C. iphis H. l. (= amyntas Btlr., mandane Ky.) (48 c). Disc of the forewing of the male on the upperside washed with copper-brown, of the female with yellowish brown, this colour being sometimes of a darker (ab. subnigra), sometimes of a lighter shade (ab. pallida). Hindwing uniformly blackish brown. Underside of forewing entirely without ocelli, rarely with a small, pale, apical ocellus. Hindwing with a few scattered and reduced ocelli on the underside. Beyond the middle are 2 large irregular white sinuous patches, either separate or thinly connected, by which the nymotypical form is recognized at a glance. The whole of Central and a large part of Northern Europe, and North and Central Asia; from England and Belgium to the Pacific Ocean, and from Finland and Livonia anaxagoras. to Dalmatia. In ab. anaxagoras Assmus, which occurs singly in Central Europe and is prevalent in Eastern Europe, the metallic line on the underside is absent, and the ocelli on the hindwing are reduced. — In iphicles Stgr. (= heroides Christ.) (48 c), on the other hand, the ocelli of the hindwing are very regular and distinct and
appear on the upperside in the shape of brownish rings, so that there is a resemblance to hero ; from Central Asia. carpathica Horm. is a smaller mountain form the ocelli of whose hindwing are entirely or almost entirely obsolete; from the Carpathian Mts. — mahometana Alph. (84 a) also has no ocelli, or at the most a few white dots in their place; moreover, the upperside is uniformly soot-brown, and the whole underside dusted over with white; from the Tian-shan. ab. iphina Stgr. is a Central-Asiatic form in which the ocelli on the underside are bordered with brown ; it most probably does not occur anywhere as the only form of the species. — Larva dull green with a blue-green head, dark dorsal stripe and pale lateral one, as well as a red anal fork; spiracles yellowish red. Until May on grasses. Pupa green with white-spotted abdomen and dark-edged wing-cases. The butterflies are on the wing in June and July; they are found on grassy roads in woods and in damp meadows and are not rare, although there are not often large numbers of them together. The very big-bodied females do not often rise more than 1 or 2 feet above the ground. When disturbed they usually fly on only a few paces, following the direction of the road and settling again in the grass.


The butterflies fly in one generation from June to August.


Species info
BioLib
"Coenonympha Hübner, [1819]" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms


The small heath is one of 40 species classified within the genus Coenonympha and placed in the family Nymphalidae. It belongs to the tribe Satyrini and its Coenonymphina subtribe. The small heath was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist and zoologist, in his book Systema Naturae. Originally, the female C. pamphilus butterfly was referred to as the Golden Heath Eye and the male as the Selvedged Heath Eye. Entomologist Moses Harris later described it as the Small Heath or the Gatekeeper. However, the Gatekeeper now describes the Pyronia tithonus.


C. pamphilus. Small butterflies which on the upper side are the colour of reddish yellow sand. Forewing beneath reddish yellow, bordered with grey and bearing a small pupilled apical ocellus; hindwing diluted with grey, with a shortened, curved, whitish median band shaded with brown. The ocelli are generally completely absent or only indicated by faint and indistinct vestiges of dots or rings. — The ground-colour of the hindwing of the Northern form, pamphilus L. (= nephele Hbn., menaleas Poda, gardetta Loche) (48 g) is mouse grey beneath; it is the only form in the North, and extends throughout North and Central Europe to Anterior Asia, Turkestan, Ferghana and Persia. — In ab. bipupillata Cosm. the apical ocellus is greatly enlarged and doubly pupilled. — marginata Stgr. (48 g) has a very broad dark distal margin on all the wings, but its underside resembles that of lyllus. (A broadening of the blackish distal margin occurs in the summer brood in many localities.) — lyllus Esp. is the summer form from Southern Europe, North Africa and the southern part of Anterior Asia. In this form the wings are broader, the apex of the forewing is more rounded, the margin of the hindwing often undulating, the underside of the hindwing not mouse-grey but also sandy yellow with a fine, curved, median line. — In Thyrsides Stgr. (48 g), from Sicily-, Dalmatia and the southern portion of Anterior Asia, of which I also found typical specimens in the valleys of the Atlas, the hindwing on both sides bears a submarginal row of ocelli, which are sometimes pupilled. — Larva bright green with a thin, double, white dorsal stripe and yellow lateral one. Head pale green; throughout the summer on grasses. Pupa stout, green, with darker markings. The butterflies are the commonest Satyrids in the whole of Europe and are on the wing from the end of April until October, everywhere on meadows and fallow fields, cornfields and bare summits of hills. They almost fly only when disturbed, and soon settle again, affecting roads and bare patches of ground, sometimes inclining their always closed wings to one side. Their flight is jumping, slow, and low. They even fly into the towns, wandering over gardens and yards, and one sometimes sees them hopping along on paved streets for traffic, and settling for a moment on the pavement.


Subspecies of the Coenonympha pamphilus include:
C. p. lyllus (Esper, 1806) (southern Europe and Siberia, the Crimea, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia)
C. p. marginata Heyne, [1894]  (southern Europe and Siberia, the Crimea, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia)
C. p. fulvolactea Verity (1926) (middle Asia)
C. p. centralasiae Verity (1926) (middle Asia)
C. p. infrarasa Verity (1926) (middle Asia)
C. p. juldusica Verity (1926) (middle Asia)
C. p. ferghana Stauder (1924) (middle Asia)
C. p. nitidissima Verity (1924) (middle Asia)
C. p. asiaemontium Verity (1924) (Altai Mountains)
C. p. rhoumensis Harrison (1948)


The butterfly loosely resembles a small meadow brown, but the brown of the wings appears noticeably paler in flight. Unlike the meadow brown and other common members of the subfamily Satyrinae, the small heath is a lateral basker, only ever resting with its wings closed and angled at 90° to the sun. It more closely resembles Coenonympha caeca (forewing without apical spots), Coenonympha tullia (forewing apical spot smaller), and Coenonympha symphita (underside of hindwing without white spot and almost always with a complete row of spots on the forewing).


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


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


Adult small heath butterflies feed on floral nectar of a variety of flowers such as bramble, yarrow, and ragwort. This nectar has a high content of minerals and nutrients (particularly amino acids and sugar), and is highly important for male and female butterfly reproductive success.


The small heath is a plurivoltine butterfly, having multiple generations in a year. Oviposition varies throughout the lifespan of a female small heath. The rate of oviposition is high for young females, particularly at the beginning of their reproductive life, while older females eventually lay fewer and yellower eggs.


Small heath females prefer to lay eggs in grassland. They use a biological adhesive to lay its eggs directly onto host plants, plants near host plants, or wilting leaves. If the eggs are laid on or near host plants, the larvae are able to feed on the host plant. If attached to the dead grasses, they are forced to find their own food immediately after hatching.


Small heath eggs are round and sometimes laid on blades of grass. The eggs are occasionally in clusters, but usually alone. Initially, the egg is a light green with a slight depression on the top and an overall ridged texture. It later gains a white hue with a brown band wrapped around the middle and irregular brown speckles on the surface.
Egg color and weight changes throughout a female's lifespan. Younger females initially tend to lay heavier, greener eggs at a higher frequency. These eggs then transition to an intermediate green-yellow color. After about 100 eggs are laid, or near the end of their lifespans, older females lay lighter, yellow eggs. Adult small heath butterflies have at least one or usually two broods of offspring depending on environmental factors (such as location and altitude).


Butterflies like the small heath typically undergo multiple stages of development called instars, through which the insect grows noticeably larger in size. The small heath typically goes through four instars and molts three times. The third instar signals a diapause in which the larva hibernates. By the end of the fourth instar, the small heath larvae are a leafy green color with a green stripe running along its back and stripes a lighter shade of green on its sides. It has pink anal points, a protrusion at the end of the caterpillar. Larvae will sometimes undergo a fifth instar and enter diapause, which possibly signals an adapted response to environmental factors (primarily temperature). In diapause, the larva's resources are used to reinforce and strengthen its already-existing larval adult structures. These larvae then develop into larger male and smaller female pupae.


The small heath remains in the pupae stage for approximately 3 weeks. The color of the chrysalis fully develops in four days. The pupa is light yellow-green and suspends from a plant stem with the head facing downward. The cremaster is a series of hooks at the rear of the pupa, which allows it to hang from the stem. The pupae is thick and has a length of 8.5 mm. It is slightly curved with dark dorsal stripes around the sides and light-yellow bumps on the abdomen. The wing covers along the side are a white pigment with small accents of red-brown.


The wings of an adult small heath butterfly are light brown. Males are darker and sometimes have gray-brown hues, while females are paler and occasionally a white-brown or yellow-white color. Other variations include a redder or yellower pigment with the occasional purple-brown color. Both males and females can have a brownish-gray border circling the edge of the wing. This border varies in thickness and appears to be more common in males than in females. The forewing can have a prominent or faint dark spot or, sometimes, no spot at all near the wing tip. The hindwings may also have eyespots or white dots. A white band runs along the underside of the wing and varies in width and fullness. Female small heath butterflies have a wingspan of 37 mm and tend to be larger than males, which have a wingspan of 33 mm.

