Historically, this woodpecker's range extended in the southeastern United States from Florida to New Jersey and Maryland, as far west as eastern Texas and Oklahoma, and inland to Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Today it is estimated that there are about 5,000 groups of red-cockaded woodpeckers, or 12,500 birds, from Florida to Virginia and west to southeast Oklahoma and eastern Texas, representing about 1% of the woodpecker's original population. They have become locally extinct (extirpated) in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, and Tennessee.

The red-cockaded woodpecker makes its home in fire-dependent pine savannas. Longleaf pines (Pinus palustris) are most commonly preferred, but other species of southern pine are also acceptable. While other woodpeckers bore out cavities in dead trees where the wood is rotten and soft, the red-cockaded woodpecker is the only one that excavates cavities exclusively in living pine trees. The older pines favored by the red-cockaded woodpecker often suffer from a fungal infection called red heart rot which attacks the center of the trunk, causing the inner wood, the heartwood, to become soft. Cavities are generally excavated over 1 to 3 years.
The aggregate of cavity trees is called a cluster and may include 1 to 20 or more cavity trees on 3 to 60 acres (12,000 to 240,000 m²). The average cluster is about 10 acres (40,000 m²). Cavity trees that are being actively used have numerous, small resin wells which exude sap. The birds keep the sap flowing apparently as a cavity defense mechanism against rat snakes and possibly other predators. The typical territory for a group ranges from about 125 to 200 acres (500,000 to 800,000 m²), but observers have reported territories running from a low of around 60 acres (240,000 m²), to an upper extreme of more than 600 acres (2.40 km²). The size of a particular territory is related to both habitat suitability and population density. Where red-cockaded woodpeckers occur at high densities, individuals appear to spend more time in territorial defense, potentially at the expense of foraging and time allocated to reproduction, resulting in reduced clutch size and fledgling production.
The red-cockaded woodpecker plays a vital role in the intricate web of life of the southern pine forests. A number of other birds and small mammals use the cavities excavated by red-cockaded woodpeckers, such as chickadees, bluebirds, titmice, and several other woodpecker species, including the downy, Hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers. Larger woodpeckers such as northern flicker, red-bellied or pileated woodpecker may take over a red-cockaded woodpecker cavity, sometimes enlarging the hole enough to allow eastern screech owls, wood ducks, and even raccoons to move in later. Flying squirrels, several species of reptiles and amphibians, and insects, primarily bees and wasps, also will use red-cockaded woodpecker cavities.


The red-cockaded woodpecker suffers from habitat fragmentation when habitable pines are removed. When a larger cluster of birds gets split up, it is difficult for the young to find mates and eventually becomes an issue regarding species dispersal. While dispersing in search of new places to settle, the red-cockaded woodpecker encounters habitats of competing woodpecker species.
The red-cockaded woodpecker has been the focus of conservation efforts even before the passing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. In Florida, pairs are being released at DuPuis Management Area.
Due to the high importance of nesting habitat on the woodpecker's reproduction, much management has been dedicated to create ideal and more numerous nesting sites.  Nesting clusters have been spared from forestry activity to preserve old-growth, large diameter trees. The nesting sites themselves have also been managed to make them more appealing.  The use of controlled burning has been used to reduce deciduous growth around nesting colonies.  The red-cockaded woodpecker has been shown to prefer nesting sites with less deciduous growth.  The use of controlled burning must be exercised with caution due to the highly flammable resin barriers formed by the woodpecker.
In an effort to increase the red-cockaded woodpecker population, states such as Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia's wildlife management are creating artificial cavities in Longleaf Pine trees. There are two methods in which wildlife management officers use to insert cavities in long leaf pines. The most respected and latest approach is to carve out a nesting cavity in the tree and insert a man-made nest.  The older and less used approach is to drill a cavity into the tree in hopes that the birds will settle there and nest.
Due to the energetically expensive process of excavating new cavities, more energy is expended competing for existing home ranges rather than colonizing new areas.  Red-cockaded woodpeckers will make use of artificial cavities and even recolonize abandoned ranges when cavities are created.
In addition to the creation of new cavities, methods for protecting existing cavities are also used.  The most common technique employed is a restrictor plate.  The plate prevents other species from enlarging or changing the shape of the cavity entrance.  These restrictor plates must be carefully monitored, however, to ensure that no hindrance is given to the woodpecker.  Adjustments must also be made as the tree grows.


The downy woodpecker was described and illustrated with a hand-coloured plate by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, which was published between 1729 and 1732. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he included the downy woodpecker, coined the binomial name Picus pubescens and cited Catesby's book. The specific epithet pubescens is the Latin for "pubescent" or "downy". Linnaeus specified the type locality as America septentrionali (North America) but the locality is now restricted to South Carolina. The downy woodpecker was usually placed in either Dendrocopos or Picoides, but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 found that these genera did not form monophyletic groups. In the revised generic classification, the downy woodpecker was placed with four other species in the resurrected genus Dryobates, that had been erected in 1826 by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie with the downy woodpecker as the type species. Within the genus, the downy woodpecker is sister to a clade containing Nuttall's woodpecker (Dryobates nuttalli) and the ladder-backed woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris).
Despite their close resemblance, the downy and hairy woodpeckers are not very closely related; the outward similarity is an example of convergent evolution. Why they evolved this way cannot be explained with confidence; it may be relevant that the species exploit rather different-sized foodstuffs and do not compete very much ecologically.
Seven subspecies are recognized:
D. p. glacialis (Grinnell, 1910) – southeast Alaska
D. p. medianus (Swainson, 1832) – central Alaska to east Canada and central and east USA
D. p. fumidus (Maynard, 1889) – southwest Canada and west Washington
D. p. gairdnerii (Audubon, 1839) – west Oregon to northwest California
D. p. turati (Malherbe, 1860) – central Washington to central California
D. p. leucurus (Hartlaub, 1852) – Rocky Mountains (southeast Alaska to southwest USA)
D. p. pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) – southeast USA


The hairy woodpecker was described and illustrated with a hand-coloured plate by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he included the downy woodpecker, coined the binomial name Picus villosus and cited Catesby's book. The specific epithet villosus is the Latin word for "hairy". Linnaeus specified the type locality as America septentrionali (North America), with specific mention of Raccoon, New Jersey. The hairy woodpecker was formerly usually placed in either Dendrocopos or Picoides but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 found that these genera did not form monophyletic groups. In the revised generic classification, the hairy woodpecker was moved to the genus Leuconotopicus that was erected by the French ornithologist Alfred Malherbe in 1845. Some taxonomic authorities place the hairy woodpecker in an expanded Dryobates that includes all the species in the genera Leuconotopicus and Veniliornis.
Seventeen subspecies are recognised:
L. v. septentrionalis (Nuttall, 1840) – west North America from south Alaska to Ontario to New Mexico
L. v. picoideus (Osgood, 1901) – Queen Charlotte Island (off British Columbia, Canada)
L. v. harrisi (Audubon, 1838) – southeast Alaska to north California
L. v. terraenovae (Batchelder, 1908) – Newfoundland
L. v. villosus (Linnaeus, 1766) – southeast Canada, north central and northeast USA
L. v. orius (Oberholser, 1911) – south central British Columbia to southeast California and southwest Utah
L. v. monticola (Anthony, 1898) – central British Columbia to north New Mexico
L. v. leucothorectis (Oberholser, 1911) – southeast California to west Texas
L. v. audubonii (Swainson, 1832) – southeast USA
L. v. hyloscopus (Cabanis & Heine, 1863) – west and south California, north Baja California (Mexico)
L. v. icastus (Oberholser, 1911) – southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico to west Mexico
L. v. intermedius (Nelson, 1900) – east Mexico
L. v. jardinii	Malherbe, 1845 – south central and east central Mexico
L. v. sanctorum (Nelson, 1897) – southeast Mexico to northwest Nicaragua
L. v. extimus (Bangs, 1902) – north central Costa Rica to west Panama
L. v. piger (Allen, GM, 1905) – north Bahamas
L. v. maynardi (Ridgway, 1887) – south Bahamas


The hairy woodpecker inhabits mature deciduous forests in the Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States. It is a vagrant to Puerto Rico and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Mating pairs will excavate a hole in a tree, where they will lay, on average, four white eggs.
These birds are mostly permanent residents. Birds in the extreme north may migrate further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations.


