Western rat snakes are available captive-bred in the United States pet trade, and they have been bred for mutations such as leucistic, albino, and scaleless. However, they are not as popular as other colubrids such as corn snakes, kingsnakes, milksnakes, and hognose snakes. Opinions vary on western rat snakes' disposition, but captive-bred individuals are reported to be more docile than their wild counterparts. With appropriate care, this species may be expected to live 15 years in captivity, and possibly more.


Cordylus niger, the black girdled lizard, is a medium-sized lizard restricted to Table Mountain on the Cape Peninsula and a second, isolated population near Langebaan.
Black girdled lizards inhabit rocky outcrops on Table Mountain, South Africa. Unlike many other lizard species in the area, these particular Cordylus lizards are not social and are usually seen alone. They are spiny, flat, and pitch black in colour.
Their colour helps these unique lizards to absorb sufficient heat from the sun, in what is one of the darkest, least sunny parts of South Africa.


Carphophis amoenus, commonly known as the worm snake, is a species of nonvenomous colubrid endemic to the eastern United States. C. amoenus can be found east of the Mississippi, from southwest Massachusetts south to southern Alabama west to Louisiana  and then north to Illinois. This species of snake protects a large range, and normally prefers a moist habitat in the rocky woodlands, under rotten wood of logs and stumps. Though this snake is quite abundant over its range, it is rarely seen because of its dormant lifestyle and where it usually resides. This snake is most common on the edges or in the ecotonal areas of open to thick woodlands, and the borders of wetlands. It may also be found in the grasslands next to woodlands. The best chance to spot it  is after heavy rains, when its small size and distinct color make it easy to spot.  This species prefers moist soil inhabited by earthworms, which are its main prey, so the soil needs to be sufficiently moist. The snake's skin naturally evaporates water; so the soil needs to be moist enough to offset this. C. amoenus is mostly found under rocks and in sufficient leaf litter during the extreme daytime heat.


Two subspecies of Carphophis amoenus are recognized:
Carphophis amoenus amoenus — eastern worm snake
Carphophis amoenus helenae — midwestern worm snake.
C. a. amoenus is found from Rhode Island, southwestern Massachusetts, and southeastern New York south to South Carolina, northern Georgia, and central Alabama. It has separate internasal and prefrontal scales. No gular scales occur between the posterior chin shields. Each maxilla has 9–12 small teeth. The single hemipenis has a forked sulcus spermaticus and three large basal spines. Adult males have ridges on the body scales that are dorsal to the anal plate. The young of this species are always much darker than the parent; then during the second year they  change from a dark gray to the brown of the adult specimen. C. a. amoenus  is almost exclusively an earthworm predator, but has also been known to consume other prey, from slugs to small salamanders. Due to human activities, C. a. amoenus is becoming rare in some areas. It is currently protected as threatened in Massachusetts and as a species of special concern in Rhode Island.


The worm snake is a small snake.  Adults are 19–28 cm (7.5–11.0 in) in total length, record  34 cm (13 in) . It is brown dorsally, and bright pink ventrally, with the belly color including one or two dorsal scale rows. The dorsal scales are smooth, in 13 rows. It has five upper labials and one postocular. C. amoenus coloration is unpatterned and can be tan to dark brown in color; it has a pointed head, and small, black eyes. It has pinkish ventral pigmentation which extends dorsally onto dorsal scale rows one to two. The tail is short in comparison with its body and ends in an abrupt, spine-like scale. Females are longer than males, but have shorter tails. The head is small, conical and no wider than the neck. Other small, unpatterned brownish snakes, such as earth snakes (genus Virginia) and red-bellied snakes (Storeria occipitomaculata), both have keeled body scales, but lack the spine-tipped tail. Other ways to distinguish between C. amoenus and other species is the body scales usually occur in 13 rows and are smooth and pitless, and the anal plate is split.  Another snake commonly confused with  C. amoenus is the western worm snake (Carphophis vermis), which used to be considered a subspecies of C. amoenus, and has the slight ventral pigmentation extending onto the third body scale row, and a dark gray or gray-violet dorsum. The southeastern crowned snake (Tantilla coronata) has 15 midbody scale rows, a dark head, and a dark collar.


Courtship and mating probably occur in the spring;  the sexes are most often found together between late April and June. Then, the developing eggs can be seen through the translucent venter of the female in late May and June. Oviposition takes place between early June and mid-July, 5 June to 15 July in northern Virginia. Eggs are laid in late June or early July, two to eight per clutch. The eggs are smooth and elongated, 16–25 mm (0.63–0.98 in) long by 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) wide. Often, one end of an egg is wider than the other. Hatching occurs in August or early September. Hatchlings are about 100 mm (3.9 in) in total length. They are darker than adults.  The  clutches of eggs are found in depressions under rocks, in cavities in the rotting wood of logs and stumps, and in old sawdust piles; and rodent burrows are probably also used for nesting. A female was nearby or with the eggs in 75% of the cases.


Prairie rattlesnakes are found in North America over much of the Great Plains, the eastern foothills and some intermontane valleys of the Rocky Mountains, from southwestern Canada through the United States to northern Mexico. In Canada, they occur in Alberta and Saskatchewan; in the US in eastern Idaho, most of Montana (where it is one of 10 snake species and the only venomous one), North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, extreme western Iowa, and in Mexico in northern Coahuila and northwestern Chihuahua. Its vertical range is from 100 m (330 ft) near the Rio Grande to over 2,775 m (9,104 ft) in elevation in Wyoming.
Wright and Wright (1957) and Klauber (1997) both mention Utah as within the range of this species, including maps showing it confined to the extreme southeastern part of the state. The type locality is described as "the Upper Missouri [Valley, USA]". An emendation was proposed by H.M. Smith and Taylor (1950) to "Gross, Boyd County, Nebraska."
Habitat characteristics can vary depending on subspecies and range. Generally, western rattlesnakes occupy areas with an abundant prey base. Many subspecies occupy somewhat rocky areas with outcrops serving as den sites. Prairie rattlesnakes have also been known to occupy burrows of other animals. They seem to prefer dry areas with moderate vegetation coverage. Vegetation cover will vary depending on region and subspecies.


Sceloporus jarrovii, also known commonly as Yarrow's spiny lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies.


S. jarrovii grows to a snout-to-vent length of 10.5 cm (4.1 in) with keeled scales and a crosshatch-patterned torso. Its coloration includes tints of pink, green, blue, and copper. The top of the head is dark gray. Males have a blue throat and a blue belly. A complete black collar with a white inferior border distinguishes this lizard from similar species.


The preferred natural habitats of S. jarrovii are forest and rocky areas.


Nucella lamellosa, commonly known as the frilled dogwinkle or wrinkled purple whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. This species occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, its range extending in the intertidal zone from the Aleutian Islands southward to central California.


This whelk is a predator, feeding largely on mussels and barnacles. The radula is used to scrape through the shell of the prey and the soft tissue is extracted. The whelk is itself eaten by crabs such as the red rock crab Cancer productus and the seastar Pisaster ochraceus. In the presence of the crabs, there is a tendency for the whelk's shell to grow thicker and be more robust, and thus less easy for the crab to crush. This may be as a result of chemicals released into the water by the crabs because the thickness of the whelk's shell seems unaffected by the presence of Carcinus maenas, a recently introduced invasive species of crab that also feeds on whelks.
A different response in shell morphology was evinced in the presence of the seastar. Here, the shell tended to get longer with a high spire, enabling the whelk to retract its soft tissues as far as possible from the seastar. If both crabs and seastars were present, the shell phenotype that tended to evolve reflected the response to the predator that caused the greatest mortality. The whelks also show behavioural responses to both crabs and seastars by seeking refuge.
Breeding takes place in hidden locations such as under rocks, with many whelks congregating to mate and lay eggs in capsules which resemble clusters of oats as they dangle from the substrate.


Nucella lamellosa is a large snail with a strong shell growing to a length of 100 mm (4 in) and width of 50 mm (2 in). The shell has no more than seven whorls and has a horny operculum. The spire is well developed, with a short notch to accommodate the siphon. This snail is rather variable in colour, shape and surface texture. Some specimens are smooth, others rough and others have frilled lamellae (angular plates). Some of these features may be as a result of abrasion and wave action, and when present, the spiral sculpture takes the form of one or two ridges per whorl, the whorls being flattened near their joints making them appear to be angled. This snail can be white, grey, brown or orange, occasionally purplish, and is sometimes spirally banded.


This whelk is found in shallow waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from the Bering Strait and the Aleutian Islands to central California. It is found intertidally on rocks from the mid to lower shore and is one of the commonest whelks in this habitat in the Pacific Northwest.


Chiton glaucus are oval in shape, with a slightly elevated yet definite ridge running down the back of the organism. This results in a bilateral symmetry. The size of the organism is commonly 30-35 mm long.
Taxonomists primarily use characteristics of the valves and the girdle to tell the difference between species and this is the case for Chiton glaucus. The shell consists of eight overlapping valves. It is fairly large, up to 55 mm in length, with 6 intermediate valves between 2 terminal valves at either end of the organism. These valves are surrounded by a girdle, which helps with adhesion to the preferred surface and in the case of Chiton glaucus it is covered in large scales.
The valves and girdle are generally uniform in a green colour, but individuals brown, buff and even light blue have been known to be found, especially in the North of New Zealand. This is sometimes combined with individuals who lighter chevron or zig zag markings. Underneath the body of the chiton, there is a large foot which spans its total length. This is used to keep suction onto the chosen substrate. Gills are not obvious, instead being found in a set on either side of the foot. It has a small mouth at one end of the foot, however the mouth is merely a simple cavity.


This species is found from the West coast of North America, ranging from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to San Diego. It was also reported in the Gulf of California at Bahía de los Ángeles but those records are now known to be the similar species Limacia mcdonaldi.


