultivation efforts to improve fruit characteristics occurred in Scotland, New Zealand, and Poland.
Blackcurrants were once popular in the United States as well, but became less common in the 20th century after currant farming was banned in the early 1900s, when blackcurrants, as a vector of white pine blister rust, were considered a threat to the U.S. logging industry. The federal ban on growing currants was shifted to the jurisdictions of individual states in 1966, and was lifted in New York State in 2003 through the efforts of horticulturist Greg Quinn. As a result, currant growing is making a comeback in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and Oregon. However, several statewide bans still exist as of August 2021. Since the American federal ban curtailed currant production nationally for nearly a century, the fruit remains largely unknown in the United States and has yet to regain its previous popularity to levels enjoyed in Europe or New Zealand. Owing to its unique flavour and richness in polyphenols, dietary fibre and essential nutrients, awareness and popularity of blackcurrant is once again growing, with a number of consumer products entering the U.S. market.


Although Ricinus communis is indigenous to the southeastern Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Africa, and India, today it is widespread throughout tropical regions. In areas with a suitable climate, castor establishes itself easily where it can become an invasive plant and can often be found on wasteland.
It is also used extensively as a decorative plant in parks and other public areas, particularly as a "dot plant" in traditional bedding schemes. If sown early, under glass, and kept at a temperature of around 20 °C (68 °F) until planted out, the castor oil plant can reach a height of 2–3 metres (6.6–9.8 ft) in a year. In areas prone to frost it is usually shorter, and grown as if it were an annual. However, it can grow well outdoors in cooler climates, at least in southern England, and the leaves do not appear to suffer frost damage in sheltered spots, where it remains evergreen. It was used in Edwardian times in the parks of Toronto,  Canada. Although not cultivated there, the plant grows wild in the US, notably Griffith Park in Los Angeles.


Castor oil has many uses in medicine and other applications. An alcoholic extract of the leaf was shown, in laboratory rats, to protect the liver from damage from certain poisons. Methanolic extracts of the leaves of Ricinus communis were used in antimicrobial testing against eight pathogenic bacteria in rats and showed antimicrobial properties.
The pericarp of Ricinus showed central nervous system effects in mice at low doses.  At high doses mice quickly died. A water extract of the root bark showed analgesic activity in rats. Antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties were found in ethanolic extract of Ricinus communis root bark. Castor oil and the plant's roots and leaves are used in the ancient Indian medicinal system of Ayurveda for various diseases, and it has been investigated in a few limited studies for its potential as an anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory herbal medicine.


In 1769, during explorer Lieutenant James Cook's first voyage of discovery, botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander collected specimens of "supplejack" (Ripogonum scandens) in New Zealand. The species was described in Solander's unpublished manuscript Primitiae Florae Novae Zelandiae and was illustrated by Sydney Parkinson.  Cook again visited New Zealand in 1773 during his second voyage. While anchored at Dusky Bay (now Dusky Sound) in the South Island of New Zealand, he remarked in his journal:
In many parts the woods are so over-run with supplejacks, that it is scarcely possible to force one's way amongst them. I have seen several which were fifty or sixty fathoms long.
During this voyage naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster, assisted by his son Georg Forster collected plant specimens, the elder Forster offering the following description in his journal:
A kind of climbing plant called the supple Jack by our Sailors, on account of its pliancy, bears red berries, something similar to cherries, & runs up the highest trees, climbs over to another, & after having made its way over many of them, it often comes again down & strikes fresh roots.
In 1776, the Forsters published the genus Ripogonum in the second edition of  their Characteres Generum Plantarum with Ripogonum  scandens as the type species.


Found in the North and South islands of New Zealand as well as a few offshore islands including Stewart and Chatham Islands. R. scandens is mainly present is lowland and mountainous forests dominated by hardwood and podocarp throughout the North island. Ripogonum scandens is not found on the Three Kings Islands and on the Poor knights Islands. It occurs infrequently in the Hawke’s Bay only in old coastal forests. It is found at altitudes in the North Island of up to 900m in the Kapamahunga range. In the South Island of New Zealand Ripogonum scandens does not tend to seep into the forests, instead staying on the seaward facing ranges. Throughout Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago the occurrence of  R. scandens is found sparingly in relics of old forests and mainly found on peninsulas such as Kaikoura, Banks and Otago. The supplejack vine is abundant on the western coast of the South Island.


Kereru (Hemiphaga novae-seelandiae) and blackbirds (Turdus merula) are two bird species that consume supplejack fruit. Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) have also been known to eat supplejack berries. A new climber species Geitonoplesium cymosum has been introduced to New Zealand. This species is similar to the native supplejack but may out-compete supplejack. Wild pigs also have a negative impact on juvenile supplejack as they forage through the forest floor. While they are disturbing and consuming other plants, they are also uprooting growing supplejack. Deer and cattle also have the same negative impact on supplejack. These mammals graze on the seedlings and growing juvenile plants. Possums(Trichosurus vulpecula) also feed on supplejack berries.
Sooty mould (Trichopeltheca asiatica). This fungus is common across New Zealand and smothers the supplejack leaves and stems, affecting the plant's photosynthetic capability.Ctenopseustis obliquana larvae are found in ripe fruit and will consume the stems, leaves and flowers of the supplejack.