The small heath is diurnal, or is active in the daytime. It flies near the ground with a fluttering flight pattern. Small heaths are also lateral baskers, angling their bodies 90° to the sun with their wings closed when resting.


Male small heath butterflies often establish their own territories and become stationary. Males with their own territories are more likely to mate successfully with females. This prompts aggressive male behavior between stationary males and wandering males who may contest territory ownership. The stationary male sometimes engages the wandering male in an attempt to determine its sex, and these interactions remain short to reduce vulnerability to predation. Longer interactions between males are typically territorial disputes. Larger males are typically more successful in territorial disputes with other males, as they have longer wing spans and are superior in size and weight to smaller males. Thus, larger males have a significantly higher chance of successfully mating a female.
Temperature plays a role in male-male interactions as well. Both females and males increase vagrancy with increased temperatures, and vice versa. In low-temperature conditions, it is advantageous for a male to remain stationary in order to defend his territory as a potential mating site. This leads to longer male-male interactions when territorial disputes are more likely to occur. However, when temperatures are high, choosing not to defend territory is the preferred and advantageous strategy in mating. This is because males who become vagrant will have a higher chance of intercepting a wandering female in competition with other vagrant males. This leads to shorter male-male interactions as males are not defending territory.


Male small heath butterflies find mates either by defending their ownership of a territory or by drifting in search for a female. Virgin females also spend time in the air to find a potential mate, but females who have already mated avoid claimed territories. Due to its longer lifespan, virgin females seek mates less urgently than, for example, females of the C. tullia species. Virgin small heaths females will allow males to pass by instead of seeking them out to begin courtship. They choose to perform a long, elaborate zig-zag flight pattern to draw attention after they reach a group of perching males, who will take part in lekking as a show of dominance. The female then selectively chooses her mate and begins a monandrous relationship. Most matings occur with residents within territories than with the wandering non-residents. Females often mate with males with larger wings, as territory owners are usually larger, and generally mate only once or twice in their short overall lifetimes.


Male small heaths aggregate and form leks often around bushes or trees, creating an elaborate visual display to attract a female's attention. The female will approach by circling the lek, which attracts the males' attention more than being stationary. There are both costs and benefits of lekking for the female. Females benefit by typically mating with the dominant male and producing offspring with beneficial, heritable genes, as a result of their free choice in mates. They also have increased survival and maintained health because males cannot force the females to copulate. A few fitness costs include lost time to obtain more resources, risk of mortality through predation, and less time for oviposition, which all lead to decreased fecundity. The leks themselves do not contain resources for the females.


During copulation, male small heath butterflies transfer a nuptial gift to a female in the form of a spermatophore, which contains both additional nutrients and sperm. Males can use amino acids found in nectar from food resources to help produce these spermatophores, which are then passed to the female when reproducing. The spermatophore increases female fitness and aids female performance in reproduction, and its nutrients are also assimilated later into the eggs that are laid, leading to heavier larvae.


Small heath butterflies typically live well in dry, open landscapes with higher temperatures, in comparison to other species of satyrine butterflies. When temperatures are significantly high, lifespan is shortened but the small heath will fare better than shade-dwelling species, such as the speckled wood, Pararge aegeria. Like other butterflies, it has a small range of optimum temperatures and can regulate its temperatures in a small variety of ways, such as positioning its body to maximally absorb sunlight. In high temperature habitats, the small heath produces eggs at a relatively high rate, has good fecundity, and survives well as compared to woodland butterflies. Male butterflies will also tend to drift and be vagrant in their search for females rather than perch in their territories and wait, as they would do in optimum or sub-optimum temperatures.


The Trogus lapidator (parasitic wasp) and other varieties of Ichneumoninae species will often parasitize Lepidoptera pupae as parasitoids. The parasite eventually emerges from the host pupae as an adult by slicing out a cap at the terminal end of the chrysalis and breaking through. In small heath pupae, staining can sometimes be seen around the cut site of the cap.


As a grassland species, the effects of intense, widespread agriculture is a concern for the welfare of the small heath. Grassland management through periodic ecological disturbances (i.e. mowing) is considered necessary to maintain "semi-natural" grasslands. Negative effects of mowing include the loss of biodiversity, the conversion of natural grasslands into agricultural fields, mortality, and loss of nectar resources. However, a study shows that such disturbances of these habitats may actually lead to an increase in the population of grassland butterflies including the small heath.


Overall, the small heath is generally common and abundant throughout its geographic distribution, particularly in Europe. Urban habitats have become a significant focus in the conservation of the small heath due to the widespread green fragments forming chains of ecological biodiversity. In a study of elevated atmospheric CO₂ levels on development, it was determined that larval development time increased due to elevated CO₂ levels, suggesting an effect of CO₂ on larval performance. Additionally, it was found that food-plant preferences of larvae might also be affected, which could play a future evolutionary role, although this is an area that requires further research.


In the Netherlands, the distribution of the Coenonympha tullia is significantly reduced as a result of climate change. Also satyrine species of the genus Coenonympha, the C. hero and C. arcania  have gone extinct. One study shows that the small heath has adapted well to climate change and will continue to survive because it can adapt biologically to altered environments. In response to these environmental changes (i.e. temperature), the small heath can overwinter in diapause, which promotes its survival through rapid development.


The small heath, like its cousin the wall brown, has been in serious decline across much of southern England for reasons unclear, and was accordingly designated as a UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Species (research only) by DEFRA in 2007. These butterflies typically live in colonies, which have been negatively impacted by construction, human development, and general habitat loss in recent years. In 2007, the IUCN category status listed the small heath as near threatened.


Coenonympha tullia, the large heath or common ringlet, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It flies in a variety of grassy habitats, including roadsides, woodland edges and clearings, prairies, bogs, and arctic and alpine taiga and tundra. It is a poor flyer, but can sometimes be found along ditches seeking new grounds. It is a holarctic species found in northern Europe and Asia and across North America. The species was first described by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1764.


The bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is a species of passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. Before the development of molecular genetics in the 21st century, its relationship to other species was uncertain and it was either placed with the buntings and New World sparrows in the family Emberizidae, with New World warblers in the family Parulidae or in its own monotypic family Coerebidae. This small, active nectarivore is found in warmer parts of the Americas, and is generally common.


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


There are 41 currently recognized subspecies:
C. f. bahamensis (Reichenbach, 1853): Bahamas
C. f. caboti (Baird, 1873): east Yucatan Peninsula and nearby islands
C. f. flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758): nominate, Jamaica
C. f. sharpei (Cory, 1886): Cayman Is.
C. f. bananivora (Gmelin, 1789): Hispaniola and nearby islands
C. f. nectarea Wetmore, 1929: Tortue I.
C. f. portoricensis (Bryant, 1866): Puerto Rico
C. f. sanctithomae (Sundevall, 1869): north Virgin Is.
C. f. newtoni (Baird, 1873): Saint Croix (south Virgin Is.)
C. f. bartholemica (Sparrman, 1788): north and central Lesser Antilles
C. f. martinicana (Reichenbach, 1853): Martinique and Saint Lucia (south central Lesser Antilles)
C. f. barbadensis (Baird, 1873): Barbados
C. f. atrata (Lawrence, 1878): St. Vincent (south Lesser Antilles)
C. f. aterrima (Lesson, 1830): Grenada and the Grenadines (south Lesser Antilles)
C. f. uropygialis von Berlepsch, 1892: Aruba and Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)
C. f. tricolor (Ridgway, 1884): Providencia I. (off east Nicaragua)
C. f. oblita Griscom, 1923: San Andrés I. (off east Nicaragua)
C. f. mexicana (Sclater, 1857): southeastern Mexico to western Panama
C. f. cerinoclunis Bangs, 1901: Pearl Is. (south of Panama)
C. f. columbiana (Cabanis, 1866): eastern Panama to southwestern Colombia and southern Venezuela
C. f. bonairensis Voous, 1955: Bonaire I. (Netherlands Antilles)
C. f. melanornis Phelps & Phelps, 1954: Cayo Sal I. (off Venezuela)
C. f. lowii Cory, 1909: Los Roques Is. (off Venezuela)
C. f. ferryi Cory, 1909: La Tortuga I. (off Venezuela)
C. f. frailensis Phelps & Phelps, 1946: Los Frailes and Los Hermanos Is. (off Venezuela)
C. f. laurae Lowe, 1908: Los Testigos (off Venezuela)
C. f. luteola (Cabanis, 1850): coastal northern Colombia and Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago
C. f. obscura Cory, 1913: northeastern Colombia and western Venezuela
C. f. minima (Bonaparte, 1854): eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela to French Guiana and north central Brazil
C. f. montana Lowe, 1912: Andes of northwestern Venezuela
C. f. caucae Chapman, 1914: western Colombia
C. f. gorgonae Thayer & Bangs, 1905: Gorgona I. (off western Colombia)
C. f. intermedia (Salvadori & Festa, 1899): southwestern Colombia, western Ecuador and northern Peru east to southern Venezuela and western Brazil
C. f. bolivari Zimmer & Phelps, 1946: eastern Venezuela
C. f. guianensis (Cabanis, 1850): southeastern Venezuela to Guyana
C. f. roraimae Chapman, 1929: tepui regions of southeastern Venezuela, southwestern Guyana and northern Brazil
C. f. pacifica Lowe, 1912: eastern Peru
C. f. magnirostris (Taczanowski, 1880): northern Peru
C. f. dispar Zimmer, 1942: north central Peru to western Bolivia
C. f. chloropyga (Cabanis, 1850): east central Peru to central Bolivia and east to eastern Brazil, northern Uruguay, northeastern Argentina and Paraguay
C. f. alleni Lowe, 1912: eastern Bolivia to central Brazil