The habitat of this species is forest borders and other open woodland. It is not generally a mountain bird, though it has occasionally been recorded in the uplands (e.g., in the Serranía de las Quinchas of Colombia) Three white eggs are laid in a nest hole is in a dead tree and incubated by both sexes. The young are fed by regurgitation.
Lineated woodpeckers chip out holes, often quite large, while searching out insects in trees. They mainly eat insects, especially ants and their larvae, beetles and their larvae, termites, orthopterans, caterpillars with some seeds, such as from Heliconia and Clusia rosea, and fruits, berries, and nuts.
Lineated woodpeckers breed March–April in Panama, April–May in Belize, and February–April in Trinidad and Suriname. Nest cavities are excavated in dead trees at variable heights, from 2 to 27 m (6.6–88.6 ft) above the ground. Both sexes excavate the nests, which are about 45 cm (18 in) deep, 13 cm × 18 cm (5.1 in × 7.1 in) wide, and have an entrance about 9 cm (3.5 in) in diameter. Clutch size ranges from 2–4 eggs (2–3 in Trinidad). Males and females take 2- to 3-hour shifts incubating during the day, but only males incubate at night. Chicks are fed about once an hour by both parents through regurgitation; the female does most of the feeding while the male guards the nest. Incubation and fledging periods not documented.


The range of the black woodpecker spreads east from Spain across the whole of Europe, excluding Great Britain, Ireland, and northern Scandinavia. It is also native to parts of Asia, including Korea, Japan and China, and to the Middle East, including Iran and Kazakhstan. The southern limits of this woodpecker's range are in Spain and Italy, and it has also been recorded as a vagrant in Portugal. The species is generally more uncommon and more discontinuous in distribution in the Asian part of its range.
The black woodpecker is mainly found in forested regions, with a preference for extensive, mature woodland, including coniferous, tropical, subtropical and boreal forests. It is very widespread throughout mountainous and lowland forests. It is more likely to occur in marginal woods near human habitations during the non-breeding season. This species has been observed at elevations between 100 and 2,400 m (330 and 7,870 ft).
The black woodpecker is noticeably absent from the British Isles. Approximately 80 sightings of the species in the UK have been reported, but some of these are disputed, though the proximity of the British Isles to the species' range in Western Europe means that the species may cross over on a regular basis.


The pileated woodpecker's breeding habitat is forested areas across Canada, the eastern United States, and parts of the Pacific Coast. This bird favors mature forests and heavily wooded parks. They specifically prefer mesic habitats with large, mature hardwood trees, often being found in large tracts of forest. However, they also inhabit smaller woodlots as long as they have a scattering of tall trees. Efforts to restore woodland by removing invasive honeysuckle and buckthorn seem to benefit them, as the removal of brush and shrubbery facilitates their foraging on the ground and in the lower stratum. From 1966 - 2015 the population of pileated woodpecker has, on average, increased by greater than 1.5% per year throughout the northeastern U.S., the Maritimes, the Ohio River Valley, and around the Great Lakes.


Duranta erecta is native to the Americas, from Mexico and the Caribbean south to Brazil and Argentina. There is some debate about whether the plant is also native to the southern United States, in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and California, or is an introduced species there, at an altitude of 40–1100 meters above sea level.
In its natural state, it commonly grows in rocky or sandy coastal areas with full sun, or moister, disturbed sites inland. Prior to maturity, the plant will grow at a rate of up to half a meter per year.


D. tityus lives in the eastern and southeastern United States, from New York state, Illinois and Indiana in the north to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in the south, with eastern Texas marking the western limit of its range.


Dysgonia algira, the passenger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1767 and is found in the Palearctic - from the southern half of Europe and parts of North Africa through West, Central and South Asia.


Dysphania ambrosioides, formerly Chenopodium ambrosioides, known as Jesuit's tea, Mexican-tea, payqu (paico), epazote, mastruz,  or herba sanctæ Mariæ, is an annual or short-lived perennial herb native to Central America, South America, and southern Mexico.


Dysphania ambrosioides is an annual or short-lived perennial plant (herb), growing to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall, irregularly branched, with oblong-lanceolate leaves up to 12 cm (4+1⁄2 in) long. The flowers are small and green, produced in a branched panicle at the apex of the stem.
As well as in its native areas, it is grown in warm temperate to subtropical areas of Europe and the United States (Missouri, New England, Eastern United States), sometimes becoming an invasive weed.


E. elaterium is native to Europe, northern Africa, and temperate areas of Asia, and is considered an invasive species. It is grown as an ornamental plant elsewhere, and in some places it has naturalized.


Echinometra mathaei is found on reefs in tropical parts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean at depths down to 139 metres (456 ft). Its range extends from Madagascar, the East African coast and the Red Sea to Hawaii.


In California, it is an invasive species. It is removed from native plant communities as part of habitat restoration efforts in coastal parks such as the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
In New Zealand it is a common garden escapee onto road-side verges and shingle banks throughout the drier parts of both the North and the South Islands.
In the state of Victoria, Australia, it is considered to be a high weed risk and an alert has been posted by the Department of Primary Industries.


It is native to Europe and temperate Asia. It has been introduced to Chile, New Zealand and North America, where it is naturalised in parts of the continent including northern Michigan, being listed as an invasive species in Washington. It is found in dry, calcareous grassland and heaths, bare and waste places, along railways and roadsides and on coastal cliffs, sand dunes and shingle.


Eclipta prostrata, commonly known as false daisy, yerba de tago, Gunta kalagaraku/Gunta galagaraku, Karisalankanni, and bhringraj, is a species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of the world.
This plant has cylindrical, grayish roots. The solitary flower heads are 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) in diameter, with white florets. The achenes are compressed and narrowly winged.

This species grows commonly in moist places in warm temperate to tropical areas worldwide. It is widely distributed throughout India, Nepal, China, Thailand, and Brazil.


Historical research has shown that the little egret was once present, and probably common, in Ireland and Great Britain, but became extinct there through a combination of over-hunting in the late medieval period and climate change at the start of the Little Ice Age. The inclusion of 1,000 egrets (among numerous other birds) in the banquet to celebrate the enthronement of George Neville as Archbishop of York at Cawood Castle in 1465 indicates the presence of a sizable population in northern England at the time, and they are also listed in the coronation feast of King Henry VI in 1429. They had become scarce by the mid-16th century, when William Gowreley, "yeoman purveyor to the Kinges mowthe", "had to send further south" for egrets. In 1804 Thomas Bewick commented that if it were the same bird as listed in Neville's bill of fare "No wonder this species has become nearly extinct in this country!"
Further declines occurred throughout Europe as the plumes of the little egret and other egrets were in demand for decorating hats. They had been used in the plume trade since at least the 17th century but in the 19th century it became a major craze and the number of egret skins passing through dealers reached into the millions. Complete statistics do not exist, but in the first three months of 1885, 750,000 egret skins were sold in London, while in 1887 one London dealer sold 2 million egret skins. Egret farms were set up where the birds could be plucked without being killed but most of the supply of so-called "Osprey plumes" was obtained by hunting, which reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels and stimulated the establishment of Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889.
By the 1950s, the little egret had become restricted to southern Europe, and conservation laws protecting the species were introduced. This allowed the population to rebound strongly; over the next few decades it became increasingly common in western France and later on the north coast. It bred in the Netherlands in 1979 with further breeding from the 1990s onward. About 22,700 pairs are thought to breed in Europe, with populations stable or increasing in Spain, France and Italy but decreasing in Greece.
In Britain it was a rare vagrant from its 16th-century disappearance until the late 20th century, and did not breed. It has however recently become a regular breeding species and is commonly present, often in large numbers, at favoured coastal sites. The first recent breeding record in England was on Brownsea Island in Dorset in 1996, and the species bred in Wales for the first time in 2002. The population increase has been rapid subsequently, with over 750 pairs breeding in nearly 70 colonies in 2008, and a post-breeding total of 4,540 birds in September 2008. The first record of breeding in Scotland happened in 2020 in Dumfries & Galloway. In Ireland, the species bred for the first time in 1997 at a site in County Cork and the population has also expanded rapidly since, breeding in most Irish counties by 2010. Severe winter weather in 2010–2012 proved to be only a temporary setback, and the species continues to spread.