The white-tufted grebe is found in the southern part of South America. Its range includes south-eastern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Argentina and the Falkland Islands. It occurs as a vagrant in the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia. Its typical habitat is lakes, marshy ponds, ditches and slow-moving streams. Birds in the southern part of the range form into flocks after the breeding season and migrate northwards up the coast. These are often seen in bays and other sheltered marine locations.


R. microptera inhabits regions west of North Carolina to Tennessee, in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, and throughout Florida, Missouri, and Arizona.  They live in open pinewoods, weedy vegetation, and weedy fields.


Like all members of its genus, Roridomyces austrororidus grows as a saprophyte on rotting wood. In Australia, the fungus fruits in clusters or groups on rainforest trees, decayed logs, fallen Eucalyptus branches, Bedfordia salicina logs and branches, and Nothofagus cunninghamii  logs. Fruiting usually occurs after rainy periods from April to June, although the mushroom has also been collected in August. New Zealand collections have been reported to grow on Pinus, Leptospermum, and Ripogonum. A study of fungal succession in a wet eucalypt forest in Tasmania demonstrated that R. austrororidus prefers mature forests (with at least 70 years of growth since the last wildfire), and fruits on small diameter wood—typically twigs with a width less than 15 mm (0.6 in).
Roridomyces austrororidus occurs in Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, and Australia. Its Australian distribution includes Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. Australian mycologist Tony Young suggests that the geographical distribution of the fungus indicates that its ancestor may have originated from the ancient continent Gondwana.


AFRICA: in Egypt and Ethiopia.
ASIA and EURASIA: in Afghanistan; Bhutan; the Caucasus (in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia) and Ciscaucasia (in Dagestan); much of China and Taiwan; India (in the states of Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and West Bengal); Indonesia (in Papua province, Java, the Lesser Sunda, and Maluku Islands); Japan (in the prefectures of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu Islands); Kazakhstan; the Korean Peninsula; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; eastern and western Siberia; Tajikistan; northeastern Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; and Yemen.
EUROPE: grows natively in most regions.
NORTH AMERICA: in every province and territory (excluding Nunavut) of Canada; Puerto Rico; the District of Columbia and every state (excluding Hawaii) in the United States; Mexico
The CARIBBEAN: in Cuba and Haiti.
AUSTRALASIA: New Zealand


Rosa multiflora (syn. Rosa polyantha) is a species of rose known commonly as multiflora rose, baby rose, Japanese rose, many-flowered rose, seven-sisters rose, Eijitsu rose and rambler rose. It is native to eastern Asia, in China, Japan, and Korea. It should not be confused with Rosa rugosa, which is also known as "Japanese rose", or with polyantha roses which are garden cultivars derived from hybrids of R. multiflora. It was introduced to North America, where it is regarded as an invasive species.


Rosa pimpinellifolia, the burnet rose, is a species of rose native to western, central and southern Europe (north to Iceland and Norway) and northwest Africa.


The greater painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) is a species of wader in the family Rostratulidae. It is found in marshes in Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia.


The fruits of the Arctic raspberry are very tasty and, among other uses, make jam and liqueur, or flavour tea. Carl von Linné considered the Arctic raspberry – åkerbär in Swedish – a great delicacy in his Flora Lapponica (1737). Also used in Smirnoff Ice and North, and Lignell & Piispanen's Mesimarjalikööri, and Wine fruit of Arctic RaspBerry (Central Arctic in Adub). Arctic raspberry is the provincial plant of the Norrbotten province of northern Sweden.


Dalibarda repens is a herbaceous plant with simple leaves, and hairy stems. It is the only species in the genus Dalibarda.  It has both sterile and fertile flowers.  The sterile flowers are much less numerous than the fertile ones, have five white petals and are borne atop a peduncle.  The more numerous fertile flowers are cleistogamous (they are self-pollinating and never open), and are hidden beneath the leaves. The flower stalks (peduncles) of the cleistogamous flowers are short, 2–5 cm long, and curved downward. The calyx forms a shallow, hairy hypanthium, which is divided into 5–6 lobes of unequal size, the 3 larger lobes are toothed (serrate).
The stem is decumbent/creeping, "several inches" in length, with a densely tufted terminal portion which bears both leaves and flowers.
The leaves are basal, simple, pinnately veined above the base, long-petiolate, and slightly hairy/downy on both sides. They are dark green in color. Leaf blades cordate to rounded (orbicular), 3–5 cm long; the basal lobes are rounded; the apex is blunt to rounded; the margins are scalloped, with low rounded teeth (crenate); and the petioles are hairy, 3–10 cm long.
The common name false violet comes not only from the heart-shaped leaves, but also because this plant, like violets, produces two kinds of flowers.
Though this plant is globally secure, it is locally endangered in Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina and Rhode Island.  It is listed as threatened in Michigan and Ohio.
The plant can be identified as being low, spreading by runners with leaves and flowers arising on separate stalks from the runner. The sterile flowers are white with 5 broad petals and numerous long stamens, solitary on a long, reddish flower stalk arising from runner. Leaves are kidney-shaped, with a long petiole, and with outer margin scalloped. The plant is 2 to 5 inches in height.
The leaves of dewdrop may be confused with violet leaves, but violets have low rounded teeth that curve upward; the leaf margins of dewdrop have low scalloped edges or outward-facing blunt teeth.
The plant is found in Minnesota in the west to Nova Scotia in the east, southward to Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and in the mountains to North Carolina.
Dewdrop is found in northern or upland forests, in shady locations, in moist to wet conifer and mixedwood (softwoods and hardwoods) forests or swamps, and often on red pine and white pine sites with sandy, acidic soils.  It thrives best in acidic soils.
A few, nearly dry, small white drupes (drupelets), 3–4 mm long, retained within the calyx are produced.
As with its close relatives the Rubus, the young plants make a reasonably palatable pot-herb, and can be brewed as a mild infusion/tea throughout the growing season. The fruit is edible, but decidedly not "choice".
It flowers from June to August.


