As a flightless species in the rich biozone of the African savanna, the common ostrich must face a variety of formidable predators throughout its life cycle. Animals that prey on ostriches of all ages may include cheetahs, lions, leopards, African hunting dogs, spotted hyenas, and Nile crocodiles. Common ostriches can often outrun most of their predators in a pursuit, so most predators will try to ambush an unsuspecting bird using obstructing vegetation or other objects. A notable exception is the cheetah, which is the most prolific predator of adult common ostriches due to its own great running speeds. Usually, ostrich hunt is done by male cheetah's coalitions in the Kalahari region during the night, when ostrich's vigilance is less effective. Cheetahs in other regions rarely hunt ostrich, but the exceptional coalition, which is composed of three East African cheetahs has been reported in Kenya. Similarly, lions hunt ostriches mainly in the Kalahari region and not in other regions, or make up a very low percentage of their prey. Overall, due to their speed, vigilance, and possibly dangerous kick, ostriches are significantly avoided by most predators, including lions, leopards, wild dogs, and cheetahs.
Predators of nests and young common ostriches include jackals, various birds of prey, warthogs, mongoose, and Egyptian vultures. Egyptian vultures have been known to hurl stones at ostrich eggs to crack them open so they can eat their contents. If the nest or young are threatened, either or both of the parents may create a distraction, feigning injury. However, they may sometimes fiercely fight predators, especially when chicks are being defended, and have been capable of killing humans, hyenas, and even lions in such confrontations.


Common ostriches formerly occupied Africa north and south of the Sahara, East Africa, Africa south of the rainforest belt, and much of Asia Minor. Today common ostriches prefer open land and are native to the savannas and Sahel of Africa, both north and south of the equatorial forest zone. In southwest Africa they inhabit the semi-desert or true desert. Farmed common ostriches in Australia have established feral populations. The Arabian ostriches in the Near and Middle East were hunted to extinction by the middle of the 20th century. Attempts to reintroduce the common ostrich into Israel have failed. Common ostriches have occasionally been seen inhabiting islands on the Dahlak Archipelago, in the Red Sea near Eritrea.
Research conducted by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in India found molecular evidence that ostriches lived in India 25,000 years ago. DNA tests on fossilized eggshells recovered from eight archaeological sites in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh found 92% genetic similarity between the eggshells and the North African ostrich, so these could have been fairly distant relatives.
Ostriches are farmed in Australia. Many escaped, however, and feral ostriches now roam the Australian outback.


Common ostriches usually weigh from 63 to 145 kilograms (139–320 lb), or as much as one to two adult humans. The Masai ostriches of East Africa (S. c. massaicus) average 115 kg (254 lb) in males and 100 kg (220 lb) in females, while the nominate subspecies, the North African ostrich (S. c. camelus), was found to average 111 kg (245 lb) in unsexed adults. Exceptional male ostriches (in the nominate subspecies) can weigh up to 156.8 kg (346 lb). At sexual maturity (two to four years), male common ostriches can be from 2.1 to 2.8 m (6 ft 11 in to 9 ft 2 in) in height, while female common ostriches range from 1.7 to 2.0 m (5 ft 7 in to 6 ft 7 in) tall. New chicks are fawn in color, with dark brown spots. During the first year of life, chicks grow at about 25 cm (10 in) per month. At one year of age, common ostriches weigh approximately 45 kilograms (100 lb). Their lifespan is typically 40–45 years.
The feathers of adult males are mostly black, with white primaries and a white tail. However, the tail of one subspecies is buff. Females and young males are grayish-brown and white. The head and neck of both male and female ostriches is nearly bare, with a thin layer of down. The skin of the female's neck and thighs is pinkish gray, while the male's is gray or pink dependent on subspecies.
The long neck and legs keep their head up to 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) above the ground, and their eyes are said to be the largest of any land vertebrate – 50 mm (2 in) in diameter – helping them to see predators at a great distance. The eyes are shaded from sunlight from above. However, the head and bill are relatively small for the birds' huge size, with the bill measuring 12 to 14.3 cm (4+3⁄4 to 5+3⁄4 in).
Their skin varies in color depending on the subspecies, with some having light or dark gray skin and others having pinkish or even reddish skin. The strong legs of the common ostrich are unfeathered and show bare skin, with the tarsus (the lowest upright part of the leg) being covered in scales: red in the male, black in the female. The tarsus of the common ostrich is the largest of any living bird, measuring 39 to 53 cm (15+1⁄2 to 21 in) in length. The bird has just two toes on each foot (most birds have four), with the nail on the larger, inner toe resembling a hoof. The outer toe has no nail. The reduced number of toes is an adaptation that appears to aid in running, useful for getting away from predators. Common ostriches can run at a speed over 70 km/h (40 mph) and can cover 3 to 5 m (10 to 15 ft) in a single stride. The wings reach a span of about two metres (6+1⁄2 ft), and the wing chord measurement of 90 cm (35 in) is around the same size as for the largest flying birds.
The feathers lack the tiny hooks that lock together the smooth external feathers of flying birds, and so are soft and fluffy and serve as insulation. Common ostriches can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. In much of their habitat, temperatures vary as much as 40 °C (70 °F) between night and day. Their temperature control relies in part on behavioral thermoregulation.  For example, they use their wings to cover the naked skin of the upper legs and flanks to conserve heat, or leave these areas bare to release heat. The wings also function as stabilizers to give better maneuverability when running. Tests have shown that the wings are actively involved in rapid braking, turning, and zigzag maneuvers. They have 50–60 tail feathers, and their wings have 16 primary, four alular, and 20–23 secondary feathers.
The common ostrich's sternum is flat, lacking the keel to which wing muscles attach in flying birds. The beak is flat and broad, with a rounded tip. Like all ratites, the ostrich has no crop, and it also lacks a gallbladder and the caecum is 71 cm (28 in). Unlike all other living birds, the common ostrich secretes urine separately from feces. All other birds store the urine and feces combined in the coprodeum, but the ostrich stores the feces in the terminal rectum. They also have unique pubic bones that are fused to hold their gut. Unlike most birds, the males have a copulatory organ, which is retractable and 20 cm (8 in) long. Their palate differs from other ratites in that the sphenoid and palatal bones are unconnected.


The greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from the Aridoamerica region in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The scientific name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along with the lesser roadrunner, it is one of two species in the genus Geococcyx. This roadrunner is also known as the chaparral cock, ground cuckoo, and snake killer.


Because of the greater roadrunner's diurnal nature and arid habitat, it has various biological and behavioral adaptations, known as thermoregulation, to reduce dehydration and overheating. During the hot season, it is active mostly from sunrise to mid-morning, and late afternoon to evening. It rests in the shade during the hottest part of the day. Body water may be retained via liquid reabsorption, by the mucous membranes in the cloaca, rectum and caecum. The roadrunner's nasal glands eliminate excess body salts.
The greater roadrunner reduces excess heat by the formation of water vapor, released by breathing or through the skin. It sometimes pants in heavy heat, to accelerate this action. At night, it reduces its energy expenditure by more than 30 percent, lowering its body temperature from 40 to 34 °C (104 to 93 °F). In the morning, it accelerates heat recovery by sunbathing. In winter, it takes refuge in dense vegetation or among rocks to shelter from cold winds.
The roadrunner frequently sunbathes for warmth. It turns perpendicular to the ground with its back turned towards the sun. Wings apart, the roadrunner ruffles the black feathers on its back and head, exposing its black skin, allowing both skin and feathers to absorb the heat of the sun's rays. Early in the morning, it can stay in this posture for two or three hours. In winter, when the temperatures are around 20 °C (68 °F), roadrunners may warm themselves in the sun several times during the day, more than half an hour at a time.


This bird walks around rapidly, running down prey. It feeds mainly on small animals including insects, spiders (including black widows), tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, mice, small birds, including hummingbirds, and especially lizards and small snakes. Venomous serpents, including small rattlesnakes, are readily consumed. Early accounts recount the story that when the roadrunner "sees a rattlesnake, it will gather pieces of cactus and put them around the snake, in such manner that escape is impossible."


The greater roadrunner is found in the Aridoamerica ecoregion, within the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It can be seen regularly in the US states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Oklahoma, and less frequently in Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri, as well as the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Querétaro, México, Puebla, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí. The species is not migratory.
The greater roadrunner can be found from 60 m (200 ft) below sea level to 2,300 m (7,500 ft) (rarely up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft)). It occupies arid and semiarid scrubland, with scattered vegetation (typically less than 50% cover) with a height of less than 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in).


The roadrunner is about 52–62 cm (20–24 in) long, has a 43–61 cm (17–24 in) wingspan and weighs 221–538 g (7.8–19.0 oz). It stands around 25–30 cm (9+3⁄4–11+3⁄4 in) tall and is the largest cuckoo of the Americas. The upper body is mostly brown with black streaks and sometimes pink spots. The neck and upper breast are white or pale brown with dark brown streaks, and the belly is white. A crest of brown feathers sticks up on the head, and a bare patch of orange and blue skin lies behind each eye; the blue is replaced by white in adult males (except the blue adjacent to the eye), and the orange (to the rear) is often hidden by feathers. Males and females have identical plumage. Females are slightly smaller, on average 2 cm (3⁄4 in) shorter and 30 g (1.1 oz) lighter than males. The long stout beak is grayish brown to gray and has a hooked tip. Roadrunners have four toes on each zygodactyl foot; two face forward, and two face backward. The toes are brown in color and have pale gold spots.
Although capable of limited flight, it spends most of its time on the ground, and can run at speeds up to 32 km/h (20 mph). Cases where roadrunners have run as fast as 42 km/h (26 mph) have been reported. This is the fastest running speed clocked for a flying bird, but not nearly as fast as the 70 km/h (40 mph) of the flightless and much larger ostrich.


