Normally, white-tailed eagles succeed in raising one or two young from a clutch of two, and two from a clutch of three. The average breeding success seems to be about 1.1–1.6 young per annum (i.e. 45–48 young from 40 observed cases, with 16 failures) (1.6 young per pair in 93 recorded Norwegian nests). About 33% of nesting attempts will fail to produce any young, and this is sometimes as many as 75% (at times of heavy persecution or pesticide use). Beyond manmade threats to white-tailed eagle nestlings, starvation and nest collapse are considerable causes of nestling deaths. Natural threats in the nest may also include siblicide (or "cainism") wherein the largest nestling behave aggressively and gradually kill their smaller sibling, which is often consumed. Despite claims to contrary, siblicide in white-tailed eagle does occur with some regularity in some parts of the range, from Germany to Hokkaido although is certainly less frequent than in some eagle species, including the golden eagle. Single cases were reported in the White Sea and Iceland, and it may occur situationally as in many birds of prey when prey populations are low or prey capture is inhibited by poor weather. Siblicide can be avoided in white-tailed eagles with manipulative techniques, which may include taking out and hand-rearing the runt, put a chick into a nest with slightly younger brood which it is about the same size as, or taking the first egg out and putting it back in later so it develops evenly with its younger sibling. Surplus chicks are sometimes removed from nests to use in reintroduction programs in areas where the species has died out. If left in the nest, they often die sooner or later, as with most large eagles. In such programs the birds are raised in boxes on platforms in the tree canopy and fed in such a way that they cannot see the human supplying their food, until they are old enough to fly and thus find their own food.
Known natural predators of white-tailed eagle eggs and nestlings include red foxes, martens and bears, especially if nesting in overly accessible rock formations, while wild boars have been recorded eating eggs and nestlings that’ve fallen out of the nest too early. Avian predation, overall a seemingly rare occurrence, of white-tailed eagle eggs and nestlings have been reported as crows, common ravens and western marsh harriers, which are likely to succeed in cases where nest attendance is low or if successful in driving away the parents via fierce mobbing. Furthermore, Eurasian eagle owls have been reported to prey upon "fairly large" nestlings of white-tailed eagle in nighttime ambushes. Many juveniles do not survive their first year post-independence. In the 1970s, an average of 56% banded first-year white-tailed eagles in Norway, Sweden and Greenland were found dead, most often having been shot. In eastern Germany, of 194 white-tailed eagles found dead between 1946 and 1972, of those where cause of death could be determined, 39% had been shot, accidents (especially powerlines) accounted for 6%, territorial disputes 7.5% and conservatively 13% were from poisoning. It is estimated that the survival of those that reach adulthood at 70%. Another estimate of average lifespan for those who reach adulthood is just over 12 years. Widely reported individuals have been found to live for 25 years or more, Another estimate of mean lifespan (presumably without persecution) is 21 years. At one point, the oldest banded white-tailed eagle known in the wild known lived for 27 years. However, a wild eagle of the species was subsequently recorded to life for 33.1 years. White-tailed eagles in captivity have lived for more than 40 years, though their exactly captive longevity record is not known. A male white-tailed eagle that was ringed as a chick on the Isle of Skye in 1994, was recorded on the Isle of Mull in early 2022 at the advanced age of 28 years old. His mate, a female white-tailed eagle that hatched in 1992 on Mull, will now be 30 years old although her identity has not been confirmed.


The white-tailed eagle formerly bred over much wider area, extending west to much of western Europe and perhaps south almost continuously in that region to the Mediterranean. From the 19th century, the species underwent a huge, well-documented decline. Ultimately the white-tailed eagle was almost extinct in Europe, extirpated from all but Fennoscandia (mainly remaining in Norway) and some sparse patches of eastern Europe. They were extinct in the entire British Isles by the early 1900s. At one time, the white-tailed eagle bred down to Egypt in Africa, particularly around Lake Manzala with individuals wandering rarely to Algeria and Tunisia. It is likely that habitat degradation and drying conditions caused the extirpation of the species as all but a vagrant in Egypt. Two pairs that nested in the Jordan Valley ceased to breed, apparently due to agricultural chemicals, in the early 1950s. The species also once bred in northern Syria but is not found reliably there even in winter in modern times.


In Britain, the opinion towards white-tailed eagles became negative in sync with the creation of farmland and commercial fishing, as it was quickly perceived that they were competitors for resources and could deplete the livelihood of flocks for shepherds (despite this being largely untrue) and game animals for gamekeepers. Therefore, laws were passed to facilitate their destruction. Already by the end of the 18th century, down from breeding in all appropriate habitat, the English population was down to only localized breeding, namely in the Isle of Wight, Lundy, Isle of Man and (probably) near Plymouth; within a couple of decades the species only remained in the Lake District. Before the advent of firearms, few people in England and Scotland were highly motivated to kill eagles since this could be time-consuming and hazardous process, therefore the British government rose the bounty on eagles to a very high 5 shillings a head by the turn of the 18th century. Unfortunately, eyries in many coastal sites were found to be easily accessible so that destroying or selling eggs was common. Subsequent to systematic persecution, in Greenland 62% of eyries found to be "easily accessible" and only 13% foiled all attempts to reach them. Similar findings were found in sea cliff nests in Iceland, Norway and Scotland. White-tailed eagles are more vulnerable to direct persecution than golden eagles since most nests are highly accessible for white-tailed eagle but not for golden eagles which usually nest in mountainous, precipitously rocky terrain, in contrast to sea cliff nests of which 67–87% were found to be accessible. Before firearms were widely available in Scotland and Norway automatic traps were utilized wherein carrion was laid out to entice an eagle with a person hiding in a near subterranean trap waited until the eagle was distracted, at that point grabbing the eagle by the leg. Petrified by the darkness once dragged below, white-tailed eagles apparently offer no resistance once caught. However, habitat had to be favorable and even when conditions were correct, success at capture as such was low. The main driver of declines before firearms and industrialized poisons was habitat alterations. After about the 1840s, firearms became available and declines accelerated considerably, by 1916 the last nesting pair in all of Britain attempted to raise a brood on the isle of Skye. While other ecological factors have been considered in this decline, stringent research has shown the extirpation here was fully correlated to intentional, rapacious predation by man. Many gamekeepers poisoned and shot eagles and destroyed nearly any nest they encountered. A few more enlightened landowners forbade the killing of eagles but there's evidence that the gamekeepers sometimes chose to destroy eagles regardless of the rule of law. On deer forest, eagles were tolerated later than in other British areas, but destructions accelerated there by the late 1800s. Also many white-tailed eagles were poisoned by shepherds who considered it enemy of the flock. Elsewhere in Europe, persecution rates in the 19th and 20th century were just as drastic. In Romania, more than 400 white-tailed eagles were killed in two decades by a single hunter. In Norway between 1959 and 1968, an average of 169 eagles were killed annually; with a maximum of 221 in 1961. Around the year 1860, an author estimated that about 400 were being killed annually throughout Germany. Between 1946 and 1972 in eastern Germany, a total of 194 dead white-tailed eagles were found, about half of them shot, after governmental protection of the species had been instituted there.
Top predators, especially those that are aquatic and coastal, are almost immediately vulnerable upon exposure to DDT. Therefore, white-tailed eagles are highly susceptible to this pesticide, as are similar fish eaters, such as otters, and bird eaters, such as peregrine falcons. Distributed by man nearly across the developed world as an insecticide in the 1950s, by the early 1970s, authors found many species of bird experienced reduced egg shell thickness. Thus the incubating parents inadvertently crushed their normally hardy eggs and, in turn, many water birds and raptors had their nesting success dropped precipitously. In fact, the species was found to have the highest concentration of DDT of any European raptor. Egg shell thickness was found down from 0.62 mm (0.024 in) prior to 1935 from 1969 to 1975 down to only 0.52 mm (0.020 in), a 16% reduction. In Sweden, coastal birds were considerably more effected by DDT than the inland birds of Lapland, Sweden. In eastern Germany, where pesticide use was heavy, only 1 out of 28 nesting attempts were known to succeed in 1976. Overall, about 75% nesting attempts failed in western Germany, Finland and the Swedish Baltic area. Other environmental pollutants affecting the species include heavy metals which affect individuals through bioaccumulation. The amount of white-tailed eagles killed by mercury poisoning rose from 6.4% during 1946–1957 to 24.6% in 1958–1965 in Germany. It was estimated that pesticides and metal contaminations reduced the white-tailed eagle population in Hungary from 1957 to 1967 by about 50–60%. Lead poisoning, caused by lead bullets left in carcasses that the white-tailed eagles will eat in winter, is also another issue faced by the species. Fatal and near fatal levels of lead exposure continues to be a major issue in the 21st century in many parts of the range, at least from Poland to Hokkaido. Despite regulations on their usage, lead and mercury poisonings were found to be the cause of death of 61 white-tailed eagles found in Germany from 1993 to 2000.


The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), which occupies the same niche as the bald eagle in the Palearctic. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down upon and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.
Bald eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The yellow beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and appears on its seal. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered, and the species was removed from the U.S. government's list of endangered species on July 12, 1995, and transferred to the list of threatened species. It was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the contiguous states on June 28, 2007.