Rubus hispidus, with the common names swamp dewberry, bristly dewberry, bristly groundberry, groundberry, hispid swamp blackberry or running swamp blackberry, is North American species of dewberry in the rose family.
The plant grows in moist or sometimes dry soils, ditches, swales or open woods in central and eastern North America, from Ontario and Minnesota east to Newfoundland, and south to South Carolina and Mississippi.


Common black raspberry cultivars include: Black Hawk, Bristol, Jewel, Cumberland, Morrison, Munger, and Logan.


Rubus parviflorus is native to western North America from Alaska south as far as California, New Mexico, Chihuahua, and San Luis Potosí. Its range extends east to the Rocky Mountains and discontinuously to the Great Lakes Region. It grows from sea level in the north, up to elevations of 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in the south.
R. parviflorus typically grows along roadsides, railroad tracks, and in forest clearings, commonly appearing as an early part of the ecological succession in clear cut and forest fire areas.
Thimbleberry is found in forest understories with typical flora associates including coastal woodfern (Dryopteris arguta), Trillium ovatum and Smilacina racemosa.


Rubus phoenicolasius (Japanese wineberry, wine raspberry, wineberry or dewberry) is an Asian species of raspberry (Rubus subgenus Idaeobatus) in the rose family, native to China, Japan, and Korea.
The species was introduced to Europe and North America as an ornamental plant and for its potential in breeding hybrid raspberries. It has subsequently escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in parts of Europe and North America.


The wineberry is native to eastern Asia and has been introduced into parts of North America and Europe. Wineberries grow vigorously and can form extensive, dense thickets that displace many native species. Wineberries can be found in many habitats, such as forest, fields, stream banks, and wetland edges, as well as open woods.  The first years of growth for wineberries are longer (approximately 32%) than many other black and red raspberries.  Wineberries are a host to several viruses, such as raspberry yellow spot that can affect native species of raspberry.
Wineberry vine growth may be controlled variously, such as by biological mechanisms increasing susceptibility to diseases, or mechanical effects by digging, excavating or repeatedly cutting back the plant until it dies. Using a systemic herbicide, such as glyphosate, it can be controlled chemically. Concentrations mixed to the manufacturers specifications can be applied to the leaves to kill the plants. The wineberry is listed as a noxious weed by both Connecticut and New York where its possession and sale are prohibited by law.


Ruellia simplex is native to Mexico, the West Indies, western Bolivia, southwestern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina. It has been widely used as an ornamental plant and has escaped from cultivation in the United States, Australia and parts of Asia, as well as several Pacific Islands. It has become invasive in some of these areas, forming dense, single-species stands of vegetation which threaten native plants. It is mainly a plant of wet places such as ditches, pond verges, lakesides and marshes, but can survive in drier conditions.


The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is trying to reduce the number of home gardeners who plant R. simplex by recommending alternatives, especially Silphium asteriscus, Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, Stokesia laevis, but also including some R. simplex cultivars that are sterile.


Rumex acetosa occurs in grassland habitats throughout Europe from the northern Mediterranean coast to the north of Scandinavia and in parts of Central Asia. It occurs as an introduced species in parts of New Zealand, Australia and North America. It can grow in poor soil.


The roadside hawk is 31–41 cm (12–16 in) long and weighs 250–300 g (8.8–10.6 oz). Males are about 20% smaller than females, but otherwise the sexes are similar. In most subspecies, the lower breast and underparts are barred brown and white, and the tail has four or five grey bars. Twelve subspecies are usually recognised and there is significant plumage variation between these. Depending on the subspecies involved, the roadside hawk is mainly brown or grey. It is fairly common to observe a touch of rufous (i.e., a light reddish-brown) on the bird's wings, especially when seen in flight. Its call is a very high-pitched piercing squeak. The eyes of adult roadside hawks are whitish or yellow. As suggested by its specific name (magni = large; rostri = beak), its beak is relatively large.
The roadside hawk may be marginally the smallest hawk in the widespread genus Buteo, although Ridgway's hawk and the white-rumped hawk are scarcely larger. In flight, the relatively long tail and disproportionately short wings of the roadside hawk are distinctive. It frequently soars, but does not hover.