The moon wrasse (Thalassoma lunare) also known as the crescent wrasse or lyretail wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.  It is an inhabitant of coral reefs and surrounding areas at depths from 1 to 20 m (3.3 to 65.6 ft).  Moon wrasses are carnivorous and tend to prey on fish eggs and small sea-floor dwelling invertebrates.  This species can reach  45 cm (18 in) in total length.  It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can also be found in the aquarium trade.
The juvenile is blue on the lower half of its body, with a black spot in the middle of the dorsal fin and a black blotch on the caudal fin base. As it matures, the spot turns into a yellow crescent, hence the name. The body is green, with prominently marked scales. Coloration of the head ranges from blue to magenta, with a broken checkerboard pattern.
Moon wrasses are active fish, said to be moving all day long. They are also territorial, nipping, chasing, and otherwise harassing fish that get in their way.
Being diurnal, wrasses have strong vision, although they also have a decent sense of smell. At night, they rest in niches often under rocks or other such structures. If needed, a moon wrasse may dig out space under a rock by repeatedly swimming through it until it fits without struggle.
They are  protogynous hermaphrodites, all starting off as females and changing to males, a process which, for the moon wrasse, takes only 10 days. Some moon wrasses live in groups consisted of a dominant male, and a "harem" of about a dozen other wrasses, some female and some male. The alpha male is more brightly colored, and at every low tide hour, changes from green to blue, and goes into a show of attacking and nipping all the other wrasses. This is his way of showing his dominance to the rest of the males and keeping the females in check. During breeding season and before high tide, the alpha male turns completely blue, gathers up every single female, and the spawning frenzy begins.
Moon wrasses may live up to a decade in captivity, although this is shorter in the wild. They are popular fish in the aquarium trade, due to their hardiness, bright colors, and engaging behavior. They are renowned for their ability to tolerate spikes in nitrite, and eat bristle worms, which can be an aquarium pest.


With a wingspan of 43–55 mm, E. hortaria is one of the larger geometer moths. There are two forms, one being "Dendraria" and the other being "Carbonaria". The Dendraria has a broader median with subterminal lines while the Carbonaria is darker with white edging. The thick bodied caterpillar has a swollen 3rd thoracic segment. The caterpillar is gray to brown with darker markings, faint pinstripes and orange spiracles.


Epimecis hortaria, the tulip-tree beauty, is a moth species of the Ennominae subfamily found in North America. It is found throughout New England south to Florida and west to Texas and Missouri. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. It can be seen flying from late March to early October. Adults are nocturnal and attracted to lights. The immature caterpillars can be found feeding on Magnolia, Asimina, Populus, Sassafras and Liriodendron.


This species can be found mainly in northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul and southern part of the Pantanal.
It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Chile. In Brazil, it has been introduced to various places outside its historical range, as in the Tietê Ecological Park in São Paulo.


This species mainly feed on seeds (of Chloris virgata, Eleusine tristachya, Setaria parviflora and Spergula villosa), fruits (of Celtis tala, Grabowskia duplicata, Holmbergia tweedii, Morus alba, and Sapium haematospermum), insects and small arthropods, generally searched for on the ground in pairs or small groups. Average lifespan is about 3.8 years.


Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and heavily degraded former forest, at an elevation up to 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level. It often occurs close to rivers, marshes and lakes.


Palthis angulalis, the dark-spotted palthis, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1796. It is found from Newfoundland west to coastal British Columbia, south to Florida and Texas.
The wingspan is 20–26 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August in Alberta. There are two generations in much of the eastern part of its range, three or more generations from Missouri southward.
The larvae feed on various plants, including forbs, woody shrubs and trees (alder, aster, basswood, birch, chestnut, fir, sweetgale, goldenrod, ninebark, rhododendron, scrub oak and spruce).


Crested ducks are endemic to South America. The two subspecies occupy different elevations in the Andes, with Lophonetta s. alticola occurring from 2500-4800m from Peru to central Chile and Lophonetta s. specularioides occurring below 1500m in the southern Andes near Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. The two subspecies co-occur in a zone of intermediate elevational habitats in Mendoza, Argentina and Talca, Chile.
The crested duck is found in lakes, marshes, and grassy areas from shallow coastal bays to high elevation lakes. In the Altiplano, they gather in turbid, alkaline lakes with large concentrations of zooplankton. They reside in sheltered bays and on beaches along the coast, where they forage for clams and other marine amphipods among rocks and kelp beds


Crested ducks are dabbling ducks, which means they sieve through mud, silt, or gravel to find macroinvertebrates. Their diet, which is highly dependent on habitat, ranges from zooplankton, clams, kelp, and other macroinvertebrates.


Nesting birds are found almost throughout the year, depending on location within the range of crested duck. In the high elevations of the Andes, active nests can be found throughout the summer from October to April. The season is shorter in Patagonia and the Falklands, with nests found from September to January. Two broods per year are common, but three may occur as well.
Nests are on the ground, close to water and usually built among grass or ferns for reduced visibility. Eggs are cream colored, and a clutch may have from five to eight eggs. The incubation period lasts about 30 days. Only the female incubates the eggs, but males play an important role in the ducklings early development. Crested Ducks are monogamous and mating pairs exhibit high levels of cooperation which allow the species to live in proximity to other species such as gulls and skuas.


The crested duck is a medium-sized waterfowl species, with adult males reaching up to just over a kilogram. Males and females look similar, with males having a slightly more prominent crest than females. The feathers of the mantle, back and scapulars are dark brown with pale centers, giving a mottled appearance. The abdomen, flanks and tail coverts are light gray, with the tail itself being distinctly elongated and black. The upperwing is gray brown to light brown, with the secondaries having an iridescent coppery to greenish sheen, with a broad back band behind, narrowly edged with white. Juveniles are similar but lack crests, have light brown faces, and paler abdomens than adults.


The species' range is from North Carolina to Florida, the Gulf states of North America, including Louisiana and Texas; and further south to the east coast of Mexico, including Campeche State, Yucatán State and Quintana Roo. It may also occur in Brazil.


Like all olives, the lettered olive is a carnivore: it captures bivalves and small crustaceans with its foot and takes them below the sand surface to digest.
Its presence is sometimes detected at very low tides by the trails it leaves when it crawls below the surface on semi-exposed sand flats.
Females lay floating, round egg capsules that are often found in beach drift. Young are free swimming.


The shell of this species can be about 6 cm (2+1⁄4 in) long (maximum reported size reaches 9.1 cm). It is a smooth, shiny, cylindrical-shaped shell with a short spire. The aperture is narrow and extending almost the length of shell, continuing around the bottom and ending in a notch on the other side. The suture is V-cut and deep. The lower part of the whorl is just above where the suture extends outward and then at a sharp shoulder drops into the suture.
The shell coloration can vary from cream to a greyish exterior with reddish-brown zigzag markings. The common name of this species is derived from the darker surface markings that sometimes resemble letters.


The lettered olive typically lives in near-shore waters, on shallow sand flats near inlets. The empty shell is occasionally, or sometimes commonly, washed up onto ocean beaches.


Black bullheads are found throughout the central United States, often in stagnant or slow-moving waters with soft bottoms.  They have been known to congregate in confined spaces, such as lake outlets or under dams. They are very tolerant fish, and are able to live in muddy water, with warmer temperatures and in water with lower levels of oxygen, which reduce competition from other fish.
Black bullheads also occur as an invasive species in large parts of Europe.


They are omnivorous, so eat almost anything, from grains and other plant matter to insects, dead or living fish, and crustaceans. Midge larvae and other young insects are the primary diet for adult bullheads. Black bullheads have been known to eat small fish and fish eggs as well. They have short, pointed, conical teeth, formed in multiple rows called cardiform teeth. Black bullheads have no scales; instead, they have about 100,000 taste receptors placed all over their bodies. Many of these are located on the barbels near their mouths. The receptors help the fish to identify food in their dark habitats. During the winter, black bullheads decrease food intake, and may stop eating altogether. Instead, they bury themselves around the shore line of the lake in debris, with only their gills exposed. This "hibernation" allows them to survive conditions of low oxygen and low temperature.


Considered rough fish, black bullheads are not as popular for sport fishing as their larger relatives, channel catfish, blue catfish, and flat head catfish. However, they have pale flesh and make excellent table fare when water quality is good despite their small size. As with channel catfish, the flesh around the bellies and gills of larger individuals can be strong tasting due to yellow fat, but these flavors can be avoided by removing the fatty portions of a large specimen when cleaning.  They are the largest of the bullheads and are one of several catfish informally referred to as mud catfish.
They have been introduced in many areas of the US because of their ability to survive (and even thrive) in less than ideal conditions, but they are seldom used in active stocking programs due to their relatively low desirability. Fisheries experts tend to not recommend them because they compete with bluegill and channel catfish for food and do not grow as fast or get as big as channel catfish.  For that reason, finding them commercially for pond stocking is difficult.  That said, in clean water, meat quality is very good, and unlike channel catfish, black bullheads reproduce and indefinitely maintain healthy populations without restocking in ponds populated with bass and crappie.  In fact, as with bluegill, a pond with black bullhead in it needs a predator species such as bass to keep the bullhead population under control.  Due to their ability to reproduce in a pond with bass, bullheads are the best catfish for mixed-species ponds that are not fished out and restocked regularly.
Black bullheads can be caught using similar techniques as for channel or blue catfish, although their small size may require smaller bait and hooks. They respond well to earthworms and tend to feed higher up in the water column than channel catfish.  Like most catfish, they are most active at night, and tend to be less active during the day, bedding under piers or in shady shore areas.
In some areas of little to no fishing pressure, black bullheads have been found to be more aggressive and have been caught while casting and retrieving metal spoon lures.