With its range continuing to expand, the little egret has now started to colonise the New World. The first record there was on Barbados in April 1954. The bird began breeding on the island in 1994 and now also breeds in the Bahamas. Ringed birds from Spain provide a clue to the birds' origin. The birds are very similar in appearance to the snowy egret and share colonial nesting sites with these birds in Barbados, where they are both recent arrivals. The little egrets are larger, have more varied foraging strategies and exert dominance over feeding sites.
Little egrets are seen with increasing regularity over a wider area and have been observed from Suriname and Brazil in the south to Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario in the north. Birds on the east coast of North America are thought to have moved north with snowy egrets from the Caribbean. In June 2011, a little egret was spotted in Maine, in the Scarborough Marsh, near the Audubon Center.


The white-faced heron is found throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the islands of the Subantarctic, and all but the driest areas of Australia. The species is now resident on Christmas Island but has not yet been recorded breeding there. It is also commonly found on Lombok, Flores and Sumbawa, and has appeared as a vagrant in China, the Cocos Islands and the Solomon Islands. It is mostly a winter visitor to the Northern Territory. It was self-introduced to New Zealand in the late 1940s. It is the only heron recorded breeding in Tasmania.
The white-faced heron is locally nomadic and found in both fresh and salty wetlands, farm dams, pastures, grasslands, crops, shores, saltmarsh, tidal mudflats, boat-harbours, beaches, golf courses, orchards or in garden fish-ponds. It is protected in Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.


The reddish egret (Egretta rufescens) is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder in Central America, The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Mexico. There is post-breeding dispersal to well north of the nesting range. In the past, this bird was a victim of the plume trade.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, there are only 1,500 to 2,000 nesting pairs of reddish egrets in the United States — and most of these are in Texas. They are classified as "threatened" in Texas and receive special protection.


The Pacific reef heron (Egretta sacra), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia and Oceania.


The Pacific reef heron is referred to by a variety of names by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific region. In New Zealand, multiple names have been given, including kākatai, matuku moana and matuku tai. It is known as belō in Fiji, matu'u in the Samoan Islands, and motuku in Niue, Tonga, and Wallis Island.


The Pacific reef heron is widely distributed across southern Asia and Oceania. In Australia, Pacific reef herons inhabits most of the coastline, and offshore islands including the Torres Strait Islands.
Pacific reef herons are widespread across Micronesia, with breeding records in Guam, the Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau, among various other islands. The species also breeds throughout western Polynesia, including in Fiji, French Polynesia, and Tonga – though it does not breed in Niue. Surveys of the Fijian island of Rotuma, conducted in 1991 and 2018, suggest that the Pacific reef heron has recently colonized the island.
New Zealand is considered to be the southern limit of the Pacific reef heron's distribution. Despite being relatively uncommon, the herons are found throughout the country, though are most common in Northland.


The snowy egret is native to North, Central and South America. It is present all year round in South America, ranging as far south as Chile and Argentina. It also occurs throughout the year in the West Indies, Florida and coastal regions of North and Central America. Elsewhere, in the southern part of the United States, it is migratory, breeding in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. It is found in wetlands of many types; marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes and estuaries. It is not found at high altitudes nor generally on the coast.
The snowy egret has occurred as a vagrant in Europe, in Iceland, Scotland and the Azores. It has also been recorded in South Africa.


Ehrharta erecta is a species of grass commonly known as panic veldtgrass. The species is native to Southern Africa and Yemen. It is a documented invasive species in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, southern Europe, and China.
The species is perennial, and normally grows to about 30 to 50 centimeters, although it may reach two meters in height. It will grow in a wide variety of habitats, even in shade.
The species has been used for birdseed, and in ecological restoration such as dune stabilization. However, it has become an invasive weed in many parts of the world. Flowering and seeding throughout the year, its seeds germinate rapidly, forming new plants in only a few weeks.


This moth flies at night in July and August and is attracted to light and nectar-rich flowers.
Larva dark lilac grey with black dorsal line and black head, bearing black and yellow hairs; subdorsal lines black, stigma-line orange. It usually feeds on various lichens including Parmelia, although it has also been recorded feeding on buckthorn and oak. The species overwinters as a larva, hibernating, until the end of May. Pupa reddish brown and glossy. According to Schmidt the larvae prefer the trunks of beeches and oaks, but (Seitz) "I often beat the moths out of the lower branches of high, solitary larches in the Alpine valleys; locally very common, especially in the mountains".
The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.


Wittia sororcula, the orange footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found in Europe, Anatolia and further east across the Palearctic to southern Siberia and the Amur basin to China.


The black-winged kite is a species primarily of open land and semi-deserts in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia, but it has a foothold within Europe in Spain and Portugal. The species range appears to be expanding in southern Europe and possibly in West Asia. The first records of breeding in Europe were in the 1860s and since then they have become more widespread and populations are on the rise. It is thought that land-use changes, particularly agriculture and pastureland have helped the species.
Several geographic populations have been named as subspecies and these include the nominate subspecies which occurs in Spain, Africa and Arabia. The subspecies vociferus is found east of this range across South Asia and into Southeast Asia. Along Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines subspecies hypoleucus (sometimes considered a full species) includes the population wahgiensis described from New Guinea. Subspecies sumatranus is not always recognized. The white-tailed kite and the black-shouldered kite were formerly included with this species but have since been treated as separate species.
Although found mainly on the plains they have been seen at higher altitudes in Sikkim (3,650 m (11,980 ft)), the Nilgiris (Doddabetta, 2,670 m (8,760 ft)) and Nagaland (2,020 m (6,630 ft)).
They are said to be winter visitors in some parts of their range such as the Western Ghats.


The white-tailed kite was rendered almost extinct in California in the 1930s and 1940s due to shooting and egg-collecting, but they are now common again. Their distribution is patchy, however. They can be found in the Central Valley and southern coastal areas, open land around Goleta including the Ellwood Mesa Open Space, marshes in Humboldt County, and also around the San Francisco Bay. Elsewhere in California, they are still rare or absent. They are also found from southern Texas and eastern Mexico to the Baja California Peninsula and through Central and South America to central Argentina and Chile.
Globally, they are not considered threatened species by the IUCN. On rare occasions the bird can be found far outside its usual range. At different times, two had been sighted in New England as of 2010.


The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra. Formerly, there was also the Syrian elephant or Western Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus asurus) which was the westernmost population of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). This subspecies became extinct in ancient times. Skeletal remains of E. m. asurus have been recorded from the Middle East: Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey from periods dating between at least 1800 BC and likely 700 BC. It is one of only three living species of elephants or elephantids anywhere in the world, the others being the African bush elephant and African forest elephant.
The Asian elephant is the largest living land animal in Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the population has declined by at least 50 percent over the last three elephant generations, which is about 60–75 years. It is primarily threatened by loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching. In 2019, the wild population was estimated at 48,323-51,680 individuals.  Female captive elephants have lived beyond 60 years when kept in semi-natural surroundings, such as forest camps. In zoos, Asian elephants die at a much younger age; captive populations are declining due to a low birth and high death rate.
The genus Elephas originated in Sub-Saharan Africa during the Pliocene and spread throughout Africa before expanding into the southern half of Asia. The earliest indications of captive use of Asian elephants are engravings on seals of the Indus Valley civilisation dated to the 3rd millennium BC.