This animal preys exclusively on the orange-brown coloured bryozoan, Hincksina velata.


This species reaches lengths of 26 mm (1.0 in). It has long dorsal papillae with orange-red tips and white branchial plumes with red tips. There is a  broad band of white tubercles down the middle of the dorsum which may sometimes have a small spot of orange at the apex. The second form, found in areas south of Point Conception has tubercles that are in a mid-dorsal line, slightly longer and tipped with orange. Another form in California has large red blotches on the dorsum. The eggs of Limacia cockerelli are pink and develop after 17 days (at 10–13 °C [50–55 °F]) into hatching planktotrophic veligers. It was thought likely that the southern form represented a species complex. This was confirmed in 2017 with the description of Limacia mcdonaldi.


This species feeds mostly on fungi, decaying matter, and vegetables.


This species lives in freshwater lake, river, pond and swamp habitats and tolerates a wide range of temperatures. In natural settings, they rely on grasses and other emergent vegetation growing along the perimeter of bodies of water to lay their eggs. Where invasive, they can utilize crops such as rice and taro as a substrate for reproduction.


Parasteatoda tepidariorum, the common house spider or American house spider, is a spider species of the genus Parasteatoda with a cosmopolitan distribution. Common house spiders are synanthropic and live in and near human dwellings. Their prey mechanism is similar to that of the other cobweb spiders: the spider follows disturbances transmitted along the web to entangle and then paralyze its prey, which usually consists of household insects and other invertebrates (often considered as pests).


Common house spiders are variable in color from tan to nearly black, frequently with patterns of differing shades on their body. Females are generally between 5 and 6 millimetres (0.20 and 0.24 in) long, and males are generally between 3.8 and 4.7 millimetres (0.15 and 0.19 in) long. They can be an inch (2.5 cm) or more across with legs outspread. P. tepidariorum is similar in body shape to widow spiders. Males have a less bulbous abdomen than females. Common house spiders' size and coloration allow the spiders to blend into the background and escape notice.


Eriophora pustulosa, commonly called the garden orb weaver spider, is a common small species of spider found in Australia and New Zealand. The colour of the species varies widely, but they are often brightly coloured.
Eriophora pustulosa has five distinctive spines on its abdomen, two large ones halfway down its back and three smaller ones at the end of its abdomen.
At night, the spider constructs a circular web that it waits in the middle of for prey to fly into.


Latrodectus variolus, the northern black widow spider or northern widow, is a species of spider in the genus Latrodectus of the family Theridiidae. The population is closely related to the southern black widow, Latrodectus mactans, and the western black widow, Latrodectus hesperus, of the genus.
It is commonly found in Middle Atlantic states (New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland) of the United States. During the April–May mating season, it can travel north along the coast as far as Massachusetts. It is also found in Connecticut in the late summer, and rarely, in southern Ontario and southern Quebec, Canada, Michigan, and at least as far northwest as parts of Wisconsin.
A bite may cause latrodectism, and requires medical attention in the case of increasingly severe discomfort or spreading local redness accompanied by severe pain. The LD-50 has been measured in mice as 1.20–2.70 mg (0.019–0.042 gr); each spider contains about 0.254 mg (0.0039 gr) of venom.
Unlike for the related Latrodectus mactans, as of 2015 no antivenom was available.


The spider species Herpyllus ecclesiasticus is commonly called the eastern parson spider, after the abdominal markings resembling an old-style cravat worn by clergy in the 18th century. It is mainly found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains, i.e., Alberta, Canada east to Nova Scotia, Canada and south to Tamaulipas, Mexico and Florida, USA. Individuals can be found throughout the year. They can be found in homes and under rocks or logs in deciduous forests.


During late spring and summer, tubular growths up to 5 millimetres (0.20 in) long develop apically on the leaves of Tilia sp. These galls are yellow-green or red in color, may be very numerous, and predominantly occur on the lower leaves in some sub-species.
The galls appear not to affect the health of their hosts, and no way of controlling or preventing them exists.


The mites move onto the foliage in the spring, having overwintered in bark crevices and around buds. Individually, "Eriophyes tiliae" are less than 0.2 mm long, but the chemicals it releases while drinking sap from the lower leaf epidermis have a dramatic, consistent and colourful effect. An upright, hollow, red finger-like extension grows from the leaf around the mite. Before the autumn, the mites, which up to now have been actively feeding and growing inside the galls, depart from these shelters and seek protected sites elsewhere on the tree. The mites will pass the winter in such locations and then the cycle will be repeated. This species is one amongst a number of gall-formers which can be superficially similar in appearance; however E. tiliae tiliae is restricted to lime trees.


This species occurs on several islands in the western Pacific Ocean, in Hawaii and from Taiwan, Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea to Indonesia.
It has been introduced to all main islands of Hawaii. It inhabits a wide variety of habitats, from coasts to upland forests. During the rainy season from June to November, this species is common in sunny edge areas, such as along roadsides and cultivated area.


This species shows an evident sexual dimorphism. The strikingly black and yellow females are 5.1–6.4 cm (2–2.5 in) long, including legs, while the brown males reach only about 1.9 cm (0.75 in).
On Guam, where Argiope appensa is ubiquitous, it is frequently visited by Argyrodes argentatus, that  steals food from the host. Following the introduction of the brown tree snake and the subsequent extinction or near-extinction of many of the island's small birds, spider populations on Guam exploded in response to decreasing predation and competition. Nature writer David Quammen has called Argiope appensa "almost certainly one of the larger species" which were encountered in vast numbers during his research trip to Guam for the book The Song of the Dodo.


Metacyrba taeniola is a species of spider in the family Salticidae, the jumping spiders. Males grow to a length of 4.4–6.0 millimeters (0.17–0.24 in), while females reach 5.0–7.2 mm (0.20–0.28 in). M. taeniola differs from related species such as Metacyrba floridana and M. punctata by its greater overall size, and by the relative broadness of its carapace, which is around 70% of the length of the carapace.


The spider builds a spiral orb web at dawn or dusk, commonly in long grass a little above ground level, taking approximately an hour. The prominent zigzag shape called the stabilimentum, or web decoration, featured at the centre of the orb is of uncertain function, though it may be to attract insects.
When a prey item is first caught in the web, Argiope bruennichi will quickly immobilise its prey by wrapping it in silk. The prey is then bitten and then injected with a paralysing venom and a protein-dissolving enzyme.


Argiope bruennichi (wasp spider) is a species of orb-web spider distributed throughout central Europe, northern Europe, north Africa, parts of Asia, and the Azores archipelago. Like many other members of the genus Argiope (including St Andrew's Cross spiders), it shows striking yellow and black markings on its abdomen.


Argiope bruennichi display a rather large distinction between males and females with males averaging length of approximately 4.5 mm and females averaging 15 mm. The reasons for this large difference has evolutionary and fitness background with regards to mating as well as cannibalism by the females towards the males after copulation.


H. flavolineatum is found at depths between 1 and 60 m (3 ft 3 in and 196 ft 10 in), where it forms large aggregations, involving thousands of individuals, over rocky areas and coral reefs. They may stay under ledges or near elkhorn coral. The juveniles are frequently found in large numbers sheltering in sea grass beds in protected bays, lagoons, and other coastal waters. They are mainly nocturnal and emerge at night to feed on benthic invertebrates such as molluscs, crustaceans, and polychaetes, foraging over sand flats and among sea-grass beds. They have pelagic eggs and larvae, but little is known about their reproductive habits. The larvae remain so for 2 weeks before settling among the sea grass.


H. flavolineatum has many known parasites, among them isGnathia marleyi, a small crustacean named in honour of  reggae singer Bob Marley.


Haemulon flavolineatum, the French grunt, banana grunt, gold laced grunt, open-mouthed grunt, redmouth grunt, or yellow grunt,  is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean.


H. flavolineatum has an almond-shaped body, which is compressed and ends in a blunt snout. The small to medium-sized mouth has thick lips and has narrow bands of teeth on each jaw, the outer line of teeth being conical in shape, and no teeth on the roof of the mouth. It has a continuous dorsal fin with a small to medium-sized notch. The dorsal fin contains 12 spines and 14-15 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays. It has an overall colour of whitish to bluish or yellowish with marked with three vivid yellow to orange horizontal stripes, above the lateral line and a number of oblique similarly coloured stripes below the lateral line. There are yellow spots on the lower surface of the head and the inside of the mouth is red. It has yellow fins and a white abdomen. This species attains a maximum total length of 30 cm (12 in), although 17 cm (6.7 in) is more typical.


A species inhabiting parts of South East Asia and Indochina.
Earlier, due to misidentification, this species was erroneously and extralimitally reported from South Asia but later have been found to be in error. According to the Amphibian Species of the World, records outside Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam are almost certainly representing other species.
Fejervarya limnocharis is one of the few frog species commonly found in oil palm plantations in Malaysia, in addition to Microhyla heymonsi and Hylarana erythraea.


Snout pointed, projecting beyond mouth. Canthus obtuse, loreal oblique, more or less concave. Internarial space is longer than interorbital width, which is much less than width of the upper eyelid. Tympanum distinct, half to twothirds the diameter of eye. Fingers obtusely pointed, first longer than second, subarticular tubercles very prominent. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches tympanum or naris. Toes obtuse or with slightly swollen tips, half webbed, subarticular tubercles small and prominent. Body with small tubercles, sometimes small longitudinal folds are present, ventrum smooth except belly and thighs which are granular posteriorly. Male with loose gular region, with brown or blackish W-shaped mark, fore limbs stronger, with pad like subdigital tubercles under first finger. Snout-vent length 39–43 mm.
Color: Gray brown or olive above, sometimes suffused with bright carmine; a V-shaped dark mark between eyes, a yellow vertebral stripe mostly present; lips and limbs barred, a light line along calf, thighs laterally yellow, marbled with black, ventrum white, throat is mottled with brown in male.
The species forms a complex with several genetic variants that may represent multiple species.