The bald eagle is placed in the genus Haliaeetus (sea eagles), and gets both its common and specific scientific names from the distinctive appearance of the adult's head. Bald in the English name is from the older usage meaning "white" rather than "hairless", referring to the white head and tail feathers and their contrast with the darker body, as in piebald. The genus name is New Latin: Haliaeetus (from the Ancient Greek: ἁλιάετος, romanized: haliaetos, lit. 'sea eagle'), and the specific name, leucocephalus, is Latinized (Ancient Greek: λευκός, romanized: leukos, lit. 'white') and (κεφαλή, kephalḗ, 'head').
The bald eagle was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae, under the name Falco leucocephalus.
There are two recognized subspecies of bald eagle:
H. l. leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) is the nominate subspecies. It is found in the southern United States and Baja California Peninsula.
H. l. washingtoniensis (Audubon, 1827), synonym H. l. alascanus Townsend, 1897, the northern subspecies, is larger than southern nominate leucocephalus. It is found in the northern United States, Canada and Alaska.
The bald eagle forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle of Eurasia. This species pair consists of a white-headed and a tan-headed species of roughly equal size; the white-tailed eagle also has overall somewhat paler brown body plumage. The two species fill the same ecological niche in their respective ranges. The pair diverged from other sea eagles at the beginning of the Early Miocene (c. 10 Ma BP) at the latest, but possibly as early as the Early/Middle Oligocene, 28 Ma BP, if the most ancient fossil record is correctly assigned to this genus.


The plumage of an adult bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species, in that females are 25% larger than males. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow. The legs are feather-free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the hind toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere. The adult bald eagle is unmistakable in its native range. The closely related African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) (from far outside the bald eagle's range) also has a brown body (albeit of somewhat more rufous hue), white head and tail, but differs from the bald eagle in having a white chest and black tip to the bill.
The plumage of the immature is a dark brown overlaid with messy white streaking until the fifth (rarely fourth, very rarely third) year, when it reaches sexual maturity. Immature bald eagles are distinguishable from the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the only other very large, non-vulturine raptorial bird in North America, in that the former has a larger, more protruding head with a larger beak, straighter edged wings which are held flat (not slightly raised) and with a stiffer wing beat and feathers which do not completely cover the legs. When seen well, the golden eagle is distinctive in plumage with a more solid warm brown color than an immature bald eagle, with a reddish-golden patch to its nape and (in immature birds) a highly contrasting set of white squares on the wing.
The bald eagle has sometimes been considered the largest true raptor (accipitrid) in North America. The only larger species of raptor-like bird is the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), a New World vulture which today is not generally considered a taxonomic ally of true accipitrids. However, the golden eagle, averaging 4.18 kg (9.2 lb) and 63 cm (25 in) in wing chord length in its American race (Aquila chrysaetos canadensis), is merely 455 g (1.003 lb) lighter in mean body mass and exceeds the bald eagle in mean wing chord length by around 3 cm (1.2 in). Additionally, the bald eagle's close cousins, the relatively longer-winged but shorter-tailed white-tailed eagle and the overall larger Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), may, rarely, wander to coastal Alaska from Asia.
The bald eagle has a body length of 70–102 cm (28–40 in). Typical wingspan is between 1.8 and 2.3 m (5 ft 11 in and 7 ft 7 in) and mass is normally between 3 and 6.3 kg (6.6 and 13.9 lb). Females are about 25% larger than males, averaging as much as 5.6 kg (12 lb), and against the males' average weight of 4.1 kg (9.0 lb).
The size of the bird varies by location and generally corresponds with Bergmann's rule: the species increases in size further away from the equator and the tropics. For example, eagles from South Carolina average 3.27 kg (7.2 lb) in mass and 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) in wingspan, smaller than their northern counterparts. One field guide in Florida listed similarly small sizes for bald eagles there, at about 4.13 kg (9.1 lb). Of intermediate size, 117 migrant bald eagles in Glacier National Park were found to average 4.22 kg (9.3 lb) but this was mostly (possibly post-dispersal) juvenile eagles, with 6 adults here averaging 4.3 kg (9.5 lb). Wintering eagles in Arizona (winter weights are usually the highest of the year since, like many raptors, they spend the highest percentage of time foraging during winter) were found to average 4.74 kg (10.4 lb).
The largest eagles are from Alaska, where large females may weigh more than 7 kg (15 lb) and span 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) across the wings. A survey of adult weights in Alaska showed that females there weighed on average 5.35 kg (11.8 lb), respectively, and males weighed 4.23 kg (9.3 lb) against immatures which averaged 5.09 kg (11.2 lb) and 4.05 kg (8.9 lb) in the two sexes. An Alaskan adult female eagle that was considered outsized weighed some 7.4 kg (16 lb). R.S. Palmer listed a record from 1876 in Wyoming County, New York of an enormous adult bald eagle that was shot and reportedly scaled 8.2 kg (18 lb). Among standard linear measurements, the wing chord is 51.5–69 cm (20.3–27.2 in), the tail is 23–37 cm (9.1–14.6 in) long, and the tarsus is 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in). The culmen reportedly ranges from 3 to 7.5 cm (1.2 to 3.0 in), while the measurement from the gape to the tip of the bill is 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in).  The bill size is unusually variable: Alaskan eagles can have up to twice the bill length of birds from the southern United States (Georgia, Louisiana, Florida), with means including both sexes of 6.83 cm (2.69 in) and 4.12 cm (1.62 in) in culmen length, respectively, from these two areas.
The call consists of weak staccato, chirping whistles, kleek kik ik ik ik, somewhat similar in cadence to a gull's call. The calls of young birds tend to be more harsh and shrill than those of adults.


The bald eagle's natural range covers most of North America, including most of Canada, all of the continental United States, and northern Mexico. It is the only sea eagle endemic to North America. Occupying varied habitats from the bayous of Louisiana to the Sonoran Desert and the eastern deciduous forests of Quebec and New England, northern birds are migratory, while southern birds are resident, remaining on their breeding territory all year. At minimum population, in the 1950s, it was largely restricted to Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, northern and eastern Canada, and Florida. From 1966 to 2015 bald eagle numbers increased substantially throughout its winter and breeding ranges, and as of 2018 the species nests in every continental state and province in the United States and Canada.
The majority of bald eagles in Canada are found along the British Columbia coast while large populations are found in the forests of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Bald eagles also congregate in certain locations in winter. From November until February, one to two thousand birds winter in Squamish, British Columbia, about halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. The birds primarily gather along the Squamish and Cheakamus Rivers, attracted by the salmon spawning in the area. Similar congregations of wintering bald eagles at open lakes and rivers, wherein fish are readily available for hunting or scavenging, are observed in the northern United States.
It has occurred as a vagrant twice in Ireland; a juvenile was shot illegally in Fermanagh on January 11, 1973 (misidentified at first as a white-tailed eagle), and an exhausted juvenile was captured in Kerry on November 15, 1987.


Mammalian preys are generally less frequently taken than fish or avian prey. However, in some regions, such as landlocked areas of North America, wintering bald eagles may become habitual predators of medium-sized mammals that occur in colonies or local concentrations, such as prairie dogs (Cynomys sp.) and jackrabbits (Lepus sp.). Bald eagles in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge often hunt in pair to catch rabbits and prairie dogs. They can attack and prey on rabbits and hares of nearly any size, from marsh rabbits to white-tailed jackrabbits. In San Luis Valley, white-tailed jackrabbits can be important prey. Additionally, rodents such as montane voles (Microtus montanus), brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), nutrias (Myocastor coypus), and various squirrels are taken as supplementary prey. Even American porcupines are reportedly attacked and killed.
Where available, seal colonies can provide a lot of food. On Protection Island, Washington, they commonly feed on harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) afterbirths, still-borns and sickly seal pups. Similarly, Bald eagles in Aleska readily prey on sea otter (Enhydra lutris) pups. Small mammalian carnivores can be taken infrequently, such as American martens (Martes pennanti), American minks (Neovison vison), and Island foxes. Larger carnivores such as Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), raccoons , and domestic cats (Felis catus) can be taken as well. Predation on more formidable species such as North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) and adult male fisher cats (Pekania pennanti) have been reported. Even bobcat (Lynx rufus) has been recorded amongst their prey, It is unknown that the eagles killed or scavenged them. Additional wild mammalian prey include fawns of white-tailed deer and Sitka deer, which can be taken alive by bald eagles and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), which are mainly taken as roadkills, though predation on a live specimen has been filmed.
Together with the golden eagle, bald eagles are occasionally accused of preying on livestock, especially sheep (Ovis aries). There are a handful of proven cases of lamb predation, some specimens weighing up to 11 kg (24 lb), by bald eagles but they are much less likely to attack a healthy lamb than a golden eagle and both species prefer native, wild prey and are unlikely to cause any extensive detriment to human livelihoods. There is one case of a bald eagle killing and feeding on an adult, pregnant ewe (then joined in eating the kill by at least 3 other eagles), which, weighing on average over 60 kg (130 lb), is much larger than any other known prey taken by this species.