One of the major instigators of human–wildlife conflict in general is competition for space. This is especially true for wild Asian elephants, which require relatively large territories to live in. Destruction of forests through logging, encroachment, slash-and-burn, shifting cultivation, and monoculture tree plantations are major threats to the survival of elephants. Human–elephant conflicts occur when elephants raid crops of shifting cultivators in fields, which are scattered over a large area interspersed with forests. Depredation in human settlements is another major area of human–elephant conflict occurring in small forest pockets, encroachments into elephant habitat, and on elephant migration routes. However, studies in Sri Lanka indicate that traditional slash-and-burn agriculture may create optimal habitat for elephants by creating a mosaic of successional-stage vegetation. Populations inhabiting small habitat fragments are much more liable to come into conflict with humans.
Human-elephant conflict can be categorised into:
ultimate causes including growing human population, large-scale development projects and poor top-down governance;
proximate causes including habitat loss due to deforestation, disruption of elephant migratory routes, expansion of agriculture and illegal encroachment into protected areas.
Development such as border fencing along the India-Bangladesh border has become a major impediment to the free movement of elephants. In Assam, more than 1,150 humans and 370 elephants died as a result of human-elephant conflict between 1980 and 2003.
In India alone, over 400 people are killed by elephants every year, and 0.8 to 1 million hectares are damaged, affecting at least 500,000 families across the country. Moreover, elephants are known to destroy crops worth up to US$2–3 million annually. This has major impacts on the welfare and livelihoods of local communities, as well as the future conservation of this species. In countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the Asian elephant is one of the most feared wild animals, even though they are less deadly than other local animals such as venomous snakes (which were estimated to claim more than 30 times more lives in Sri Lanka than elephants). As a whole, Asian elephants display highly sophisticated and sometimes unpredictable behaviour. Most untamed elephants try to avoid humans, but if they are caught off guard by any perceived physical threat, including humans, they will likely charge. This is especially true of males in musth and of females with young. Gunfire and other similar methods of deterring, which are known to be effective against many kinds of wild animals including tigers, may or may not work with elephants, and can even worsen the situation. Elephants that have been abused by humans in the past often become "rogue elephants", which regularly attack people with no provocation.


The greenhouse frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris) is a species of frog in the family Eleutherodactylidae, native to Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands, and it has been introduced to other areas, such as Florida, Hawaii, Guam, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.


The greenhouse frog is native to Cuba and some other islands in the West Indies. It has been introduced to Hawaii and Florida, where it has become common. It has been sporadically found in southern Georgia, southern Alabama and eastern Louisiana. It is an introduced species in Jamaica , Guam and Shenzhen, China. It lives in moist leaf litter, often near human habitations, but is seldom seen because it is nocturnal. It sometimes emerges on warm, rainy days in summer, and in Florida, it has been found hibernating in March under the flaking bark of a wild tamarind (Lysiloma) tree.


Elgaria kingii is found from southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, United States, southward to Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, southeastern Zacatecas, and southwestern Aguascalientes, Mexico.


The eastern elliptio (Elliptio complanata)  is a freshwater mussel in the Unionidae family, native to Canada and the United States.


Elophila icciusalis, the pondside pyralid moth,  is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is found in most of North America.
The wingspan is 16–26 mm. Adults are on wing from June to September.
The larvae are aquatic and feed on Menyanthes, Lemna, eelgrass, Potamogeton and Cyperaceae species.


Ematurga atomaria, the common heath, is a moth of the family Geometridae.
The species can be found in the Palearctic realm  from the Iberian Peninsula in the west, central and eastern Europe and east to Siberia and Sakhalin. In the south, its range includes the northern Mediterranean and the Turkish part of the Black Sea region.
The wingspan is 24–34 millimetres (0.9–1.3 in). The colour is variable ranging from yellow brown to dark brown. The appearance is mottled with bands and spots. The brown cross bands on both forewings and hindwings vary in width and there may be no cross bands at all only small dark brownish spots. Males have comb-like antennae. Females are usually brown with a dusting of white but can be almost white with a series of brown crosslines.
The egg is elongated and green to yellow-red. The caterpillar is slim, smooth and up to 30 millimeters long. The colour is very variable as with the moth; it ranges from brown to yellowish, grey to violet-grey. The dorsal line is dark, the side stripes light and wavy. The pupa is yellow-brown and spotted. The cremaster is long and forked at the end.
The moths fly in one generation from May to June in the British Isles. In other parts of the range there is a second generation from June to September. The caterpillars feed on a heather, heath and clovers.


The corn bunting (Emberiza calandra) is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. This is a large bunting with heavily streaked buff-brown plumage. The sexes are similar but the male is slightly larger than the female. Its range extends from Western Europe and North Africa across to northwestern China.


The corn bunting was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and retains its original binomial name of Emberiza calandra. The type locality is Sweden.  The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz, a bunting. The specific calandra is from Ancient Greek kalandros, the calandra lark. The corn bunting has sometimes been placed in its own monotypic genus Miliaria.
Two subspecies are recognised:
E. c. calandra Linnaeus, 1758 – northwest Africa, Canary Islands and Europe to Turkey, the Caucasus and north Iran
E. c. buturlini Johansen, HE, 1907  –  Middle East to northwest China


This bird is 16 cm in length. The breeding male has chestnut upperparts, unmarked deep buff underparts, and a pale grey head marked with black striping.
The female rock bunting is a washed-out version of the male, with paler underparts, a grey-brown back and a less contrasted head.  The juvenile is similar to the female, but with a streaked head.
There are four races differing mainly in the plumage shades, although the subspecies which breeds in Europe, Africa and western Turkey is the only one to show white wing bars.


The yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern subspecies is partially migratory, with much of the population wintering further south. The male yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, streaked brown back, chestnut rump, and yellow under parts. Other plumages are duller versions of the same pattern. The yellowhammer is common in open areas with some shrubs or trees, and forms small flocks in winter. Its song has a rhythm like "A little bit of bread and no cheese". The song is very similar to that of its closest relative, the pine bunting, with which it interbreeds.
Breeding commences mainly in April and May, with the female building a lined cup nest in a concealed location on or near the ground. The three to five eggs are patterned with a mesh of fine dark lines, giving rise to the old name for the bird of "scribble lark" or "writing lark". The female incubates the eggs for 12–14 days prior to hatching, and broods the altricial downy chicks until they fledge 11–13 days later. Both adults feed the chick in the nest and raise two or three broods each year. The nest may be raided by rodents or corvids, and the adults are hunted by birds of prey. Yellowhammers feed on the ground, usually in flocks outside the breeding season. Their diet is mainly seeds, supplemented by invertebrates in the breeding season. Changes to agricultural practices have led to population declines in western Europe, but its large numbers and huge range mean that the yellowhammer is classed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
This conspicuous yellow bird has inspired poems by Robert Burns and John Clare, and its characteristic song has influenced musical works by Beethoven and Messiaen. Children's writer Enid Blyton helped to popularise the standard English representation of the song.


Breeding normally starts in early May, but often in April in the south of the range. Yellowhammers are monogamous and breed when aged one year. The males establish territories along hedges or woodland fringes and sing from a tree or bush, often continuing well into July or August. The male displays to the female by raising his wings and running towards her. The nest is built by the female on or near the ground, and is typically well hidden in tussocks, against a bank or low in a bush. It is constructed from nearby plant material, such as leaves, dry grass, and stalks, and is lined with fine grasses and sometimes animal hair. It is 11.5–13 cm (4.5–5.1 in) across with a cup 4–4.5 cm (1.6–1.8 in) deep.
The clutch is usually three to five whitish eggs, typically patterned with a network of fine, dark lines. The eggs average 21 mm × 16 mm (0.83 in × 0.63 in) in size and weigh 2.9 g (0.10 oz), of which 6% is shell. The female incubates the eggs for 12–14 days to hatching, and broods the altricial, downy chicks until they fledge 11–13 days later. Both adults feed the chick in the nest and two or three broods are raised each year.
The adult annual survival rate in the UK is around 54%, and that for juveniles in their first year is 53%. The typical lifespan is three years, although records from Great Britain and Germany indicate birds surviving more than 13 years.