Scaphiopus holbrookii, commonly known as the eastern spadefoot, is a species of American spadefoot toad (family Scaphiopodidae) endemic to North America.


S. holbrookii requires fish-free ephemeral ponds for breeding but occupies other habitats such as longleaf pine and wiregrass ecosystems when not breeding. Eastern spadefoot toads are explosive breeders during sufficient rainfall and eggs are usually attached to submerged vegetation. Due to the explosive breeding once eggs hatch often food becomes limited from the large populations of tadpoles. S. holbrookii tadpoles are known to be omnivorous. In the event of food shortages some larva adapt aggressive feeding habits consuming large animal prey including other S. holbrookii tadpoles. These cannibalistic morphs develop a heightened rate and become much larger tadpoles in comparison to the non-cannibal morphs.


The average length of an adult eastern spadefoot is 44–57 mm (1+3⁄4–2+1⁄4 in). It is brownish in color, with two yellowish stripes on its back. These stripes, which begin on the upper eyelids, may diverge or converge, resulting in a pattern resembling a lyre or an hourglass. Some specimens may be very dark, with less distinct markings. It has one spur on each of its back feet for burrowing. A similar species is Hurter's spadefoot toad, which was once considered a subspecies of S. holbrookii.


The epithet, holbrookii, is in honor of John Edwards Holbrook, American herpetologist.


Kurixalus idiootocus is a small species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae.
It is endemic to Taiwan and is commonly known as the temple tree frog. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes and irrigated land. It is listed as being of "Least Concern" by the IUCN although there may be some destruction of its habitat.


Kurixalus idiootocus is widespread in Taiwan at altitudes of up to 750 metres (2,460 ft) above sea level. It is typically found near still sheets of water, in paddy fields, damp grassland or shrubby areas.


Kurixalus idiootocus is a small tree frog measuring 24 to 43 millimetres (0.94 to 1.69 in) in length with the females usually being larger than the males. The head is broad with a triangular, pointed snout. This frog is some shade of pale or medium brown with a dark-coloured stripe running along the spine. The sides of the head and body are marbled with dark brown patches and spots and there is often a large, deep brown hourglass-shaped pattern on the central back. The upper side of the head bears tubercles and the skin is granulated. There are flattened discs on the fingers and toes, and some webbing, especially on the hind feet.


The breeding season of Kurixalus idiootocus lasts from March to June. Male frogs aggregate in suitable locations and call from the ground or low shrubs and are aggressive with one another. The advertisement call consists of a series of bird-like trills lasting several seconds, repeated periodically. Unusually, the egg masses containing about 180 eggs are deposited on land in close proximity to water; in reference to this, the specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek “idios,” or "peculiar", and "ootocos," or "egg-laying", according to the describers Kuramoto and Wang. The eggs have two jelly-like coatings, the outer one being tough and non-sticky. They are laid in depressions in the ground, under stones, in crevices or holes and are sometimes covered with dead leaves. Hatching does not take place until heavy rainfall occurs and the depression fills up or the tadpoles get washed into the nearby ditch, pond or temporary pool. The tadpoles are dark brown, sometimes with black spots, and are herbivorous.


Desmodium paniculatum grows to 3 feet tall in an erect and spreading habit with alternate, pinnately-trifoliolate leaves.  The leaves are lanceolate to oblong and are usually 2 to 10 times as long as wide.  The pedicels are around 1 cm. The flowers of the paniculate inflorescence are light pinkish to lavender and appear June through September. The sticky loments that many people find attached to their shoes and pants are arranged in a row of 2-6 superiorly sinuate and inferiorly triangular segments and appear August–October.


Cockles live in harbours and estuaries in New Zealand. They live in the subtidal to intertidal zone, and when they are in the intertidal zone they live between the low tide mark and the mid tide mark. Cockles are unable to survive above the mid tide mark because of the increased exposure time. Cockles prefer to live in soft mud and fine sand, however they can be suffocated by extremely fine sand. For this reason, they mainly live in areas with a large grain size. The cockles bury 2 to 3 cm under the sand.


Cockles have a soft body which is protected from predation, desiccation and wave movement by a sturdy shell.
Predators find it difficult to pierce the shell of adult cockles. Sea birds drop cockles from high up, smashing their shells, to eat the body, but fish (such as flounder) can't break the shells. Younger cockles are more vulnerable to predation because their shells aren't as hard as adult cockles.
If a cockle lives in the intertidal zone it is protected against desiccation by the shell closing tightly together (the adductor muscles do this). A small amount of water is stored inside the shell, keeping the cockles body moist.
Strong wave action can dislodge cockles. The shell prevents damage to the body when it is drifting around in the water.


Cruciata laevipes is little used in herbal medicine today, but it was once recommended as a remedy for rupture, rheumatism and dropsy.  Bald's Leechbook recommended crosswort as a cure for headaches.


Cruciata laevipes is found in most of Europe as well as from northern Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, and the western Himalayas.  It is also reportedly naturalized in Ontario County in New York State. Cruciata laevipes is found in meadows, road verges, riverbanks, scrub and open woodland, generally on well-drained calcareous soils.


This perennial sprawling plant can grow to a height of 15–70 cm (6–28 in), spreads by seeds and stolons and has, unusually amongst this group, yellow hermaphrodite flowers. The inner flowers are male and soon fall off, whilst the outer are bisexual and produce the fruit. The flowers smell of honey. Of the whorls of four leaves, only two in each group are real leaves, the other two being stipules. It is associated with arbuscular mycorrhiza that penetrate the cortical cells of the roots. In the United Kingdom it flowers April to June. Pollination is by bees and flies.


Bromus comes from a Greek word for a type of oat, and tectorum comes from tector which means overlaying and tectum which means roof. Bromus tectorum is a winter annual grass native to Eurasia usually germinating in autumn, overwintering as a seedling, then flowering in the spring or early summer. B. tectorum may be mistaken for a bunchgrass because it may send up shoots that give it the appearance of having a rosette. In areas where it is growing in dense stands the plants will not form this rosette like structures, but instead are single-culmed (stalked).
The stems are smooth (glabrous) and slender.  The leaves are hairy (pubescent) and have sheaths that are separate except at the node where the leaf attaches to the stem.  It typically reaches 40–90 centimetres (16–35 in) tall, though plants as small as 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) may produce seed. The flowers of B. tectorum are arranged on a drooping panicle with approximately 30 spikelets with awns and five to eight flowers each. It is cleistogamous (self pollinating, non-opening flower) with no evident out-crossing. B. tectorum has a fibrous root system with few main roots that does not reach more than a foot into the soil, and has wide-spreading lateral roots that make it efficient at absorbing moisture from light precipitation episodes. A study showed that it had the capability to reduce soil moisture to the permanent wilting point (minimal soil moisture required for a plant not to wilt) to a depth of 70 centimetres (28 in), reducing competition from other species.


Bromus tectorum, known as downy brome, drooping brome or cheatgrass, is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, southern Russia, Japan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, North America and western Central Asia. In the eastern US B. tectorum is common along roadsides and as a crop weed, but usually does not dominate an ecosystem. It has become a dominant species in the Intermountain West and parts of Canada, and displays especially invasive behavior in the sagebrush steppe ecosystems where it has been listed as  noxious weed. B. tectorum often enters the site in an area that has been disturbed, and then quickly expands into the surrounding area through its rapid growth and prolific seed production.
The reduction of native plants and the increased fire frequency caused by B. tectorum prompted the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to examine if the greater sage-grouse needed to be listed as a threatened or endangered species due to habitat destruction. After the review was completed by the USFWS, Secretarial Order 3336 was signed with the goal of reducing the threat of rangeland fires and preserve habitat by reducing downy brome.
Research has shown that ecosystems with a healthy biological soil crust and native plant community will be resistant to B. tectorum invasion. In areas where B. tectorum is invasive treatments that are being researched/used by land managers to control B. tectorum include seeding of native plants and non-native bunch-grasses to out compete B. tectorum, herbicides, and prescribed burns. The effectiveness of these treatments is tightly linked to the timing of the water availability at the site. With precipitation shortly after herbicide and seeding treatments increasing the success, and overall high precipitation increases B. tectorum growth, causing the treatment effects to be statistically insignificant.


The seeds ripen and disperse in the late spring and early summer. They are dispersed by wind, small rodents, or attachment to animal fur, within a week of maturity. They are also moved as a contaminant in hay, grain, straw, and machinery. Bromus tectorum is an abundant seed producer, with a potential in excess of 300 seeds per plant; seed production per plant is dependent on plant density. Under optimal conditions, B. tectorum may produce 450 kg of seed per hectare (400 pounds per acre) with about 330,000 seeds/kg (150,000 seeds/pound). As the seed of B. tectorum ripen the plant goes from green to purple to straw-colored.
B. tectorum seeds demonstrate rapid germination as soon as the seed lands in appropriate conditions. If winter rainfall is limiting and germination is inhibited, but spring moisture is adequate, then seeds will germinate in the spring, and the plants will flower that summer. The seeds maintain high viability (ability to germinate under optimal conditions) in dry storage, lasting over 11 years. In the field, under buried conditions, seeds will lose their viability in 2–5 years. Seeds can withstand high soil temperatures, and the primary limit to germination is inadequate moisture. Germination is best in the dark or in diffuse light. They germinate most quickly when covered with soil, but do not need to be in contact with bare soil. Some leaf litter cover will generally improve germination and establishment of seedlings. Seedlings emerge rapidly from the top 2.5 cm (1") of soil, and a few plants emerge from depths of 8 cm (3"), but not from seeds 10 cm (4") below the surface.