Bald eagles are sexually mature at four or five years of age. When they are old enough to breed, they often return to the area where they were born. It is thought that bald eagles mate for life. However, if one member of a pair dies or disappears, the survivor will choose a new mate. A pair which has repeatedly failed in breeding attempts may split and look for new mates. Bald eagle courtship involves elaborate, spectacular calls and flight displays by the males. The flight includes swoops, chases, and cartwheels, in which they fly high, lock talons, and free-fall, separating just before hitting the ground. Usually, a territory defended by a mature pair will be 1 to 2 km (0.62 to 1.24 mi) of waterside habitat.
Compared to most other raptors, which mostly nest in April or May, bald eagles are early breeders: nest building or reinforcing is often by mid-February, egg laying is often late February (sometimes during deep snow in the North), and incubation is usually mid-March and early May. Eggs hatch from mid April to early May, and the young fledge late June to early July. The nest is the largest of any bird in North America; it is used repeatedly over many years and with new material added each year may eventually be as large as 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) across and weigh 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons). One nest in Florida was found to be 6.1 m (20 ft) deep, 2.9 meters (9.5 ft) across, and to weigh 3 short tons (2.7 metric tons). This nest is on record as the largest tree nest ever recorded for any animal. Usually nests are used for under five years, as they either collapse in storms or break the branches supporting them by their sheer weight. However, one nest in the Midwest was occupied continuously for at least 34 years. The nest is built of branches, usually in large trees found near water. When breeding where there are no trees, the bald eagle will nest on the ground, as has been recorded largely in areas largely isolated from terrestrial predators, such as Amchitka Island in Alaska.
In Sonora, Mexico, eagles have been observed nesting on top of hecho catcuses (Pachycereus pectin-aboriginum). Nests located on cliffs and rock pinnacles have been reported historically in California, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, but currently are only verified to occur only in Alaska and Arizona. The eggs average about 73 mm (2.9 in) long, ranging from 58 to 85 mm (2.3 to 3.3 in), and have a breadth of 54 mm (2.1 in), ranging from 47 to 63 mm (1.9 to 2.5 in). Eggs in Alaska averaged 130 g (4.6 oz) in mass, while in Saskatchewan they averaged 114.4 g (4.04 oz). As with their ultimate body size, egg size tends to increase with distance from the equator. Eagles produce between one and three eggs per year, two being typical. Rarely, four eggs have been found in nests, but these may be exceptional cases of polygyny. Eagles in captivity have been capable of producing up to seven eggs. It is rare for all three chicks to successfully reach the fledgling stage. The oldest chick often bears the advantage of larger size and louder voice, which tends to draw the parents' attention towards it. Occasionally, as is recorded in many large raptorial birds, the oldest sibling sometimes attacks and kills its younger sibling(s), especially early in the nesting period when their sizes are most different. However, nearly half of known bald eagles produce two fledglings (more rarely three), unlike in some other "eagle" species such as some in the genus Aquila, in which a second fledgling is typically observed in less than 20% of nests, despite two eggs typically being laid. Both the male and female take turns incubating the eggs, but the female does most of the sitting. The parent not incubating will hunt for food or look for nesting material during this stage. For the first two to three weeks of the nestling period, at least one adult is at the nest almost 100% of the time. After five to six weeks, the attendance of parents usually drops off considerably (with the parents often perching in trees nearby).
A young eaglet can gain up to 170 g (6.0 oz) a day, the fastest growth rate of any North American bird. The young eaglets pick up and manipulate sticks, play tug of war with each other, practice holding things in their talons, and stretch and flap their wings. By eight weeks, the eaglets are strong enough to flap their wings, lift their feet off the nest platform, and rise up in the air. The young fledge at anywhere from 8 to 14 weeks of age, though will remain close to the nest and attended to by their parents for a further 6 weeks. Juvenile eagles first start dispersing away from their parents about 8 weeks after they fledge. Variability in departure date related to effects of sex and hatching order on growth and development. For the next four years, immature eagles wander widely in search of food until they attain adult plumage and are eligible to reproduce.
On rare occasions, bald eagles have been recorded to adopt other raptor fledglings into their nests, as seen in 2017 by a pair of eagles in Shoal Harbor Migratory Bird Sanctuary near Sidney, British Columbia. The pair of eagles in question are believed to have carried a juvenile red-tailed hawk back to their nest, presumably as prey, whereupon the chick was accepted into the family by both the parents and the eagles' three nestlings. The hawk, nicknamed "Spunky" by biologists monitoring the nest, fledged successfully.


Permits are required to keep bald eagles in captivity in the United States. Permits are primarily issued to public educational institutions, and the eagles which they show are permanently injured individuals that cannot be released to the wild. The facilities where eagles are kept must be equipped with adequate caging and facilities, as well as workers experienced in the handling and care of eagles. The bald eagle can be long-lived in captivity if well cared for, but does not breed well even under the best conditions.
In Canada and in England a license is required to keep bald eagles for falconry. Bald eagles cannot legally be kept for falconry in the United States, but a license may be issued in some jurisdictions to allow use of such eagles in birds-of-prey flight shows.


The African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) or the African sea eagle, is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. As a result of its large range, it is known in many languages. Examples of names include: nkwazi in Chewa, aigle pêcheur in French, hungwe in Shona, inkwazi in isiZulu, and ntšhu (pronounced "ntjhu") in Northern Sotho. This species may resemble the bald eagle in appearance; though related, each species occurs on different continents, with the bald eagle being resident in North America.


The breeding season in South Asia is from December to April. In southern and eastern Australia, it is August to October, and April to June in the north and west. The nests are constructed of small branches and sticks with a bowl inside and lined with leaves, and are located in various trees, often mangroves. They show considerable site fidelity nesting in the same area year after year. In some rare instances, they have been seen to nest on the ground under trees. A clutch of two dull-white or bluish-white oval eggs measuring 52 x 41 mm is laid. Both parents take part in nest building and feeding, but likely only the female incubates. The incubation period is about 26 to 27 days.
It is primarily a scavenger, feeding mainly on dead fish and crabs, especially in wetlands and marshland, but occasionally hunts live prey such as hares and bats. They may also indulge in kleptoparasitism and attempt to steal prey from other birds. Brahminy kites have even been recorded taking advantage of Irrawaddy dolphins herding fish to the surface, in the Mekong River. A rare instance of a bird feeding on honey at the hive of Apis florea has been recorded. It also eats rice or cooked food left as an offering in India.
Young birds may indulge in play behaviour, dropping leaves and attempting to catch them in the air. When fishing over water, they may sometimes land in the water, but manage to swim and take off without much trouble.
They roost communally on large and isolated trees and as many as 600 have been seen at one location.
They may mob larger raptors such as the Aquila eagles. In some incidents where brahminy kites mobbed steppe eagles (Aquila rapax), they were attacked and injured or killed.
A number of ectoparasitic bird lice in the genera Kurodaia, Colpocephalum, and Degeeriella have been reported.


The slippery dick wrasse is widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. It can be found from North Carolina and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea area.
The slippery dick wrasse is generally reef-associated at depths from 1 to 15 m (3.3 to 49.2 ft), but it's not very common in seagrass.


This species feeds on benthic invertebrates, including crabs, small fishes, sea urchins and ophiuroids, polychaetes, and gastropods.
It is a protogynous hermaphrodite. These fish form leks while breeding. In North Carolina, males defend temporary territories with peak spawning in May and June. Pair spawning typically occurs between females and terminal phase males; initial phase males occasionally try to insert themselves into the spawning event.


This species is widespread and very common throughout much of its range in the Caribbean and Florida, although it is uncommon in northeastern Brazil. There are no major threats known to this species, and population trends are unknown. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN.


The spiny larva is brownish black with a yellow middorsal stripe. The larvae overwinter and mature in the spring and early summer. The larvae feed on Eupatorium, oak, peach and willow. The Clymene moth has one brood per year.


Hazardia squarrosa is a North American species of shrub in the family Asteraceae known by the common name sawtooth goldenbush. It is native to California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.
Hazardia squarrosa grows in coastal and inland scrub and chaparral habitats. It a shrub of variable size, from low and clumpy to sprawling over 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall. It is covered in thick, sharply toothed leaves a few centimeters long and is generally not very hairy or woolly. It bears numerous flower heads covered in greenish, pointed phyllaries and opening into an array of long yellow to slightly reddish disc florets but no ray florets.
Varieties
Hazardia squarrosa var. grindelioides (DC.) W.D.Clark - from Monterey County to Baja California
Hazardia squarrosa var. obtusa (Greene) Jeps. - Counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Kern
Hazardia squarrosa var. squarrosa - from San Benito County to San Diego County


The three subspecies are:
H. h. helix - central, northern and western Europe, plants without rhizomes, purple-black ripe fruit,
H. h. poetarum Nyman (syn. Hedera chrysocarpa Walsh) (Italian ivy, poet's ivy) - southeast Europe and southwest Asia (Italy, Balkans, Turkey), plants without rhizomes, orange-yellow ripe fruit,
H. h. rhizomatifera McAllister - southeast Spain, plants rhizomatous, purple-black ripe fruit.
The closely related species Hedera canariensis and Hedera hibernica are also often treated as subspecies of H. helix, though they differ in chromosome number and so do not hybridise readily. H. helix can be best distinguished by the shape and colour of its leaf trichomes, usually smaller and slightly more deeply lobed leaves and somewhat less vigorous growth, though identification is often not easy.


Helianthus maximiliani is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name Maximilian sunflower.
This sunflower is named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who encountered it on his travels in North America.
Helianthus maximiliani is native to the Great Plains in central North America, and naturalized in the eastern and western parts of the continent. It is now found from British Columbia to Maine, south to the Carolinas, Chihuahua, and California. The plant thrives in a number of ecosystems, particularly across the plains in central Canada and the United States. It is also cultivated as an ornamental.


The green-crowned brilliant (Heliodoxa jacula) is species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama. It is also known as the green-fronted brilliant.


The low-elevation records of green-crowned brilliant in Costa Rica and Ecuador may indicate seasonal movements.


Heliopetes laviana laviana (Texas, Arizona, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia)
Heliopetes laviana leca (Butler, 1870) (Venezuela)


Heliotropium europaeum is a species of heliotrope known by the common names European heliotrope and European turn-sole. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it is widely naturalized elsewhere, such as in Australia and North America. It grows as a roadside weed in some places. This is an annual herb growing from a taproot and reaching maximum heights near 40 centimeters. The stem and oval-shaped leaves are covered in soft hairs. The inflorescences are coiled spikes of white flowers with fuzzy or bristly sepals. Each flower is just a few millimeters wide. The fruit is a bumpy nutlet.