The appearance and the size of the sambar vary widely across its range, which has led to considerable taxonomic confusion in the past; over 40 different scientific synonyms have been used for the species. In general, they attain a height of 102 to 160 cm (40 to 63 in) at the shoulder and may weigh as much as 546 kg (1,204 lb), though more typically 100 to 350 kg (220 to 770 lb). Head and body length varies from 1.62 to 2.7 m (5.3 to 8.9 ft), with a 22 to 35 cm (8.7 to 13.8 in) tail. Individuals belonging to western subspecies tend to be larger than those from the east, and females are smaller than males. Among all living cervid species, only the moose and the elk can attain larger sizes.
The large, rugged antlers are typically rusine, the brow tines being simple and the beams forked at the tip, so they have only three tines. The antlers are typically up to 110 cm (43 in) long in fully adult individuals. As with most deer, only the males have antlers.
The shaggy coat can be from yellowish brown to dark grey in colour, and while it is usually uniform in colour, some subspecies have chestnut marks on the rump and underparts. Sambar also have a small but dense mane, which tends to be more prominent in males. The tail is relatively long for deer, and is generally black above with a whitish underside.
Adult males and pregnant or lactating females possess an unusual hairless, blood-red spot located about halfway down the underside of their throats. This sometimes oozes a white liquid, and is apparently glandular in nature.


The sambar is distributed in much of South Asia as far north as the south-facing slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan and India, in mainland Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo), Taiwan, and South China, including Hainan. In the Himalayan foothills, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and eastern Taiwan, it ranges up to 3,500 m (11,500 ft). It inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical seasonal forests, subtropical mixed forests with stands of conifers and montane grasslands, broadleaved deciduous and broadleaved evergreen trees, to tropical rainforests, and seldom moves far from water sources.
The sambar prefers the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses, although the exact nature of this varies enormously with the environment because of its wide Asian range. Home range sizes are probably equally variable, but have been recorded as 1,500 ha (3,700 acres) for males and 300 ha (740 acres) for females in India.


The subspecies of the sambar in India and Sri Lanka are the largest of the genus, with the largest antlers both in size and in body proportions.  The South China sambar of Southern China and mainland Southeast Asia is probably second in terms of size, with slightly smaller antlers than the Indian sambar.  The Sumatran sambar that inhabits the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra and the Bornean sambar seem to have the smallest antlers in proportion to their body size.  The Formosan sambar is the smallest subspecies, with antler-body proportions more similar to the South China sambar.
Currently, seven subspecies of sambar are recognised, although many others have been proposed.


In New Zealand, sambar roam the coast and gullies in Horowhenua District, Manawatu District, Rangitikei, and Whanganui. Until recently, they were protected, but the Department of Conservation has now removed hunting regulations surrounding them, allowing them now to be hunted year round.


This beetle is widespread in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sardinia, Serbia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, and the United Kingdom).


Adults can be encountered from May through August, completing their life cycle in two-three years. They only live two-four weeks. They are very common flower-visitors, especially Apiaceae species, feeding on pollen and the nectar. Larvae are polyphagous in deciduous trees, mainly feeding on Picea abies, Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Castanea sativa and Ostrya carpinifolia, as well as on Quercus, Carpinus, Salix, Alnus, Populus and Betula species.


Sabal palmetto is native to the Southern United States, specifically the coastal plain of the lower East Coast including southeast North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Florida. It can also be found in Cuba, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas.
The species is hardy to the US Department of Agriculture's zone 8, and has been reported to have some cold hardness down to 8.6 °F or −13.0 °C, but needs hot and humid summers to grow well. Maintenance of the cabbage palm tree is very easy and very adaptable. The cabbage palmetto is known to tolerate drought, standing water and brackish water. Even though this palm is drought-tolerant, it thrives on regular light watering and regular feeding. It is highly tolerant of salt winds, but not saltwater flooding.


The plant is endemic to the Eastern United States, where it occurs on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from Massachusetts south to Florida and west to Louisiana. It is a halophyte, restricted to salt marsh habitats, where it is threatened by the invasive species Phragmites australis.


Sabatia stellaris is listed as endangered in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.


Fire salamanders are found in most of southern and central Europe. They are most commonly found at altitudes between 250 metres (820 ft) and 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), only rarely below (in Northern Germany sporadically down to 25 metres (82 ft)). However, in the Balkans or Spain they are commonly found in higher altitudes as well.


Brown trout have been widely introduced into suitable environments around the world, including North and South America, Australasia, Asia, and South and East Africa. Introduced brown trout have established self-sustaining, wild populations in many introduced countries. The first introductions were in Australia in 1864 when 300 of 1500 brown trout eggs from the River Itchen survived a four-month voyage from Falmouth, Cornwall, to Melbourne on the sailing ship Norfolk. By 1866, 171 young brown trout were surviving in a Plenty River hatchery in Tasmania. Thirty-eight young trout were released in the river, a tributary of the River Derwent in 1866. By 1868, the Plenty River hosted a self-sustaining population of brown trout which became a brood source for continued introduction of brown trout into Australian and New Zealand rivers. Successful introductions into the Natal and Cape Provinces of South Africa took place in 1890 and 1892, respectively. By 1909, brown trout were established in the mountains of Kenya. The first introductions into the Himalayas in northern India took place in 1868, and by 1900, brown trout were established in Kashmir and Madras. In the 1950s and 1960s, Edgar Albert de la Rue, a French geologist, began the introduction of several species of salmonids on the remote Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Of the seven species introduced, only brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, and brown trout survived to establish wild populations.