The black bullhead or black bullhead catfish (Ameiurus melas) is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels located near its mouth, a broad head, spiny fins, and no scales. It can be identified from other bullheads as the barbels are black, and it has a tan crescent around the tail. Its caudal fin is truncated (squared off at the corners). Like virtually all catfish, it is nocturnal, preferring to feed at night, although young feed during the day.  It generally does not get as large as the channel or blue catfish, with average adult weights are in the 1- to 2-lb range, and almost never as large as 4 lb. It has a typical length of 8-14 in, with the largest specimen being 24 in, making it the largest of the bullheads. It is typically black or dark brown on the dorsal side of its body and yellow or white on the ventral side.
Like most of the bullheads (and even flathead catfish), it has a squared tail fin, which is strikingly different from the forked tail of channel and blue catfish. It is a bottom-rover fish, meaning it is well-adapted for bottom living. It is typically dorsoventrally flattened, and has a slightly humped back.  Its color depends on the area where it is taken, but it generally is darker than brown or yellow bullheads. It can be distinguished from a flathead in that the black bullhead's lower lip does not protrude past the upper lip.  Distinguishing it from the brown bullhead is a bit more difficult, depending on the area where it is caught, but a distinguishing detail between the two includes a nearly smooth pectoral spine on the black bullhead with the brown being strongly barbed. The anal fin also has a gray base, and the tail also has a pale bar. Also, the brown bullhead generally has 21 to 24 soft rays through its anal fin as opposed to the black bullhead's 17 to 21. The brown bullhead is also typically mottled brown and green on top instead of the darker black. Both the black and brown bullheads can easily be distinguished from the yellow bullhead as the yellow bullhead has white barbels under its mouth.


Giant cuttlefish also known as the  Australian giant cuttlefish (scientific name Sepia apama), is the world's largest cuttlefish species, growing to 50 cm (20 in) in mantle length and over 10.5 kg (23 lb) in weight. Using cells known as chromatophores, the cuttlefish can put on spectacular displays, changing color in an instant. The giant cuttlefish is native to temperate and subtropical waters of Australia, from Brisbane in Queensland to Shark Bay in Western Australia and Tasmania to the south. It occurs on rocky reefs, seagrass beds, and sand and mud seafloor to a depth of 100 metres. In 2009 the species was listed at Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to an observed declining trend at that time.


The Australian giant cuttlefish is eaten by Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, which have been observed (in South Australia's Spencer Gulf) to have developed a technique for removing the ink and cuttlebone from a cuttlefish before eating it. They are also eaten by Long-nosed fur seals. Yellowtail kingfish are also known to eat cephalopods. This has raised concerns about Yellowtail kingfish escapees from commercial fish farms impacting other species in Spencer Gulf including eating emergent Giant Australian cuttlefish or their eggs.


The species is saprobic—deriving nutrients by decomposing and digesting organic matter—and grows in clusters or in groups on decaying leaf litter or well-decayed wood. It typically fruits in a narrow window from June to July; this spring and early summer fruiting distinguishes it from the more common Coprinus comatus and Coprinopsis atramentaria, which produce fruit bodies in late autumn. It is found in the United States, in areas east of the Great Plains.
Coprinopsis variegata can attack soil bacteria, such as species of Pseudomonas and Agrobacterium, and use them as nutrient sources. The fungus achieves this by growing specialized hyphae in the direction of the bacteria, sensing them with some chemoattractive mechanism not yet fully understood. The fungus then secretes compounds to digest the bacteria while growing assimilative hyphae to absorb the nutrients. The process is relatively rapid, and bacterial colonies can be assimilated in less than 24 hours.


The cap of C. variegata is thin, initially oval-shaped then bell-shaped, and then flattened with the margin turned upward; it reaches diameters of up to 12 in (30.5 cm). When young, the surface of the cap is covered with a woolly whitish or yellowish veil that breaks up into short-lived flakes or scales; this process reveals the radially striate (grooved) gray to grayish-brown cap surface. The gills are broad, thin, crowded closely together, and free from attachment to the stem. They are initially white but turn to dark purplish-brown as the spores mature. The stem is 4 to 12 in (10.2 to 30.5 cm) and up to 1 cm (0.4 in) thick, hollow, and whitish. It is roughly the same width throughout the length of the stem, and may have a wispy, cotton-like ring present near the base. Clusters of fruit bodies have a mass of rhizomorphs at the base called an ozonium.
In deposit, the spores are dark brown. A light microscope may be used to reveal more features of the spores, including smooth surfaces, a dark brown color, an ellipsoid shape in face view and an egg shape in side view, and dimensions of 7.5–9.5 by 4–4.5 µm. The apex of the spore appears truncated because of the presence of a germ pore. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are hyaline (translucent), with dimensions of 14–16 by 6.5–7.5 µm. The paraphyses are 9–11 by 8–10 µm, hyaline, and collapse readily. The pleurocystidia (cystidia present on the gill face) are abundant, roughly cylindrical, hyaline, and measure 100–150 by 20–35 µm. Cheilocystidia (cystidia on the edge of an gill) are present in young specimens, and are roughly ellipsoid, measuring 50–80 by 15–25 µm.  Clamp connections are abundant in the hyphae in all tissues through the fruit body.
The edibility of Coprinopsis variegata has not been clearly established, and opinions differ as to its desirability. One 1987 field guide to North American species warns against consumption, calling it "not recommended", a conclusion shared in a 2006 field guide to Pennsylvanian and mid-Atlantic mushrooms, but not before describing it as "the best of the inky caps, with a richer flavor and better texture than the famous shaggy mane". The bitter-tasting mushroom is not considered poisonous. However, the fruit bodies are suspected to contain the Antabuse-like chemical coprine, which causes a poisoning reaction when consumed with alcohol. Coprine has also been linked to testicular lesions in rats and dogs. Additionally, cases of allergic reactions against extracts from mushroom tissues have been reported in skin tests. Cases of gastric upset have also been reported.


Woodlouse spiders are usually found under logs, rocks, bricks, plant pots and in leaf litter in warm places, often close to woodlice. They have also been found in houses. They spend the day in a silken retreat made to enclose crevices in, generally, partially decayed wood, but sometimes construct tent-like structures in indents of various large rocks. Woodlouse spiders hunt at night and do not spin webs. Rather than spinning their webs at night, they use this time to search warm places for prey.
Their diet consists principally of woodlice which—despite their tough exoskeleton—are pierced easily by the spider's large chelicerae; the spider usually stabs and injects venom into the woodlouse's soft underbelly while avoiding any noxious defensive chemicals. The Woodlouse Spider’s powerful jaws are made to impale the thick armor of woodlice and are strong enough to give humans a painful bite. Although the Woodlouse Spider is a dangerous predator to woodlice, it is not known to be a health hazard to humans or smaller animals. Laboratory experiments have shown D. crocata will take other invertebrates, and shows no particular preference for woodlice; these are simply the most common prey in its habitat. Other invertebrates preyed on by D. crocata include silverfish, earwigs, millipedes, burying beetles and crickets. This small but relatively large-fanged spider is very well equipped to prey on underground invertebrates of almost any kind.
Because of its relatively large fangs and wide gape, the woodlouse spider is an unusually dominant predator for its size. Like many other Dysdera spiders, it frequently dominates, and sometimes kills, other spiders and centipedes.
The courtship of these spiders is typically aggressive and mates risk injury from each other's large chelicerae. The female lays her eggs in a silken sac and is believed to look after her young after hatching. These hiding places serve as a nest for the female's sac which can carry up to 70 eggs.
They have been known to bite humans if handled. Verified bites have caused no major medical problems. Localized itchiness at the bite site has been reported in some cases.


Adult females have a body length of 11–15 mm (0.43–0.59 in), males 9–10 mm (0.35–0.39 in). They have six eyes, a tawny orange to dark-red cephalothorax and legs, and a shiny (sometimes very shiny) pale beige to yellow-brown abdomen, sometimes dark grey. Notably, they have disproportionately large chelicerae for a spider of this size. Dysdera crocata is difficult to distinguish from the much less common Dysdera erythrina, although this species is not often found near human habitation.


The woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata) is a species of spider that preys primarily upon woodlice. Other common names refer to variations on the common name of its prey, including woodlouse hunter, sowbug hunter, sowbug killer, pillbug hunter and slater spider.


Cryptoporus volvatus is a polypore fungus that decomposes the rotting sapwood of conifers. It is an after effect of attack by the pine bark beetle. The fungus was originally described by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck in 1875 as Polyporus volvatus. Cornelius Lott Shear transferred it to the genus Cryptoporus in 1902. The species is inedible.
The fruiting body is 2–6 across, and cream or tan in color. A hole is either torn by insects or a tear appears on the underside. The spores are pinkish.


Unlike other loons/divers, this bird may migrate in flocks. It winters at sea, mainly on the Pacific coast, or on large lakes over a much wider range, including China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, United States and Mexico. It has occurred as a vagrant to Greenland, Hong Kong, Great Britain, Spain, Finland and Switzerland (Dec 2015).


This species, like all divers/loons, is a specialist fish-eater, catching its prey underwater. It also forages in groups, usually swimming under schools of fish and forcing them up towards the surface. It does, although, generally feed closer to the shore than other loons.


The Pacific loon constructs its nest on the ground near deep lakes. This nest is made out of piled-up vegetation.
This loon lays a clutch of one to two light buff or green eggs with brown spots of various sizes. These eggs typically measure 76 by 47 millimetres (3.0 by 1.9 in). Although the eggs are laid a few days a part, they can usually be seen to hatch at intervals not more than a day. Incubation lasts 23 to 25 days.


Breeding adults are like a smaller sleeker version of common loon. They measure 58–74 cm (23–29 in) in length, 110–128 cm (43–50 in) in wingspan and weigh 1–2.5 kg (2.2–5.5 lb). They have a grey head, black throat, white underparts and chequered black-and-white mantle. The black throat has purple reflections. Non-breeding plumage is drabber with the chin and foreneck white. Its bill is grey or whitish and dagger-shaped.
In all plumages, lack of a white flank patch distinguishes this species from the otherwise very similar black-throated loon. The Pacific loon can be differentiated from the red-throated loon in winter by the latter's paler look, the fact that the red-throated loon has less of a contrast between both the crown and hindneck and the throat, and the bill that looks to be upturned.
Like other gaviiformes, the Pacific loon's legs are located towards the back of its body making it difficult for it to walk on land. The leg placement helps the loons efficiently forage for food underwater. The physiological structure of the Pacific loon makes taking off from land practically impossible, and the loon requires 30-50 yards on the water to successfully attain flight. This distance requirement for takeoff limits the number of lakes the Pacific loon can realistically breed and forage on.