Distribution of H. pomatia includes:
Southeastern and Central Europe:
Germany – listed as a specially protected species in annex 1 of the Bundesartenschutzverordnung.
Austria
Czech Republic – least concern species (LC): Its conservation status in 2004–2006 is favourable (FV) in the report for the European Commission in accordance with the Habitats Directive.
Poland
Slovakia
Hungary
Romania
In southwestern Bulgaria up to an altitude more than 1600 m.
Northern and central Balkans
Slovenia
Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia
North Macedonia
Western Europe:
Great Britain: in the west and south of England in southern areas on chalk soils. Its common name in the UK is "Roman snail" because it was introduced to the island by the Romans during the Roman period (AD 43–410). In England only (not the rest of the UK), the Roman snail is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell these snails.
Central France
Belgium
Netherlands
Switzerland
Northern Europe:
Denmark – Listed as a protected species.
Southern Sweden
Norway
Finland
In central and southern parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland, isolated and relatively small populations occur. It is not native to these countries, but is likely to have been imported by monks from Southern Europe during medieval times.
Latvia
Lithuania
Estonia
Eastern Europe:
Belarus (western regions)
Ukraine
Moldavia
Russia: introduced to Moscow, Kursk
Southern Europe:
Italy (northern regions)
Portugal
Greece


Average distance of migration reaches 3.5–6.0 m.
This snail is hermaphroditic. Reproduction in Central Europe begins at the end of May.
Eggs are laid in June and July, in clutches of 40–65 eggs. The size of the egg is 5.5–6.5 mm or 8.6 × 7.2 mm. Juveniles hatch after three to four weeks, and may consume their siblings under unfavourable climate conditions. Maturity is reached after two to five years. The life span is up to 20 years, but snails die faster often because of drying in summer and freezing in winter. Ten-year-old individuals are probably not uncommon in natural populations. The maximum lifespan is 35 years.
During estivation or hibernation, H. pomatia is one of the few species that is capable of creating a calcareous epiphragm to seal the opening of its shell.


Helleborus foetidus, known variously as stinking hellebore /ˈhɛlɪbɔːr/, dungwort, setterwort and bear's foot, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Europe and Asia Minor. It is found wild in many parts of England, especially on limestone soil.


Helminthotheca echioides is native to the Mediterranean Basin, but has become widely naturalised outside that range. In the British Isles, it is widely distributed in the south and east, but more patchily distributed to the north and west. In Northern Ireland, H. echioides is only found on the north side of Belfast Lough.
It has been introduced to North America, where it can now be found from Nova Scotia to British Columbia and California.


The worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum) is a small New World warbler that breeds in the Eastern United States and migrates to southern Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America for the winter.


The name "Gila" refers to the Gila River Basin in the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico, where the Gila monster was once plentiful. Heloderma means "studded skin", from the Ancient Greek words helos (ἧλος), "the head of a nail or stud", and derma (δέρμα), "skin". Suspectum comes from the describer, paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope. In the beginning (1857), this new specimen of Heloderma was misidentified and considered to be a northern variation of the beaded lizard already known from Mexico. He suspected the lizard might be venomous due to the grooves in the teeth.
The Gila monster is the largest extant lizard species native to North America north of the Mexican border. Its snout-to-vent length ranges from 26 to 36 cm (10 to 14 in). The tail is about 20% of the body size and the largest specimens may reach 51 to 56 cm (20 to 22 in) in total length. Body mass is typically in the range of 550 to 800 g (1.21 to 1.76 lb). They appear strong in their body structure with a stout snout, massive head, and as "little"-appearing eyes, which can be protected by a nictitating membrane.
The Gila monster has three close living relatives (the beaded lizards) in Mexico: Heloderma exasperatum, Heloderma horridum and Heloderma alvarezi, as well as another beaded lizard species, Heloderma charlesbogerti, in Guatemala.
The evolutionary history of the Helodermatidae may be traced back to the Cretaceous period (145 to 166 million years ago), when Gobiderma pulchrum and Estesia mongolensis were present. The genus Heloderma has existed since the Miocene, when H. texana lived. Fragments of osteoderms from the Gila monster have been found in Late Pleistocene (10,000 to 8,000 years ago) deposits near Las Vegas, Nevada. Because the helodermatids have remained relatively unchanged morphologically, they are occasionally regarded as living fossils. Although the Gila monster appears closely related to the monitor lizards (varanids) of Africa, Asia, and Australia, their wide geographical separation and unique features not found in the varanids indicate that Heloderma is better placed in a separate family.


The Gila monster is found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, a range including Sonora, Arizona, parts of California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. No records have been given from Baja California. They inhabit scrubland, succulent desert, and oak woodland, seeking shelter in burrows, thickets, and under rocks in locations with a favorable microclimate and adequate humidity. Gila monsters depend on water resources, and might be observed in puddles of water after a summer rain. They avoid living in open areas, such as flats and open grasslands.


Though the Gila monster is venomous, in having laggard movement, it poses little threat to humans. However, it has a fearsome reputation and is often killed by humans. Myths that have formed about the Gila monster include that the animal's breath is toxic enough to kill humans, that it can spit venom like a spitting cobra, that it can leap several feet in the air to attack, and that the Gila monster did not have an anus and therefore expelled waste from its mouth, the source of its venom and "fetid breath" (likely stemming from the fact that its venom in fact has an intense, specific smell). Among Native American tribes, the Gila monster had a mixed standing. The Apache believed its breath could kill a man, and the Tohono O'Odham and the Pima believed it possessed a spiritual power that could cause sickness. In contrast, the Seri and the Yaqui believed the Gila monster's hide had healing properties.
The Gila monster starred as a monster in the film The Giant Gila Monster (though the titular monster was actually portrayed by a Mexican beaded lizard). It played a minor role in the motion picture The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. In Brock Brower's 1971 novel The Late Great Creature, fictional horror movie star Simon Moro is presented as famous for playing the reptilian werewolf-like Gila Man. The 2011 animated film Rango featured a Gila monster as an Old West outlaw named Bad Bill, voiced by Ray Winstone.
The Gila monster has also seen usage as a mascot and state symbol. The official mascot of Eastern Arizona College located in Thatcher, Arizona, is Gila Hank, a gun-toting, cowboy hat-wearing Gila monster.  In 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights selected a Gila monster named Chance as their official mascot. In 2019, the state of Utah made the Gila monster its official state reptile.


Hemaris diffinis is notable for its colorful nicknames. In certain parts of Appalachia, including West Virginia, Hemaris diffinis is known as "hummingbird moth" or "flying lobster". These nicknames are derived from its supposed physical resemblance to other (genetically unrelated) animals.


The common house gecko is prolific through the tropics and subtropics. It is able to exist in an ecologically analogous place with other Hemidactylus species. Despite being native throughout Southeast Asia, recent introductions, both deliberate and accidental, have seen them recorded in the Deep South of the United States, large parts of tropical and sub-tropical Australia, and many other countries in South and Central America, Caribbean Dominican Republic, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. Most recently, this species has also invaded the Caribbean Lesser Antilles, and is now present on Dominica and Saint Lucia. Their capacity to withstand a wide range of latitudes is also partially facilitated by their capacity to enter a state of brumation during colder months. The prospect of increased climate change interacts synergistically with increased urbanisation, greatly increasing the prospective distribution of the common house gecko. Due to concerns over its potential capacity as an invasive species, there are efforts to limit their introduction and presence in locations where they could be a risk to native gecko species.
In Mexico, H. frenatus was first collected in Acapulco, Guerrero, in March of 1895 and found to be well established there and in the surrounding regions by the early 1940s. It was likely introduced through shipping and cargo. H. frenatus now occurs throughout the lowlands of Mexico on both the Atlantic and Pacific versants including the Yucatan Peninsula, and Baja California, with records from 21 of the 32 Mexican states. Most records of H. frenatus in Mexico are from buildings such as homes, hotels, and other structure in cities and towns, with only a few reports of the species in natural habitat, and its impact, if any, on native fauna there is unknown.


The tropical house gecko, Afro-American house gecko or cosmopolitan house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) is a species of house gecko native to sub-Saharan Africa.  It is also currently found in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, where it has been inadvertently introduced by humans.


Bangladesh, N India (Darjeeling, Sikkim), Nicobar Islands, Nepal, Bhutan,
China (Guangdong, SE Xizang = Tibet), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia (incl. Pulau Tioman), Burma (= Myanmar), Vietnam, New Guinea (?),
Philippine Islands (Palawan, Calamian Islands, Panay, Luzon),
Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores).
They are also introduced in Florida (Pinellas, Alachua, Lee, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties) in the USA.


Primary prey of Mediterranean house geckos has been noted to include crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, spiders, beetles, moths, butterflies, ants, isopods, and snails. These geckos are visual hunters; prey selection depends on whether it is alive or dead. A study by Barbour and Rose found that Mediterranean house geckos are more likely to choose living prey over dead (1968).