The yellow-throated bunting (Emberiza elegans), also known as the elegant bunting, is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae.
It is found in China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Russia, and Taiwan. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Emberiza elegans follows Type II chain migration. Research on isotopes from feathers has revealed that northern populations begin migration before southern populations. Additionally, a latitudinal gradient in hydrogen isotopes suggest that northern breeders spend winters farther north than their southern counterparts.


The reed bunting is not globally threatened and classified as least concern by the IUCN. The estimated European population is that of at least 4.8 million pairs, with particular strongholds in Sweden, Poland and Norway. However the reed bunting is reportedly declining in Norway, Sweden and Germany.


Emilia fosbergii is widely distributed in tropical and semitropical parts of the world: Africa, South and Southeast Asia, northern Australia, North and South America, and various oceanic islands. Its region of origin is the subject of some dispute; some say it is native to Africa, while others say Asia or South America. It is reportedly naturalized in scattered locations in the United States, including Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.


Adults have brown-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have an indistinct white eye ring, white wing bars and a small bill. The breast is washed with olive-gray. The upper part of the bill is gray; the lower part is orangish. At one time, this bird and the alder flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) were considered to be a single species, Traill's flycatcher. The willow and alder flycatchers were considered the same species until the 1970s. Their song is the only reliable method to tell them apart in the field .
Their breeding habitat is deciduous thickets, especially willows and often near water, across the United States and southern Canada. They make a cup nest in a vertical fork in a shrub or tree.
These neotropical birds migrate to Mexico and Central America, and in small numbers as far south as Ecuador in South America, often selecting winter habitat near water. Willow flycatchers travel approximately 1,500–8,000 km (930–4,970 mi) each way between wintering and breeding areas.
They wait on a perch near the top of a shrub and fly out to catch insects in flight, also sometimes picking insects from foliage while hovering. They may eat some berries.
This bird's song is a sneezed fitz-bew. The call is a dry whit.
This bird competes for habitat with the alder flycatcher where their ranges overlap.


The southwestern willow flycatcher (E. t. extimus) is a federally endangered subspecies and it is known to be found in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah. It was listed in 1995, at which time it was known to breed at only about 75 sites in riparian areas throughout the American southwest. The known breeding population was estimated at between 300 and 500 pairs. Breeding occurs from near sea level on the Santa Margarita River to 800 m (2,640 ft) at the South Fork Kern River and 910 m (3,000 ft) at upper San Luis Rey River in California and to over 2,600 m (8,530 ft) in Arizona, southwestern Colorado, and north-central New Mexico.
The largest remaining population in California is on the South Fork Kern River, Kern County. In southern California, this subspecies breeds on the San Luis Rey River, at Camp Pendleton, the Santa Margarita River and Pilgrim, De Luz, French, and Las Flores creeks; as well as on the Santa Ynez River. In 1996, breeding was confirmed along the Arizona side of the lower Colorado River at Lake Mead Delta and at Topock Marsh. Examination of museum specimens of 578 migrating and wintering E. t. extimus indicating that Guatemala to Costa Rica constitutes the main winter range. This species is experiencing population declines throughout the Southwest due to habitat loss/alteration and invasive species.
Saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) is an invasive species found throughout the Southwest and has replaced essential vegetation, by outcompeting native species, in riparian areas where the Southwest Willow flycatcher is found, which could be a contributing factor in this species decline. In two sites, one in Arizona and the other in New Mexico, native trees were able to replace patches of tamarix and populations of willow flycatchers increased. It was documented that in these sites 90% of the willow flycatcher's nests were found in native vegetation, only 10% were in mixed vegetation (native species and Saltcedar) and few were in areas dominated by Saltcedar. However, it's important to note that because willow flycatchers can and do breed, in some locations, within Saltcedar habitat it can serve as vital habitat in the recovery of this species.
The San Pedro River Preserve was purchased by the Nature Conservancy to preserve habitat for this subspecies. North American beavers (Castor canadensis) are thought to play a critical role in widening riparian width, openings in dense vegetation, and retention of surface water through the willow flycatcher breeding season. This subspecies was described by A.R. Phillips in 1948.


Its breeding habitat is deciduous forests, often near water, across the eastern United States and southwestern Ontario. These birds migrate through eastern Mexico and the Caribbean to southern Central America and the very northwest of South America in Colombia, western Venezuela, and Ecuador.
The numbers of these birds have declined somewhat in the southern parts of their range. Brown-headed cowbirds lay eggs in the nests of these birds in some areas. However, only 16% of cowbird young in Acadian flycatcher nests fledge successfully.
They wait on a perch in the middle of a tree and fly out to catch insects in flight (hawking), also sometimes picking insects from foliage while hovering (gleaning). They may eat some berries and seeds.
They make a loose cup nest in a horizontal fork in a tree or shrub.
The Acadian flycatcher is an excellent flier; it is extremely maneuverable, can hover, and can even fly backward.  Curiously, there is no scientific information on hopping or walking by this bird.
As of October 2015 there have been 2 records of Acadian flycatcher in Europe, the first being a bird found dead in Iceland in 1967, and the second a bird found on the beach at Dungeness in Kent, England in September 2015, the latter's identity being established by DNA from its droppings.


The American gray flycatcher breeds from southernmost British Columbia through a narrow zone in central Washington to eastern Oregon and California. The range extends east across Nevada, southern Idaho, Utah, and northern Arizona to southwestern Wyoming, western Colorado, and northwestern New Mexico.
Depending on latitude, they arrive on breeding grounds mid-April to mid-May and leave between mid-August and mid-September.  Migration between breeding and wintering grounds takes approximately seven weeks in both spring and autumn. Males usually arrive on breeding grounds one week prior to arrival of females.
The American gray flycatcher winters in Baja California Sur, southeastern Arizona, and central Sonora to central Oaxaca. Small numbers may winter in western Texas and southern California.


E. orbicularis is found in southern and central Europe, West Asia and North Africa. In France, there are six large remaining populations, all deteriorating; it is the most endangered reptile of the country. In Switzerland, the European pond turtle was extinct at the beginning of the twentieth century and reintroduced since 2010.In the early post-glacial period, the European pond turtle had a much wider distribution, being found as far north as southern Sweden and the UK, where a reintroduction has been proposed by Celtic Reptile & Amphibian.
E. orbicularis prefers to live in wetlands surrounded by a large proportion of natural, wooded, landscape. It also feeds in upland environments. It is usually considered semi-aquatic, as its terrestrial movements can span 1 km (0.62 mi), and it is occasionally found travelling up to 4 km (2.5 mi), away from the water.


United States (Colorado • Connecticut • Iowa • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Kentucky • Massachusetts • Maryland • Maine • Michigan • Minnesota • Montana • Nebraska • North Dakota • New Hampshire • New Jersey • Ohio • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Dakota • Tennessee • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Washington • Wisconsin • Wyoming)
Canada (Alberta • British Columbia • Manitoba • New Brunswick • Northwest Territories • Nova Scotia • Ontario • Prince Edward Island • Quebec • Saskatchewan)


Aristolochia serpentaria is a species of perennial flowering plant in the Aristolochiaceae (birthwort) family. The species is commonly known as Virginia snakeroot and is native to eastern North America, from Connecticut to southern Michigan and south to Texas and Florida.