The first formal description of the common redstart was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla phoenicurus. The genus Phoenicurus was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817. The genus and species name phoenicurus is from Ancient Greek phoinix, "red", and -ouros -"tailed".
Two subspecies are accepted. The nominate P. p. phoenicurus is found all over Europe and reaches into Siberia. To the southeast, subspecies P. p. samamisicus is found from the Crimean Peninsula through Turkey, the Middle East, and into Central Asia. It is slightly smaller than P. p. phoenicurus and in adult males has white outer webs in the remiges to some extent, forming a pale to whitish wing-patch similar to the one seen in black redstart and Daurian redstart. This patch is also present but less conspicuous in immature males, and sometimes in adult females. The subspecies intergrade widely in Turkey and the southern Balkans.
The closest genetic relative of the common redstart may be the Moussier's redstart, though incomplete sampling of the genus gives some uncertainty to this. Its ancestors were apparently the first redstarts to spread to Europe; they seem to have diverged from the black redstart group about 3 mya, during the Piacenzian. Genetically, common and black redstarts are still fairly compatible and can produce hybrids that appear to be healthy and fertile, but they are separated by different behaviour and ecological requirements so hybrids are very rare in nature.


It is a summer visitor throughout most of Europe and western Asia (east to Lake Baikal), and also in northwest Africa in Morocco. It winters in central Africa and Arabia, south of the Sahara Desert but north of the Equator, from Senegal east to Yemen. It is widespread as a breeding bird in Great Britain, particularly in upland broadleaf woodlands and hedgerow trees, but in Ireland it is very local, and may not breed every year.
The males first arrive in early to mid April, often a few days in advance of the females. Five or six light blue eggs are laid during May, with a second brood in mid summer in the south of the breeding range. It departs for Africa between mid-August and early October. It often feeds like a flycatcher, making aerial sallies after passing insects, and most of its food consists of winged insects. The call is chat-like and the alarm a plaintive single note, wheet, like that of many other chats.
The male's song is similar to that of the robin, but never more than a prelude, since it has an unfinished, feeble ending.
Common redstarts are sometimes parasitized by common cuckoos. Surprisingly, redstart chicks did not suffer from sharing the nest with a cuckoo chick. The presence of a cuckoo might even be beneficial for the nestlings. The large size of the cuckoo chick affects the thermoregulation in the nest. In some sense, the cuckoo chick is ‘brooding’ the redstart nestlings. Moreover, food provision might be better for redstart chicks in a mixed brood.


Common redstarts prefer open mature birch and oak woodland with a high horizontal visibility and low amounts of shrub and understorey especially where the trees are old enough to have holes suitable for its nest. They prefer to nest on the edge of woodland clearings. In Britain it occurs primarily in upland areas less affected by agricultural intensification, but further east in Europe also commonly in lowland areas, including parks and old gardens in urban areas. They nest in natural tree holes, so dead trees or those with dead limbs are beneficial to the species; nestboxes are sometimes used. A high cover of moss and lichen is also preferred. They also use mature open conifer woodland, particularly in the north of the breeding range. Management to thin out the trees is thus favoured.
In England, where it has declined by 55% in the past 25 years, the Forestry Commission offers grants under a scheme called England's Woodland Improvement Grant (EWIG); as does  Natural Englands Environmental Stewardship Scheme. It is a very rare breeding bird in Ireland, with between one and five pairs breeding in most years, nearly all of them in County Wicklow.


The common redstart shows some affinity to the European robin in many of its habits and actions. It has the same general carriage, and chat-like behaviour, and is the same length at 13–14.5 cm long but slightly slimmer and not quite as heavy, weighing 11–23 g. The orange-red tail, from which it and other redstarts get their names ("start" is an old word for "tail"), is frequently quivered. Among common European birds, only the black redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus) has a similarly coloured tail.
The male in summer has a slate-grey head and upperparts, except the rump and tail, which, like the flanks, underwing coverts and axillaries are orange-chestnut. The forehead is white; the sides of the face and throat are black. The wings and the two central tail feathers are brown, the other tail feathers bright orange-red. The orange on the flanks shades to almost white on the belly. The bill and legs are black. In autumn, pale feather fringes on the body feathering obscures the colours of the male, giving it a washed-out appearance. The female is browner, with paler underparts; it lacks the black and slate, and the throat is whitish.


The red-backed fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus) is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia and can be found near rivers and coastal areas along the northern and eastern coastlines from the Kimberley in the northwest to the Hunter Region in New South Wales. The male adopts a striking breeding plumage, with a black head, upperparts and tail, and a brightly coloured red back and brown wings. The female has brownish upperparts and paler underparts. The male in eclipse plumage and the juvenile resemble the female. Some males remain in non-breeding plumage while breeding. Two subspecies are recognised; the nominate M. m. melanocephalus of eastern Australia has a longer tail and orange back, and the short-tailed M. m. cruentatus from northern Australia has a redder back.
The red-backed fairywren mainly eats insects, and supplements its diet with seed and small fruit. The preferred habitat is heathland and savannah, particularly where low shrubs and tall grasses provide cover. It can be nomadic in areas where there are frequent bushfires, although pairs or small groups of birds maintain and defend territories year-round in other parts of its range. Groups consist of a socially monogamous pair with one or more helper birds who assist in raising the young. These helpers are progeny that have attained sexual maturity yet remain with the family group for one or more years after fledging. The red-backed fairywren is sexually promiscuous, and each partner may mate with other individuals and even assist in raising the young from such pairings. Older males in breeding plumage are more likely to engage in this behaviour than are those breeding in eclipse plumage. As part of a courtship display, the male wren plucks red petals from flowers and displays them to females.


Adults and their young may be preyed upon by mammals such as the feral cat and red fox, reptiles such as goannas, rodents, and native predatory birds, such as the Australian magpie, butcherbird species, blue-winged kookaburra, crows and ravens, and shrike-thrushes.


During the mating season, the male moults its brown feathers and displays a fiery red plumage. It may fluff out its red back and shoulder feathers so that they cover part of the wings in a puffball-display. It will fly about and confront another male to repel it, or to assert dominance over a female. It also picks red petals and sometimes red seeds and presents them to other birds. Ninety percent of the time, this is presented to a female in what appears to be a courtship ritual. In the remaining ten percent of instances, it presents to another male as an apparent act of aggression.
Over half the red-backed fairywrens in an area can be found in pairs during the mating season. This is apparently a defence against the resource-limited nature of the environment. It is more difficult to maintain a larger interdependent group during dry spells, so the birds try to stay in pairs or smaller groups, which include adults that help parents look after young. Paternity tests have shown that an older male with bright plumage has much more success in the mating season and can mate with more than one female. Accordingly, it has higher sperm storage and makes more mating overtures towards females. A male with browner and less bright plumage or a younger male with bright plumage has a much lower success rate than a bright, older male for mating. Further, an unpaired male serves as a helper to a mated pair in feeding and care of young. After the male pairs, his bill darkens within three weeks. This is much easier to control than plumage, as moulting takes time and is controlled by seasonality. The bill is vascular and much easier to change in response to the pairings.
The mating season lasts from August to February, and coincides with the arrival of the rainy season in northern Australia. The female does the bulk of the nest building, although the male does assist; this is not typical for other birds of the genus Malurus. Concealed in grass tussocks or low shrubs, the spherical nest is constructed of dried grasses and usually lined with smaller, finer grasses and hair. Nests examined in southeast Queensland tended to be larger and untidier than those in northern Australia; the former measured 12–15 centimetres (4.7–5.9 in) high by 9–12 centimetres (3.5–4.7 in) wide and bore a partly covered entrance of 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in) in diameter, whereas the latter average around 10–13 centimetres (3.9–5.1 in) in height by 6–8 centimetres (2.4–3.1 in) wide with a 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) entrance. Construction takes around one week, and there may be an interval of up to another seven days before eggs are laid. The eggs produced are white with reddish-brown spots in clutches of three to four, and measure 14.5–17 millimetres (0.57–0.67 in) × 10–13 millimetres (0.39–0.51 in); those of M. m. melanocephalus are a little larger than those of M. m. cruentatus. The eggs are incubated for two weeks by the female alone. The nestlings are hidden under cover for one week after hatching. The juveniles depend on parents and helpers for approximately one month. They learn to fly between 11–12 days after hatching. Broods hatched earlier in the season will help to raise the broods hatched later on. They will stay as a clutch group for the season after hatching.


The smallest member of the genus Malurus, the red-backed fairywren measures 11.5 centimetres (4.5 in) and weighs 5–10 g (0.18–0.35 oz), averaging around 8 g (0.28 oz). The tail is approximately 6 centimetres (2.4 in) long and is black in the breeding male, and brown in eclipse males, females, and juvenile birds. Averaging 8.6 mm (0.3 in), the bill is relatively long, narrow, pointed, and wider at the base. Wider than it is deep, the bill is similar in shape to those of other birds that feed by probing or picking insects off of their environs.
Like other fairywrens, the red-backed fairywren is notable for its marked sexual dimorphism; the male adopts full breeding plumage by the fourth year, later than all other fairywrens apart from the closely related white-winged fairywren. The male in breeding plumage has a black head and body with striking red back and brown wings. At other times it has a brown upper body and white underparts. Some males, mainly younger, remain in eclipse plumage while breeding. The female looks remarkably similar with a buff brown body and a yellowish spot under the eye. The female of this species differs from those of other fairywren species in that it lacks a blue tint in the tail. Geographically, it follows Gloger's rule; female birds have whiter bellies and paler brown upperparts inland in sunnier climates. Juveniles of both sexes look very similar to females.