The first record of this crab outside its native range was from Townsends Inlet, Cape May County, New Jersey (between Avalon and Sea Isle City) in 1988. The larvae are thought to have been transported in the ballast water of yachts and cargo ships. From the 1990s, it spread as an invasive species and become increasingly common, now ranging from eastern Maine (Great Wass Island) to North Carolina.
In 1999, H. sanguineus was reported for the first time from European waters, having been discovered at Le Havre (France) and the Oosterschelde estuary (in the Netherlands). It has since been found along a long stretch of the continental coast of the English Channel, from the Cotentin Peninsula to the Dover Strait. Its range has extended east and north along the North Sea coastline, including northwestern Germany and Western Jutland of Denmark. In the United Kingdom, it has been recorded from Guernsey and Jersey, and in Kent and south Wales. The species was first reported to be found in Sweden in 2012. In 2019, Swedish authorities reported that a private person collected more than 50 specimens of the crab in the vicinity of the island of Orust in the Skagerrak–Kattegat region. The specimens were very small, suggesting that the crab is now reproducing in Swedish waters. A couple of months later it was first reported from the Øresund, the narrow strait between the Danish Island of Zealand and the Swedish province of Scania. There is a single record of H. sanguineus in the Mediterranean Sea – a 2003 sighting in the northern Adriatic Sea – and a single specimen has been collected from the Romanian coast of the Black Sea, near Constanța, in 2008.


The species is native to North America, being distributed throughout most of the continental United States (except the Gulf Coast and a few neighboring states), ranging from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska in the far northwest to Newfoundland on the east coast, extending south as far as California, New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio, and Georgia. It occurs from sea level to elevations of about 2,700 m (9,000 ft). It is especially prevalent in Alaska, where it is often found growing amongst plants like devil's club, which is nearly identical in size and somewhat similar in appearance, and monkshood, a very toxic flower. In Canada, it is found in every province and territory except Nunavut. It is listed as "Endangered" in Kentucky and "Special Concern" in Tennessee. The plant is also found in Siberia, East Asia, and the Kuril Islands.


It is found in the United States (from South Carolina to Florida, west to Texas), Central America and South America, on the Andamans, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius, Saint Helena, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, the Gambia, Yemen and Zambia.


The laughing falcon breeds in rock crevices, tree cavities, or occasionally in abandoned nests of a Buteo hawk or caracara; in general however it does not even gather nesting material in significant quantities. It lays one or two eggs according to some sources, but according to others always just one. The eggs have heavy dark brown markings on a brown or whitish or pale buff background. The young are thought to leave the nest eight weeks after hatching. The breeding season has been given as April and May, though it may well vary across the large range of this species.


Hesperocallis is a genus of flowering plants that includes a single species, Hesperocallis undulata, known as the desert lily or ajo lily.
It is found in the desert areas of southwestern North America, in Northwestern Mexico, California, and Arizona.  The plant grows in Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert habitats.


Eastern hognose snakes mate in April and May. Females lay their eggs in small soil depressions, mammal burrows, or under rocks. Some females have been observed traveling past viable nesting conditions in order to reach communal nesting sites.The females, which lay 8 - 40 eggs (average about 25) in June or early July, do not take care of the eggs or young. The eggs, which measure about 33 mm × 23 mm (1+1⁄3 in × 1 in), hatch after about 60 days, from late July to September. The hatchlings are 16.5–21 cm (6.5–8.3 in) long. They have an average nest temperature of 23-26 degrees Celsius incubating for an average of 49-63 days.


The green whip snake is a slender species with a small but well-defined head, prominent eyes with circular pupils, and smooth scales. The background colour is greenish-yellow but this is mostly obscured by heavy, somewhat irregular bands of dark green or black, particularly in the front half of the snake. The underparts are grey or yellowish and the tail has narrow longitudinal stripes. The young are a greyish colour and develop their full adult colouring by about their fourth year. This snake grows to a total length of about 150 cm (59 in). In the northeastern part of its range, in Sicily and southern Italy, most individuals are blackish in colour. There is a larger, up to two metres long, often pure black variant - Coluber viridiflavus carbonarius (Bonaparte, 1833) - found in Italy and Malta. referred to there as 'Il Biacco'.


The black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae). The scientific name H. himantopus is sometimes applied to a single, almost cosmopolitan species. Alternatively, it is restricted to the form that is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, which equals the nominate group of Himantopus himantopus sensu lato (whereas the black-necked, H. mexicanus, and white-backed stilt, H. melanurus, both inhabit the Americas, and the pied stilt, H. leucocephalus, inhabit southeast Asia to Australia and New Zealand). Most sources today accept 1–4 species. The scientific name Himantopus comes from the Greek meaning "strap foot" or "thong foot".


Hippophae rhamnoides, also known as sea-buckthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeagnaceae, native to the cold-temperate regions of Europe and Asia. It is a spiny deciduous shrub. The plant is used in the food and cosmetics industries, in traditional medicine, as animal fodder, in horticulture, and for ecological purposes.


Hippophae rhamnoides is native to the cold-temperate regions of Europe and Asia, between 27 and 69EN latitude and 7EW and 122EE longitude. These regions include the Baltic Coasts of Finland, Poland and Germany, the Gulf of Bothnia in Sweden, as well as coastal areas of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In Asia, H. rhamnoides can be found in the northern regions of China, throughout most of the Himalayan region, including India, Nepal and Bhutan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is found in a variety of locations: on hills and hillsides, valleys, riverbeds, along coastal regions, on islands, in small isolated or continuous pure stands, but also in mixed stands with other shrub and tree species.  H. rhamnoides has also recently been planted in countries such as Canada, the United States, Bolivia, Chile, Japan and South Korea.
The current total acreage of H. rhamnoides is about 3.0 million ha worldwide. This number includes both wild and cultivated plants. Of these, approximately 2.5 million ha are situated in China (1.0 million ha of wild plants and 1.5 million ha in plantations), 20 000 ha in Mongolia, 12 000 ha in India and 3 000 ha in Pakistan. This makes China the largest agricultural producer of H. rhamnoides. Approximately 10 000 acres of the plant are planted in China each year for berry production as well as eco-environmental improvement. As of 2003, approximately 100 km of field shelterbelts were planted in Canada each year, and over 250 000 mature fruit-producing plants were grown on the Canadian prairies with an estimated annual fruit supply of 750 000 kg. Other countries that grow H. rhamnoides as an agricultural plant include for example Germany and France.


Hippopotamus amphibius was widespread in North Africa and Europe during the Eemian (130-115,000 years ago), with remains found as far north as England. Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago. The species was common in Egypt's Nile region during antiquity, but it has since been driven out. According to Pliny the Elder, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome; the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end of the 19th century. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, north through to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, west to The Gambia, and south to South Africa.
Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the Pleistocene, attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water. Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and poaching. As of 2017, the IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable, with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals. Zambia (40,000) and Tanzania (20,000–30,000) possess the largest populations.
The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s. This decline is attributed to the disruptions caused by the Second Congo War. The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, poorly paid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups. Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain. As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to greater enforcement and cooperation between fishermen and park authorities. The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track. Hippo meat is considered a delicacy in some areas of central Africa and the teeth have become a valued substitute for elephant ivory.


Welcome swallows have a very large distributional range because they are a cross-regional species. Welcome swallows live mostly in eastern, western, southern and central Australia. The welcome swallows that live in eastern Australia move to northern Australia in winter. The welcome swallows that live in Western Australia and others that live in New Zealand are mostly not migratory. This swallow species has been observed nesting in the majority of New Zealand and its surrounding islands, Australia and some parts of Tasmania.  Currently, this species has been recorded in New Guinea, New Caledonia and other surrounding islands. The distribution of the welcome swallow also depends on seasonal change. During the winter, the welcome swallow in Australia will move towards the north which places it closer to the equator and warm weather. For the following spring, they will return to southern Australia to breed.


The welcome swallow is a self-introduced species from Australia that is believed to have flown over to New Zealand in the early 1900s. The welcome swallow is found throughout most parts of New Zealand, but it is very rare in Fiordland. The shape of New Zealand is narrow and long, which helped the birds to easily get to areas near water. They are also on Chatham and Kermadec Islands and in some instances have been seen on Campbell Island, Auckland Island and the Snares.


The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".
There are six subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Four are strongly migratory, and their wintering grounds cover much of the Southern Hemisphere as far south as central Argentina, the Cape Province of South Africa, and northern Australia. Its huge range means that the barn swallow is not endangered, although there may be local population declines due to specific threats.
The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally uses man-made structures to breed and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup nest from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight. This species lives in close association with humans, and its insect-eating habits mean that it is tolerated by humans; this acceptance was reinforced in the past by superstitions regarding the bird and its nest. There are frequent cultural references to the barn swallow in literary and religious works due to both its living in close proximity to humans and its annual migration. The barn swallow is the national bird of Austria and Estonia.


The preferred habitat of the barn swallow is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows and farmland, preferably with nearby water. This swallow avoids heavily wooded or precipitous areas and densely built-up locations. The presence of accessible open structures such as barns, stables, or culverts to provide nesting sites, and exposed locations such as wires, roof ridges or bare branches for perching, are also important in the bird's selection of its breeding range.
Barn swallows are semi-colonial, settling in groups from a single pair to a few dozen pairs, particularly in larger wooden structures housing animals. The same individuals often breed at the same site year after year, although settlement choices have been experimentally shown to be predicted by nest availability rather than any characteristics of available mates. Because it takes around 2 weeks for a pair to build a nest from mud, hair, and other materials, old nests are highly prized.
This species breeds across the Northern Hemisphere from sea level to 2,700 m (8,900 ft), but to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in the Caucasus and North America, and it is absent only from deserts and the cold northernmost parts of the continents. Over much of its range, it avoids towns, and in Europe is replaced in urban areas by the house martin. However, in Honshū, Japan, the barn swallow is a more urban bird, with the red-rumped swallow (Cecropis daurica) replacing it as the rural species.
In winter, the barn swallow is cosmopolitan in its choice of habitat, avoiding only dense forests and deserts. It is most common in open, low vegetation habitats, such as savanna and ranch land, and in Venezuela, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago it is described as being particularly attracted to burnt or harvested sugarcane fields and the waste from the cane. In the absence of suitable roost sites, they may sometimes roost on wires where they are more exposed to predators. Individual birds tend to return to the same wintering locality each year and congregate from a large area to roost in reed beds. These roosts can be extremely large; one in Nigeria had an estimated 1.5 million birds. These roosts are thought to be a protection from predators, and the arrival of roosting birds is synchronised in order to overwhelm predators like African hobbies. The barn swallow has been recorded as breeding in the more temperate parts of its winter range, such as the mountains of Thailand and in central Argentina.
Migration of barn swallows between Britain and South Africa was first established on 23 December 1912 when a bird that had been ringed by James Masefield at a nest in Staffordshire, was found in Natal. As would be expected for a long-distance migrant, this bird has occurred as a vagrant to such distant areas as Hawaii, Bermuda, Greenland, Tristan da Cunha, the Falkland Islands, and even Antarctica.