The first introductions in Canada occurred in 1883 in Newfoundland and continued until 1933. The only Canadian regions without brown trout are Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Introductions into South America began in 1904 in Argentina. Brown trout are now established in Chile, Peru, and the Falklands. Sea-run forms of brown trout exceeding 20 lb (9.1 kg) are caught by local anglers on a regular basis.
The first introductions into the U.S. started in 1883 when Fred Mather, a New York pisciculturist and angler, under the authority of the U.S. Fish Commissioner, Spencer Baird, obtained brown trout eggs from a Baron Lucius von Behr, president of the German Fishing Society. The von Behr brown trout came from both mountain streams and large lakes in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg. The original shipment of "von Behr" brown trout eggs were handled by three hatcheries, one on Long Island, the Cold Spring Hatchery operated by Mather, one in Caledonia, New York, operated by pisciculturalist Seth Green, and other hatchery in Northville, Michigan. Additional shipments of "von Behr" brown trout eggs arrived in 1884. In 1885, brown trout eggs from Loch Leven, Scotland, arrived in New York. These "Loch Leven" brown trout were distributed to the same hatcheries. Over the next few years, additional eggs from Scotland, England, and Germany were shipped to U.S. hatcheries. Behnke (2007) believed all life forms of brown trout—anadromous, riverine, and lacustrine—were imported into the U.S. and intermingled genetically to create what he calls the American generic brown trout and a single subspecies the North European brown trout (S. t. trutta).
In April 1884, the U.S. Fish Commission released 4900 brown trout fry into the Baldwin River, a tributary of the Pere Marquette River in Michigan. This was the first release of brown trout into U.S. waters. Between 1884 and 1890, brown trout were introduced into suitable habitats throughout the U.S. By 1900, 38 states and two territories had received stocks of brown trout. Their adaptability resulted in most of these introductions establishing wild, self-sustaining populations.


The rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) is a small songbird of the wren family native to western North America, Mexico and Central America.  It is the only species in the genus Salpinctes.


It is found in the southwestern United States in the states of Arizona, southern California, Nevada, southern New Mexico, and southwestern Texas.  It is also found in northern Mexico in the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Sonora.


Brook trout are native to a wide area of Eastern North America, but are increasingly confined to higher elevations southward in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and northwest South Carolina, Canada from the Hudson Bay basin east, the Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence system, the Canadian maritime provinces, and the upper Mississippi River drainage as far west as eastern Iowa. Their southern historic native range has been drastically reduced, with fish being restricted to higher-elevation, remote streams due to habitat loss and introductions of brown and rainbow trout. As early as 1850, the brook trout's range started to extend west from its native range through introductions. The brook trout was eventually introduced into suitable habitats throughout the western U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries at the behest of the American Acclimatization Society and by private, state, and federal fisheries authorities. Acclimatization movements in Europe, South America, and Oceania resulted in brook trout introductions throughout Europe, in Argentina, and New Zealand. Although not all introductions were successful, a great many established wild, self-sustaining populations of brook trout in non-native waters.


Samolus repens is a species of water pimpernel native to Australia, New Zealand and near-by Pacific islands, and South America (South Chile), where it is common in temperate and subtropic coastlines. Common names include creeping brookweed and creeping bushweed. Samolus repens has small white or occasionally pink flowers with a flowering period from September through to March or April.


Two subspecies are recognized:
Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii (Hook. & Arn.) L.D.Benson (syn. S. drummondii Hook. & Arn.) – Western soapberry native from Arizona across to Louisiana in the south ranging north to Kansas and far southwestern Missouri in the north. It is also native to the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahuila in Mexico.
Sapindus saponaria var. saponaria (syn. S. marginatus Willd., S. thurstonii Rock) – Wingleaf soapberry native almost exclusively to far south Florida in the United States but also occurs in an isolated area of coastal southeast Georgia. It is also found in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and island of Hawaiʻi.


All parts of the Sassafras albidum plant have been used for human purposes, including stems, leaves, bark, wood, roots, fruit, and flowers. Sassafras albidum, while native to North America, is significant to the economic, medical, and cultural history of both Europe and North America. In North America, it has particular culinary significance, being featured in distinct national foods such as traditional root beer, filé powder, and Louisiana Creole cuisine. Sassafras albidum was an important plant to many Native Americans of the southeastern United States and was used for many purposes, including culinary and medicinal purposes, before the European colonization of North America. Its significance for Native Americans is also magnified, as the European quest for sassafras as a commodity for export brought Europeans into closer contact with Native Americans during the early years of European settlement in the 16th and 17th centuries, in Florida, Virginia, and parts of the Northeast.


Sassafras albidum was a well-used plant by Native Americans in what is now the Southeastern United States prior to the European colonization. The Choctaw word for sassafras is "Kvfi," and it was by them principally as a soup thickener.  It was known as "Winauk" in Delaware and Virginia and is called "Pauame" by the Timuca.
Some Native American tribes used the leaves of sassafras to treat wounds by rubbing the leaves directly into a wound, and used different parts of the plant for many medicinal purposes such as treating acne, urinary disorders, and sicknesses that increased body temperature, such as high fevers. They also used the bark as a dye, and as a flavoring.
Sassafras wood was also used by Native Americans in the Southeastern United States as a fire-starter because of the flammability of its natural oils.
In cooking, sassafras was used by some Native Americans to flavor bear fat, and to cure meats. Sassafras is still used today to cure meats. Use of filé powder by the Choctaw in the Southern United States in cooking is linked to the development of gumbo, a signature dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine.