The bananaquit is a small bird, although there is some degree of size variation across the various subspecies. Length can range from 4 to 5 in (10 to 13 cm). Weight ranges from 5.5 to 19 g (0.19 to 0.67 oz).
Most subspecies of the bananaquit have dark grey (almost black) upperparts, black crown and sides of the head, a prominent white eyestripe, grey throat, white vent, and yellow chest, belly and rump. Coloration is heavily influenced by melanocortin 1 receptor variation.
The sexes are alike, but juveniles are duller and often have a partially yellow eyebrow and throat.
In the subspecies bahamensis and caboti from the Bahamas and Cozumel, respectively, the throat and upper chest are white or very pale grey, while ferryi from La Tortuga Island has a white forehead. The subspecies laurae, lowii and melanornis from small islands off northern Venezuela are overall blackish, while the subspecies aterrima and atrata from Grenada and Saint Vincent have two plumage morphs, one "normal" and another blackish. The pink gape is usually very prominent in the subspecies from islands in the Caribbean Sea.
The tongue is paddle-shaped, with an extremely long paddle section.


It is resident in tropical South America north to southern Mexico and the Caribbean. It is found throughout the West Indies, except for Cuba. Birds from the Bahamas are rare visitors to Florida.
It occurs in a wide range of open to semi-open habitats, including gardens and parks, but it is rare or absent in deserts, dense forests (e.g. large parts of the Amazon rainforest) and at altitudes above 2,000 m (6,600 ft).


The bananaquit has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers, including mistletoes. Nectivory is probably an independent innovation in Coereba. Since then C. flaveola's tongue shape has shown convergent evolution with other birds feeding on the same flowers, and its source flowers have shown convergence to accommodate its tongue. It sometimes pierces flowers from the side, taking the nectar without pollinating the plant - known as nectar robbing. It also feeds on fruits - including mistletoe fruits and ripe bananas. It has been observed taking fruits' sweet juices by puncturing fruit with its beak, and will eat small insects and other small arthropods on occasion. While feeding, the bananaquit must always perch as it cannot hover like a hummingbird.
The bananaquit is known for its ability to adjust remarkably to human environments. It often visits gardens and may become very tame. Its nickname, the sugar bird, comes from its affinity for bowls or bird feeders stocked with granular sugar, a common method of attracting these birds. The bananaquit builds a spherical lined nest with a side entrance hole, laying up to three eggs, which are incubated solely by the female. It may also build its nest in human-made objects, such as lampshades and garden trellises. The birds breed all year regardless of season and build new nests throughout the year.


Bellemain, Eva; Bermingham, Eldredge; Ricklefs, Robert E. (2008). "The dynamic evolutionary history of the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in the Caribbean revealed by a multigene analysis". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8: 240. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-240. PMC 2533019. PMID 18718030.
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The green-barred woodpecker (Colaptes melanochloros) is a species of bird in the family Picidae.  The scientific name melanochloros derives from the Greek melanos, meaning "black", and chloros, meaning "pale green", the principal colors of this bird. The golden-breasted woodpecker is sometimes included here as the southern subspecies group of this species and is sometimes considered a separate species, C. melanolaimus.
C. melanochloros (including the golden-breasted woodpecker) is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.


The spot-breasted woodpecker (Colaptes punctigula) is a species of bird in the family Picidae.
It is found in South America in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela and also in eastern Panama of Central America.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests and heavily degraded former forest.


The spot-breasted woodpecker was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.  Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name, but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Picus punctigula in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. For many years, the spot-breasted woodpecker was placed in the genus Chrysoptilus, but it is now placed in the genus  Colaptes that was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825. The generic name is from the Ancient Greek kolaptēs meaning "chiseller". The specific epithet punctigula combines the Latin punctum meaning "spot" and gula meaning "throat".
Six subspecies are recognised:
Colaptes punctigula ujhelyii (Madarász, 1912) – eastern Panama to northern Colombia
Colaptes punctigula striatigularis (Chapman, 1914) – west-central Colombia
Colaptes punctigula punctipectus (Cabanis & Heine, 1863) – eastern Colombia and Venezuela
Colaptes punctigula zuliae (Cory, 1915) – northwestern Venezuela
Colaptes punctigula punctigula (Boddaert, 1783) – the Guianas
Colaptes punctigula guttatus (von Spix, 1824) – Upper Amazonia


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


The golden-olive woodpecker is 20 cm (7.9 in) long and weighs 75 g (2.6 oz). Adults are mainly golden olive above with some barring on the tail. The forecrown is grey and the hindcrown red. The face is yellow-white and the underparts are barred black and yellowish. The bill is black. Adult males have a red moustachial strip which is lacking in the female.


The habitat of this woodpecker is forests, more open woodlands and cultivation. It is most common in the mountains. Two or three white eggs are laid in a nest hole in a tree and incubated by both sexes. The young are fed by regurgitation.
Due to its habitat-mainly montane forests, separated by large rivers-it has evolved into about 20 subspecies. P. r. tobagensis from Tobago is larger and heavier-billed than P. r. trinitatis from Trinidad. Some of the South American subspecies have only very narrow yellow barring on the underparts and the Andean subspecies show a pale eye ring.
Golden-olive woodpeckers mainly eat insects, including ants and beetle larvae, with some fruit and berries. The call of this bird is a loud wheep.


Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron, or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, which belong to the family Iridaceae. The name "naked ladies" is because the flowers emerge from the ground long before the leaves appear. Despite the vernacular name of "meadow saffron", this plant is not the source of saffron, which is obtained from the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus – and that plant, too, is sometimes called "autumn crocus".
The species is cultivated as an ornamental in temperate areas, in spite of its toxicity. The cultivar 'Nancy Lindsay' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.


This herbaceous perennial has leaves up to 25 cm (10 in) long. The flowers are solitary, 4–7 cm (2–3 in) across, with six tepals and six stamens with orange anthers and three white styles. At the time of fertilisation, the ovary is below ground.


C. autumnale is the only species of its family native to Great Britain and Ireland, with notable populations under the stewardship of the County Wildlife Trusts. It also occurs across mainland Europe from Portugal to Ukraine, and is reportedly naturalised in  Sweden, European Russia, and New Zealand.


The bulb-like corms  of C. autumnale contain colchicine, a useful drug with a narrow therapeutic index. Colchicine is approved in many countries for the treatment of gout and familial Mediterranean fever, but has a low therapeutic index.  Colchicine is also used in plant breeding to produce polyploid strains.


Coleogyne ramosissima or blackbrush, is a low lying, dark grayish-green, aromatic, spiny, perennial, soft wooded shrub, native to the deserts of the southwestern United States. It is called blackbrush because the gray branches darken when wet by rains. It is in the rose family (Rosaceae), and is the only species in the monotypic genus Coleogyne.


It has dense, intricate branches ("ramosissima" means "many branched"). Its dense branches form spiny tips. This plant forms vast pure stands across the desert floor and on scrubby slopes, giving the landscape a uniform dark-gray color. Vegetative types in which it dominates or is a codominate are called blackbrush scrub.
It drops most of its leaves and becomes dormant in conditions of severe dryness (drought-deciduous), but some leaves are usually retained at the end of the branches. The thickly branched plant forms thickets which may spread across the ground in clumps or grow erect to approach six feet in height in the Mojave Desert, and 4 feet in the Canyonlands desert region.


Colias eurytheme, the orange sulphur, also known as the alfalfa butterfly and in its larval stage as the alfalfa caterpillar, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, where it belongs to the lowland group of "clouded yellows and sulphurs" subfamily Coliadinae. It is found throughout North America from southern Canada to Mexico.
Other members of this lineage including the common or clouded sulphur (C. philodice) and C. eriphyle and C. vitabunda, which are often included in C. philodice as subspecies. Hybridization runs rampant between these, making phylogenetic analyses exclusively utilizing one type of data (especially mtDNA sequences) unreliable. Therefore, little more can be said about its relationships, except that it is perhaps closer to C. (p.) eriphyle than generally assumed, strengthening the view that the latter should be considered a valid species.
The orange sulphur's caterpillars feed off various species in the pea family (Fabaceae) and are usually only found feeding at night. Occasionally this species multiplies to high numbers, and can become a serious pest to alfalfa (Medicago sativa) crops. The parasitoid wasp, Cotesia medicaginis can be used as a biocontrol agent against the caterpillars.


C. eurytheme butterflies can be found from southern Mexico to almost all throughout North America. Historically, they were distributed primarily in the western Nearctic, but were displaced to the east by logging and alfalfa field planting.