Echinocactus texensis (also known as the horse crippler or devil's pincushion) is a cactus in the subfamily Cactoideae. It is endemic to the United States and Mexico.  It has one synonym.


Homalosorus pycnocarpos is endemic to eastern North America. It is widespread from southern Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico and west to Minnesota and Arkansas. It grows in moist (mesophytic) woods and ravines in neutral or basic soils, at elevations of 150–1,000 m (500–3,300 ft).


Homarus americanus is distributed along the Atlantic coast of North America, from Labrador in the north to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the south. South of New Jersey, the species is uncommon, and landings in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina usually make up less than 0.1% of all landings. A fossil claw assigned to Homarus americanus was found at Nantucket, dating from the Pleistocene.  In 2013, an American lobster was caught at the Farallon Islands off the coast of California. It has been introduced to Norway and potentially Iceland.


Mating only takes place shortly after the female has molted and her exoskeleton is still soft. The female releases a pheromone which causes the males to become less aggressive and to begin courtship, which involves a courtship dance with claws closed. Eventually, the male inserts spermatophores (sperm packets) into the female's seminal receptacle using his first pleopods; the female may store the sperm for up to 15 months.
The female releases eggs through her oviducts, and they pass the seminal receptacle and are fertilized by the stored sperm. They are then attached to the female's pleopods (swimmerets) using an adhesive, where they are cared for until they are ready to hatch. The female cleans the eggs regularly and fans them with water to keep them oxygenated. The large telolecithal eggs may resemble the segments of a raspberry, and a female carrying eggs is said to be "in berry". Since this period lasts 10–11 months, berried females can be found at any time of year. In the waters off New England, the eggs are typically laid in July or August, and hatch the following May or June. The developing embryo passes through several molts within the egg, before hatching as a metanauplius larva. When the eggs hatch, the female releases them by waving her tail in the water, setting batches of larvae free.
The metanauplius of H. americanus is 8.5 mm (1⁄3 in) long, transparent, with large eyes and a long spine projecting from its head. It quickly molts, and the next three stages are similar, but larger. These molts take 10–20 days, during which the planktonic larvae are vulnerable to predation; only 1 in 1,000 is thought to survive to the juvenile stage. To reach the fourth stage – the post-larva – the larva undergoes metamorphosis, and subsequently shows a much greater resemblance to the adult lobster, is around 13 mm (1⁄2 in) long, and swims with its pleopods. At this stage, the lobster's claws are still relatively small so they rely primarily on tail-flip escapes if threatened.
After the next molt, the lobster sinks to the ocean floor and adopts a benthic lifestyle. It molts more and more infrequently, from an initial rate of ten times per year to once every few years. After one year it is around 25–38 mm (1–1.5 in) long, and after six years it may weigh 0.45 kilograms (1 lb). By the time it reaches the minimum landing size, an individual may have molted 25–27 times, and thereafter each molt may signal a 40%–50% increase in weight, and a 14% increase in carapace length. If threatened, adult lobsters will generally choose to fight unless they have lost their claws.


Houstonia longifolia, commonly known as long-leaved bluet or longleaf summer bluet, is a perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae. It can be found throughout most of the Eastern United States and Canada. It has been reported from every state east of the Mississippi River except Delaware, plus North Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, with isolated populations in Kansas and Texas. Also, all Canadian provinces from Quebec to Alberta. It prefers upland woods in poor, dry, often sandy soil, blooming from June to August.


Two varieties are recognized:
Houstonia longifolia var. longifolia - From Georgia and Arkansas north to Canada
Houstonia longifolia var. tenuifolia (Nutt.) Alph.Wood. - Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia


It is found in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is found in sandy pits, ditches, along lakeshores, and in conifer swamps.
In Europe, its range extends from Svalbard to the mountains of northern Spain and Italy, and from the British Isles east through central Asia to the Kamchatka peninsula, Japan, the Aleutian Islands, North America, Greenland and Iceland.
In the northeastern United States, it is found in boreal habitat, but not alpine zones.


According to the American Cancer Society, "Goldenseal can have toxic side effects, and high doses can cause death."
Side effects of goldenseal may include "digestive complaints, nervousness, depression, constipation, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, stomach cramps and pain, mouth ulcers, nausea, seizures, vomiting, and central nervous system depression. High doses may cause breathing problems, paralysis, and even death. Long-term use may lead to vitamin B deficiency, hallucinations, and delirium." In addition, goldenseal may cause brain damage to newborn babies if given directly or if taken by breastfeeding or pregnant mothers, and may affect blood pressure unpredictably because it contains several compounds that have opposite effects on blood pressure.
Taking goldenseal over a long period of time can reduce absorption of B vitamins, and it is cautioned to avoid goldenseal during pregnancy and lactation, with gastrointestinal inflammation and with pro-inflammatory disorders. A 2011 study found rats fed goldenseal constantly for two years had a greater tendency to develop tumors.
Goldenseal has been found to have inhibited cytochrome P450 CYP2D6, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 activity by approximately 40%, a statistically and clinically significant reduction. CYP2D6 is a known metabolizer of many commonly used pharmaceuticals, such as antidepressants (including all SSRIs except for fluvoxamine), neuroleptics, codeine, and Metformin.  Combining goldenseal with such medications should be done with caution and under the supervision of a doctor as it can lead to serious, perhaps fatal, toxicity. Those with a genetic deficiency in these enzymes are at particular risk.


Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. ISBN 0-665-98934-2.
John Uri Lloyd (1908). Hydrastis canadensis. Lloyd Library, Cincinnati. PDF
W. Scott Persons and Jeanine M. Davis (2005) Growing & Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal & Other Woodland Medicinals  Bright Mountain Books. ISBN 978-0-914875-42-0
Richo Cech.  (2002) Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs, Cultivation, Conservation and Ecology ISBN 978-0-9700312-1-1


Their breeding habitat is large lakes and ocean coasts in North America (including the Great Lakes), and locally in Europe (mainly around the Baltic Sea and Black Sea), Asia, Africa, and Australasia (Australia and New Zealand). North American birds migrate to southern coasts, the West Indies and northernmost South America. European and Asian birds spend the non-breeding season in the Old World tropics. African and Australasian birds are resident or disperse over short distances.
In 2016, a nest of the Caspian tern was found in the Cape Krusenstern National Monument in northwestern Alaska, 1,000 miles further north than any previous sighting.  This development was part of a general trend in Alaska of species moving to the north, a tendency ascribed to global warming.
The global population is about 50,000 pairs; numbers in most regions are stable, but the Baltic Sea population (1400–1475 pairs in the early 1990s) is declining and of conservation concern.
The Caspian tern is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.


The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but based on molecular genetic and other data several populations formerly included in it are now recognized as separate species (for example, H. intermedia of Italy and nearby, H. molleri of the Iberian Peninsula, H. meridionalis of parts of southwestern Europe and northern Africa, and H. orientalis of parts of Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions), limiting the true European tree frog to Europe from France to Poland and Greece.


According to the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, H. arborea is “listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.” However, according to the IUCN, the population trend of H. arborea is decreasing.
Some of the main threats to European tree frogs include habitat fragmentation and destruction, pollution of wetlands, predation from fish, capture for the pet trade, and climate change. Besides these main threats, other possible reasons for the decline in their populations include increased UVB radiation and local and far-ranging pesticides, fertilizers, and pollutants. Trout have been observed preying on European tree frogs, and in Europe, trout introduced into a pond result in a significant decline in their population.
While H. arborea is sensitive to habitat fragmentation, habitat restoration (beginning in the 1980s) has been successful to increase populations. Besides habitat restoration, other attempts to increase population have included building of new breeding ponds, creation of “habitat corridors to connect breeding sites”, and reintroductions. This has been successful in Sweden, Latvia, and Denmark. Habitat protection has been shown to be the most important approach to conserving European tree frog populations.


The canyon tree frog (Dryophytes arenicolor) is a species of tree frog native to the rocky plateau areas of southern United States, primarily in New Mexico and Arizona, but it also ranges to Utah, Texas, and Colorado, and as far south as the Mexican states of Michoacán, México, Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.


The American green tree frog (Dryophytes cinereus) is a common species of New World tree frog belonging to the family Hylidae. It is a common backyard species, popular as a pet, and is the state amphibian of Georgia and Louisiana.


It is found from Delaware to southern Florida and eastern Louisiana, usually in coastal areas. There are also some isolated colonies in Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee. A temporary population was found in New Jersey in 1957.