Europeans were first introduced to sassafras, along with other plants such as cranberries, tobacco, and North American ginseng, when they arrived in North America.
The aromatic smell of sassafras was described by early European settlers arriving in North America. According to one legend, Christopher Columbus found North America because he could smell the scent of sassafras. As early as the 1560s, French visitors to North America discovered the medicinal qualities of sassafras, which was also exploited by the Spanish who arrived in Florida. English settlers at Roanoke reported surviving on boiled sassafras leaves and dog meat during times of starvation.
Upon the arrival of the English on the Eastern coast of North America, sassafras trees were reported as plentiful. Sassafras was sold in England and in continental Europe, where it was sold as a dark beverage called "saloop" that had medicinal qualities and used as a medicinal cure for a variety of ailments. The discovery of sassafras occurred at the same time as a severe syphilis outbreak in Europe, when little about this terrible disease was understood, and sassafras was touted as a cure. Sir Francis Drake was one of the earliest to bring sassafras to England in 1586, and Sir Walter Raleigh was the first to export sassafras as a commodity in 1602. Sassafras became a major export commodity to England and other areas of Europe, as a medicinal root used to treat ague (fevers) and sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea, and as wood prized for its beauty and durability.  Exploration for sassafras was the catalyst for the 1603 commercial expedition from Bristol of Captain Martin Pring to the coasts of present-day Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. During a brief period in the early 17th century, sassafras was the second-largest export from the British colonies in North America behind tobacco.
Since the bark was the most commercially valued part of the sassafras plant due to large concentrations of the aromatic safrole oil, commercially valuable sassafras could only be gathered from each tree once. This meant that as significant amounts of sassafras bark were gathered, supplies quickly diminished and sassafras become more difficult to find. For example, while one of the earliest shipments of sassafras in 1602 weighed as much as a ton, by 1626, English colonists failed to meet their 30-pound quota. The gathering of sassafras bark brought European settlers and Native Americans into contact sometimes dangerous to both groups. Sassafras was such a desired commodity in England, that its importation was included in the Charter of the Colony of Virginia in 1610.
Through modern times the sassafras plant, both wild and cultivated, has been harvested for the extraction of safrole, which is used in a variety of commercial products as well as in the manufacture of illegal drugs like MDMA; yet, sassafras plants in China and Brazil are more commonly used for these purposes than North American Sassafras albidum.


The breeding range covers most of temperate Asia, from about latitude 71°N in Siberia south to the Himalaya and southwest China, and west to eastern Turkey and the Caspian Sea area. It also breeds in the far northeast of Europe, mainly in Russia but occasionally as far west as Finland.
The wintering range of the migratory bird is from southern Japan south to Thailand and India, and west to northeast Africa. On migration, small numbers reach as far west as western Europe, and exceptionally as far east as Alaska in North America.
The Siberian stonechat is insectivorous. It breeds in open rough scrubland or rough grassland with scattered shrubs, from sea level to about 4,000 m ASL or more. The birds seem to avoid even cool temperate conditions and stay up north only during the hot continental summer. In the montane regions of the Himalaya foothills of Bhutan, migrants can on occasion be seen foraging in fields and pastures more than 2,000 m ASL, but most move further down and south to winter in tropical regions.
Though it is not considered a distinct species by the IUCN, it is widespread and common and would not be considered a threatened species.


The whinchat is a migratory species breeding in Europe and western Asia from Ireland and northern Portugal east to the Ob River basin near Novosibirsk, and from northern Norway south to central Spain, central Italy, northern Greece, and the Caucasus Mountains.
Birds arrive on the breeding grounds between the end of April and mid May, and depart between mid August and mid September (odd birds lingering to October). They winter primarily in tropical sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Kenya and south to Zambia, arriving in western Africa at the start of the dry season in late September to November, and leaving between February and March. Small numbers also winter in northwestern Africa in Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia. Available stopover sites are important for the successful migration of whinchat  between Africa and Europe, where they face the barriers of the Sahara and Mediterranean Sea. Vagrants have reached northwest of the breeding range to Iceland, west on migration to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde, and south of the wintering range to northern South Africa.
During the breeding season in the UK, at the landscape-scale, whinchats favour habitats with high plant species richness and steeper slopes.  However, at the territory scale, low-elevation areas with a heterogeneous vegetation structure and high density of perches and tussocks are preferred.
Whinchats wintering in Nigeria have a large breeding range that spreads across continental Europe indicating low connectivity, arising from wide migratory dispersal, with high mixing of breeding populations during the non-breeding season. A lone vagrant was sighted for the first time in India by birder R. Mohammed Saleem during their Great Indian Bird Expedition SEEK2019 at Chambal National Park.


The black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is a passerine bird in the tyrant-flycatcher family. It breeds from southwest Oregon and California south through Central and South America. It occurs year-round throughout most of its range and migrates less than the other birds in its genus, though its northern populations are partially migratory. Six subspecies are commonly recognized, although two are occasionally combined as a separate species, the white-winged phoebe.
The black phoebe has predominantly black plumage, with a white belly and undertail coverts. The sexes are identical in color, and juveniles have brown feather tips and brown wing-bars. Its song is a repeated tee-hee, tee ho. It lives in a variety of habitats but is always near water. It is mainly insectivorous and waits on a perch before sallying out and catching its prey in the air. It makes an open cup nest which is placed under a cliff or a bridge and cemented in its place with mud.