Osage orange's pre-Columbian range was largely restricted to a small area in what is now the United States, namely the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, as well as the Blackland Prairies and post oak savannas. A disjunct population also occurred in the Chisos Mountains of Texas. It has since become widely naturalized in the United States and Ontario, Canada. Osage orange has been planted in all the 48 contiguous states of the United States and in southeastern Canada.
The largest known Osage orange tree is located at River Farm, in Alexandria, Virginia, and is believed to have been a gift from Thomas Jefferson. Another historic tree is located on the grounds of Fort Harrod, a Kentucky pioneer settlement in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.


Ceanothus verrucosus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common names wart-stem ceanothus, barranca brush, coast lilac and white coast ceanothus. It is endemic to northwestern Baja California and San Diego County, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and coastal succulent scrub habitats. It is considered a rare species north of the international border, as most of the valuable coastal land that hosts this plant in the San Diego area has been claimed for development. In California, several extant populations still remain scattered around the region, such as one protected at Torrey Pines.


This plant is an erect, open shrub approaching 3 meters in maximum height. It has gray-brown, minutely hairy stems with conspicuous wart-like stipules at the base of each leaf. The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged, each up to about 1.5 centimeters long, with a characteristic blunt tip. The margin may be entire or have 9 to 12 teeth. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers up to 2 centimeters long. The flower is white except for its characteristic dark center, which is the nectar disk and ovary. The flowers give off a fragrance similar to mild Alyssum. The fruit is a capsule about half a centimeter long.


C. exasperatus is found on the Pacific coast of North America from Baja California north to Sitka Sound. The type locality is in Puget Sound opposite Fort Nisqually. It grows on rocks in semi-exposed or semi-protected areas of the upper subtidal to lower intertidal zone, down to a depth of 20m.


Ground Bixa orellana seeds are often mixed with other seeds or spices to form a paste or powder for culinary uses in Latin American, Jamaican, Chamorro, and Filipino cuisines. The seeds are heated in oil or lard to extract their dye and flavor for use in dishes and processed foods such as cheese, butter, soup, gravy, sauces, cured meats, and other items. The seeds impart a subtle flavor and aroma and a yellow to reddish-orange color to food.
A condiment called sazón is commonly used in Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean cuisine for meats and fish. The Spanish word sazón means "season" or "seasoning". Sazón is made with ground Bixa orellana seeds and packaged into small, disposable foil packets for easy use. Additionally, cumin, coriander seeds, salt, and garlic powder are included in these sazón condiment packets. On Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands, the annatto pigment is also used to make yellow rice and is sometimes added to sofrito. Additionally, in the French Caribbean, it is added to a fish or pork stew called blaff.
In Brazil, a powder known as colorau or colorífico is made from the ground seeds combined with filler seeds like maize. This powder is similar to and sometimes replaces paprika. In Nicaragua, the most common way achiote is used in their cuisine and dishes is in the form of a paste. It is used in many national dishes, such as chancho con yuca, nacatamal, and fritanga. The Yucatecan condiment called recado rojo, or "achiote paste", is made from ground Bixa orellana seeds combined with other spices and is a mainstay in Mexican and Belizean cuisines.


Adults mate and lay eggs in the spring on or in the near vicinity of violets. A common violet selected for oviposition is the Marsh Violet. Adult Boloria selene have been observed to fly in a brood once a year sometime in the summer. Adult small pearl-bordered fritillaries feed on the following plants:
Bramble
Thistle
Bugle (Ajuga reptans)


The oxlip is a herbaceous or semi-evergreen  perennial plant growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) broad, with a rosette of leaves 5–15 cm long and 2–6 cm broad. It produces light yellow flowers in spring, in clusters of 10-30 together on a single stem 10–30 cm (4–12 in) tall, each flower 9–15 mm broad.
It may be confused with the closely related cowslip (Primula veris), which has a similar general appearance, although P. veris has smaller, bell-shaped, bright yellow flowers (and red dots inside the flower), and a corolla tube without folds. The leaves of P. veris are more spade-shaped than P. elatior.


The adult moth's forewing is 13 to 16 mm (0.51 to 0.63 inches) long, and the wingspan is 25 to 30 mm (0.98 to 1.18 inches).
Forewings are black slightly dusted with grey. Lines are whitish, the subbasal ending in a grey-edged black spot on inner margin; the inner is obliquely curved outwards; the outer is angled at vein 6, indented on 4 and angled inwards below vein 2, running upwards and outwards below reniform, then downwards again parallel to its former course, and finally running in to the inner line above inner margin.
Orbicular stigma is a round black spot with grey outline; reniform large and black, edged externally by a white bar, which often emits a narrow pale line externally from its middle subterminal line sinuous, double, somewhat lunulate, with dark centre and pale-scaled edges, except at costa where it is single and white, preceded by oblong black spots separated by the pale veins. Hindwings have the cell ochreous white, containing a black cellspot; outer and subterminal sinuous series of ochreous white spots between the veins. Fringe of both wings are mottled black and white, with pale line at base; underside is ochreous white.
The larva is yellowish with a dorsal line dark, finely pale in centre and with several fine wavy lines on each side. The spiracular line is broad, dark reddish brown, edged below with yellow or red.


The wingspan is about 80–94 mm in male. Palpi with third joint long and spatulate at extremity. Forewings with non-crenulate cilia in male, crenulate in female. Head and thorax reddish brown with plum-color suffusion. Abdomen orange. Forewings reddish brown, usually with a greenish tinge and irrorated with dark specks. An oblique antemedial line present, which is generally dark and indistinct but sometimes pale and prominent. Reniform indistinct. A curve postmedial line found, which is almost always met by an oblique streak from apex. Hindwings orange, with a large black lunule beyond lower angle of cell. There is a marginal black band with cilia pale spots runs from costa to vein 2. Ventral side of forewings with orange postmedial band.
The wingspan is about 90–110 mm in female. Female has much more variegated and dark reddish brown striated forewings. Reniform dark and sending a spur along median nervure to below the orbicular speck. There is a triangular white mark usually present on the postmedial line below vein 3.
Larva has dilated 11th somite and surrounded by a tubercle. Body purplish brown, where dorsum brown from 6th to 11th somites. Legs red and spiracular scarlet patches largest posteriorly and with some irregular white markings round them, on somite 9 in the form of an oblique white bar. There is a yellow sub-basal mark found on 4th somite. Fifth and sixth somites have black ocelli with yellow iris and white pupils. Two yellow patches can be seen on 11th somite.
The adult is considered an agricultural pest, causing damage to many fruit crops by piercing it with its strong proboscis in order to suck the juice. Attempts have been made to control them using baits for the adults, egg parasites and larval parasitoids.


The larvae feed mainly on vines belonging to the Menispermaceae but have also adapted to species of Erythrina and are known to feed on Erythrina crista-galli, Erythrina fusca, Erythrina variegata, Carronia multisepala, Hypserpa decumbens, Legnephora moorei, Pleogyne australis, Sarcopetalum harveyanum, Stephania aculeata, Stephania forsteri, Stephania japonica and Tinospora smilacina.
Infected plant parts are mostly the fruits. Fruits show sap ooze out and internal feeding of the caterpillar. Fruits may show premature drop. Adults penetrate the skin or rind with a strong, barbed proboscis. Damaged parts become spongy and with many lesions.


Eudocima phalonia, the common fruit-piercing moth, is a fruit piercing moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 Centuria Insectorum. It is found in large parts of the tropics, mainly in Asia, Africa and Australia but introduced into other areas such as Hawaii, New Zealand and the Society Islands. It is one of major fruit pests in the world.


The nymphs and the imagos feed on juices of various plants, particularly milkweed (Vincetoxicum hirundinaria), Taraxacum species,  Spring pheasant's eye (Adonis vernalis) and sometimes also on dandelions. Adults overwinter.


It is mainly present in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. It inhabits lawns,  forests clearings and scrubs, generally in warm calcareous areas.


Laguncularia racemosa, the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda and Florida to the Bahamas, Mexico, the Caribbean, and south to Brazil; and on the Pacific Coast of the Americas from Mexico to northwestern Peru, including the Galápagos Islands.
It is a mangrove tree, growing to 12–18 m (39–59 ft) tall. The bark is gray-brown or reddish, and rough and fissured. Pneumatophores and/or prop roots may be present, depending on environmental conditions. The leaves are opposite, elliptical, 12–18 cm (4.7–7.1 in) long, and 2.5–5.0 cm (0.98–1.97 in) broad, rounded at both ends, entire, smooth, leathery in texture, slightly fleshy, without visible veins, and yellow-green in color. The petiole is stout, reddish, and 10–13 mm (0.39–0.51 in) long, with two small glands near the blade that exude sugars. The white, bell-shaped flowers are mostly bisexual and about 5 mm (0.20 in) long.  The fruit is a reddish-brown drupe, about 12–20 mm (0.47–0.79 in) long, with longitudinal ridges. The single seed is sometimes viviparous.
It grows in coastal areas of bays, lagoons, and tidal creeks, typically growing inland of other mangroves, well above the high tide line.


The stone of the fruit is poisonous. Chokecherry is toxic to horses, moose, cattle, goats, deer, and other animals with segmented stomachs (rumens), especially after the leaves have wilted (such as after a frost or after branches have been broken), because wilting releases cyanide and makes the plant sweet. The leaves themselves being poisonous, about 4.5–9 kilograms (10–20 pounds) of foliage can be fatal. Symptoms of a horse that has been poisoned include heavy breathing, agitation, and weakness.