The squirrel tree frog (Dryophytes squirellus) is a small species of tree frog found in the south-eastern United States, from Texas to Virginia. This is an introduced species in the Bahamas. Squirrel tree frogs are small frogs, about 1.5 inches in length as adults. There are several color variations, but most commonly they are green and look very much like the American green tree frog. They can also be varying shades of yellow or brown, sometimes with white or brown blotching.


The Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) was originally described by Dru Drury in the year 1773 and is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Reaching approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in length, male Fiery Skippers are orange or yellow while the females are dark brown. Small brown spots may be observed on both the hindwing and forewing of both sexes although to a varying degree. Females may be darker brown overall with pale checkered markings on the hindwing.  Fiery Skipper larvae, or caterpillars, are greenish pink-grey with a black head and constricted neck. These larvae are often considered pests and can feed on Bermudagrass, creeping bentgrass, and St. Augustine grass.
Phylogenetic and genetic analysis of the Fiery Skipper revealed three haplotypes (HphH1, HphH26, and HphH31) to be shared in roughly 64.1% of all sampled individuals. Due to this high percentage, these haplotypes likely serve as central haplotypes from which different variations via mutations occurred. Haplotypes HphH22 and HphH23 were found in addition to HphH1, HphH26, and HphH31 to occur in species across all continents with certain haplotypes being prominent in different regions. More variation in haplotype may be observed in South America, suggesting populations may be larger and contain more diversity when compared to those of North America.


The larval stage of the Fiery Skipper is known to damage Turfgrass, something that has become a problem in the states of California and Hawaii. Turfgrass is a term used to refer to grass blades that are tightly associated with one another by roots, leaves, and stems, and grown for a variety of reasons including aesthetics, density, and consistency. Other butterflies of the genus Hesperiidae may be considered as pests to other plant systems such as bananas and palms.
In 1970, Fiery Skippers were first discovered in Hawaii and have since populated all islands but that of Lana. Following its discovery on the island of Oahu, the Fiery Skipper has become known as an invasive species with primary concerns centered around larval consumption of turfgrass.
Treatment of turfgrass with the use of insecticides is recommended if the number of Fiery skipper larvae is found to be 15 after surveying a plot. A 1959 article in Southern California Turfgrass Culture identified Fiery Skipper larvae commonly occurring on and causing damage to bentgrass and suggested the use of aldrin, dieldrin, or heptachlor sprays as insecticides. A mixture of either 0.0015% pyrethrins or 0.25% detergent with 4L of water may also be used to survey the number of Fiery Skipper larvae present within a given patch. The technique works best in 1,860 cm² (288 sq in) circular patches. Surveying should occur within 5 to 10 minutes of application with roughly 90-100% of larval populations present.


The white-eared hummingbird's B. l. borealis subspecies occurs from southern Arizona into the Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Tamaulipas. It is an occasional visitor to New Mexico and Texas and has occurred as a vagrant further north and east in the U.S. The nominate subspecies B. l. leucotis is found from central and southern Mexico into Guatemala. B. l. pygmaea is found in El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The white-eared hummingbird is a species of montane regions where it inhabits the interior, clearings, and edges of pine, pine-oak, and pine-evergreen forest. In elevation it ranges between 1,200 and 3,500 m (3,900 and 11,500 ft).


The wood thrush's breeding range extends from Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia in southern Canada to northern Florida and from the Atlantic coast to the Missouri River and the eastern Great Plains. It migrates to southern Mexico through to Panama in Central America in the winter, mostly in the lowlands along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It generally arrives on the U.S. Gulf Coast during the first week of April. Fall migration usually begins in mid-August and continues through mid-September. Migration takes place at night, allowing them to find their direction from the stars and orient themselves by detecting the Earth's magnetic field.
The wood thrush prefers deciduous and mixed forests for breeding. It prefers late-successional, upland mesic forests with a moderately-dense shrub layer. Robert I. Bertin (1977) found that this thrush favors areas with running water, moist ground, and high understorey cover. The breeding habitat generally includes trees taller than 16 m (52 ft), a fairly open forest floor, moist soil, and leaf litter, with substrate moisture more important than either canopy cover or access to running water. The wood thrush can breed in habitat patches as small as 0.4 hectares (0.99 acres), but it runs the risk of higher predation and nest parasitism. The wood thrush's breeding range has expanded northward, displacing the veery and hermit thrush in some locations. In recent times, as a result of fragmentation of forests, it has been increasingly exposed to
nest parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds, as well as loss of habitat in the winter range.


Hylocomium splendens, commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere boreal forests. It is commonly found in Europe, Russia, Alaska and Canada, where it is often the most abundant moss species. It also grows in the Arctic tundra and further south at higher elevations in, for example, northern California, western Sichuan, East Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies. In Scotland  it is a characteristic species of the Caledonian Forest. Under the UK's national vegetation classification system, pinewood community W18 is named as "Pinus sylvestris-Hylocomium splendens woodland",  indicating its significance in this ecosystem.


The spectacled tyrant (Hymenops perspicillatus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the only one in the genus Hymenops.
It is found in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay; it is a vagrant to Bolivia, Paraguay and southeastern Brazil, once even in far northeastern Brazil.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and swamps.


Hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and other tropane alkaloids have been found in the foliage and seeds of the plant. The standard alkaloid content has been reported to be 0.03% to 0.28%.
Its psychoactive and pharmacological effects are a result of these alkaloids exerting an anticholinergic mechanism of action which blocks the function of acetylcholine in the brain and antagonizes the muscarinic receptors. This results in an altered state of consciousness, hallucinogenic experiences and typically; delirium. This mechanism of action is not only linked to dangerous effects and accidents, but dementia as well. Since toxicity/lethality is such a major concern with plants like henbane; many traditional preparations of henbane or other similar scopolamine-containing plants were designed to be applied transdermally, often in “magical ointments” by herbalists, witches and cunning folk. The purpose of this was to absorb the primary and transdermally-active alkaloid scopolamine through the skin, thus eliminating the risk of the additional toxicity from atropine and hyoscyamine that is inevitably present with oral ingestion of the plant but not when used topically.


Geographical location plays a large role in the age of sexual maturity. Observations from studies of breeding behavior (of Hypanus americanus during August at Bimini, Bahamas, and early September in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands). One study shows that when females were placed in captivity, they were considered mature when they were impregnated (around 5 or 6 years old). In this case, males who were 3 or 4 years old were considered to be mature. There is also a difference in the rate at which the females bear young, depending on whether they are raised in captive natural environments or in natural environments. Females raised in captivity bear offspring twice a year, and females that are raised in the wild bear offspring once a year. In addition, there is a positive correlation between the size of the mother and the number of offspring. There is a difference in nurseries for where the Hypanus americanus offspring are raised: there are primary and secondary nurseries which have a clear distinction. The primary nursery is defined as a habitat where a female Hypanus americanus gives birth to her young. On the other hand, the secondary nursery is a habitat where the juvenile Hypanus americanus are raised to mature adults. Little evidence about locations of and migrations between the primary and secondary nurseries is known. An example of a primary nursery is in Belize, where Hypanus americanus females pay seasonal visits for the purposes of mating and giving birth to offspring. During one study, juvenile Hypanus americanus were caught by scientists at 10 to 20 m depths on rock reef surfaces nearby during the months of May, November and December. This specific location of where these juvenile Hypanus americanus were collected was believed to be a secondary nursery.


In many parts of the Caribbean such as Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Antigua, the southern stingray swims with divers and snorkelers, and are hand fed at locations such as Stingray City and the Sandbar. On Turks & Caicos, they can be hand fed at a location called Gibbs Cay.  Some have become tame enough to be cradled in visitors' arms and feed with pieces of cut up fish. This docile and food-reward driven behaviour has led to many locals comparing the hand-fed and belly-rubbed stingray to an over-fed household canine. There are concerns that this feeding, and the high levels of interaction with humans, may be having some negative impacts on their behaviour and ecology.
The southern stingray may make its way into the aquarium trade. Despite its relative hardiness, it is best avoided as it requires an immense 4,200 gallon capacity system and will devour any fish or invertebrate it is able to capture. They are also housed within public aquariums and animal theme parks including Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California and the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, New York where visitors are allowed to pet the rays in a touch pool. In public aquariums, female southern stingrays have been seen biting one another on the edges of their fins. Reproduction has also been known to occur within large public aquariums.