Male C. eurytheme hindwings demonstrate an ultraviolet reflectance pattern while female C. eurytheme hindwings demonstrate ultraviolet absorbing patterns. According to studies, these ultraviolet reflecting wing scales found in males also contain pterin pigments that absorb wavelengths below 550 nm. Although this may seem paradoxical, the pterin pigments have been found to decrease the amount of diffuse ultraviolet reflectance that comes from the wing scales. By suppressing the diffuse ultraviolet reflectance, the directionality and spectral purity of the iridescence is heightened. In addition, the presence of the pterin pigments increases the signal's chromaticity and potential signal content, suggesting that these pigments are responsible for amplifying the contrast between ultraviolet reflectance and background colors as a male's wings move during flight. Further studies have found that the ultraviolet reflectance signal is brightest within a wing beat cycle when viewed from directly above the male. This supports the idea that male wing color should be able to be readily distinguished from that of females and the visual background that consists mostly of UV-absorbing vegetation.


Studies have suggested that most of the genes controlling male courtship signals are inherited as a co-adapted gene complex on the X-chromosome. The X-chromosome carries most of the genes controlling production of 13-methyl heptacosane, the main component of pheromones involved in sexual selection, and the ultraviolet wing reflectance pattern. Expression of the ultraviolet wing reflectance pattern found in male C. eurytheme is controlled by a recessive allele on the X-chromosome. This trait is sex limited and not expressed in females of the same species.


Unlike that of many other butterfly species, the courtship of C. eurytheme is very brief and does not involve many elaborate displays. Mature female butterflies participate in mate selection by utilizing a specific refusal posture that prevents any undesired mating with both conspecific and non-conspecific males.
These butterflies exhibit a polyandrous mating system. Upon mating, male C. eurytheme donate a nutritious spermatophore to the female, which will erode over time as nutrients are extracted for egg production and somatic maintenance. Females have a refractory period during which time they do not mate, but after they have depleted their spermatophore, they will search for another one and thus look for a new mate. In this mating system, females re-mate once every 4 to 6 days in summer, and mate a lifetime total of up to four times.


Male C. eurytheme have a visual cue (ultraviolet reflectance) and an olfactory cue (pheromones), both of which are suggested to be important in mate choice. Studies have suggested that pheromones may be more important in mediating female choice within a species, while ultraviolet reflectance may be more important in mediating female choice between species, such as between the very similar  butterflies C. eurytheme and C. philodice. The pheromone, located on the dorsal surface of the hindwing, consists of cuticular hydrocarbons n-heptacosane (C27), 13-methylheptacosane (13-MeC27), and possibly n-noncosane (C29). In addition, wing scales located on the dorsal wing surfaces in male C. eurytheme contain ridges with lamellae that produce iridescent ultraviolet reflectance via thin-film interference.
C. eurytheme males rely on visual cues to locate and identify females. Instead of using chemical stimuli to find mates, males are attracted to the ultraviolet absorbing color of female hindwings. Studies have shown that males respond to paper dummies of the appropriate color and even attempt to mate with them. On the contrary, the ultraviolet reflection found on males strongly inhibits approaches from other males. This suggests that ultraviolet reflectance is also used by males as an inhibitory signal directed towards other males.
Unlike sexual selection in males, visible color differences among males do not play an important role in mate selection by females. Females preferentially mate with males whose wings reflect ultraviolet light. Studies have suggested that this trait was the strongest and most informative predictor of male courtship success. This may be because it has the potential to be an honest indicator of male condition, viability, and/or age.
Due to the widespread cultivation of the alfalfa, the host plant for C. eurytheme and C. philodice, the species was able to expand their ranges across most of North America. These two species of sulphur butterflies have retained a large degree of genetic compatibility that allows them the produce viable and fertile offspring. As a result of the recent sympatry and possible hybridization between these two species of sulphur butterflies, numerous studies have been conducted on intraspecific and interspecific mating. In terms of mating under natural conditions, the males do not discriminate between the species, but females maintain nearly complete reproductive isolation. Studies suggest that the females do so by looking for the ultraviolet reflectance pattern on the dorsal wing surface of C. eurytheme males. Therefore, it was suggested that C. eurytheme and C. philodice do not randomly mate with each other. Instead, mating was found to be positively assortive and mostly conspecific.


Previous studies have suggested that males make a nutrient investment during copulation. This idea agrees with the sexual selection theory, which predicts that females would act in ways to maximize the nutrient material they receive and predicts that males would act in ways to maximize the return on their investments. Studies support this theory by showing that younger males (males with less wing wear) are more successful in courtship than older males, males accepted by females are significantly less variable in size than males rejected by females, persistence increases a male's chance of copulating up to a point, and the size of females accepted by males is less variable than that of rejected females. The amount of protein in a male's spermatophore is negatively correlated with age because it is more likely for older males to have mated previously. Females therefore prefer younger mates perhaps to secure large ejaculates, as smaller males and males that have mated previously produce smaller ejaculates.  The brightness of ultraviolet reflectance and pheromone descriptors, both important factors in mate selection, are also negatively correlated with age. However, variation between these two traits (visual and olfactory) is mostly uncorrelated. Since ultraviolet brightness emerges as the best predictor of male mating success, female preferences for brighter males may also indicate its relation to a material benefit. In addition, studies have shown a longevity difference between virgin and mated females, suggesting a cost to mating. It is hypothesized that there is a toxic side effect of the male ejaculate. However, it is still unclear how this longevity cost influences the evolution of lifetime mating schedules. The supposed cost also does not affect the number of eggs a female lays in its lifetime.


Colias philodice, the common sulphur or clouded sulphur, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae.


This species is a typical member of the genus. Both genders typically have pale yellow wings above with no traces of orange, unlike its close cousin the orange sulphur which may also be yellowish. Males have clean borders, while females have yellow dots within this region. Females sometimes exhibit a white form known as alba.
The underside of the male's wings is yellow while the female's is yellow or greenish white, and both have a doubled hindwing spot trimmed in brownish red. The hindwings show a series of four small red spots along the outer third portion, a trait that distinguishes the other North America species such as Colias interior, with exception of the orange sulphur which also shows them. Its wingspan is 32 to 54 mm.
Form alba
This species has white form alba which can be very common in some populations, while rare in others. It can be confused with other white forms of Colias particularly that of Colias eurytheme. It can often be distinguished by the border pattern of both wings, though some individuals are impossible to separate without the presence of other "normal" specimens. Though they differ in flight style, the white forms of Colias may be confused with other pierids such as Pieris rapae and Pontia protodice.
White form males are also known, but they are exceedingly rare in this species.


This butterfly may be encountered in fields, lawns, alfalfa or clover fields, meadows, and roadsides. Swarms of these butterflies will congregate at mud puddles. They range over most of North America with the exception of Labrador, Nunavut, and northern Quebec. They migrate every year.


Clouded sulphurs nectar at flowers such as milkweed (Asclepias species), butterfly bush (Buddleja species), coneflower (Dracopis, Echinacea, and Rudbeckia), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), dandelion (Taraxacum species), clover (Trifolium species), and tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis) and many more.


Ground-plum (Astragalus crassicarpus), Platte River milk-vetch (Astragalus plattensis), soybean (Glycine max), deer vetch (Lotus species), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), white sweet clover (Melilotus albus), black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), white clover (Trifolium repens), red clover (Trifolium pratense), vetch (Vicia species)


The pale yellow eggs are laid singly on the host plants. The eggs turn red after a few days, then turn gray just before they hatch. The young larvae will eat one another. The larva is green with a white stripe running along each side of the body. The white stripes may contain bars or lines of pink or orange. The green chrysalis hangs up right by a silken girdle. Just before eclosion, the chrysalis turns yellow with a pink "zipper".


Colias eurytheme – orange sulphur
Colias interior – pink-edged sulphur


The sparkling violetear (Colibri coruscans) is a species of hummingbird widespread in highlands of northern and western South America, including a large part of the Andes (from Argentina and northwards), the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the Tepuis. It occurs in a wide range of semi-open habitats, even in gardens and parks within major cities such as Quito, and is often the most common species of hummingbird in its range. It is highly vocal and territorial.


The sparkling violetear has two subspecies, the nominate C. c. coruscans and C. c. germanus. Other subspecies have been proposed to be separated from those two but that treatment has not been widely accepted.


The sparkling violetear is the largest violetear at 13 to 14 cm (5 to 5.5 in) long. Male birds weigh 5.8 to 8.5 g (0.20 to 0.30 oz) and females 6 to 7.5 g (0.21 to 0.26 oz). The nominate male's upperparts are metallic bluish green, the chin bluish violet, the belly blue, and the rest of the underparts green. Long erectile bluish violet plumes cover the ears. The tail is metallic green with a steely blue band near the end. Females are similar but smaller, and often have a white spot behind the eye. C. c. germanus is essentially the same as the nominate but the forehead, underparts, and tail are somewhat bluer.