For many Native American tribes of the Northern Rockies, Northern Plains, and boreal forest region of Canada and the United States, chokecherries are the most important fruit in their traditional diets and are part of pemmican, a staple traditional food. The bark of chokecherry root is made into an asperous-textured concoction used to ward off or treat colds, fever and stomach maladies by Native Americans. The inner bark of the chokecherry, as well as red osier dogwood, or alder, is also used by some tribes in ceremonial smoking mixtures, known as kinnikinnick. The chokecherry fruit can be eaten when fully ripe, but otherwise contains a toxin. The fruit can be used to make jam or syrup, but the bitter nature of the fruit requires sugar to sweeten the preserves. The Plains Indians pound up the whole fruits—including the toxic pits—in a mortar, from which they made sun-baked cakes.
Chokecherry is also used to craft wine in the Western United States, mainly in the Dakotas and Utah, as well as in Manitoba, Canada.


Chokecherry is a suckering shrub or small tree growing to 1–6 metres (3 feet 3 inches – 19 feet 8 inches) tall, rarely to 10 m (33 ft) and exceptionally 18 m (60 ft) with a trunk as thick as 30 centimetres (12 in). The leaves are oval, 2.5–10 centimetres (1–4 inches) long and 1.2–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) wide, with a serrated margin. The stems rarely exceed 2 cm (3⁄4 in) in length.
The flowers are produced in racemes 4–11 cm (1+1⁄2–4+1⁄4 in) long in late spring (well after leaf emergence), eventually growing up to 15 cm. They are 8–13 millimetres (1⁄4–1⁄2 inch) across.
The fruits (drupes) are about 6–14 mm (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) in diameter, range in color from bright red to black, and possess a very astringent taste, being both somewhat sour and somewhat bitter. They get darker and marginally sweeter as they ripen. They each contain a large stone.


The natural historic range of P. virginiana includes most of Canada (including Northwest Territories, but excluding Yukon, Nunavut, and Labrador), most of the United States (including Alaska, but excluding some states in the Southeast), and northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, Baja California, Durango, Zacatecas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León).


The plant reaches 2 to 4 ft (0.61 to 1.22 m) in height, with many branches, and a spread of about 2.5 ft (0.76 m). The hairy leaves, scalloped on the edges, are pea green, varying in size, all the way up to 3 in (7.6 cm) long and 2 in (5.1 cm) wide. Flower color and size is quite variable. The naturalized variety is typically tubular, bright red, about 1.25 in (3.2 cm) long. Flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds and butterflies.


The mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carolina turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds and a popular gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and meat. Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure is due to its prolific breeding; in warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods of two young each in a single year. The wings make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, a form of sonation. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph).
Mourning doves are light gray and brown and generally muted in color. Males and females are similar in appearance. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (young) per brood. Both parents incubate and care for the young. Mourning doves eat almost exclusively seeds, but the young are fed crop milk by their parents. It is the national bird of the British Virgin Islands.


Propagation is by seed and the division of the creeping roots. The tuberous roots and young leaves can be cooked as a vegetable or eaten raw as a salad. The taste is bitter sweet. The mature leaves smell of oil of wintergreen when crushed, due to the release of methyl salicylate.


Saturnia pavonia, the small emperor moth, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Sometimes, the incorrect genus name Pavonia is still used for this species. This moth occurs throughout the Palearctic region and is the only member of its family to be found in the British Isles, where it is usually called simply the emperor moth.


These damselflies inhabit freshwater bodies whose conditions range, they have been seen in acidic fens as well as eutrophic ponds. They have been considered one of the more sensitive insects in an aquatic setting.  They are important within the trophic levels as they are an intermediate predator. They consume smaller larvae and they are preyed on by fish and larvae bigger than them.
The larvae prefer a habitat that has a more complex structure in the ground composition as well as the plants. The larval stages spend most of their time within the plants, climbing and feeding. Although they do prefer a more complex habitat, they can also be found in habitats with simpler vegetation. They are efficient in both complexities equally, but the complex vegetation also serves as protection from fish.
These larvae are able to live in a dense population in shallow areas of water without showing signs of competition between the larvae. The damselfly larvae require a plant structure that can withstand the backward movement that occurs when the labium protracts to catch food.


The pale-vented pigeon (Patagioenas cayennensis) is a large pigeon (family Columbidae) found in the tropical Americas. Formerly often placed in Columba, it actually belongs to a clade of the older New World genus Patagioenas. With its relatives it represents an evolutionary radiation extending through most of the warm-temperate to tropical Americas. Grey-hued birds, even their males generally lack iridescent display plumage, although the present species has some coppery gloss on the nape.
It is a resident breeder from southern Mexico south to Bolivia and northern Argentina and on Tobago and Trinidad, although it is very localised on the latter island. Vagrants are occasionally seen in adjacent regions; for example, the species is noted to stray into Uruguay from Argentina and occasionally from Brazil, but it has never been noted to breed or even maintain a permanent presence in the former country.


Papilio bianor, the Common peacock or Chinese peacock black swallowtail emerald or Chinese peacock is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae, the swallowtails. It is native to Asia.
It is the state butterfly of the Indian state of Uttarakhand.


African jacanas breed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It is sedentary apart from seasonal dispersion. It lays four black-marked brown eggs in a floating nest.
The jacana has evolved a highly unusually polyandrous mating system, meaning that one female mates with multiple males and the male alone cares for the chicks.  Such a system has evolved due to a combination of two factors: firstly, the lakes that the jacana lives on are so resource-rich that the relative energy expended by the female in producing each egg is effectively negligible.  Secondly the jacana, as a bird, lays eggs and eggs can be equally well incubated and cared for by a parent bird of either sex.  This means that the rate-limiting factor of the jacana's breeding is the rate at which the males can raise and care for the chicks.  Such a system of females forming harems of males is in direct contrast to the more usual system of leks seen in animals such as stags and grouse, where the males compete and display in order to gain harems of females.
The parent that forms part of the harem is almost always the one that ends up caring for the offspring; in this case, each male jacana incubates and rears a nest of chicks.  The male African jacana has therefore evolved some remarkable adaptations for parental care, such as the ability to pick up and carry chicks underneath its wings.


Adults feed on dung, sap and rotten fruit. In very rare cases the species will feed on nectar. They live in canyons, streamsides, thorn scrubs, and washes. Males of the species will wait near their food plants for females to appear. Larvae feed on hackberry.


The grayling or rock grayling (Hipparchia semele) is a species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. Although found all over Europe, the grayling mostly inhabits coastal areas, with inland populations declining significantly in recent years. The grayling lives in dry and warm habitats with easy access to the sun, which helps them with body temperature regulation.
A grayling goes through four stages in its life cycle. The eggs hatch around August, and larvae grow in four instars from August to the following June. By June, the larvae begin to pupate by spinning a silk cocoon below the surface of the ground. The adult grayling emerges around August. The grayling migrates in small groups of two or three butterflies throughout most of August, typically moving southeast.
H. semele engages in cryptic coloring, with their tan and brown colored wings helping them camouflage into their surroundings. The grayling exposes the eyespots on its wings when it believes to have been detected by a predator, but generally keeps them hidden to avoid being seen. Male butterflies are territorial, and engage in flight performances to determine who settles in the best oviposition site. Additionally, the grayling regulates its body temperature by orienting its body and posture to adjust to the heat from the sun.
Grayling populations have recently begun to decline, and while it is not globally endangered, the species is now considered a priority for conservation efforts in the United Kingdom.


In North America, this species has a typical dragonfly life-history. However, the population on the Azores reproduces by parthenogenesis, making it the only population of Odonata anywhere in the world known to reproduce by this means.
In the southern United States, adults are on the wing year-round, while farther north the flight season is from April to November, and in the Azores from May to August.


The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, non-migratory, North American songbirds that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a passerine bird in the tit family, the Paridae. It is the state bird of Massachusetts and Maine in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada. It is well known for its ability to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (sometimes feeding from the hand).


These birds are permanent residents, but sometimes they move south within their range, and even outside of it, in the fall or winter.
During the winter, chickadees often flock together. Many other species of birds – including titmice, nuthatches, and warblers – can often be found foraging in these flocks. Mixed flocks stay together because the chickadees call out whenever they find a good source of food. This calling-out forms cohesion for the group, allowing the other birds to find food more efficiently. When flocking, black-capped chickadees soon establish a rigid social hierarchy. In such hierarchies, males usually rank over females, and older birds over juveniles.
Black-capped chickadees sleep in thick vegetation or in cavities, usually singly, though they may occasionally roost clumped together. Their sleeping posture is with the beak tucked under the scapular (shoulder) feathers.
Their flight is slightly undulating with rapid wing beats. Flight speed is about 20 km/h (12 mph).


Insects (especially caterpillars) form a large part of their diet in summer. The birds hop along tree branches searching for food, sometimes hanging upside down or hovering; they may make short flights to catch insects in the air. Seeds and berries become more important in winter, though insect eggs and pupae remain on the menu. Black oil sunflower seeds are readily taken from bird feeders. The birds take a seed in their beak and commonly fly from the feeder to a tree, where they proceed to hammer the seed on a branch to open it.
Like many other species in the family Paridae, black-capped chickadees commonly cache food, mostly seeds, but sometimes insects, also. Items are stored singly in various sites such as bark, dead leaves, clusters of conifer needles, or knothole. Memory for the location of caches can last up to 28 days. Within the first 24 hours, the birds can even remember the relative quality of the stored items.
Foraging behaviour in the winter tends to decrease due to the changing weather. Such behaviour is largely influenced by wind and temperature. When wind speeds are higher,  black-capped chickadees avoid exposure to such conditions by flying lower where vegetation offers a degree of protection, and when the temperature decreases, they search for food less frequently.
In parts of the black-capped chickadee's range with very cold winters, such as Minnesota, survival rates are affected by access to supplemental food. Chickadees with access to bird feeders are twice as likely to survive the winter than those without access to this supplemental food. This difference in survival rates occurs primarily during months with severe weather when the temperature drops below −18 °C (0 °F) for more than five days.  In Pennsylvania, with milder winters on the southern edge of their range, differences between populations with and without feeders suggest that feeders influence movements of chickadees rather than actual survival.
At bird feeders, black-capped chickadees tolerate human approach to a much greater degree than other species do. In fact, during the winter, many individuals accustomed to human habitation readily accept seed from a person's hand.