Endothenia hebesana, the verbena bud moth, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, California, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. The habitat consists of black spruce-sphagnum bogs.
The length of the forewings is 5-8.2 mm for both sexes. The forewings vary from dusky brown to clay. Adults are on wing from late April to mid-June in one or multiple generations per year depending on the latitude.
The larvae feed on the seeds of Antirrhinum, Gentiana, Gerardia, Iris, Orthocarpus, Penstemon, Physostegia, Solidago, Stachys, Teucrium, Tigridia, Verbascum, Verbena, Veronica, Sarracenia, Scrophularia and Scutellaria species. There are five larval instars. Instars four and five overwinter in the flower stalks of the host plant. Pupation takes place in late May.


The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (30 and 100 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter's primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter is capable of living exclusively in the ocean.
The sea otter inhabits nearshore environments, where it dives to the sea floor to forage. It preys mostly on marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, various mollusks and crustaceans, and some species of fish. Its foraging and eating habits are noteworthy in several respects. Its use of rocks to dislodge prey and to open shells makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. In most of its range, it is a keystone species, controlling sea urchin populations which would otherwise inflict extensive damage to kelp forest ecosystems. Its diet includes prey species that are also valued by humans as food, leading to conflicts between sea otters and fisheries.
Sea otters, whose numbers were once estimated at 150,000–300,000, were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911, and the world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals living in a fraction of their historic range. A subsequent international ban on hunting, sea otter conservation efforts, and reintroduction programs into previously populated areas have contributed to numbers rebounding, and the species occupies about two-thirds of its former range. The recovery of the sea otter is considered an important success in marine conservation, although populations in the Aleutian Islands and California have recently declined or have plateaued at depressed levels. For these reasons, the sea otter remains classified as an endangered species.


Along the North American coast south of Alaska, the sea otter's range is discontinuous. A remnant population survived off Vancouver Island into the 20th century, but it died out despite the 1911 international protection treaty, with the last sea otter taken near Kyuquot in 1929. From 1969 to 1972, 89 sea otters were flown or shipped from Alaska to the west coast of Vancouver Island. This population increased to over 5,600 in 2013 with an estimated annual growth rate of 7.2%, and their range on the island's west coast extended north to Cape Scott and across the Queen Charlotte Strait to the Broughton Archipelago and south to Clayoquot Sound and Tofino. In 1989, a separate colony was discovered in the central British Columbia coast. It is not known if this colony, which numbered about 300 animals in 2004, was founded by transplanted otters or was a remnant population that had gone undetected. By 2013, this population exceeded 1,100 individuals, was increasing at an estimated 12.6% annual rate, and its range included Aristazabal Island, and Milbanke Sound south to Calvert Island. In 2008, Canada determined the status of sea otters to be "special concern".


Sea otters have the thickest fur of any mammal, which makes them a common target for many hunters. Archaeological evidence indicates that for thousands of years, indigenous peoples have hunted sea otters for food and fur. Large-scale hunting, part of the Maritime Fur Trade, which would eventually kill approximately one million sea otters, began in the 18th century when hunters and traders began to arrive from all over the world to meet foreign demand for otter pelts, which were one of the world's most valuable types of fur.
In the early 18th century, Russians began to hunt sea otters in the Kuril Islands and sold them to the Chinese at Kyakhta. Russia was also exploring the far northern Pacific at this time, and sent Vitus Bering to map the Arctic coast and find routes from Siberia to North America. In 1741, on his second North Pacific voyage, Bering was shipwrecked off Bering Island in the Commander Islands, where he and many of his crew died. The surviving crew members, which included naturalist Georg Steller, discovered sea otters on the beaches of the island and spent the winter hunting sea otters and gambling with otter pelts. They returned to Siberia, having killed nearly 1,000 sea otters, and were able to command high prices for the pelts. Thus began what is sometimes called the "Great Hunt", which would continue for another hundred years. The Russians found the sea otter far more valuable than the sable skins that had driven and paid for most of their expansion across Siberia. If the sea otter pelts brought back by Bering's survivors had been sold at Kyakhta prices they would have paid for one tenth the cost of Bering's expedition.
Russian fur-hunting expeditions soon depleted the sea otter populations in the Commander Islands, and by 1745, they began to move on to the Aleutian Islands. The Russians initially traded with the Aleuts inhabitants of these islands for otter pelts, but later enslaved the Aleuts, taking women and children hostage and torturing and killing Aleut men to force them to hunt. Many Aleuts were either murdered by the Russians or died from diseases the hunters had introduced. The Aleut population was reduced, by the Russians' own estimate, from 20,000 to 2,000. By the 1760s, the Russians had reached Alaska. In 1799, Tsar Paul I consolidated the rival fur-hunting companies into the Russian-American Company, granting it an imperial charter and protection, and a monopoly over trade rights and territorial acquisition.
Under Aleksander I, the administration of the merchant-controlled company was transferred to the Imperial Navy, largely due to the alarming reports by naval officers of native abuse; in 1818, the indigenous peoples of Alaska were granted civil rights equivalent to a townsman status in the Russian Empire.
Other nations joined in the hunt in the south. Along the coasts of what is now Mexico and California, Spanish explorers bought sea otter pelts from Native Americans and sold them in Asia. In 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook reached Vancouver Island and bought sea otter furs from the First Nations people. When Cook's ship later stopped at a Chinese port, the pelts rapidly sold at high prices, and were soon known as "soft gold". As word spread, people from all over Europe and North America began to arrive in the Pacific Northwest to trade for sea otter furs.
Russian hunting expanded to the south, initiated by American ship captains, who subcontracted Russian supervisors and Aleut hunters in what are now Washington, Oregon, and California. Between 1803 and 1846, 72 American ships were involved in the otter hunt in California, harvesting an estimated 40,000 skins and tails, compared to only 13 ships of the Russian-American Company, which reported 5,696 otter skins taken between 1806 and 1846. In 1812, the Russians founded an agricultural settlement at what is now Fort Ross in northern California, as their southern headquarters.
Eventually, sea otter populations became so depleted, commercial hunting was no longer viable. It had stopped in the Aleutian Islands, by 1808, as a conservation measure imposed by the Russian-American Company. Further restrictions were ordered by the company in 1834. When Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, the Alaska population had recovered to over 100,000, but Americans resumed hunting and quickly extirpated the sea otter again. Prices rose as the species became rare. During the 1880s, a pelt brought $105 to $165 in the London market, but by 1903, a pelt could be worth as much as $1,125. In 1911, Russia, Japan, Great Britain (for Canada) and the United States signed the Treaty for the Preservation and Protection of Fur Seals, imposing a moratorium on the harvesting of sea otters. So few remained, perhaps only 1,000–2,000 individuals in the wild, that many believed the species would become extinct.