The nominate subspecies of sparkling violetear is widely distributed. It is found in Venezuela's Sierra de Perijá, Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the Andes from Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia into northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. C. c. germanus is found on the tepuis of southern Venezuela, western Guyana, and the adjacent Brazilian state of Roraima. The species inhabits a variety of open landscapes including the edges of subtropical and temperate forest, woodland, gardens, city parks, and páramo. In elevation it mostly ranges from 1,000 to 4,500 m (3,300 to 14,800 ft).


Sparkling violetears display an extreme level of nighttime torpor to conserve energy during cold temperatures at high elevation, having body temperatures as low as 46 °F (8 °C) during night compared to its daytime body temperature of 96 °F (36 °C).
According to one study, the sparkling violetear has the smallest mean blood-air barrier thickness (0.183 µm) and the highest mass-specific respiratory surface area (87 cm²/g) in birds.


The sparkling violetear forages for nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants at all levels of the forest from the ground to the canopy. It also captures insects on the wing. It is very aggressive in most habitats, dominating all other hummingbirds while defending flowering trees, but aggression has not been observed in the páramo.


The sparkling violetear's breeding seasons vary across its range, from July through October in Venezuela to December through February in Argentina. The nest is a cup made of soft plant materials and decorated with lichens on its outside. It is placed on a horizontal branch, attached to a drooping twig, or sometimes in a cleft in rocks. The clutch size is two eggs. The incubation time is 17 to 18 days with fledging 20 to 22 days after hatch. Though some care of young by males has been reported, that behavior has not been confirmed.


The sparkling violetear is very vocal. Its principal song is "a long series of monosyllabic metallic chips, 'djit...djit...djit...' or 'tlik...tlik...tlik..'." It also sings "a medley of chips, squeals, gurgling sounds and short warbles" during aerial display. Its call is "a repeated short dry rattle 'drrr...drrr...'."


The IUCN has assessed the sparkling violetear as being of Least Concern, though its population size and trend are unknown. It is common in its various habitat types including human-made ones like gardens and plantations.


The lesser violetear (Colibri cyanotus), also known as the mountain violet-ear, is a medium-sized, metallic green hummingbird species commonly found in forested areas from Costa Rica to northern South America.  This species and the Mexican violetear were formerly considered as conspecific and named the 'green violetear'.


The lesser violetear belongs to the order Apodiformes. Hummingbirds share this order with the swifts, such as the white-collared swift. The name Apodiformes is derived from the Greek words "a pous," meaning "without foot." While apodiforms do in fact have feet, they are quite small and their legs are short and relatively weak. Many birds in this order cannot walk, and thus rarely if ever land on the ground since quick escape from predators is virtually impossible. For this reason members of this order spend a majority of their time in the air.


The lesser violetear has four sub-species:
C. c. cabanidis (Heine), 1863) - Costa Rica, western Panama
C. c. cyanotus (Bourcier, 1843) - Colombia, northwestern Venezuela, Ecuador
C. c. kerdeli Aveledo & Perez, 1991 - northeastern Venezuela
C. c. crissalis Todd, 1942 - Peru and Bolivia


The lesser violetear is roughly medium-sized by hummingbird standards. It averages around 9.7 to 12 cm (3.8 to 4.7 in) in total length. Its bill is black and mostly straight with only a slight downward curve and measures from 1.8 to 2.5 cm (0.71 to 0.98 in). The body mass can vary from 4.8 to 5.6 g (0.17 to 0.20 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 5.8 to 6.8 cm (2.3 to 2.7 in) and the tail is 3.5 to 4.3 cm (1.4 to 1.7 in). It is shining green above with a glittering violet ear-patch on the sides of its neck. Its throat and chest are a more glittering green with a shining green belly. The tail is a metallic blue-green with more bronzy central feathers and a prominent black subterminal band.


Solitary males sing from high, exposed twigs in their territory every day. Their song is a monotonously repeated sharp and dry “tsu-tzeek” at a rate of about one call per second.


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


Common habitats for the lesser violetear are in the canopy and borders of subtropical and lower temperate forest, secondary woodland and scrub, and clearings and gardens in the subtropical zone on both slopes of the Andes. It is recorded mostly between altitudes of 1,200 to 2,300 m (3,900 to 7,500 ft), though they will sometimes wander as far down as 500 m (1,600 ft) in search of food sources. It generally prefers more humid and high-altitude areas, such as cloud forests, than the similar sparkling violetear and is completely absent from the central valley where the sparkling violetear is most prevalent. However, the two species will sometimes be seen in the same areas feeding at flowering Inga trees.


The lesser violetear forages alone but tends to gather at flowering trees, especially coffee-shade Inga. They feed at mid-level to canopy and often hold and defend a feeding territory. They primarily feed on nectar and small insects. The lesser violetear has been recorded as attaining the greatest flying speed ever recorded for a hummingbird, with a pair of birds having attained 90 mph (140 km/h) during a chase, although other species may be able to attain similar speeds.


Like most hummingbirds, the lesser violetear is a solitary nester. The male's only involvement in the breeding process is to attract and mate with the female. The female is then responsible for choosing a nest location, generally on a low, small horizontal branch in a protected area. The nest is small and built from various plant materials, spider webs, and down woven together to form a sturdy cup structure. Two small white eggs are laid within the nest and the female incubates them on her own. Incubation time is 14–18 days. Hatchlings are primarily fed insects due to high nutritional requirements. No information was found on the length of the nestling stage or age at fledgling. Breeding takes place though the wet season into the early dry season, which varies by latitude.


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


C. virginianus is a moderately-sized quail, and is the only small galliform native to eastern North America. The bobwhite can range from 24 to 28 cm (9.4 to 11.0 in) in length with a 33 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) wingspan. As indicated by body mass, weights increase in birds found further north, as corresponds to Bergmann's rule. In Mexico, northern bobwhites weigh from 129 to 159 g (4.6 to 5.6 oz) whereas in the north they average 170 to 173 g (6.0 to 6.1 oz) and large males can attain as much as 255 g (9.0 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 9.7 to 11.7 cm (3.8 to 4.6 in), the tail is 5 to 6.8 cm (2.0 to 2.7 in) the culmen is 1.3 to 1.6 cm (0.51 to 0.63 in) and the tarsus is 2.7 to 3.3 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in). It has the typical chunky, rounded shape of a quail. The bill is short, curved and brown-black in color. This species is sexually dimorphic. Males have a white throat and brow stripe bordered by black. The overall rufous plumage has gray mottling on the wings, white scalloped stripes on the flanks, and black scallops on the whitish underparts. The tail is gray. Females are similar but are duller overall and have a buff throat and brow without the black border. Both sexes have pale legs and feet.


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


Like most game birds, the northern bobwhite is shy and elusive. When threatened, it will crouch and freeze, relying on camouflage to stay undetected, but will flush into low flight if closely disturbed. It is generally solitary or paired early in the year, but family groups are common in the late summer and winter roosts may have two dozen or more birds in a single covey.


The northern bobwhite's diet consists of plant material and small invertebrates, such as ticks, snails, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, crickets, and leafhoppers. Plant sources include seeds, wild berries, partridge peas, and cultivated grains. It forages on the ground in open areas with some spots of taller vegetation.
Optimal nutrient requirements for bobwhite vary depending on the age of bird and the time of the year. For example, optimal protein and energy requirements for egg laying hens (23% protein) is much higher than males (16%).


Northern bobwhite were introduced into Italy in 1927, and are reported in the plains and hills in the northwest of the country. Other reports from the EU are in France, Spain, and Yugoslavia. As bobwhites are highly productive and popular aviary subjects, it is reasonable to expect other introductions have been made in other parts of the EU, especially in the U.K. and Ireland, where game-bird breeding, liberation, and naturalization are relatively common practices.


Bobwhites are generally compatible with most parrots, softbills and doves. This species should, however, be the only ground-dwelling species in the aviary. Most individuals will do little damage to finches, but one should watch that nests are not being crushed when the species perches at night. Single pairs are preferred, unless the birds have been raised together as a group since they were chicks. Some fighting will occur between cocks at breeding time. One cock may be capable of breeding with several hens, but the fertility seems to be highest in the eggs from the preferred hen. Aviary style is a compromise between what is tolerated by the bird and what is best for the bird. Open parrot-style type aviaries may be used, but some birds will remain flighty and shy in this situation. In a planted aviary, this species will generally settle down to become quite tame and confiding. Parents with chicks will roost on the ground, forming a circular arrangement, with heads facing outwards. In the early morning and late afternoon, the cock will utter his call, which, although not loud, carries well and may offend noise-sensitive neighbors. Most breeding facilities keep birds in breeding groups on wire up off the ground. This keeps the birds clean and generally avoids diseases and parasites, which can devastate a covey. Cages with mesh floors for pairs and trios are also employed, but usually where there is a photo-period manipulation to keep birds breeding through winter.


In the wild the northern bobwhite feeds on a variety of weed and grass seeds, as well as insects. These are generally collected on the ground or from low foliage. Birds in the aviary are easily catered for with a commercial small seed mix (finch, budgerigar, or small parrot mix) when supplemented with greenfeed. Live food is not usually necessary for breeding, but will be ravenously accepted. High protein foods such as chicken grower crumble are more convenient to supply and will be useful for the stimulation of breeding birds. Extra calcium is required, especially by laying hens; it can be supplied in the form of shell grit, or cuttlefish bone.