The black-capped chickadee nests in a hole in a tree, 1–7 m (3.3–23.0 ft) above ground. The pair either excavates the hole together, or uses a natural cavity, or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. This species will also nest in a nesting box. The nesting season is from late April through June. The nest is built by the female only. It consists of a base of coarse material such as moss or bark strips, and lining of finer material such as mammal hair. Eggs are white with fine dots of reddish brown concentrated at the larger end. On average, eggs are 1.52 cm × 1.22 cm (0.60 in × 0.48 in). Clutch size is six to eight eggs. Incubation lasts 11–14 days and is by the female only, which is fed by the male. If an unusual disturbance occurs at the nest entrance, the incubating female may utter an explosive hiss, like that of a snake, a probable adaptation to discourage nest predators.
Hatchlings are altricial, naked with their eyes closed. Nestlings are fed by both sexes, but are brooded by the female only (when the male brings food to her, which she passes on to the young). Young leave the nest 12–16 days  after hatching, in great part because the parents start presenting food only outside the nest hole. The young are still fed by the parents for several weeks, but are capable of catching food on their own within a week after leaving the nest.
Black-capped chickadees usually breed only once a year, but second broods are possible if the first one is lost. First breeding is at one year of age. Maximum recorded lifespan is 12 years, but most individuals live only half that long.
Black-capped chickadees are socially monogamous, and males contribute greatly to reproduction. During the laying and incubation periods, males feed their partners extensively. When the nestlings hatch, males are the primary providers, but as the nestlings grow, females become the main caretakers. Females prefer dominant males, and greater reproductive success is closely related to the higher ranking of the male.
Black-capped chickadees may interbreed with Carolina chickadees or mountain chickadees where their ranges overlap. It appears to be more rare, but interbreeding with boreal chickadees has also been documented.


The vocalizations of the black-capped chickadee are highly complex. Thirteen distinct types of vocalizations have been classified, many of which are complex and can communicate different types of information. Chickadees' complex vocalizations are likely an evolutionary adaptation to their habitat: they live and feed in dense vegetation, and even when the flock is close together, individual birds tend to be out of each other's visual range.
One of the most recognizable sounds produced, particularly by the males, is the two-note fee-bee song. It is a simple, clear whistle of two notes, identical in rhythm, the first roughly a whole-step above the second. The range of frequencies at which this song starts from varies; the complete frequency range spans roughly 1 kHz. Within this range, male chickadees can sing at various tones. The average starting frequency is around 4000 Hz. A decrease of roughly 200 Hz occurs when the first note (fee) is sung, and then another decrease around 400 Hz takes place between the end of fee and the beginning of bee. In spite of these multiple changes in frequency, though, anybody listening to the song only hears a pure, high-frequency tone. This is distinguished from the Carolina chickadee's four-note call fee-bee fee-bay; the lower notes are nearly identical but the higher fee notes are omitted, making the black-capped song like bee bay. The males sing the song only in relative isolation from other chickadees (including their mates). In late summer, some young birds sing only a single note.
A recent study found that female fee-bee songs have both similarities with and differences from male fee-bee songs. Both sexes sometimes make a faint version of the song, and this appears to be used when feeding young. When males are out in the wild, they sing this song to defend their territory or attract a mate. It is rare, but  a few accounts have been given of females singing a louder version of the fee-bee song when out alone in the wild, too. The black-capped chickadee is a monomorphic species, so distinguishing males and females based solely on their singing is difficult. A bioacoustic analysis performed on both male and female songs revealed that male fee-bee singing fluctuates more, and the absolute amplitude of both sexes is the same. The fee glissando varies far more in females, which makes identifying each sex easier. The purpose of the female fee-bee song is unknown.
The most familiar call is the chick-a-dee-dee-dee, which gave this bird its name. This simple-sounding call is astonishingly complex. Scientists have been studying it since the mid-1970s. It is produced by both males and females year-round. It has been observed to consist of up to four distinct units which can be arranged in different patterns to communicate information about threats from predators and coordination of group movement: A, B, C, and D. These four notes only ever appear in this consecutive order with each preceding note blending into the next. Not all four notes may appear in the call, though. Like other sounds the chickadee produces, it may be heard in multiple variations. The A and B notes are almost identical to one another in both frequency and duration. The black-capped chickadee possesses the ability to quickly notice the difference between these two notes. As for the C and D notes, no real similarity is seen between them. The C note fluctuates from low to high then back to low, whereas the D note has a constant frequency. While not confirmed, one study found evidence of a function behind the C and D notes. To be able to recognize the difference between a member of the same species and a potential predator, the D note is required. The C note is needed to locate food.
Neither individual notes nor groups of notes have an equal probability of appearing in the chick-a-dee-dee song. Its syntax form may take on several different structures, but the two most commonly heard are [A][D] and [B][C][D]. (The brackets are placed around each note to show that it may be repeated more than once.) Any calls that contain the D note more frequently than others are more commonly heard. A recent study of the call showed that the number of dees indicates the level of threat from nearby predators. In an analysis of over 5,000 alarm calls from chickadees,  alarm calls triggered by small, dangerous raptors had a shorter interval between chick and dee and tended to have extra dees, typically four instead of two. In one case, a warning call about a pygmy owl – a prime threat to chickadees – contained 23 dees. The Carolina chickadee makes a similar call, which is faster and higher-pitched.
These chickadees make a number of other calls and sounds, such as a gargle noise usually used by males to indicate a threat of attacking another male, often when feeding. This call is also used in sexual contexts. Black-capped chickadees develop the gargle noise as a result of learning that starts soon after birth and continues through to adulthood. This noise is among the most complex of the calls, containing two to 9 of 14 distinct notes in one population that was studied. It only lasts for about half a second. Social learning, in particular, is largely influential to the development of this sound. Beginning 30 to 35 days after birth, strings of low-amplitude precursor or sub-gargles are produced for about a minute. At this time, the young have several close interactions with their family; they learn to produce such sounds by listening to their parents and siblings. Three chickadee populations were observed at three different sites over 8 years, and all of them produced vocalizations that were very similar to one another. Strings of juvenile sub-gargles are almost perfectly continuous and both low and unstable in frequency, yet lacking multiple syllables. When their vocal abilities are fully developed, a stable frequency is produced and a variety of syllables is heard that vary in length.
Chickadees in an environment with ambient noise at the same frequencies as their songs have developed an evolutionary adaptation that enables them to adjust the frequency of their songs much quicker to effectively communicate with the surrounding population. The fee-bee songs of several male black-capped chickadees were monitored to identify their particular frequency. In one particular study, a series of both masking and nonmasking tones was played to multiple male chickadees at various locations to observe how they responded to interfering and noninterfering signals. When interacting with conspecifics close by, the males matched their frequencies, but when the surrounding environment was noisy with other species, the males adapted by increasing the frequency of their songs. The males responded quickly to the masking tones by raising their song frequencies. Another study, though, showed that male chickadees sometimes intentionally match the tones of competing conspecifics as a way of showing aggression. Dominant males in a population often compete with lower-ranked males; one is not at a greater or lesser advantage than the other. Singing contests are a way male chickadees decide who in a population gets to mate. When a male loses a contest, particularly a higher-ranking male in the population, he will often have difficulty finding a mate.


The black-capped chickadee has a black cap and "bib" with white sides to the face. Its underparts are white with rusty brown on the flanks. Its back is gray and the tail is normally slate gray. This bird has a short dark beak of 8–9.5 mm (0.31–0.37 in), short, rounded wings 63.5–67.5 mm (2.50–2.66 in), a tarsus of 16–17 mm (0.63–0.67 in), and a long tail at 58–63 mm (2.3–2.5 in). Its total body length is 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in), wingspan is 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in), and body mass is 9–14 g (0.32–0.49 oz). Sexes look alike, but males are slightly larger and longer than females.
Although range can generally be used to separate them, the black-capped chickadee is very similar in appearance to the Carolina chickadee. The black-capped is larger on average, but this cannot be used reliably for identification. The most obvious difference between the two is in the wing feathers. In the black-capped chickadee, the wing feathers have white edges that are larger and more conspicuous than those of the Carolina chickadee. The latter is often mistaken for black-capped chickadees with feather dystrophy, which sometimes affects the appearance of the primary feathers making them look slimmer, a phenomenon caused by illnesses such as fatty liver disease in malnourished birds. Overall, the Carolina appears slightly paler colored, whereas the flanks of the black-capped can appear to have a trace of off-yellow or rusty coloration. Also, the black-capped generally has a more "ragged" looking black bib, whereas the bib of the Carolina has a more smooth-edged look. These subtle features are often even more vague in populations around where the black-capped and Carolina overlap in range (possibly the result of hybrids) and the two cannot always be distinguished as two species. The two species were formerly thought to be easily distinguished by call, but they often learn each other's vocalizations where their ranges overlap (their point of overlap is a narrow band that runs along the east-central United States, with the black-capped chickadee to the north). A bird located near the zone of overlap that sings both songs, or sings "odd-sounding" songs, cannot be positively identified solely by voice in the field.