During the 20th century, sea otter numbers rebounded in about two-thirds of their historic range, a recovery considered one of the greatest successes in marine conservation. However, the IUCN still lists the sea otter as an endangered species, and describes the significant threats to sea otters as oil pollution, predation by orcas, poaching, and conflicts with fisheries – sea otters can drown if entangled in fishing gear. The hunting of sea otters is no longer legal except for limited harvests by indigenous peoples in the United States. Poaching was a serious concern in the Russian Far East immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991; however, it has declined significantly with stricter law enforcement and better economic conditions.
The most significant threat to sea otters is oil spills, to which they are particularly vulnerable, since they rely on their fur to keep warm. When their fur is soaked with oil, it loses its ability to retain air, and the animals can quickly die from hypothermia. The liver, kidneys, and lungs of sea otters also become damaged after they inhale oil or ingest it when grooming. The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 24 March 1989 killed thousands of sea otters in Prince William Sound, and as of 2006, the lingering oil in the area continues to affect the population. Describing the public sympathy for sea otters that developed from media coverage of the event, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson wrote:
As a playful, photogenic, innocent bystander, the sea otter epitomized the role of victim ... cute and frolicsome sea otters suddenly in distress, oiled, frightened, and dying, in a losing battle with the oil.
The small geographic ranges of the sea otter populations in California, Washington, and British Columbia mean a single major spill could be catastrophic for that state or province. Prevention of oil spills and preparation to rescue otters if one happens is a major focus for conservation efforts. Increasing the size and range of sea otter populations would also reduce the risk of an oil spill wiping out a population. However, because of the species' reputation for depleting shellfish resources, advocates for commercial, recreational, and subsistence shellfish harvesting have often opposed allowing the sea otter's range to increase, and there have even been instances of fishermen and others illegally killing them.
In the Aleutian Islands, a massive and unexpected disappearance of sea otters has occurred in recent decades. In the 1980s, the area was home to an estimated 55,000 to 100,000 sea otters, but the population fell to around 6,000 animals by 2000. The most widely accepted, but still controversial, hypothesis is that killer whales have been eating the otters. The pattern of disappearances is consistent with a rise in predation, but there has been no direct evidence of orcas preying on sea otters to any significant extent.
Another area of concern is California, where recovery began to fluctuate or decline in the late 1990s. Unusually high mortality rates amongst adult and subadult otters, particularly females, have been reported. In 2017 the US Geological Survey found a 3% drop in the sea otter population of the California coast. This number still keeps them on track for removal from the endangered species list, although just barely. Necropsies of dead sea otters indicate diseases, particularly Toxoplasma gondii and acanthocephalan parasite infections, are major causes of sea otter mortality in California. The Toxoplasma gondii parasite, which is often fatal to sea otters, is carried by wild and domestic cats and may be transmitted by domestic cat droppings flushed into the ocean via sewage systems. Although disease has clearly contributed to the deaths of many of California's sea otters, it is not known why the California population is apparently more affected by disease than populations in other areas.
Sea otter habitat is preserved through several protected areas in the United States, Russia and Canada. In marine protected areas, polluting activities such as dumping of waste and oil drilling are typically prohibited. An estimated 1,200 sea otters live within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and more than 500 live within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.


The blue-faced honeyeater is found from the Kimberleys in northwestern Australia eastwards across the Top End and into Queensland, where it is found from Cape York south across the eastern and central parts of the state, roughly east of a line connecting Karumba, Blackall, Cunnamulla and Currawinya National Park. It has a patchy distribution in New South Wales, occurring in the Northern Rivers and Northern Tablelands regions, and along the coast south to Nambucca Heads. To the south, it is generally absent from the Central and South Coast, and is instead found west of the Great Divide across the South West Slopes and Riverina to the Murray River. It is common in northern Victoria and reaches Bordertown in southeastern South Australia, its range continuing along the Murray. It is also found in the Grampians region, particularly in the vicinity of Stawell, Ararat and St Arnaud, with rare reports from southwestern Victoria. The species occasionally reaches Adelaide, and there is a single record from the Eyre Peninsula. The altitude ranges from sea level to around 850 m (2,790 ft), or rarely 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
In New Guinea, it is found from Merauke in the far southeast of Indonesia's Papua province and east across the Trans-Fly region of southwestern Papua New Guinea. It has also been recorded from the Aru Islands.
The blue-faced honeyeater appears to be generally sedentary within its range, especially in much of the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. However, in many places (generally south of the Tropic of Capricorn), populations may be present or absent at different times of the year, although this appears to result from nomadic, rather than seasonal, migratory movements. Around Wellington in central New South Wales, birds were recorded over winter months, and were more common in autumn around the Talbragar River. Birds were present all year round near Inverell in northern New South Wales, but noted to be flying eastwards from January to May, and westwards in June and July. In Jandowae in southeastern Queensland, birds were regularly recorded flying north and east from March to June, and returning south and west in July and August, and were absent from the area in spring and summer.
They live throughout rainforest, dry sclerophyll (Eucalyptus) forest, open woodland, Pandanus thickets, paperbarks, mangroves, watercourses, and wetter areas of semi-arid regions, as well as parks, gardens, and golf courses in urban areas. The understory in eucalypt-dominated woodland, where the blue-faced honeyeater is found, is most commonly composed of grasses, such as Triodia, but sometimes it is made up of shrubs or small trees, such as grevilleas, paperbarks, wattles, Cooktown ironwood (Erythrophleum chlorostachys) or billygoat plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana). One study in Kakadu National Park found that blue-faced honeyeaters inhabited mixed stands of eucalypts and Pandanus, but were missing from pure stands of either plant.


The galah can be found throughout Australia, and is absent only from the driest areas and the far north of Cape York Peninsula. The galah has been introduced to Tasmania through anthropogenic means and there were no sightings prior to 1848. A large population expansion occurred in the 1960s following many escapees from captivity. It is common in metropolitan areas such as Adelaide, Perth, and Melbourne, and abundant in open habitats that offer at least some scattered trees for shelter. It is common in all habitats in its range except for dense forests, especially those with high rainfall.
While it is mostly found in inland areas, the galah is rapidly colonising coastal regions. The changes brought by European settlement, which have been disastrous for many species, have been highly beneficial for the galah, because of the clearing of forests in fertile areas and the provision of stock-watering points in arid zones.


The galah is very common as a companion parrot or avicultural specimen around the world, although generally absent from Australian aviaries, although permits are available to take a limited number of galahs from the wild per year for avicultural purposes. When tame, it can be an affectionate and friendly bird that can learn to talk, as well as mimic other sounds heard in its environment. While it is a noisy bird that may be unsuitable for apartment living, it is comparatively quieter than other cockatoo species. Like most parrots, the galah requires plenty of exercise and play time out of its cage as well as several hours of daily social interaction with humans or other birds in order to thrive in captivity. It may also be prone to obesity if not provided with a suitable, nutritionally-balanced diet. The World Parrot Trust recommends that captive galahs should be kept in an aviary with a minimum length of 7 metres.
The breeding requirements include the use upright or tilted logs with a hollow some twenty to thirty centimetres in diameter. Sand and finer grades of wood material are used to construct their nest, the availability of eucalypt leaves for the nest lining is also suggested for captive breeding.


Epacris impressa, also known as common heath, is a plant of the heath family, Ericaceae, that is native to southeast Australia (the states of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales). French botanist Jacques Labillardière collected the species in 1793 and described it in 1805. Four forms have been identified, but no subspecies are recognised. Growing in heathland, shrubland or open forest, it is generally a small shrub around 0.5 to 1 m (1 ft 8 in to 3 ft 3 in) tall, with small stiff leaves. The red, pink or white tube-like flowers appear from late autumn to early spring. Honeyeater birds, particularly the eastern spinebill, feed upon the nectar of the flowers. It regenerates after bushfire by seed or by resprouting.
A highly regarded garden plant, the common heath was first cultivated in England in 1825; over seventy named cultivars have been developed, most of which have now vanished. A pink-flowered form, often referred to as "pink heath", is the floral emblem of the state of Victoria. Epacris impressa has proven a difficult plant to propagate reliably, which has limited its use in horticulture and revegetation. It grows best in well-drained but moist soil in a semishaded position.


Epacris impressa grows as a woody shrub with an erect habit, sometimes reaching 2 to 3 m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) in height although plants in the range of 0.5 to 1 m (1 ft 8 in to 3 ft 3 in) tall are more commonly observed. The branches are stiff and have small leaves with prickly, pointed apices that are 8–16 mm (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) long. The flowers mainly occur between late autumn and early spring, arising in dense and sometimes pendulous clusters along the stems. White, pink or red in colour, they are 1–2 cm (3⁄8–3⁄4 in) and are narrow and tubular with five indentations on the base. The corolla of the flower is formed by five petals, fused at the base to form a tubelike structure, with the free petal ends forming five lobes at the apex. There are five whorled sepals at the base of the corolla. Within the corolla is a central style that persists through development of the fruit. The style connects the stigma at the apex and ovary at the base, where the nectar is also located. Different colour forms are often observed growing near each other. The fruit is a 5-locule capsule that is about 3.5 mm (1⁄8 in) in diameter. It is globular in shape, sometimes with one end flattened.  Initially green, it dries and splits, releasing numerous tiny seeds.