In an open aviary, hens will lay all over the show if a nesting site and privacy are not provided. Hens that do this may lay upwards of 80 eggs in a season which can be taken for artificial incubation -  and the chicks hand-raised. Otherwise, hens with nesting cover that do make a nest (on the ground) will build up 8–25 eggs in a clutch, with eggs being laid daily.


The northern bobwhite is rated as a Near-threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The northern bobwhite is threatened across its range due to habitat loss and habitat degradation. Changing land use patterns and changing fire regimes have caused once prime habitat to become unfavorable for the bobwhite.


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


The speckled mousebird is about 35 cm (14 inches) long, with the tail comprising approximately half the length, and weighs about 57 grams (2 oz). It is well-named, because it is dull-mousy brown in overall color on the back and on the head (including a prominent crest). The bill is black on the upper part and is a pinkish color on the lower part. The rare white-headed mousebird can be confused with this species, but the differently colored mandibles and the lack of a bare grey orbital patch render the Speckled species distinctive.
The speckled mousebird is not known for its voice, as songbirds are, although it is a noisy creature. They make a warbling tsu-tsu call while in flight, and are known for their tisk-tisk alarm call while in flight.


The speckled mousebird is a frugivore which subsists on fruits, berries, leaves, seeds and nectar, and is fairly strict in its choice of food from area to area.
These are conspicuously social birds, feeding together and engaging in mutual preening. They also accompany each other when they go to ground to dust bathe (also to occasionally to swallow pebbles to assist in grinding up vegetation as they digest it). Upon nightfall, they roost in very tight groups of 20 or so birds and on cold nights they can become torpid. Being in a torpid state could make them easy prey, but the large groups are apparently effective enough to deter most nocturnal predators.


The speckled mousebird may breed at any time of the year. The nest is a large (for the bird) and untidy cup made of vegetable and animal material (sometimes including cloth and paper) and is constructed by both the male and female. Clutch size ranges from one to seven eggs (apparently based on latitude), but usually averages 3–4. Nestlings are fed by both parents and also by helpers, which usually are juveniles from previous clutches. The incubation period is fourteen days and the offspring will leave the nest for the first time at about seventeen or eighteen days. After a little over a month, the nestlings will begin foraging for themselves.


Collinsia heterophylla, known as purple Chinese houses or innocence, is a flowering plant native to California and the Peninsular Ranges in northern Baja California.


Collinsia heterophylla is an annual plant growing in shady places,  10–50 centimetres (4–20 in) in height. It can be found in most of California (other than desert regions) below about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).
It blooms from mid spring to early summer. Like other species in the genus Collinsia, which also includes the blue-eyed Marys, it gets its name from its towers of inflorescences of decreasing diameter, which give the plants in full flower a certain resemblance to a pagoda.
Dried in air, the seeds weigh about 1 mg each.


Collinsia heterophylla var. austromontana
Collinsia heterophylla var. heterophylla


The species was first described as Collinsia bicolor by George Bentham in 1835, but this name proved to be a later homonym of Collinsia bicolor Raf. (described in 1824), necessitating the name change to C. heterophylla. Despite this, the name C. bicolor is still sometimes used in references.


Collinsia verna, or blue-eyed Mary, is a winter annual that is native to the eastern and central parts of North America but has become endangered in the states of New York and Tennessee. The flowers are bicolored white and blue. It is a plant of valley bottoms and moist bottom slopes, in areas with moderate lighting and requires some shade.


Collinsia verna is native to Ontario, New York, south to Virginia, southwest to Tennessee and Oklahoma, and north to Kansas, Iowa, and Wisconsin. It is also present in a multitude of other places filling the eastern states of the U.S.


Collinsia verna is often found in areas of damp open wood as it requires ample amounts of shade. Moist to mesic environmental conditions with rich loamy soil are preferred as the growth and size of individual plants is strongly influenced by the moisture conditions and the richness of the soil. The seeds need to be planted during the summer so that they will germinate during the fall. Collinsia verna can also flourish in habitats including wooded lower slopes of river valleys, and along woodland paths. Sometimes Blue-Eyed Mary grow in drier deciduous woodlands, however in these cases, the individual plants are reported to be smaller in size.


Individual specimens can usually be found to be about 4-12 inches (10–30 cm) tall. Leaves opposite of each other can be up to 2" long and ¾" across; either medium green or yellowish green, and either glabrous or pubescent (usually the latter). The middle leaves are the largest, they range from being oval to broadly lanceolate, usually with a few blunt edges along their margins, and their bases are either sessile or clasp the stem. Sometimes individual flowers develop from the axils of the upper leaves; these axillary flowers have slender pedicels up to 1½" long. Each flower is ½-¾" across, consisting of a green calyx with 5 teeth and a blue/white corolla; the calyx is light green to purplish green. The corolla is divided into upper lip regions and  lower lip regions. The upper lip is split into 2 large rounded lobes that are white, while the lower lip is slip into 3 lobes. The 2 large outer lobes of the lower lip are light blue to blue-violet, while the tiny middle lobe of the lower lip is folded into a keel and hidden from view. Its root system consists of a slender taproot. Collinsia verna is considered to be an herb.


Collinsia verna reproduces via self pollination and through the late time of receptivity and change in position of its stigma and anther, resulting in delayed selfing. "In most flowers (70%), the stigma has moved to the front of the keel and is positioned near the anthers when the third anther dehisces. Under field conditions, fruiting success of plants within pollinator exclosures was; 75% of the fruiting success in open-pollinated plants (33% fruiting success via autogamy vs. 44% fruiting success, respectively)." (Susan Kalisz, 1999) It was concluded that autogamy indeed did occur late in floral development which raises its potential for reproductive assurance, and that individuals flowers varied in their ability to set fruit through this mechanism.


Collinsonia canadensis, commonly called richweed or stoneroot, is a perennial herb in the mint family.
It is native to eastern North America, primarily east of the Mississippi River, where it is widespread. It is the most broadly distributed member of the genus Collinsonia, ranging north to Quebec and south to Florida. Its natural habitat is nutrient-rich mesic forests, most often in rocky, calcareous areas. Collinsonia canadensis can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and has terminal clusters of tiny, tubular yellow flowers. Leaves are green, large, sharply toothed, and ovate.
It produces lemon-scented flowers in mid-summer, a time when little else is in bloom in densely shaded forests.


Collinsonia canadensis was used by Native Americans to treat a variety of ailments. However, European-American settlers in North America did not often use this species after they initially discovered it, due to it lacking any conspicuous toxic qualities. It was not until the mid-1800s when it regained popularity as a medicinal herb.
The leaves can be brewed into tea, and the subterranean stem was once used as a diuretic, tonic, and astringent.


Collomia grandiflora is a western North American annual plant in the phlox family (Polemoniaceae), known by the common names grand collomia, large-flowered mountain trumpet, and large-flowered collomia. It usually appears in sandy habitats and is cultivated as an ornamental.


The plant grows to about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) and produces an erect, hairy or fuzzy stem which may be red to green in color. Arranged at wide intervals along the stem are long, lance-shaped leaves growing to about 10 centimetres (4 in), the lowermost sometimes toothed along the edges. Atop the stem is an inflorescence of several flowers in white to yellow or orange. Lower flowerheads may branch from the axils of the alternate leaves. Each tubular, flat-faced flower is 2 or 3 cm wide with five fused and curving light-colored petals and five stamens tipped with anthers which bear blue pollen. The fruit is a capsule containing sticky seeds.


Some Native Americans used the roots and leaves for medicinal purposes.


Collomia heterophylla is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name variableleaf collomia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Idaho to central California, where it grows in several types of habitat, including open areas on gravelly mountain slopes. It is a hairy annual herb producing a branching, erect stem. As the common name suggests, the leaves are variable in shape, the lower generally with several toothed lobes and the upper sometimes lacking lobes. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers emerging from the top of the stem or from the axil of a leaf. It may bear up to 25 flowers, each with star-shaped corolla at the tip of an elongated tube. The corolla lobes are lance-shaped and white to deep pink with white bases.


Collomia linearis is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names tiny trumpet and slenderleaf collomia. This tiny wildflower is native to North America where it is fairly widespread across the north and west. It is an annual herb, rarely exceeding 30 centimetres (12 in) in height, with a velvety erect stem bearing long, narrow green leaves. Atop the stem is a cluster of up to 20 white or light pink flowers, each about a centimeter across. Each has five small rounded petals and stamens tipped with anthers bearing white pollen.


Colocasia esculenta is a tropical plant grown primarily for its edible corms, a root vegetable most commonly known as taro (/ˈtɑːroʊ, ˈtæroʊ/), among many other names (see § Names and etymology below). It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, and South Asian cultures (similar to yams), and taro is believed to have been one of the earliest cultivated plants.