Hypericum mutilum is a glabrous perennial or annual herb that is erect or decumbent, growing 15–60 cm (5.9–23.6 in) tall. The fibrous roots arise from the rhizome or stem base. The stems are solitary or branched from their base, typically with ten pairs of spreading branches. The green, four-angled stems are more or less ancipitous above and have smooth lines. The internodes are 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) long, exceeding all leaves except some of the uppermost. The sessile, spreading, persistent leaves are 5–27 mm (0.20–1.06 in) long and 1–15 mm (0.039–0.591 in) wide. The leaves are papery and membranous. Lower leaves are ovate or elliptic and upper leaves are ovate or suborbicular. The leaves are planar and the midrib is prominent on the lower side of the leaf. The apex of the leaf is rounded to obtuse and the base is rounded or rarely cuneate. Leaves have three to five basal veins with somewhat prominent ascending branches, and lax, obscure tertiary reticulation. The laminar glands are dense and punctiform. Pairs of leaves spiral and become smaller and more crowded lower on the stem. The terminal, cylindric inflorescence is five to sixty flowered, with regular monochasial or dichasial branching, flowering branches rising from ten nodes below. The pedicels are 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long, the upper leaves are foliar, and the bracts are subulate to foliar. The star-shaped flowers are 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide and the central flower has a shorter pedicel. The lanceolate to linear-lanceolate sepals are 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long and 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide, being equal or unequal, acute to apiculate, and with margins entire. Sepals have three to five unbranched veins that are scarcely prominent. The glands on the sepals are linear, becoming punctiform distally. The golden-yellow oblong petals are 1.75–2.5 mm (0.069–0.098 in) long and 0.8–1.5 mm (0.031–0.059 in) wide, shorter than the sepals. The petals have two or three veins and lack glands. The five to sixteen stamens are rarely grouped, the longest measuring 1.8–3 mm (0.071–0.118 in). The pistil is 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long and unilocular. The ovoid to ellipsoid ovary is about 1 mm (0.039 in) long and 0.6 mm (0.024 in) wide. The three styles are 0.5 mm (0.020 in) long. The stigmas are broadly capitate. The ovoid to cylindric-ellipsoid capsule is 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long and 1.6–2.4 mm (0.063–0.094 in) wide, rounded at its summit. The light brown seeds are 0.4–0.7 mm (0.016–0.028 in) long. The herb flowers from July to September.
H. mutilum subsp. mutilum has an apical internode that is shorter than the rest of the internodes. The leaves are variable in shape but are most commonly broadly ovate or suborbicular, and have a pale underside. The sepals are more broad above their middle. The inflorescence of the subspecies branches from two to ten nodes, with the branching being chiefly dichasial. The subspecies is distributed throughout the entire distribution of the species except for the northernmost regions and part of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
H. mutilum subsp. latisepalum has well developed apical internodes that are longer than other internodes. The leaves are broadly ovate with pale undersides. The sepals are more or less imbricate and are wider above their middle. The inflorescence branches from one to four nodes and branches diffusely and monochasially distally. The subspecies only occurs in scattered populations in low grounds and coastal mud from New Jersey to Florida and west to Texas.
H. mutilum subsp. boreale has shorter or absent apical internodes. The broadly ovate to elliptic leaves have no pale undersides. The sepals are not imbricate and are wider in their upper half. The inflorescence branches from two to six nodes, branching mostly dichasially. When the subspecies grows when submersed in water, the plants are nearly always sterile and have elongated stems. The subspecies occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and south to Virginia.


The moth is native to North America, ranging from Canada to Mexico and has been introduced into other continents. Introduced to what was formerly Yugoslavia in the 1940s (firstly recorded in 1949), it now has occupied probably its entire range in Europe from France to the Caspian Sea in the east as well as penetrated into Central Asia: Turkmenistan (from 1990 to 1993), Uzbekistan (Fergana valley from 1996 to 1997), Kyrgyzstan, and southeastern Kazakhstan. It was also introduced into Japan in 1945 and has adjusted its number of generations per year since its arrival. It spread into China, southern Mongolia, Korea and southern Primorsky Krai of Russia so that now it is considered holarctic in distribution.
The fall webworm originated in North America but spread very quickly across the world due to factors such as trade and rapid transit.


There are many predators of the fall webworm, such as Monomorium minimum, Vespula spp., Coleomegilla maculata, and Rogas hyphantriae.


The fall webworm is parasitized by around 50 species, such as Musca domestica L, Muscina stabulans, and Chouioia cunea. There are also several species of microsporida that can be harmful, such as Nosema necatrix Kramer (N. necatrix), Pleistophora schubergi hyphantriae Weiser (P.s. hyphantriae), Nosema sp., and Nosema bombycis  (N. bombycis ). Nosema bombycis can affect many body tissues, such as the midgut, fat body, gonads, nervous tissue, and Malpighian tubules, and the length of its polar filament is 100 µm. Spores from Nosema of fall webworms are typically egg-shaped and can sometimes be attached to each other, and the length of its polar filament is 57.5 µm ± 8.7 µm.


Hypochaeris glabra is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae known by the common name smooth cat's ear. It is native to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East but it can be found on other continents where it is an introduced species and a widespread weed. It has become widespread in Africa, southern and southeastern Asia, Australia, and parts of the Americas (especially California).
Hypochaeris glabra is an annual herb growing a small taproot, a basal rosette of leaves, and one or more thin stems 10–40 cm (4–16 in) tall. The leaves are 2–10 cm (3⁄4–4 in) long, smooth along the edges or with small lobes, and green in color, sometimes with a purplish tint near the veins. Atop the thin, naked stems are flower heads with small overlapping purple-tipped phyllaries and bright yellow ray florets. The fruit is a cylindrical achene with a white pappus almost 1 cm (3⁄8 in) long.


Hypomyces chrysospermus was first described by French mycologists, brothers Louis René and Charles Tulasne in 1860. Common names include bolete eater, and bolete mould.
The bolete eater belongs to a genus of parasitic ascomycetes, each of which infects differing genera of fungi. For example, H. lactifluorum attacks mushrooms of the family Russulaceae, H. copletus and H. transformans infect Suillus species, H. melanocarpus prefers Tylopilus species, while other Hypomyces have a much broader host range.


Hypomyces chrysospermus is found in North America, and Europe, where it is common. It is common in the southwest of Western Australia, where it is found in forest and coastal plant communities.  It is also found in the Eastern Chinese provinces of Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Fujian.


The black-naped monarch breeds across tropical southern Asia from Iran and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines. This species is usually found in thick forests and other well-wooded habitats.
The calls are a sharp and abrupt skrip.
The main breeding season in India is in summer from May to July. Two to three eggs are laid in a cup nest placed in the fork of a tree. The nest is decorated with spider-egg cases.


Ten subspecies are currently recognized, although the reproductive isolation mechanisms such as vocalization and geographic distributions of these populations still remain to be studied:
H. l. psaroides - Vigors, 1831: Originally described as a separate species. Found along the Himalayas from the Kunar Valley (north-eastern Afghanistan) and northern Pakistan through Arunachal Pradesh (northern India) and the central Himalayas to north-western Myanmar
Assam black bulbul (H. l. nigrescens) - Baker, ECS, 1917: Found in Assam and Manipur (north-eastern India), and the Chin Hills (western Myanmar)
Burmese black bulbul (H. l. concolor) - Blyth, 1849: Originally described as a separate species. Found from eastern Myanmar and southern Yunnan (southern China) through Indochina
H. l. ambiens - (Mayr, 1942): Found in north-eastern Myanmar and western Yunnan (southern China)
H. l. sinensis - (La Touche, 1922): Found in northern Yunnan (southern China)
H. l. stresemanni - (Mayr, 1942): Members of this race have white heads. Found in central Yunnan (southern China)
H. l. leucothorax - (Mayr, 1942): Members of this race have white heads. Found in central China
H. l. leucocephalus - (Gmelin, JF, 1789): Members of this race have white heads. Found in south-eastern China
H. l. nigerrimus - (Gould, 1863): Originally described as a separate species. Found in Taiwan
H. l. perniger - R. Swinhoe, 1870: Originally described as a separate species. Found on Hainan (off south-eastern China)


Black bulbuls feed mainly on seeds and insects, and they are often seen in small groups, either roosting or flying about in search of food. They are particularly fond of berries. They are known to feed on a wide range of berries including Celtis, Rosa, Melia and Ehretia in the Himalayas. They feed on the nectar of Salmalia, Erythrina, Rhododendron and other species. They make aerial sallies for insects.


The species' occurrence range extends from Texas and Kansas in the west to Florida and New Jersey in the east.


Cape porcupines are found across the whole of southern and central Africa, to southern Kenya, Uganda, and Congo at the northern edge of their range. They inhabit a wide range of habitats, from sea level to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), although they are only marginally present in dense forests and the driest of deserts, and are not found in swampland. There are no currently recognised subspecies.


The crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata), also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae native to Italy, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.


The crested porcupine is found in Italy, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. In the Mediterranean, it is known from mainland Italy and the island of Sicily, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; they are also recorded in Ghana, Libya and along the Egyptian coast. It has been recorded from sea level to 2,550 m (8,370 ft) in Moroccan Anti-Atlas. The porcupine was thought to have been introduced to Italy by the Romans, but fossil and subfossil remains suggest it was possibly present in Europe in the Upper Pleistocene.
The crested porcupine is native to
Algeria; Benin; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic, Chad; Côte d'Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gambia; Ghana; Djibouti; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Italy; Kenya; Liberia; Libya; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; Sudan; South Sudan; Tanzania, Togo; Tunisia and Uganda.
It is possibly locally extinct in Egypt.


Icaricia lupini, the lupine blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from south-western Canada, south through much of mountainous and intermountain western United States and high plains to northern Mexico.
The wingspan is 22–29 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August in one generation in the Sierra Nevada of eastern California. Elsewhere, there are several generations from March to July.
The larvae feed on Eriogonum umbellatum and Eriogonum fasciculatum. Adults feed on flower nectar.
The hairs of the caterpillars can cause skin irritation (urticaria).


The alpine newt is native to continental Europe. It is relatively common over a large, more or less continuous range from northwestern France to the Carpathians in Romania, and from southern Denmark in the north to the Alps and France just north of the Mediterranean in the south, but absent from the Pannonian basin. Isolated areas of distribution in Spain, Italy and Greece correspond to distinct subspecies (see section Taxonomy: Subspecies above). Alpine newts have been deliberately introduced to parts of continental Europe, including within the boundaries of cities such as Bremen and Berlin. Other introductions have occurred to Great Britain, mainly England but also Scotland, and Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand.
The alpine newt can occur at high elevation and has been found up to 2,370 m (7,780 ft) above sea level in the Alps. It also occurs in the lowlands down to sea level. Towards the south of its range, most populations are found above 1,000 m (3,300 ft).