The little tern (Sternula albifrons) is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of Sterna, "tern". The specific albifrons is from Latin albus, "white", and "frons", forehead. The former North American (S. a. antillarum) and Red Sea S. a. saundersi subspecies are now considered to be separate species, the least tern (Sternula antillarum) and Saunders's tern (Sternula saundersi).
This bird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropical Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia.
There are three subspecies, the nominate albifrons occurring in Europe to North Africa and western Asia; guineae of western and central Africa; and sinensis of East Asia (SE Russia to Japan, SE Asia, Philippines) and the north and east coasts of Australia and New Guinea
The little tern breeds in colonies on gravel or shingle coasts and islands. It lays two to four eggs on the ground. Like all white terns, it is defensive of its nest and young and will attack intruders.
Like most other white terns, the little tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments.  The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
This is a small tern, 21–25 cm long with a 41–47 cm wingspan. It is not likely to be confused with other species, apart from fairy tern and Saunders's tern, because of its size and white forehead in breeding plumage. Its thin sharp bill is yellow with a black tip and its legs are also yellow. In winter, the forehead is more extensively white, the bill is black and the legs duller. The call is a loud and distinctive creaking noise.
The little tern was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Sterna albifrons.


As obligate carnivores, they consume insects and small vertebrates as their main diet. While they may occasionally ingest plant materials, it is not preferred. They feed on a variety of large insects, including crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, moths, beetles, and cicadas, along with other small lizards and even snakes. As plants do not provide enough nutrients for constant body weight maintenance, C. collaris cannot survive solely on an herbivorous diet. Their stomachs are too small to accommodate the amount of flowers, shrubs, herbs, etc. that would be needed to maintain a constant body weight. Thus, they are considered obligate carnivores, requiring nutrients from arthropods or other small reptiles.
Diet can also vary depending on age, sex, as well as seasonal changes. In the case of younger lizards, they consume the same kinds of foods, specifically insect species, that adults do, but since younger lizards and adults differ in body size and weight, the amount of food intake tends to vary. On the other hand, male and female adults are similar in terms of their sizes and the amounts of food ingested but exhibit drastic differences in the kinds of foods that they eat. From an evolutionary standpoint, these sexual differences in diet may act to reduce intra-species competition for resources, whereby females and males do not need to fight for the same type of food. Moreover, changes in season can drastically affect their diets as well.


C. collaris is chiefly found in dry, open regions of Mexico and the south-central United States including Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The full extent of its habitat in the United States ranges from the Ozark Mountains to Western Arizona.
The C. collaris are distributed across the Southwestern United States and extend to Northern Mexico as well. They occupy a range of different habitats from rocky desert landscapes to grasslands, but they often prefer to inhabit mountainous regions with high environmental temperatures for optimal thermoregulation. In addition, the hilly topography allows these keen and highly alert lizards to stay hidden between rocks, despite their flamboyant features, and look out for potential predators or territory intruders from the top of elevated platforms.


C. collaris can grow up to 8–15 in (20–38 cm) in total length (including the tail), with a large head and powerful jaws. Males have a blue-green body with a light brown head. Females have a light brown head and body.
C. collaris exhibit a wide range of physical characteristics, particularly in coloration and spotting patterns, and this phenotypic variability may be attributed to a combination of differences in population, social organizations, or habitat. They are a sexually dichromatic lizard species with the adult males being more vivid and colorful than the females. Male dorsal and head color tend to range from green to tan and yellow to orange respectively, while females, overall, possess more muted body pigmentations, varying from brown to gray. However, when reproductively active during breeding seasons, females undergo a rapid color change, in which faint orange spots on their heads increase in brightness; this orange spotting reaches a maximum during egg maturation but gradually fades again after expulsion from the female’s oviduct as she lays her eggs. Both males and females have two distinct black bands around their neck, providing additional context to their name, the common collared lizards.
Similar to adult females, juveniles also exhibit dull body colorations compared to adult males, but a key distinction is that the young have pronounced, dark brown markings that eventually fade as they grow and mature. Consequently, juvenile collared lizards lose this sharp cross-band pattern, and their features drastically change to resemble those of either adult males or females.
Moderate in size, C. collaris have disproportionately large heads and long hind limbs. It can reach a length of 14 inches, including the tail, with males being larger than females. Hence, they are sexually dimorphic, and adult males exhibit larger and more muscular heads than females, which tend to vary in size. Used as a weapon during male combat, the head dimensions play a key role in determining dominance, territoriality, fitness, as well as mating success. In general, bigger heads are associated with greater jaw strength and thus, bite force.


The reproductive season starts in mid-March to early April and concludes in mid-July. Females and smaller individuals emerge first from hibernation with males following around two weeks later. Though lizards are considered mature and may breed following their first hibernation, those that are two years and older exhibit greater reproductive success due to their larger size. In late May, courtship occurs between adult males and females. Subsequently, mature females, typically two years and older, produce their first clutches and lay them in a burrow or under a rock about two weeks after copulation. They may then go on to produce second and sometimes even third clutches throughout June until mid-July. The eggs are incubated in a temperature dependent manner, and the incubation period may vary from 50 to 100 days. On average, clutch size can range from 4 to 6 eggs, but larger, older females can produce more. By August, adults begin to hibernate again, and juveniles do the same after hatching. The earliest of the clutches can hatch in mid-July and later ones follow until mid-October. Upon hatching, juveniles are fully developed and behave independently of their parents, as the C. collaris do not exhibit any parental care in offspring.


The grey-headed woodpecker (Picus canus), also known as the grey-faced woodpecker, is a Eurasian member of the woodpecker family, Picidae. Along with the more commonly found European green woodpecker and the Iberian green woodpecker, it is one of three closely related sister species found in Europe. Its distribution stretches across large parts of the central and Eastern Palaearctic, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
The grey-headed woodpecker is more demanding than the European green woodpecker in terms of its habitat. It prefers deciduous forest with a high proportion of dead trees, feeding primarily on ants, although not being as exclusively dependent on this group as the green woodpecker. The grey-headed woodpecker's nest is typically excavated into dead or severely damaged trees.
In the majority of areas for which population numbers are available, the grey-headed woodpecker is in decline. IUCN's Least Concern rating is primarily based on the large distribution of the species.


Grey-headed woodpeckers breed in May and lay five to ten eggs which are brought up by both parents. The young hatch after 15–17 days, and fledge in 24–25 days.


The grey-headed woodpecker is 25–26 cm (9.8–10.2 in) in length, has a wingspan of 38–40 cm (15–16 in) and weighs around 125 g (4.4 oz). The male of the nominate subspecies has a grey head with a red forecrown. There is a black line across the lores and a narrow black moustache stripe. The back, scapulars and wing coverts are green. The breast and underbody are pale grey. The folded primaries are barred brown-black on grey-white. The female lacks the red forecrown but has fine black streaks on the crown. The widely distributed Picus canus jessoensis is very similar to the nominate subspecies but is slightly greyer and less green. The Chinese subspecies Picus canus guerini has a black nape patch and a greenish underbody. The subspecies Picus canus hessei is similar to guerini but is more golden green above and a deeper green below. The race on the island of Sumatra, Picus canus dedemi, differs markedly from the other subspecies in having reddish rather than green above, and red, green and grey below. It has a black crown and nape. Specimens of the more widespread of the two Eastern subspecies, P. c. jessoensis, are usually a little larger and heavier than individuals from the type locality. On average, it is somewhat smaller and lighter than the European green woodpecker. In the field, this distinction in size is difficult to make. Its size is approximately that of a Eurasian collared dove.
Grey-headed woodpeckers have uniformly olive green upperparts, transitioning across the neck to a light grey, the head being that latter colour. The typical woodpecker markings are small and not particularly conspicuous. It has a grey head with black moustache, and the male has a red crown. It has a shorter neck, slimmer bill and slightly rounder head than the green woodpecker.


The green sandpiper breeds across subarctic Europe and east across the Palearctic and is a migratory bird, wintering in southern Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and tropical Africa. Food is small invertebrate items picked off the mud as this species works steadily around the edges of its chosen pond.
This is not a gregarious species, although sometimes small numbers congregate in suitable feeding areas. Green sandpiper is very much a bird of freshwater, and is often found in sites too restricted for other waders, which tend to like a clear all-round view.


It lays 2–4 eggs in an old tree nest of another species, such as a fieldfare (Turdus pilaris). The clutch takes about three weeks to hatch.


It feeds at night, mainly on grasses but also on leafy shrubs and low trees. It has a nickname "stinker" because mature males have a distinctive curry-like odour.


The western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, and sooty kangaroo, is a large and very common kangaroo found across almost the entire southern part of Australia, from just south of Shark Bay through coastal Western Australia and South Australia, into western Victoria, and in the entire Murray–Darling basin in New South Wales and Queensland.


The western grey kangaroo lives in groups of up to 15. The males compete for females during the breeding season. During these "boxing" contests, they lock arms and try to push each other over. Usually, only the dominant male in the group mates. The gestation period is 30–31 days, after which the incompletely developed fetus (referred to as a joey) attaches to the teat in the pouch for 130–150 days.
Females sexually mature at 17 months while males mature at around 20 months.
The western grey kangaroo is closely related to the eastern grey kangaroo (M. giganteus), and their distribution overlaps extensively, especially in the Murray–Darling basin. However, the two species interbreed only rarely in the wild. Although hybridisation occurs in both directions in the overlap zone between the two species in the wild, this does not seem to be the case with captive animals. Although interbreeding between the two species does occasionally occur in captive animals, viable offspring are only produced when the mating pair consists of a female eastern grey kangaroo and a male western grey kangaroo. This is an example of unidirectional hybridisation.