Polyommatus icarus has a wingspan of 28–36 millimetres (1.1–1.4 in). The dorsal side of the wings is an iridescent lilac blue, bright violet-blue, or almost hyacinth-blue with a thin black border. Females' wings are brown or black-brown with a row of red reddish yellow spots along the edges of the wings (marginal spots) and usually some blue at the base. The extent of blue and brown is extremely variable depending on location. The top of the wings in the female may be mostly blue, especially in Ireland and Scotland, but it always has red spots.
The ventral side has a greyish or dust-grey base colour in the males and a more brownish hue in the females. Both sexes have a row of red or orange spots along the edge of the hindwing and extending onto the forewing, though they are generally fainter there, particularly in the males, where they are sometimes missing altogether. There are  about a dozen black-centered white spots (ocelli) on the hindwing and nine on the forewing. These usually include one in the middle of the forewing cell, absent in Chapman's and Escher's blues. The fringes on the outer edge of the wings are uniform white, not crossed with black lines as in the chalkhill and Adonis blues (that is, the common blue lacks checkering).

The caterpillar is small, pale green with yellow stripes and, as usual with Lycaenid larvae, rather slug-like.


They subsist on an insect diet, which consists mainly of orthopterans, beetles and ants. Their full diet encompasses various orders (10 recorded) of arthropods. They also eat millipedes, which other lizard taxa tend to avoid. Gut contents reveal many ants (92% of items) and some beetles (4%). A large volume of orthopterans is consumed (27%), followed by beetles (26%) and ants (18%). Juvenile diet (by volume) is dominated by ants, though beetles and orthopterans are also taken. Prey diversity and volumes fluctuate seasonally.


A. mixta is found throughout central and southern Europe, north Africa, the Middle East and across Asia to China and Japan. As it is a migratory species it can occur outside its normal range and in recent years it has been spreading northwards. For example in the United Kingdom this insect was rare until the 1940s when it began migrating from the continent in large numbers. It continues to do so and is now a resident breeding species throughout England and Wales. It reached the Isle of Man in 1998 and Ireland in 2000. It breeds in lakes and ponds and is tolerant of brackish water. It is also found away from water hawking high amongst trees and bushes, but often resting low on vegetation.  A specimen was discovered in early August 2011 adjacent to a riparian park in Calgary, Alberta.


The migrant hawker (Aeshna mixta) is one of the smaller species of hawker dragonflies.  It can be found away from water but for breeding it prefers still or slow-flowing water and can tolerate brackish sites. The flight period is from July to the end of October. A. mixta occurs in North Africa, southern and central Europe to the Baltic region.


Coelophora inaequalis, the variable ladybird, common Australian lady beetle or common Australian ladybug is a ladybird species endemic to Australia, Oceania and Southern Asia. The variable ladybird gets its name from the black markings on the adult elytra, that vary from one individual to another.
C. inaequalis was introduced into Florida and Hawaii as a biological control agent to combat Sipha flava, the yellow sugarcane aphid.


The black-veined white has a wingspan of 51 to 70 mm (2.0 to 2.8 in). Females are commonly larger than males. The upperside of both forewings and hindwings is a translucent white boldly veined with black. The underside is similar in the male but the female has brown veining. Moreover, the female loses most of her scales by rubbing her wings together, resulting almost-transparent.
This butterfly can be distinguished from other members of white butterflies of the genus Pieris by its distinctive veined wings.
The eggs are yellow at first, darkening with age. The caterpillars are greenish grey with transverse banding. The pupa is creamy white, marked with black, attached by a silken girdle to a twig.


The red-billed quelea needs 300–800 mm (12–31 in) of precipitation to breed, with nest building usually commencing four to nine weeks after the onset of the rains. Nests are usually built in stands of thorny trees such as umbrella thorn acacia (Vachellia tortilis), blackthorn (Senegalia mellifera) and sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea), but sometimes in sugar cane fields or reeds. Colonies can consist of millions of nests, in densities of 30,000 per ha (12,000 per acre). Over 6000 nests in a single tree have been counted.
At Malilangwe in Zimbabwe one colony was 20 km (12 mi) long and 1 km (0.6 mi) wide. In southern Africa, suitable branches are stripped of leaves a few days in advance of the offset of nest construction. The male starts the nest by creating a ring of grass by twining strips around both branches of a hanging forked twig, and from there bridging the gaps in the circle his beak can reach, having one foot on each of the branchlets, using the same footholds and the same orientation throughout the building process. Two parallel stems of reeds or sugar cane can also be used to attach the nest from. They use both their bills and feet in adding the initial knots needed.
As soon as the ring is finished the male displays, trying to attract a female, after which the nest may be completed in two days. The nest chamber is created in front of the ring. The entrance may be constructed after the egg laying has started, while the male works from the outside. A finished nest looks like a small oval or globular ball of grass, around 18 cm (7 in) high and 16 cm (6 in) wide, with a 2.5 cm (1 in) wide entrance high up one side, sheltered by a shallow awning. About six to seven hundred fresh, green grass strips are used for each nest. This species may nest several times per year when conditions are favourable.
In the breeding season, males are diversely coloured. These differences in plumage do not signal condition, probably serving instead for the recognition of individual birds. However, the intensity of the red on the bills is regarded an indicator of the animal's quality and social dominance. Red-billed quelea males mate with one female only within one breeding cycle. There are usually three eggs in each clutch (though the full range is one to five) of approximately 18 mm (0.71 in) long and 13 mm (0.51 in) in diameter. The eggs are light bluish or greenish in colour, sometimes with some dark spots. Some clutches contain six eggs, but large clutches may be the result of other females dumping an egg in a stranger's nest.
Both sexes share the incubation of the eggs during the day, but the female alone does so during the cool night, and feeds during the day when air temperatures are high enough to sustain the development of the embryo. The breeding cycle of the red-billed quelea is one of the shortest known in any bird. Incubation takes nine or ten days. After the chicks hatch, they are fed for some days with protein-rich insects. Later the nestlings mainly get seeds. The young birds fledge after about two weeks in the nest. They are sexually mature in one year.


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


The greylag goose or graylag goose (Anser anser) is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus Anser. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A large bird, it measures between 74 and 91 centimetres (29 and 36 in) in length, with an average weight of 3.3 kilograms (7 lb 4 oz). Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places. It is the type species of the genus Anser and is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goose, having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BC. The genus name is from anser, the Latin for "goose".
Greylag geese travel to their northerly breeding grounds in spring, nesting on moorlands, in marshes, around lakes and on coastal islands. They normally mate for life and nest on the ground among vegetation. A clutch of three to five eggs is laid; the female incubates the eggs and both parents defend and rear the young. The birds stay together as a family group, migrating southwards in autumn as part of a flock, and separating the following year. During the winter they occupy semi-aquatic habitats, estuaries, marshes and flooded fields, feeding on grass and often consuming agricultural crops. Some populations, such as those in southern England and in urban areas across the species' range, are primarily resident and occupy the same area year-round.


The Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females and juveniles are brown above with brown barring below. The female is up to 25% larger than the male – one of the greatest size differences between the sexes in any bird species. Though it is a predator which specialises in catching woodland birds, the Eurasian sparrowhawk can be found in any habitat and often hunts garden birds in towns and cities. Males tend to take smaller birds, including tits, finches, and sparrows; females catch primarily thrushes and starlings, but are capable of killing birds weighing 500 g (18 oz) or more.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk is found throughout the temperate and subtropical parts of the Old World; while birds from the northern parts of the range migrate south for winter, their southern counterparts remain resident or make dispersive movements. Eurasian sparrowhawks breed in suitable woodland of any type, with the nest, measuring up to 60 cm (2.0 ft) across, built using twigs in a tree. Four or five pale blue, brown-spotted eggs are laid; the success of the breeding attempt is dependent on the female maintaining a high weight while the male brings her food. The chicks hatch after 33 days and fledge after 24 to 28 days.
The probability of a juvenile surviving its first year is 34%, with 69% of adults surviving from one year to the next. Mortality in young males is greater than that of young females and the typical lifespan is four years. This species is now one of the most common birds of prey in Europe, although the population crashed after the Second World War. Organochlorine insecticides used to treat seeds before sowing built up in the bird population, and the concentrations in Eurasian sparrowhawks were enough to kill some outright and incapacitate others; affected birds laid eggs with fragile shells which broke during incubation. However, its population recovered after the chemicals were banned, and it is now relatively common, classified as being of least concern by BirdLife International.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk's hunting behaviour has brought it into conflict with humans for hundreds of years, particularly racing pigeon owners and people rearing poultry and gamebirds. It has also been blamed for decreases in passerine populations. The increase in population of the Eurasian sparrowhawk coincides with the decline in house sparrows in Britain. Studies of racing pigeon deaths found that Eurasian sparrowhawks were responsible for less than 1%. Falconers have utilised the Eurasian sparrowhawk since at least the 16th century; although the species has a reputation for being difficult to train, it is also praised for its courage. The species features in Teutonic mythology and is mentioned in works by writers including William Shakespeare, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes.