The English term taro was borrowed from the Māori language of New Zealand when Captain Cook first observed plantations of Colocasia tubers there in 1769. The form taro or talo is widespread among Polynesian languages:  taro in Tahitian;  talo in Samoan and Tongan; kalo in Hawaiian; taʻo in Marquesan. All these forms originate from Proto-Polynesian *talo, which itself descended from Proto-Oceanic *talos (cf. dalo in Fijian) and Proto-Austronesian *tales (cf. tales in Javanese). However, irregularity in sound correspondences among the cognate forms in Austronesian suggests that the term may have been borrowed from an Austroasiatic language perhaps somewhere in Borneo and spread from there (cf. proto-Mon-Khmer *t₂rawʔ, Khasi shriew, Khmu sroʔ).
In the Odia language, it is called Saru (ସାରୁ). In India, it is used in huge quantities in the Odisha region.
Colocasia esculenta has other names in different languages.
Some other names include amadumbe or madumbi in certain languages of South Africa, "boina" in Wolaita language of Ethiopia, amateke in Kirundi and Kinyarwanda. In Madagascar, it is known as saonjo. It is called eddo in Liberia. It is dasheen in Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia and Jamaica.
In Portuguese, it is known as taro, inhame, inhame-coco, taioba, taiova, taioba-de-são-tomé or matabala and in Spanish it is called malanga.
In the Sinhala language of Sri Lanka it is called "Kiri Ala" (කිරිඅල), but malanga is a different species.
The Ancient Greek word κολοκάσιον (kolokasion, lit. 'lotus root') is the origin of the Modern Greek word kolokasi (κολοκάσι), the word kolokas in both Greek  and Turkish, and kolkas (قلقاس) in Arabic. It was borrowed in Latin as colocasia, hence the genus name Colocasia.
Taro is among the most widely grown species in the group of tropical perennial plants that are referred to as "elephant ears" when grown as ornamental plants.


Linnaeus originally described two species, Colocasia esculenta and Colocasia antiquorum, but many later botanists consider them both to be members of a single, very variable species, the correct name for which is Colocasia esculenta. The specific epithet, esculenta, means "edible" in Latin.
Taro is related to Xanthosoma and Caladium, plants commonly grown ornamentally, and like them, it is sometimes loosely called elephant ear. Similar taro varieties include giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos), swamp taro (Cyrtosperma merkusii), and arrowleaf elephant's ear (Xanthosoma sagittifolium).


Colocasia esculenta is a perennial, tropical plant primarily grown as a root vegetable for its edible, starchy corm. The plant has rhizomes of different shapes and sizes. Leaves are up to 40 cm × 24.8 cm (15+3⁄4 in × 9+3⁄4 in) and sprout from the rhizome. They are dark green above and light green beneath. They are triangular-ovate, sub-rounded and mucronate at the apex, with the tip of the basal lobes rounded or sub-rounded. The petiole is 0.8–1.2 m (2 ft 7 in – 3 ft 11 in) high. The path can be up to 25 cm (10 in) long. The spadix is about three fifths as long as the spathe, with flowering parts up to 8 mm (5⁄16 in) in diameter. The female portion is at the fertile ovaries intermixed with sterile white ones. Neuters grow above the females, and are rhomboid or irregular orium lobed, with six or eight cells. The appendage is shorter than the male portion.


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


Taro is one of the most ancient cultivated crops.  Taro is found widely in tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and  Papua New Guinea, and northern Australia and in Maldives. Taro is the very first crop and till today it is very special food . and is highly polymorphic, making taxonomy and distinction between wild and cultivated types difficult. It is believed that they were domesticated independently multiple times, with authors giving possible locations as New Guinea, Mainland Southeast Asia, and northeastern India, based largely on the assumed native range of the wild plants. However, more recent studies have pointed out that wild taro may have a much larger native distribution than previously believed, and wild breeding types may also likely be indigenous to other parts of Island Southeast Asia.
Archaeological traces of taro exploitation have been recovered from numerous sites, though whether these were cultivated or wild types can not be ascertained. They include the Niah Caves of Borneo around 10,000 years ago, Ille Cave of Palawan, dated to at least 11,000 year ago; Kuk Swamp of New Guinea, dated to between 8250 BC and 7960 BC; and Kilu Cave in the Solomon Islands dated to around 28,000 to 20,000 years ago. In the case of Kuk Swamp, there is evidence of formalized agriculture emerging by about 10,000 years ago, with evidence of cultivated plots, though which plant was cultivated remains unknown.
Taro were carried into the Pacific Islands by Austronesian peoples from around 1300 BC, where they became a staple crop of Polynesians, along with other types of "taros", like  Alocasia macrorrhizos, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, and Cyrtosperma merkusii. They are the most important and the most preferred among the four, because they were less likely to contain the irritating raphides present in the other plants.  Taro is also identified as one of the staples of Micronesia, from archaeological evidence dating back to the pre-colonial Latte Period (c. 900 - 1521 AD), indicating that it was also carried by Micronesians when they colonized the islands. Taro pollen and starch residue have also been identified in Lapita sites, dated to between 1100 BC and 550 BC. Taro was later spread to Madagascar as early as the 1st century AD.


At around 3.3 million metric tons per year, Nigeria is the largest producer of taro in the world. Taro can be grown in paddy fields where water is abundant or in upland situations where water is supplied by rainfall or supplemental irrigation. Taro is one of the few crops (along with rice and lotus) that can be grown under flooded conditions. This is due to air spaces in the petiole, which permit underwater gaseous exchange with the atmosphere. For a maximum dissolved oxygen supply, the water should be cool and flowing. Warm, stagnant water causes basal rotting. For maximum yields, the water level should be controlled so that the base of the plant is always under water.
Flooded cultivation has some advantages over dry-land cultivation: higher yields (about double), out-of-season production (which may result in higher prices), and weed control (which flooding facilitates). On the other hand, in flooded production systems taro requires a longer maturation period, investment in infrastructure, and higher operational costs, and monoculture is likely.
Like most root crops, taro and eddoes do well in deep, moist or even swampy soils where the annual rainfall exceeds 2,500 mm (100 in). Eddoes are more resistant to drought and cold. The crop attains maturity within six to twelve months after planting in dry-land cultivation and after twelve to fifteen months in wetland cultivation. The crop is harvested when the plant height decreases and the leaves turn yellow. These signals are usually less distinct in flooded taro cultivation.
Harvesting is usually done by hand tools, even in mechanized production systems. First, the soil around the corm is loosened, and then, the corm is pulled up by grabbing the base of the petioles. The global average yield is 6.2 tonnes per hectare (2.8 short tons per acre) but varies according to the region. In Asia, average yields reach 12.6 t/ha (5.6 short ton/acre).


It is a food staple in African, Oceanic and South Asian cultures.
People usually consume its edible corm and leaves. The corms, which have a light purple color due to phenolic pigments, are roasted, baked or boiled. The natural sugars give a sweet, nutty flavor. The starch is easily digestible, and since the grains are fine and small it is often used for baby food. Young taro leaves and stems can be eaten after boiling twice to remove the acrid flavor. The leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C and contain more protein than the corms.
In its raw form, the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate, and the presence of needle-shaped raphides in the plant cells. However, the toxin can be minimized and the tuber rendered palatable by cooking, or by steeping in cold water overnight.
Corms of the small, round variety are peeled and boiled, then sold either frozen, bagged in their own liquids, or canned.


Taro is the pre-eminent crop of the Cook Islands and surpasses all other crops in terms of land area devoted to production. The prominence of the crop there has led it to be a staple of the population's diet. Taro is grown across the country, but the method of cultivation depends on the nature of the island it is grown on. Taro also plays an important role in the country's export trade. The root is eaten boiled, as is standard across Polynesia. Taro leaves are also eaten, cooked with coconut milk, onion, and meat or fish.


Taro (dalo in Fijian) has been a staple of the Fijian diet for centuries, and its cultural importance is celebrated on Taro Day. Its growth as an export crop began in 1993 when taro leaf blight decimated the taro industry in neighboring Samoa. Fiji filled the void and was soon supplying taro internationally. Almost 80% of Fiji's exported taro comes from the island of Taveuni where the taro beetle species Papuana uninodis is absent. The Fijian taro industry on the main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu faces constant damage from the beetles. The Fiji Ministry of Agriculture and the Land Resources Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) are researching pest control and instigating quarantine restrictions to prevent the spread of the pest. Taveuni now exports pest-damage-free crops.