The southern masked weaver (Ploceus velatus), or African masked weaver, is a resident breeding bird species common throughout southern Africa.
This weaver is very widespread and found in a wide range of habitats, including shrubland, savanna, grassland, open woodland, inland wetlands and semi-desert areas. It also occurs in suburban gardens and parks.


The southern masked weaver is usually seen singly or in small groups. It may also form larger flocks, alone or with other seed eating species. It eats insects, seeds and nectar, and will come to feeding tables.


Zone-tailed hawks range from parts of southern Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas almost throughout inland Mexico and the central portions of Central America down into eastern Colombia, Ecuador and, more sporadically, into Peru, southern Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northern Argentina.  In winter they generally withdraw from the U.S. and northernmost Mexico, with these populations wintering mostly in Oaxaca and the Yucatán Peninsula. They are also native to the Caribbean island of Trinidad. The hawks of Central America may be seasonally migratory, although their movements are not well known. Zone-tails sometimes wander out of their normal range, and the bird was once recorded in Nova Scotia.
They can adapt to various habitats across their broad range, including both closed and open ones and wet and dry ones. Often, the largest numbers are found in rocky areas with access to water. They often reside in coniferous or pine-oak forests as well as timbered canyonland, hilly riverine woods, dry open boscage and scrub, humid forests and overgrown marshes. They may forage over ranches and even semi-desert, but always need at least scattered tree thickets for nesting. They may be distributed in elevation from sea level to 3,000 m (9,800 ft), though are mainly found below 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in the north and below 500 m (1,600 ft) in the southern reaches of the breeding range.


The zone-tailed hawk (Buteo albonotatus) is a medium-sized hawk of warm, dry parts of the Americas. It is somewhat similar in plumage and flight style to a common scavenger, the turkey vulture, and may benefit from being able to blend into groups of vultures. It feeds on small terrestrial tetrapods of all kinds.


The mating season of the species varies geographically but is almost always in the first half of the year. In the northern reaches of the range, the breeding season is mid-April through July, whereas in Trinidad and Ecuador, it is February through June. Eggs have been found as late as August in Colombia, implying an only loose breeding season in the true tropics. The mating pair perform a courtship display, which may include engaging in aerial loops, dives and rolls with each other. The nest is typical of hawks: a big, bulky assemblage of sticks, lined with green leaves, usually built in the top or in the main fork of a tree, in this case at 7.5 to 30 m (25 to 98 ft) above the ground. Typically, tall trees such as a cottonwood or pine tree are selected, and the nest may be in the open or concealed by foliage. Occasionally, nests are found on cliffs.
The clutch comprises one to three, typically two, white eggs, often marked with brown. Incubation lasts for around 28 to 35 days and typically the female incubates, while being fed by the male, although the male may occasionally incubate. The young are semi-altricial at hatching and are covered in gray down. They grow slowly for the first 7 days of life and then considerably faster from 7 to 21 days old. As is common in raptors the older sibling often kills the younger one or outcompetes it for food; only occasionally do both survive to adulthood. The younger hatchling is sometimes referred to as the "spare" one since it may be tended to more directly if the first dies. The young fledge at 42 to 50 days, though are not typically self-assured fliers until around a week later. They may remain in their parents' care until the following breeding season, though in migratory populations, the young and adults often separate. There have been no extensive reports on longevity and mortality in the species.


The zone-tailed hawk is a fairly large but slender Buteo hawk. Grown birds are 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 in) in length with a wingspan of about 117–140 cm (46–55 in). The zone-tailed is comparable in length and wingspan to common large Buteos found to the north such as Swainson's and red-tailed hawk, but may weigh considerably less. Their body mass can range from 565–1,080 g (1.246–2.381 lb). In measurements, the sexes are close in size, but the female, at an average of 900 g (2.0 lb), is much heavier and bulkier than the male, at an average of 637 g (1.404 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 36.5–46 cm (14.4–18.1 in), the fairly long tail is 19.4–23.5 cm (7.6–9.3 in) and the tarsus is 6.7–7.8 cm (2.6–3.1 in).
The adult plumage is mostly blackish. The notable exception is that the flight feathers are barred with lighter gray, which can appear solid silver-gray from a distance. The tail has three or four bands (the "zones" of the common name), white from below and light gray from above, of which the one second from the tip is particularly broad and conspicuous. The cere and legs are yellow, the lores are light gray and a light touch of white may be seen on the face.  Immatures are similar except for small white spots on the breast and tails with narrow gray and black bands and a broad dark tip. The zone-tailed hawk adults resemble the common black hawk but are distinctly more slender in flight and overall small, and they have more white bars on the tail. Other Buteo hawks in their dark phase, especially the broad-winged hawk, may appear similar but often have more silvery coloration on the wings and are broader-winged.
The call is a loud scream, a somewhat typical Buteo call, dropping in pitch at the end, kra kree-kree-kree-kree. In at least some birds, there is an abrupt rise in pitch (like a break to a falsetto voice) in the middle and an equally abrupt drop back down. They are most often heard vocalizing when engaging in breeding displays at the beginning of the mating season. When disturbed at the nest, they may utter a long, lower-pitched raaaaauu.


White-fronted bee-eaters are found in the vast savannah regions of sub-equatorial Africa. The habitat commonly consists of open country, often near gullies, because this is the region that their food (bees) lives.


Their diet is made up primarily of bees, but they also take other flying insects depending on the season and availability of prey. Two hunting methods have been observed. They either make quick hawking flights from lower branches of shrubs and trees, or glide slowly down from their perch and hover briefly to catch insects.


The American gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), also known as the mud shad, is a member of the herring family of fish, and is native to large swaths of fresh and brackish waters of the United States of America. The adult has a deep body, with a silvery-green coloration above fading to plain silver below. The gizzard shad commonly resides in freshwater lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams, but can reside in brackish waters, as it does on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Their range is across most of the continental United States, although they typically go no further north than New York and no further west than New Mexico. They are a large part of many of the ecosystems they inhabit, and can drive changes in phyto- and zooplankton, thereby indirectly affecting other planktivorous fishes. The gizzard shad has been widely used as a food source for game fish, with varied success in management and effectiveness.


Gizzard shad are planktivorous in early life, feeding mainly on phytoplankton and zooplankton as larvae. Consumptive demand of young of year fish (including larvae) can be intense enough to cause collapses in the zooplankton community, which has far-reaching effects through the ecosystem of which they are a part. In midwestern USA reservoirs, where gizzard shad are often the most abundant fish (by biomass), they usually switch to diets dominated by sediment detritus during the first year of life, whereas in some natural lakes they may rely heavily on zooplankton throughout their lives. As zooplankton are a nutritionally superior food than detritus, if large zooplankton (e.g., Daphnia) are available, gizzard shad probably prefer to feed on this resource. However, in many reservoirs, large zooplankton are scarce so gizzard shad rely on detritus. Gizzard shad growth rates may be lower when they feed only on detritus (compared to zooplankton), and in reservoirs they may consume more zooplankton (and less detritus) when density of conspecifics is low and the abundance of large-bodied zooplankton is high. In such cases, Daphnia and other crustaceans make up a large portion of some gizzard shad diets.
Gizzard shad feed mainly during the day, with minimal activity at night. They have been observed at night in Lake Mead, Arizona congregating in schools in very shallow water two to three feet deep during the fall.


Gizzard shad were introduced into many lake and river systems as a source of food for game fish, such as walleye, bass, and trout, because of their small size and relatively high abundance. They were thought to be easy food for game fish and could help increase the numbers of fish available, as well as decrease the pressures on prey species (such as the bluegill). However, due to their rapid growth, they can quickly grow beyond the size available to many fish. They remain vulnerable to predation by piscivorous birds, such as great blue herons, as well as raccoons and other wetland predators.
In addition, gizzard shad spawn in large numbers and can reach densities high enough to ensure that many of them survive past the first year, making them essentially invulnerable to fish predation. They can also be harmful exploitative competitors to other species, leading to declines in other fish species' populations. Partly as a result of this, large gizzard shad are sometimes labeled as "nuisances" and "unwanted".  However, gizzard shad can help to control populations of zooplankton and insect larvae in productive ecosystems through their unique capabilities as predators of small organisms.


The gizzard shad's dorsal fin starts behind the insertion of the pelvic fins, and the last ray is greatly lengthened in adults, but not in the young. They have a long anal fin, with 25 to 36 long, soft rays on the fin. The mouth of the gizzard shad has a short, wide, upper jaw with a deep notch along the ventral margin, and a weak, relatively smaller, lower jaw. The mouth itself is subterminal to inferior (on the lower portion of the head), and the adults possess no teeth. The gizzard shad also has 90 to 275 gill rakers along the lower limbs. Their ventral (pelvic) fins are in the thoracic position, or in the chest region of the fish. The gizzard shad can range from very small size when fry to a maximum recorded length of 477 mm (18.8 in) and maximum weight of 1.56 kg (3.4 lb). The average length is typically larger in northern waters, and ranges from 284 mm (11.2 in) at age three years to 399 mm (15.7 in) at age 10. They have a branched lateral line system that is confined to the head and anterior body, similar to the lateral line systems of other clupeids.


Morchella americana is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae native to North America. Described as new to science in 2012, it is common east of the Rocky Mountains in a range stretching from Ontario south to Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. In western North America, the species typically is found under hardwood, especially cottonwood trees in river bottoms, or with apple trees or ornamental ashes in urban settings. The specific epithet americana refers to its occurrence in North America.
In the Great Lakes region of eastern North America, the range of M. americana overlaps with M. ulmaria, which cannot be reliably distinguished from M. americana without DNA sampling.
Morchella americana, identified as phylogenetic species "Mes-4", has also been found in Turkey, France, and Germany, but is suspected of having been introduced there from North America.
In 2014, Richard et al. clarified the taxonomic status of this species, retaining the name Morchella americana of Clowez and Matherly(2012) over M. esculentoides.