The black phoebe breeds in the west and southwest United States, Mexico and Central America, and parts of South America. In Oregon it is found in river valleys on the Pacific coast, and in California on the western side of Coast Ranges. It breeds throughout the Colorado River valley and occasionally is found to the north in southern Nevada and southwestern Utah, as well as Arizona and central New Mexico. In Central America it breeds on Baja California, except for the central part of the peninsula, and on interior mainland Mexico southwest to Panama, excluding El Salvador. In South America it is found in the coastal mountains of Venezuela, through Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, to western Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.
It lives year-round in most of its range and is more sedentary (non-migratory) than either of the other phoebes in its genus (Eastern or Say's), although northern populations may be partially migratory. It is always found near water and is often found at coastal cliffs, river/lake banks, or even park fountains. Habitats must also include a supply of mud for nest building, and the birds' specialized nesting requirements probably cause their somewhat irregular range.


Scadoxus puniceus, commonly known as the paintbrush lily, is a species of bulbous plant. It is native to much of southern and eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini (Swaziland), and South Africa (the Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Northern Provinces). Scadoxus puniceus can be found in cool, shady habitat such as ravines and forests, where it is often found in moist leaf litter. Other common names include snake lily, royal paintbrush, King-of-Candida, African blood lily (English), rooikwas (Afrikaans), isisphompho, and umgola (Zulu). There are nine species of Scadoxus of which three, S. puniceus, S. multiflorus (with 2 subspecies) and S.membranaceus, occur in South Africa.


The eastern mole or common mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is a medium-sized, overall grey North American mole and the only member of the genus Scalopus. Its large, hairless, spade-shaped forefeet are adapted for digging. The species is native to Canada (Ontario), Mexico, and the eastern United States, and has the widest range of any North American mole.
The species prefers the loamy soils found in thin woods, fields, pastures, and meadows, and builds both deep and shallow burrows characterized by discarded excess soil collected in molehills. Its nest is composed of leaves and grasses, and its two to five young are on their own at about four weeks. Its diet consists principally of earthworms and other soil life, but the eastern mole will also eat vegetable matter.
Dogs, cats, foxes, and coyotes prey upon the eastern mole, and the species hosts a variety of parasites. Unlike gophers, moles do not eat vegetation and pose no threat to human concerns; the occasional damage to lawns is offset by the aeration provided the soil and consumption of insects. The construction of golf courses has provided the mole with ideal habitat. The species is abundant, occurs in protected areas, faces no major threats and is of little concern to conservationists.


In a study from 1976, home range areas of seven eastern moles were calculated after each had been located periodically during periods ranging from 11 months to 3 years. The mean home range area was 0.74 hectares (1.8 acres); males averaged 1.09 hectares (2.7 acres), and females 0.28 hectares (0.69 acres). Because the male range is so large, males generally predominate in samples. The species' fossorial habit tends to limit its dispersal and gene flow, and soil character often limits populations. Eastern moles are good swimmers and not limited by rivers, but heavy clay soils associated with some waterways may limit dispersal.
Eastern moles probably have a long lifespan, due to a paucity of predators and a low reproductive rate. The young are grayer than the adults and, with age, the skull flattens and the teeth display wear. Females live longer than males. Longevity has been estimated at 6 years with mark-recapture methods in South Carolina. In Kansas, longevity was estimated at greater than 3.5 years. The eastern mole is common in most of the United States, but populations in southern Texas and Mexico are considered extremely rare and possibly extinct.


The common rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) is a bentho-pelagic freshwater fish, widely spread in Europe and middle Asia, around the basins of the North, Baltic, Black, Caspian and Aral seas.


It has been artificially introduced to Ireland, United States, Morocco, Madagascar, Norway, Tunisia, New Zealand, Canada and Spain.
Rudd have been found in the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  This list may not include all states containing an introduced population of rudd. Rudd were illegally introduced into New Zealand in the 1960s and have been actively spread around the country. They have the potential to irreversibly damage indigenous ecosystems.


Scathophaga stercoraria, commonly known as the yellow dung fly  or the golden dung fly, is one of the most familiar and abundant flies in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere. As its common name suggests, it is often found on the feces of large mammals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, deer, and wild boar, where it goes to breed. The distribution of S. stercoraria is likely influenced by human agriculture, especially in northern Europe and North America. The Scathophaga are integral in the animal kingdom due to their role in the natural decomposition of dung in fields. They are also very important in the scientific world due to their short life cycles and susceptibility to experimental manipulations; thus, they have contributed significant knowledge about animal behavior.


The sagebrush lizard, or sagebrush swift, (Sceloporus graciosus)  is a common species of phrynosomatid lizard found at mid to high altitudes in the western United States of America.  It belongs to the genus Sceloporus (spiny lizards) in the Phrynosomatidae family of reptiles.  Named after the sagebrush plants near which it is commonly found, the sagebrush lizard has keeled and spiny scales running along its dorsal surface.
The sagebrush lizard is similar to the western fence lizard, another Sceloporus species found in the western US.  The sagebrush lizard can be distinguished from the western fence lizard in that the former is on average smaller and has finer scales. The keeled dorsal scales are typically gray or tan, but can be a variety of colors.  The main (ground) color is broken by a lighter gray or tan stripe running down the center of the back (vertebral stripe) and two light stripes, one on either side of the lizard (dorsolateral stripes). S. graciosus will sometimes have orange markings on its sides.
Three regional races of the sagebrush lizard are recognized: the southern sagebrush lizard lives in Southern California, and the western and northern races are found in many western states, including Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Washington, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Arizona.