Kalo is the Hawaiian name for the taro plant. The local crop plays an important role in Hawaiian culture, mythology, and cuisine. Taro is a traditional staple of the native cuisine of Hawaii. Some of the uses for taro include poi, table taro (steamed and served like a potato), taro chips, and lūʻau leaf (to make laulau). In Hawaii, kalo is farmed under either dryland or wetland conditions. Taro farming in the Hawaiian Islands is challenging because of the difficulties of accessing fresh water. Kalo is usually grown in "pond fields" known as loʻi. Typical dryland or "upland" varieties (varieties grown in watered but not flooded fields) in Hawaii are lehua maoli and bun long, the latter widely known as "Chinese taro". Bun long is used for making taro chips. Dasheen (also called "eddo") is another dryland variety of C. esculenta grown for its edible corms or as an ornamental plant. A contemporary Hawaiian diet consists of many tuberous plants, particularly sweet potato and kalo.
The Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service determined the 10-year median production of kalo in Hawaii to be about 6.1 million pounds (2,800 t). However, 2003 taro production in Hawaii was only 5 million pounds (2,300 t), an all-time low since record-keeping began in 1946. The previous low of 1997 was 5.5 million pounds (2,500 t). Despite generally growing demand, production was even lower in 2005—only 4 million pounds, with kalo for processing into poi accounting for 97.5%. Urbanization is one cause driving down harvests from the high of 14.1 million pounds (6,400 t) in 1948, but more recently, the decline has resulted from pests and diseases. A non-native apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) is a major culprit along with a plant rot disease traced to a newly identified species of fungus in the genus Phytophthora that now affects kalo crops throughout Hawaii. Although pesticides could control both problems to some extent, pesticide use in the loʻi is banned because of the opportunity for chemicals to migrate quickly into streams, and then eventually the sea.
Social roles
Important aspects of Hawaiian culture revolve around kalo cultivation and consumption. For example, the newer name for a traditional Hawaiian feast, the lūʻau, comes from the kalo. Young kalo tops baked with coconut milk and chicken meat or octopus arms are frequently served at luaus.
By ancient Hawaiian custom, fighting is not allowed when a bowl of poi is "open". Similarly, it is also considered disrespectful to fight in front of an elder and one should not raise their voice, speak angrily, or make rude comments or gestures.
Loʻi
A loʻi is a patch of wetland dedicated to growing kalo. Hawaiians have traditionally used water irrigation systems to produce kalo. Wetland fields produce ten to fifteen times more kalo per acre than dry fields.  Wetland-grown kalo need a constant flow of water, and to get this water, fields are usually positioned between the mauka (mountains) and makai (sea). A lo'i specifically denotes wetland kalo growing, not dry land.
The loʻi is part of an ahupuaʻa, a division of land from the mountain to the sea. Ahupuaʻa means "pig altar", and was named for stone altars with pig head carvings that marked the boundaries of each Hawaiian land division. Ideally, an ahupuaʻa has all the necessities within its borders. From the mountains, materials such as wood are provided for thatching roofs and twining rope. The uplands produce crops like sugar cane and sweet potatoes, while the lowlands provide taro and fish. This system typically satisfies the large populations in each ahupuaʻa.
When kalo was brought to Hawaiʻi, there were about 300 varieties (about 100 remain). The kalo plant takes seven months to grow until harvest, so lo`i fields are used in rotation and the soil can be replenished while the loʻi in use has sufficient water. The stems are typically replanted in the lo`i for future kalo harvests. Once harvested, kalo is incorporated into many foods. The leaves are used to make laulau, from the corm poi or paʻiʻai.
History
One mythological version of Hawaiian ancestry cites the taro plant as an ancestor to Hawaiians. Legend joins the two siblings of high and divine rank: Papahānaumoku ("Papa from whom lands are born", or Earth mother) and Wākea (Sky father). Together they create the islands of Hawaii and a beautiful woman, Hoʻohokukalani (The Heavenly one who made the stars).
The story of kalo begins when Wakea and Papa conceived their daughter, Hoʻohokukalani. Daughter and father then conceived a child together named Hāloanakalaukapalili (Long stalk trembling), but it was stillborn. After the father and daughter buried the child near their house, a kalo plant grew over the grave:
The stems were slender and when the wind blew they swayed and bent as though paying homage, their heart-shaped leaves shivering gracefully as in hula.  And in the center of each leaf water gathered, like a mother’s teardrop.
The second child born of Wākea and Hoʻohokukalani was named Hāloa after his older brother. The kalo of the earth was the sustenance for the young brother and became the principal food for successive generations.  Now, as man continues to work the wetlands for this sacred crop, he remembers Haloanaka, the ancestor that nourishes him. The Hawaiian word for family, ʻohana, is derived from ʻohā, the shoot which grows from the kalo corm. The reason being: as young shoots grow from the corm of the kalo plant, so people, too, grow from their family.


The taro corm is a traditional staple crop for large parts of Papua New Guinea, with a domestic trade extending its consumption to areas where it is not traditionally grown. Taro from some regions has developed particularly good reputations with (for instance) Lae taro being highly prized.
Among the Urapmin people of Papua New Guinea, taro (known in Urap as ima) is the main source of sustenance along with the sweet potato (Urap: wan). In fact, the word for "food" in Urap is a compound of these two words.


Considered the staple starch of traditional Polynesian cuisine, taro is both a common and prestigious food item that was first introduced to the Polynesian islands by prehistoric seafarers of Southeast Asian derivation. The tuber itself is prepared in various ways, including baking, steaming in earth ovens (umu or imu), boiling, and frying. The famous Hawaiian staple poi is made by mashing steamed taro roots with water. Taro also features in traditional desserts such as Samoan fa'ausi, which consists of grated, cooked taro mixed with coconut milk and brown sugar. The leaves of the taro plant also feature prominently in Polynesian cooking, especially as edible wrappings for dishes such as Hawaiian laulau, Fijian and Samoan palusami (wrapped around onions and coconut milk), and Tongan lupulu (wrapped corned beef). Ceremonial presentations on occasion of chiefly rites or communal events (weddings, funerals, etc.) traditionally included the ritual presentation of raw and cooked taro roots/plants.
The Hawaiian laulau traditionally contains pork, fish, and lu'au (cooked taro leaf). The wrapping is inedible ti leaves (Hawaiian: lau ki).  Cooked taro leaf has the consistency of cooked spinach and is therefore unsuitable for use as a wrapping.


In Samoa, the baby talo leaves and coconut milk are wrapped into parcels and cooked, along with other food, in an earth oven . The parcels are called palusami or lu'au. The resulting taste is smoky, sweet, savory and has a unique creamy texture. The root is also baked (Talo tao) in the umu or boiled with coconut cream (Faálifu Talo). It has a slightly bland and starchy flavor. It is sometimes called the Polynesian potato.


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


Taro (simplified Chinese: 芋头; traditional Chinese: 芋頭; pinyin: yùtou; Cantonese Yale: wuhtáu) is commonly used as a main course as steamed taro with or without sugar, as a substitute for other cereals, in Chinese cuisine in a variety of styles and provinces steamed, boiled or stir-fried as a main dish and as a flavor-enhancing ingredient. In Northern China, it is often boiled or steamed then peeled and eaten with or without sugar much like a potato. It is commonly braised with pork or beef. It is used in the Cantonese dim sum to make a small plated dish called taro dumpling as well as a pan-fried dish called taro cake. It can also be shredded into long strips which are woven together to form a seafood birdsnest. In Fujian cuisine, it is steamed or boiled and mixed with starch to form a dough for dumpling.
Taro cake is a delicacy traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year celebrations. As a dessert, it can be mashed into a purée or used as a flavoring in tong sui, ice cream, and other desserts such as Sweet Taro Pie. McDonald's sells taro-flavored pies in China.
Taro is mashed in the dessert known as taro purée.
Taro paste, a traditional Cantonese cuisine, which originated from the Chaoshan region in the eastern part of China's Guangdong Province is a dessert made primarily from taro. The taro is steamed and then mashed into a thick paste, which forms the base of the dessert. Lard or fried onion oil is then added for fragrance. The dessert is traditionally sweetened with water chestnut syrup, and served with ginkgo nuts. Modern versions of the dessert include the addition of coconut cream and sweet corn. The dessert is commonly served at traditional Teochew wedding banquet dinners as the last course, marking the end of the banquet.


A similar plant in Japan is called satoimo (里芋、サトイモ, literally "village potato"). The "child" and "grandchild" corms (cormels, cormlets) which bud from the parent satoimo, are called koimo (子芋) and magoimo (孫芋), respectively, or more generally imonoko (芋の子). Satoimo has been propagated in Southeast Asia since the late Jōmon period.  It was a regional staple before rice became predominant. The tuber, satoimo, is often prepared through simmering in fish stock (dashi) and soy sauce.  The stalk, zuiki, can also be prepared a number of ways, depending on the variety.


In Korea, taro is called toran (Korean: 토란: "earth egg"), and the corm is stewed and the leaf stem is stir-fried. Taro roots can be used for medicinal purposes, particularly for treating insect bites. It is made into the Korean traditional soup toranguk (토란국). Taro stems are often used as an ingredient in yukgaejang (육개장).


In Taiwan, taro— yùtóu (芋頭) in Mandarin, and ō͘-á (芋仔) in Taiwanese—is well-adapted to Taiwanese climate and can grow almost anywhere in the country with minimal maintenance. Before the Taiwan Miracle made rice affordable to everyone, taro was one of the main staples in Taiwan. Nowadays taro is used more often in desserts. Supermarket varieties range from about the size and shape of a brussels sprout to longer, larger varieties the size of a football. Taro chips are often used as a potato-chip-like snack. Compared to potato chips, taro chips are harder and have a nuttier flavor. Another popular traditional Taiwanese snack is taro ball, served on ice or deep-fried. It is common to see taro as a flavor in desserts and drinks, such as bubble tea.