The white-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa) is a large Central American species of magpie-jay. It ranges in Pacific-slope thorn forest from Jalisco, Mexico to Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Magpie-jays are noisy, gregarious birds, often traveling in easy-to-find flocks, mobbing their observers.


White-throated magpie-jays are omnivorous, consuming a wide range of animal and plant matter. Items included in the diet include invertebrates such as insects and caterpillars, frogs, lizards, eggs and nestlings of other birds, seeds, fruits, grain, and nectar from Balsa blossoms. Younger birds take several years to acquire the full range of foraging skills of their parents.


The white-throated magpie-jay is associated with a wide range of habitats from arid environments to semi-humid woodlands, from sea level up to 1,250 m (4,100 ft), although only occasionally higher than 800 m (2,600 ft). It occurs rarely in columnar cacti forest, but is common in thorn forest, gallery forest, deciduous woodland, forest edges and cultivated areas like coffee plantations. The species does not undertake any migratory movements, although males disperse away from their natal territories a few years after fledging. It is a common species across its range, and is not considered threatened by human activities.


The white-throated magpie-jay is between 43 to 56 cm (17–22 in) in length and weighs 205 to 213 g (7.2–7.5 oz). The species has a particularly long tail and a slightly curved crest of feathers on the head. The crest is black in the nominate race, but has blue or white margins on the other two subspecies. The nominate race has a white face with a black crown and margin to the face, forming a narrow band around the throat, as well as a small drop below the eye. The black is less extensive in the other subspecies. The breast, belly and underside of the rump are white, and the wings, mantle and tail are blue (with whitish margins on the tail). The legs and eye are black, and the bill is grey. The plumage of the females is mostly as that of the male but duller on the top, with a narrower band across the chest, and the tail is shorter.


Leukoma staminea is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its range extends along the coasts of North America from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska in the north to Baja California in the south. It usually occurs in protected areas on sand, hard mud and clayey-gravel substrates from the mid and lower shore down to depths of about 10 m (33 ft), usually buried less than 8 cm (3 in) beneath the surface of the sediment. Occasionally it is in more exposed locations, in gravel-filled cracks in rocks or in empty burrows of other clams.


This clam is a filter feeder and consumes microscopic algae such as dinoflagellates, diatoms, and cyanobacteria. Some dinoflagellates produce neurotoxins, such as saxitoxin and its derivates, that bioaccumulate in the clams and other bivalve mollusks and can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) when the clams are eaten. Despite this fact, the clam was eaten by Native Americans and is still used as a food for humans. According to a 1996 report from the Marine Advisory Program at the University of Alaska, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers seafood unsafe if it contains more than 80 μg of PSP-causing toxins per 100 g of tissue of the seafood. PSP is caused by a mixture of at least 21 different chemical species, some of which undergo chemical transformations within the dinoflagellates or within the animals that acquire the saxitoxins, and which are retained by different animals for different lengths of time. It is clear that PSP-causing toxin levels are typically much higher in the summer months though this does not mean the seafood is necessarily safe at other times. Risks also vary based on species but seafood available for retail sale is required to meet the FDA standards.
In PSP poisonings that occurred in the summer of 1993 in Kodiak, Alaska, saxitoxin levels as high as 19,600 μg / 100 g were measured in the Alaska blue mussel Mytilus edulis – sufficient to provide a lethal dose in a single 2.5 g mussel. By contrast, the highest measured level of saxitoxin in the Pacific littleneck clam was 580 μg / 100 g according to this 1996 report. Littleneck clams are "typically less toxic and retain their toxins for a shorter amount of time than the other species"   such as "butter clams and blue mussels [that] tend to accumulate the highest levels of PSP toxins ... [and] geoducks and scallops [that] tend to be toxic for longer periods of time"   but this does not mean that these clams "are always safe to eat [as] you can get PSP from littleneck clams." The reason for the difference is likely that the littleneck clam has an enzyme that converts saxitoxin into decarbamoylsaxitoxin, a capability not shared by the blue mussel nor by the butter clam Saxidomus gigantea (in which levels of saxitoxin as high as 7,750 μg / 100 g have been reported). This transformation to decarbomyl derivative has been reported in some other clam species and significantly reduces the toxicity of saxitoxins present.
Predators include such molluscs as the leafy hornmouth snail (Ceratostoma foliatum) and Lewis's moon snail (Neverita lewisii), the crabs Metacarcinus magister and Cancer productus, the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) and the sea otter. Fish such as the Pacific staghorn sculpin sometimes nips off the siphons when they are extended to feed. This clam spawns during the summer in the north of its range. It is a slow-growing species and may live for up to sixteen years.


Like other members of Veneridae, this species has a chalky shell, the umbo being anterior to the midline of the shell, but closer to the midline than to the anterior end of the shell. The two equal-sized valves are oval or heart-shaped. The width of the shell is greater than a quarter of its length, and the shell seldom exceeds 6 cm (2.4 in) in length. The umbones point towards the anterior end of the shell. The hinge has three cardinal teeth in each valve, and a row of small teeth along the ventral margins of the valves. There are numerous concentric ridges, more clearly demarcked at the anterior end, but the radial ridges are often more clearly sculpted. The foot is large and there is a clearcut pallial sinus.


The southern toad is nocturnal and lives in a burrow by day, or sometimes hides under a log or pile of debris. It occurs in woodland in cultivated land and gardens and sometimes stands beneath outdoor lights at night to pick up the attracted insects that fall to the ground. A 2006 study found that there was no difference in the number of toads found in wooded and clearcut area, but there was a difference in the survival rates which was much higher in wooded area.  In winter it may become inactive and remain in its burrow for extended periods. Some do not appear to be threatened by humans whilst others are
Breeding starts in spring when the males migrate from their upland habitats to the lowland pools, ditches,  swamps and the margins of lakes where they breed. The breeding season typically occurs between the first of March into late May although it will occasionally continue up until September. Heavy rain triggers large numbers of males to congregate and call, forming choruses. Each female lays a clutch of up to 4,000 eggs and the water may be thick with spawn. The eggs hatch and the tadpoles take 30 to 55 days to develop before undergoing metamorphosis into juvenile toads about 1 cm (0.4 in) long. The tadpoles feed on algae which they scrape from underwater vegetation. Adults are carnivorous and feed on any small invertebrates they can find.


The southern toad is a medium-sized, plump species with a snout-to-vent length of up to 92 mm (3.6 in) with females being slightly larger than males. The most obvious distinguishing feature is the knobs on the head and the backward-pointing spurs that extends as far as the paratoid glands. The dorsal surface is covered with warts, some of which may be spiny. The color of the head, back and sides varies from brick red to mottled grey, brown and black while the underparts are pale, sometimes with dark spots on the chest.


The western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-back (Crotalus atrox) is a venomous rattlesnake species and member of the Viper family, found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is likely responsible for the majority of snakebite fatalities in northern Mexico and the greatest number of snakebites in the U.S. No subspecies are currently recognized.
It lives in elevations from below sea level up to 6,500 feet (2,000 m). This species ranges throughout the Southwestern United States and northern half of Mexico. Currently, western diamondback rattlesnakes are not threatened or endangered.


A comprehensive study by Beavers (1976) on the prey of C. atrox in Texas showed, by weight, 94.8% of their prey consisted of small mammals. According to Pisani and Stephenson (1991), who conducted a study of the stomach contents of C. atrox in the fall and spring of Oklahoma, mammalian prey included prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ordii), pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius and Cratogeomys castanops), voles (Microtus ochrogaster), woodrats (Neotoma floridana), pocket mice (Perognathus hispidus and P. flavescens), white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus and P. maniculatus), Old World rats and mice (Rattus norvegicus and Mus ssp.), harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), fox squirrels (Sciurus niger), cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), ground squirrels (Spermophilus spilosoma), rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus), jackrabbits (Lepus californicus), and an unidentified mole species. Klauber mentioned large specimens are capable of swallowing adult cottontail rabbits and even adult jackrabbits, although he figured the latter required confirmation.
Birds, lizards, and mice are also preyed upon, with lizards mostly being eaten by young snakes. Avian prey include mockingbirds (Mimidae), quail, a nearly full-grown Gambel's quail, a burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), a fledgling horned lark (Eremophila alpestris) a black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata), and an eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna). Lizard prey include a whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus), spiny lizards (Sceloporus), a Texas banded gecko (Coleonyx brevis), and a side-blotched lizard (Uta palmeri). One case reported by Vorhies (1948) involved a juvenile specimen that had attempted to eat a horned lizard (Phrynosoma solare), but died after the lizard's horns had punctured its esophagus, leaving the lizard stuck there.
Hermann (1950) reported C. atrox also feeds on lubber grasshoppers (Brachystola magna). Klauber (1972) once found a single specimen in which the stomach contents included grasshoppers, beetles, and ants. However, mammal hairs and an iguanid lizard were also found in the same stomach, which made it more likely that the insects had first been eaten by the mammal or the lizard before they had been eaten by the snake.
They hunt (or ambush prey) at night or in the early morning.
These snakes can go for up to two years without food in the wild. A 5+1⁄2-month starvation study showed the snakes reduced energy expenditures by an average of 80% over the length of the study. The snakes also feed from within on energy-rich lipid stores. The most interesting finding was the snakes grew during the study, indicating while the snake's mass was shrinking, it was putting its resources into skeletal muscles and bone.
A key participant in the food chain, it is an important predator of many small rodents, rabbits, and birds. In turn, it is preyed upon by a variety of larger mammals and birds, such as coyotes, foxes, hawks, and owls. Crotalus atrox can be active at any time of the day or night when conditions are favorable. It is primarily diurnal and crepuscular in spring and fall and becomes primarily nocturnal and crepuscular during the hot summer months.
They are one of the few species of snakes that engage in scavenging behavior.