The geographic range of S. graciosus includes much of the western United States. It can be found throughout Utah, Nevada, southern Idaho, northern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, Texas, and western Colorado. It is also widely distributed throughout areas of Wyoming, Oregon, California, and Washington.  Isolated populations can be found in North Dakota and Nebraska.  The sagebrush lizard has been found to live at elevations ranging from 500 to 10,500 ft (150 to 3,200 m).


Sagebrush lizards are important prey for a variety of vertebrate species in the western United States. Snakes, especially striped whipsnakes and night snakes, are the main predators of the lizards, but birds of prey also consume them in large quantities.  Smaller carnivorous mammals and domesticated cats also prey on them. As of September 2020, a Trump administration proposal could open lands to more energy development and other activities. The rare dunes sagebrush lizard in western Texas and eastern New Mexico in areas where oil fields might be developed could be affected by this Federal change to the Endangered Species Act.


Sceloporus grammicus is a species of lizard from Mexico and the southern United States. It is sometimes referred to as the mesquite lizard or graphic spiny lizard.


In the United States it is found in the states of Arizona, California, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. It is also found in the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango.


The emerald swift is found from Mexico's Yucatan region, to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.


The western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is a common lizard of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area.  As the ventral abdomen of an adult is characteristically blue, it is also known as the blue-belly.


The eastern fence lizard is found in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Delaware, northern Florida, southern Wyoming, northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and southeastern New York. It prefers open woodland and the edges of forests.
There are some introduced populations of eastern fence lizards, the most well known in Staten Island, New York. In 1942, Carl Kauffeld released 29 of the lizards near Rossville where they still persist today in post oak-blackjack oak barrens. This introduction was done so Kauffeld could have an easy source of food for the lizard-eating snakes at the Staten Island Zoo, as he would otherwise have to drive to the Pine Barrens to collect the lizards for the snakes. There have also been sightings of the fence lizards in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York (in the Hudson Valley and Long Island), suggesting that their range may be expanding north.
Despite its broad geographic distribution, these lizards tend to prefer temperatures that optimize their digestive performance. Their locomotive performance is optimal at ranges of 28–38 °C and 25–36 °C.


Sceloporus uniformis, also known as the yellow-backed spiny lizard, is a reptile of the family Phrynosomatidae. It is native to the Mojave and Great Basin deserts. Until recently, it was considered to be a subspecies of Sceloporus magister.


Schinus molle is native to the arid zone of northern South America and Peru's Andean deserts, extending to central Argentina and central Chile. It has, however, become widely naturalized around the world. It is known for its strong wood used for saddles, and was one of the Spanish colonies' supply sources for saddles. It has also been used for spice production, but is mainly planted as an ornamental tree.S. molle is a drought-tolerant, long-lived, hardy evergreen species that has become a serious invasive weed internationally.
In South Africa, for example, S. molle has invaded savanna and grasslands and become naturalized along drainage lines and roadsides in semi-desert. It is also invasive throughout much of Australia in a range of habitats from grasslands to dry open forest and coastal areas, as well as railway sidings and abandoned farms.


Red drum naturally occur along the eastern and southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. They are a highly prized game fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Aquaculture activities involving them occur around the world. Immature red drum prefer grass marsh areas of bays and estuaries when available. Both younger mature red drum (3-6 years of age) and bull red drum prefer rocky outcroppings including jetties and manmade structures, such as oil rigs and bridge posts. Around this type of structure, they are found throughout the water column.


The ground skink is found throughout much of the Eastern United States, from New Jersey, Ohio , and Kansas south to Texas and Florida, as well as into northern Mexico. More recently, it has been sighted in southern New York State. It is absent from higher elevations in the Appalachian Mountains. It is one of the most abundant and widely distributed members of the skink family.


Scleranthus annuus is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names German knotweed and annual knawel. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and it is known throughout the rest of the temperate world as an introduced species and a common weed. It grows in many types of habitat, often in disturbed areas.


The American woodcock (Scolopax minor), sometimes colloquially referred to as the timberdoodle, the bogsucker, the hokumpoke, and the Labrador twister, is a small shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America. Woodcocks spend most of their time on the ground in brushy, young-forest habitats, where the birds' brown, black, and gray plumage provides excellent camouflage.
Because of the male woodcock's unique, beautiful courtship flights, the bird is welcomed as a harbinger of spring in northern areas. It is also a popular game bird, with about 540,000 killed annually by some 133,000 hunters in the U.S.
The American woodcock is the only species of woodcock inhabiting North America. Although classified with the sandpipers and shorebirds in Family Scolopacidae, the American woodcock lives mainly in upland settings. Its many folk names include timberdoodle, bogsucker, night partridge, brush snipe, hokumpoke, and becasse.
The population of the American woodcock has fallen by an average of slightly more than 1% annually since the 1960s. Most authorities attribute this decline to a loss of habitat caused by forest maturation and urban development.
In 2008, wildlife biologists and conservationists released an American Woodcock Conservation Plan presenting figures for the acreage of early successional habitat that must be created and maintained in the U.S. and Canada to stabilize the woodcock population at current levels, and to return it to 1970s densities.


The primary breeding range extends from Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick) west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to northern Virginia, western North Carolina, Kentucky, northern Tennessee, northern Illinois, Missouri, and eastern Kansas. A limited number of woodcock breed as far south as Florida and Texas. The species may be expanding its distribution northward and westward.