The Eurasian sparrowhawk is a major predator of smaller woodland birds, though only 10% of its hunting attacks are successful. It hunts by surprise attack, using hedges, tree-belts, copses, orchards and other cover near woodland areas; its choice of habitat is dictated by these requirements. It also makes use of gardens in built-up areas, taking advantage of the prey found there.
It waits, hidden, for birds to come near, then breaks cover and flies out fast and low. A chase may follow, with the hawk even flipping upside-down to grab the victim from below or following it on foot through vegetation. It can "stoop" onto prey from a great height. Ian Newton describes seven modes of hunting used by Eurasian sparrowhawks:
Short-stay-perch-hunting
High soaring and stooping
Contour-hugging in flight
Still-hunting
Low quartering
Hunting by sound
Hunting on foot
The sparrowhawk bears numerous adaptations that allow it to fly at speed low to the ground and hunt in confined spaces; these include its blunted wings, which allow it to fly through narrow gaps in hedges and fences, and its long, square-edged tail, which the bird uses to aid itself in carrying out tight turns, such as those required to negotiate close stands of trees.
Male Eurasian sparrowhawks regularly kill birds weighing up to 40 g (1.4 oz) and sometimes up to 120 g (4.2 oz) or more; females can tackle prey up to 500 g (18 oz) or more. A recent study found that on average, female sparrowhawk prey were two and a half times heavier than that of the male. The weight of food consumed by adult birds daily is estimated to be 40–50 g (1.4–1.8 oz) for males and 50–70 g (1.8–2.5 oz) for females. During one year, a pair of Eurasian sparrowhawks could take 2,200 house sparrows, 600 common blackbirds or 110 wood pigeons. Species that feed in the open, far from cover, or are conspicuous by their behaviour or coloration, are taken more often by Eurasian sparrowhawks. For example, great tits and house sparrows are vulnerable to attack. Eurasian sparrowhawks may account for more than 50% of deaths in certain species, but the extent varies from area to area.
Males tend to take tits, finches, sparrows and buntings; females often take thrushes and starlings. Larger quarry (such as doves and magpies) may not die immediately but succumb during feather plucking and eating. More than 120 bird species have been recorded as prey and individual Eurasian sparrowhawks may specialise in certain prey. The birds taken are usually adults or fledglings, though chicks in the nest and carrion are sometimes eaten. Small mammals, including bats and mice, are sometimes caught but insects are eaten only very rarely.
Small birds are killed on impact or when squeezed by the Eurasian sparrowhawk's foot, especially the two long claws. Victims which struggle are "kneaded" by the hawk, using its talons to squeeze and stab. When dealing with large prey species which peck and flap, the hawk's long legs help in restraining the prey. It stands on top of its prey to pluck and pull it apart. The feathers are plucked and usually the breast muscles are eaten first. The bones are left, but can be broken using the notch in the bill. Like other birds of prey, Eurasian sparrowhawks produce pellets containing indigestible parts of their prey. These range from 25 to 35 mm (0.98 to 1.38 in) long and 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) wide and are round at one end and more narrow and pointed at the other. They are usually composed of small feathers, as the larger ones are plucked and not consumed.
During hunting, this species can fly 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) per day. It rises above tree level mostly to display, soar above territory and to make longer journeys. A study in a forested area of Norway found that the mean size of the home ranges was 9.2 km² (3.6 sq mi) for males, and 12.3 km² (4.7 sq mi) for females, which was larger than studies in Great Britain had found, "probably due to lower land productivity and associated lower densities of prey species in the [Norwegian study area]".
A study looked at the effect on the population of blue tits in an area where a pair of Eurasian sparrowhawks began to breed in 1990. It found that the annual adult survival rate for the tits in that area dropped from 0.485 to 0.376 (the rate in adjacent plots did not change). The size of the breeding population was not changed, but there were fewer non-breeding blue tits in the population. In woodland, Eurasian sparrowhawks account for the deaths of a third of all young great tits; the two alarm calls given by great tits when mobbing a predator, and when fleeing from a nearby hawk, are within the optimum hearing range of both prey and predator; however, the high-pitched alarm call given when a distant flying Eurasian sparrowhawk is seen "can only be heard well by the tit." Research carried out in Sussex, England, found that the impact of Eurasian sparrowhawk predation on grey partridges was highest when the partridge density was lowest, while a 10-year study in Scotland found that Eurasian sparrowhawks did not select the common redshanks they predated according to the waders' size or condition, probably because of the hawks' surprise-attack hunting technique.
Another study found that the risk of predation for a bird targeted by a Eurasian sparrowhawk or northern goshawk increased 25-fold if the prey was infected with the blood parasite Leucocytozoon, and birds with avian malaria were 16 times more likely to be killed.


A widespread species throughout the temperate and subtropical parts of the Old World, the Eurasian sparrowhawk is resident or breeds in an estimated global range of 23,600,000 km² (9,100,000 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1.5 million birds in 2009. Although global population trends have not been analysed, numbers seem to be stable, so it has been classified as being of least concern by IUCN. The race granti, with 100 pairs resident on Madeira and 200 pairs on the Canary Islands, is threatened by loss of habitat, egg-collecting and illegal hunting, and is listed on Annex I of the European Commission Birds Directive. It is one of the most common birds of prey in Europe, along with the common kestrel and common buzzard. The Norwegian and Albanian populations are declining and, in many parts of Europe, Eurasian sparrowhawks are still shot. However, this low-level persecution has not affected the populations badly. In the UK, the population increased by 108% between 1970–2005, but saw a 1% decline over 1994–2006. In Ireland it is the most common bird of prey, breeding even near the city centre of Dublin, where it frequents parks and large gardens.
This species is prevalent in most woodland types in its range, and also in more open country with scattered trees. Eurasian sparrowhawks prefer to hunt the edges of wooded areas, but migrant birds can be seen in any habitat. The increased proportion of medium-aged stands of trees created by modern forestry techniques have benefited Accipiter nisus, according to a Norwegian study. Unlike its larger relative the northern goshawk, it can be seen in gardens and in urban areas and will even breed in city parks if they have a certain density of tall trees.
Eurasian sparrowhawks from colder regions of northern Europe and Asia migrate south for the winter, some to north Africa (some as far as equatorial east Africa) and India; members of the southern populations are resident or disperse. Juveniles begin their migration earlier than adults and juvenile females move before juvenile males. Analysis of ringing data collected at Heligoland, Germany, found that males move further and more often than females; of migrating birds ringed at Kaliningrad, Russia, the average distance moved before recovery (when the ring is read and the bird's whereabouts reported subsequently) was 1,328 km (825 mi) for males and 927 km (576 mi) for females.
A study of Eurasian sparrowhawks in southern Scotland found that ringed birds which had been raised on "high grade" territories were recovered in greater proportion than birds which came from "low grade" territories. This suggested that the high grade territories produced young which survived better. The recovery rate also declined with increased elevation of the ground. After the post-fledging period, female birds dispersed greater distances than did males.


The Eurasian sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey with short, broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to manoeuvring through trees. Females can be up to 25% larger than males and weigh up to twice as much. Marked size difference in this direction is unusual in higher vertebrates but typical in birds of prey, and most marked in birds of prey which hunt birds.
The adult male is 29–34 cm (11–13 in) long, with a wingspan of 59–64 cm (23–25 in) and a mass of 110–196 g (3.9–6.9 oz). He has slate-grey upperparts (sometimes tending to bluish), with finely red-barred underparts, which can look plain orange from a distance; his irides are orange-yellow or orange-red. The female is much larger at 35–41 cm (14–16 in) long, with a wingspan of 67–80 cm (26–31 in), and a mass of 185–342 g (6.5–12.1 oz). She has dark brown or greyish-brown upperparts, and brown-barred underparts, and bright yellow to orange irides. The juvenile is warm brown above, with rusty fringes to the upperparts; and coarsely barred or spotted brown below, with pale yellow eyes; its throat has dark streaks and lacks a mesial (midline) stripe.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk's pale underparts and darker upperparts are an example of countershading, which helps to break up the bird's outline. Countershading is exhibited by birds of prey which hunt birds and other fast-moving animals. The horizontal barring seen on adult Eurasian sparrowhawks is typical of woodland-dwelling predatory birds, while the adult male's bluish colour is also seen in other bird-eating raptors, including the peregrine falcon, the merlin and other Accipiters.
A study, using stuffed bird models, found that small birds are less likely to approach common cuckoos (a brood parasite) which have barred underparts like the Eurasian sparrowhawk. Eurasian reed warblers were found to be more aggressive to cuckoos which looked less hawk-like, meaning that the resemblance to the hawk (mimicry) helps the cuckoo to access the nests of potential hosts.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk's small bill is used for plucking feathers and pulling prey apart, rather than killing or cutting. Its long legs and toes are an adaptation for catching and eating birds. The outer toe is "fairly long and slender"; the inner toe and back toe are relatively short and thick. The middle toe is very long and can be used to grasp objects, while a protuberance on the underside of the toe means that the digit can be closed without leaving a gap, which helps with gripping.
The flight is a characteristic "flap-flap-glide", with the glide creating an undulating pattern. This species is similar in size to the Levant sparrowhawk, but larger than the shikra (the calls are however different); the male is only slightly larger than the merlin. Because of the overlap in sizes, the female can be confused with the similarly-sized male northern goshawk, but lacks the bulk of that species. Eurasian sparrowhawks are smaller, more slender and have shorter wings, a square-ended tail and fly with faster wingbeats. A confusion species in China is the besra, although A. n. melaschistos is considerably larger.
In Great Britain, Eurasian sparrowhawks living further north are bigger than their more southerly counterparts, with wing length (the most reliable indicator of body size) increasing by an average of 0.86 mm (0.034 in) in males, and 0.75 mm (0.030 in) in females, for each degree further north.


The Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) is a species of freshwater turtle endemic to the U.S. state of Texas. It is found in the river basins of the Brazos, San Bernard, Colorado, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Nueces, and their tributaries. It is one of three species of cooters (Pseudemys) occurring in Texas, including the Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) and the river cooter (Pseudemys concinna).


The Texas river cooter is a relatively large turtle, capable of growing to a shell length of 12+ inches (30.5 cm). They are green in color, with yellow and black markings that fade with age. Males can be distinguished from females by their longer tails, longer claws, and overall smaller size.


The tropical mockingbird generally nests from late in the wet season through the transition period into the early wet season. During that long period it often will produce three broods. It is monogamous but cooperative breeding has been recorded with the young of the previous brood acting as helpers. It aggressively defends its territory against birds of its own and other species, and predatory animals as well. Both sexes build the nest using coarse twigs lined with softer material and place it low in a shrub or tree. The clutch size ranges from two to four but is usually three. The female does most of the incubation during the 13 to 15 day period. Chicks are fed by both parents (and helpers) in the nest for up to 19 days and beyond that after fledging.