Adults commonly grow to 120 cm (4 ft) in length. Specimens over 150 cm (5 ft) are infrequently encountered, while those over 180 cm (6 ft) are very rare, and the largest reported length considered to be reliable is 213 cm (7 ft). Males become much larger than females, although this difference in size does not occur until after they have reached sexual maturity. Rattlesnakes of this species considered medium-sized weigh up to 1.23 to 2.7 kg (3 to 6 lb), while very large specimens can reportedly weigh up to 6.7 kg (15 lb). Overall, it is probably the second largest-bodied species of rattlesnake, behind only its close cousin the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and is also the second largest of North American venomous snakes (the bushmasters, which attain probably similar weights and greater total length, occur up as far as Nicaragua).
The color pattern generally consists of a dusty-looking gray-brown ground color, but it may also be pinkish-brown, brick red, yellowish, pinkish, or chalky white. This ground color is overlaid dorsally with a series of 23-45 (mean, 36) dorsal body blotches that are dark gray-brown to brown in color. The first of these may be a pair of short stripes that extend backwards to eventually merge. Some of the first few blotches may be somewhat rectangular, but then become more hexagonal and eventually take on a distinctive diamond shape, hence the name "diamondback rattlesnake". The tail has two to eight (usually four to six) black bands separated by  ash white or pale gray interspaces; this led to the nickname of "coon tail", though other species (e.g., Mojave rattlesnake) have similarly banded tails. Its postocular stripe is smoky gray or dark gray-brown and extends diagonally from the lower edge of the eye across the side of the head. This stripe is usually bordered below by a white stripe running from the upper preocular scale down to the supralabial scales just below and behind the eye. Its off-white belly is usually unmarked, its anal scale is undivided, and its dorsal scales are extremely keeled, often in rows of 25 to 27 near the midbody.
The wide range of this species overlaps, or is close to, that of many others. It may be confused with them, but differences exist. The Mojave rattlesnake (C. scutulatus), also has tail rings, but the black rings are narrow relative to the pale ones. The timber rattlesnake (C. horridus), has no tail rings. In the western rattlesnake (C. oreganus), the pale tail rings are the same color as the ground. The tail of the black-tailed rattlesnake (C. molossus), is a uniform black, or has indistinct tail rings. The Mexican west coast rattlesnake (C. basiliscus), also has a  mostly dark tail with obscure or absent rings. The tiger rattlesnake, (C. tigris), has a relatively small head and large rattle along with a dorsal pattern consisting more of crossbands. The Middle American rattlesnake (C. simus), has a generally uniform gray tail without any rings, as well as a pair of distinctive paravertebral stripes running down the neck. Members of the genus Sistrurus lack tail rings and have enlarged head plates.


Its habitats  range from flat coastal plains to steep rocky canyons and hillsides; it is associated with many different vegetation types, including desert, sandy creosote areas, mesquite grassland, desert scrub, and pine-oak forests.   It is common to see the western diamondback on rural blacktop roads in early evening, because of the heat retention of these surfaces, as ambient temperatures drops.


Rattlesnakes, including C. atrox, are viviparous. Gestation lasts six or seven months, and broods average about a dozen young. However, the young stay with the mother for only a few hours before they set off on their own to hunt and find cover, so that the mortality rate is very high. Mating occurs in the fall, and the females give birth to as many as 25 young, which may be as long as 30 cm (12 in). The young are fully capable of delivering a venomous bite from the moment they are born.


C. atrox is solitary except during the mating season. Usually inactive between late October and early March, these ectotherms occasionally may be seen basking in the sun on warm winter days. In the winter, they hibernate or brumate in caves or burrows, sometimes with many other species of snakes. Life expectancy is more than 20 years.
They are poor climbers. Natural predators include raptors such as hawks and eagles, roadrunners, wild hogs, and other snakes. When threatened, they usually coil and rattle to warn aggressors. They are one of the more aggressive rattlesnake species in the US in the way that they stand their ground when confronted by a foe. If rattling does not work, then the snake will strike in defense.


The grey-capped greenfinch or Oriental greenfinch (Chloris sinica) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae that breeds in broadleaf and conifer woodlands of the East Palearctic.
The grey-capped greenfinch is a medium-sized finch 12.5 to 14 cm (4.9 to 5.5 in) in length, with a strong bill and a short slightly forked tail. It nests in trees or bushes, laying 3-5 eggs.
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the grey-capped greenfinch in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in China. He used the French name Le pinçon de la Chine and the Latin Fringilla sinencis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the grey-capped greenfinch. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Fringilla sinica and cited Brisson's work. The type locality was subsequently restricted to Macau in eastern China. The specific name sinica is Medieval Latin for Chinese.
The greenfinches were later placed in the genus Carduelis but when molecular phylogenetic studies found that they were not closely related to the other species in Carduelis, the greenfinches were moved to the resurrected genus Chloris. The genus had been introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800. The word Chloris is from the Ancient Greek khlōris for a European greenfinch; the specific epithet sinica is Mediaeval Latin for "Chinese".
Five subspecies are now recognised:
 C. s. ussuriensis Hartert, 1903 – northeastern China, Korea and eastern Siberia
 C. s. kawarahiba (Temminck, 1836) – Kamchatka Peninsula, Kuril Islands and northeastern Hokkaido
 C. s. minor (Temminck & Schlegel, 1848) – Japan: southern Hokkaido to Kyushu
 C. s. kittlitzi (Seebohm, 1890) – Bonin Islands including Iwo Jima
 C. s. sinica (Linnaeus, 1766) – central and eastern China to central Vietnam


The tropical screech owl (Megascops choliba) is a small species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, and every mainland South American country.


The tropical screech owl is nocturnal. It forages by sallying from a low perch to capture prey
on the ground, from branches, or in the air. Its diet is large arthropods and small vertebrates. The former include worms, scorpions, spiders, and a large variety of insects (such as grasshoppers, cockroaches, termites, crickets, and beetles). Vertebrate prey includes frogs, other amphibians, small reptiles (such as snakes), other birds, bats, and rodents.


The tropical screech owl is "the most common and widespread screech-owl of the neotropicis." It is found from Costa Rica and Panama south and throughout South America (including Trinidad and Tobago), almost entirely east of the Andes, but not in the far south. The subspecies are distributed thus:
M. c. choliba, southern Mato Grosso and São Paulo, Brazil, south to eastern Paraguay
M. c. luctisomus, the Pacific slope in Costa Rica south to the Canal Zone in Panama, and on the Pearl Islands
M. c. margaritae, restricted to Margarita Island off of northern Venezuela
M. c. cruciger, Trinidad, and eastern Colombia and Venezuela east to the Guianas and south to eastern Peru
M. c. duidae, Cerro Duida and Cerro de la Neblina in southern Venezuela
M. c. decussatus, central and southern Brazil
M. c. uruguaii, southeastern Brazil , northeastern Argentina, and Uruguay
M. c. surutus, Bolivia
M. c. wetmorei, Paraguay and Argentina
The tropical screech owl inhabits a wide variety of landscapes. Most tend to be partially to mostly open, such as secondary forest, open woodland, coffee plantations, residential areas, and the borders of terra firme and várzea forests. Except for
M. c. duidae, it shuns the interior of forests; that subspecies is found in dense forest and bamboo scrub.


The tropical screech owl's breeding phenology has not been well studied. South of the Equator, the breeding season appears to start in August. The species nests in holes such as natural cavities, old woodpecker holes, and nest boxes. The clutch size is usually one to three but can be as large as six. Adults defend the nest with "fluffing" displays and aggressive moves that may extend to striking humans with their claws.


The tropical screech owl is polymorphic, with much variation in color. It is overall gray-brown or (less commonly) brown or rufous, but always with a relatively distinctive blackish edge to the face and yellow irides. Its undersides are pale with a black "herringbone" pattern. The subspecies differ in the intensity of the colors and the amount of black markings on the upper- and underparts. Adults are 21 to 23 cm (8.3 to 9.1 in) long and weigh 97 to 160 g (3.4 to 5.6 oz).


Bronchocela cristatella, also known as the green crested lizard, is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Southeast Asia.


This species is a bright green lizard, sometimes possessing a blue tint on the head. It is able to change colour, turning darker brown when threatened. There is a dark ring around each eye, and a dark spot at the back of the head. The males have a crest on the neck.
It has a very long and thin tail (75% of total length). The body length is of 13 cm (5.1 in), and the total length (body + tail) is of 57 cm (22 in).
From C.A.L. Günther (1864) The Reptiles of British India.
Scales of the sides small, there being about forty in one of the transverse scries; ventral scales much larger, in fourteen longitudinal rows. A short scries of three or four larger scales forms a continuation of the superciliary margin; no other large scale on the temple. Nuchal crest low, formed by triangular spines; it is not continued on the back, where the vertebral scales arc scarcely prominent. The fourth hind toe is one-eighth longer than the third. Uniform grass-green.
This species is very common in the Malayan countries and in numerous islands of the East Indian Archipelago—Sumatra, Java, Amboyna, Celebes, Borneo, Booroo, Philippines, &c. It moves and leaps with great quickness among the branches of trees. Cantor saw the colours of these lizards change suddenly to grey, brownish or blackish, sometimes with orange spots or with indistinct black network; large, isolated, round black spots appeared on the head or back or round the tympanum. It attains to a length of 20 inches, the tail measuring 16 inches.


B. cristatella is found in forests as well as parks and rural areas.


The spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) is a small and somewhat long-tailed pigeon that is a common resident breeding bird across its native range on the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia. The species has been introduced to many parts of the world and feral populations have become established.
This species was formerly included in the genus Streptopelia with other turtle-doves, but studies suggest that they differ from typical members of that genus. This dove is long tailed buff brown with a white-spotted black collar patch on the back and sides of the neck. The tail tips are white and the wing coverts have light buff spots.
There are considerable plumage variations across populations within its wide range. The species is found in light forests and gardens as well as in urban areas. They fly from the ground with an explosive flutter and will sometimes glide down to a perch. It is also called the mountain dove, pearl-necked dove, lace-necked dove, and spotted turtle-dove.