In 1977 Helen Stace and Yvonne Fripp from La Trobe University studied 195 populations of Epacris impressa in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania and found that 120 consisted of mixed stands of two or more races while 75 populations were of one race only. They identified four races based on the following corolla characteristics:
white-flowered with a markedly shortened corolla that is 9–12 mm (3⁄8–1⁄2 in) long and red-purple anthers, usually found in sites with greater sun exposure. Occurring throughout the species range, this form is the most widely distributed.
pink-flowered, with a longer corolla that is 12–19 mm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) long and cream-white anthers, in more shaded sites. This form occurs throughout the species range. Field work in Victoria and Tasmania found that pink-flowered plants in mixed populations often have pink or red anthers.
long scarlet race, with orange-red flowers and corolla 15–19 mm (5⁄8–3⁄4 in) long and cream-white anthers. Those from the granitic mountains of Wilsons Promontory and near W Tree in East Gippsland in Victoria flower between April and November. Other localities where this race has been recorded include the Howe Ranges and Clyde Mountain in New South Wales.
broad pink or white, the grandiflora race from the Grampians and Mount Arapiles in Victoria. Plants of this race are taller, often reaching 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in height. White or pink colour bear no relation to corolla length. Plants from Mount Arapiles are always pink-flowered.
The long-pink and short-white races frequently occur in close proximity to each other; in these mixed populations the former tends to flower in winter and the latter in spring. The question has been raised whether these different forms are becoming incompatible. However, controlled cross-pollination between plants with short and long corollas showed that there was no incompatibility between them.
Pink-flowering populations have a relatively distinct genetic makeup, whereas red or white flowering populations have more evident sharing of genetic traits. Research based on DNA profiling has revealed substantial genetic diversity within and between flower colour races and site populations. This has implications for vegetation projects in that provenance material needs to be collected from a wide geographic area to maintain this diversity.


Epacris impressa is commonly found in coastal regions and nearby foothills, ranging from Kangaroo Island and the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia across southern Victoria, extending to the Grampians and the Little Desert, and northwards to southern New South Wales as far as the Clyde River in the Budawang Range. It is also widespread in Tasmania. Plants are recorded at altitudes up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) at Mount Stradbroke and Mount Tingaringy in East Gippsland. The species grows in widely diverse habitats including sand and clay heathland, herb-rich and heathy woodland, lowland and shrubby dry forests, riparian thickets, montane rocky shrubland and rocky outcrops.


The drug ephedrine, an antidepressant and decongestant, is made from this and other Ephedra species. A tea can be made by boiling the stems, whence the common name, "green Mormon tea".
The plant was used medicinally by both Native Americans and the ancient Chinese (using their own local species of the genus) to treat various afflictions including sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis, kidney diseases, and complications with menstruation. Native American tribes such as the Shoshone and Paiute boiled tea using the stem of the plant and combined it with the bark of Purshia tridentata, another shrub.
In modern medicine, the plant is to treat sinus illnesses such as hay fever, common colds, and sinusitis. This use is supported by clinical trials, as is its treatment of bronchial asthma.
Because the plant can be used as an appetite suppressant, it is used illegally by some athletes to lose weight and build muscle.
Because it is toxic, the plant should not be ingested without a doctor’s recommendation.


Populations of the natterjack extend through 17 European countries. In the UK, the toad is now almost completely confined to coastal sites. The natterjack is the only species of toad native to Ireland. It is found in County Kerry (Dingle Peninsula and Derrynane) and also in County Wexford, where it was introduced to a dune site.
In mainland Europe, particularly in the southern part of its range, it lives inland in a variety of habitats.


Epifagus virginiana’s host environment is mainly temperate forests in the Midwest of the U.S. Beechdrops are found in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan in significant numbers. They have been documented along the East Coast from Maine to South Carolina. In these environments E. virginiana are pollinated by Prenolepis imparis, the winter ant. This insect pollination is required for pollination in the chasmogamous flowers. E. virginiana relies upon ant pollination to produce cross pollinated seeds along with self-fertilized seed. It is not believed that ants pollinate the self-fertile cleistogamous flowers. Beechdrops are used to monitor forest health because of their dependence on their host and the sensitivity to its environment. E. virginiana’s host, beech trees, can advance in a forest faster than E. virginiana is able to. The presence of F. grandifolia is used to predict when E. virginiana will arrive in an area. E. virginiana is not a tree health concern but the lack of its presence is a sign that forest health is declining.


The light brown apple moth is a native insect of Australia. It has been introduced and now also lives in New Caledonia, the British Isles, Hawaii (since 1896), and New Zealand. In March 2007 the moth was positively identified in California by DNA samples across hundreds of miles, from Los Angeles to Napa, north of San Francisco.


Light brown apple moth pass through three generations annually with a partial fourth generation in some years.  The moth has no winter resting stage. There is considerable overlap in the generations.  In warmer areas, four or even five generations are completed annually, with major flight periods occurring during September–October, December–January, February–March, and April–May. In cooler climates, the number of complete generations may be reduced to two.
Eggs are laid in clusters of 3–150 on leaves or fruit. A single female might lay hundreds of eggs.  Adults produced by the overwintering larval generation emerge during October and November. These give rise to the first summer generation, in which final instar larvae mature between January and mid February. Second generation larvae reach maturity during March and April, and the adults from this generation provide third generation eggs. Normally, the rate of larval development is slowed considerably during the winter, particularly when temperatures approach freezing; thus the majority of larvae over-winter in the prolonged early juvenile phases of the second third, and fourth instars. During this period they normally feed on herbaceous plants. Re-invasion of apple trees takes place during October–December, when moths of the third generation start laying eggs again on apple leaves.


The big brown bat is encountered widely throughout North America in present times. It is found from southern Canada and Alaska to as far south as Colombia and Venezuela. It has also been documented in the Caribbean in both the Greater and Lesser Antilles, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Dominica, Barbados, and the Bahamas. The big brown bat has been documented from 300–3,100 m (980–10,170 ft) above sea level. It is a generalist, capable of living in urban, suburban, or rural environments. It has been called "the most widespread Pleistocene bat in North America", as it is more represented in the fossil record of that time than any other bat species. Its extensive fossil record is known from more than thirty sites, including fourteen US states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the Bahamas.


It has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere, where it is occurs in northern Europe, Asia and North America including Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Its range extends south as far as the Pyrenees and Apennines in Europe, Mongolia and Japan in Asia and Connecticut, Wisconsin and Oregon in North America.
It prefers open, lime-rich sites, often those that flood in winter. It occurs in dune slacks, mountain flushes and beside lakes, rivers and canals.


The plains zebra's range stops short of the Sahara from South Sudan and southern Ethiopia extending south along eastern Africa, as far as Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi, before spreading into most southern African countries. They may have lived in Algeria in the Neolithic era. Plains zebras generally live in treeless grasslands and savanna woodlands, but can be found in a variety of habitats, both tropical and temperate. However, they are generally absent from deserts, dense rainforests, and permanent wetlands. They generally prefer Acacieae woodlands over Commiphora. They are water-dependent and live in more mesic environments than other African equids. They seldom wander 10–12 km (6.2–7.5 mi) from a water source. Zebras also live in elevations from sea level to 4,300 ft on Mount Kenya.
Depending on the population, zebra herds may be sedentary, being highly dense with small ranges, or migratory, being less populated with separate, extensive dry and wet home ranges. When migrating, zebras appear to rely on some memory of the locations where foraging conditions were best and may predict conditions months before their arrival.


In the Atlantic, hawksbill populations range as far west as the Gulf of Mexico and as far southeast as the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. They live off the Brazilian coast (specifically Bahia, Fernando de Noronha) through southern Florida and Virginia waters.
In the Caribbean, the main nesting beaches are in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, Guadeloupe,  Tortuguero in Costa Rica, and the Yucatan. They feed in the waters off Cuba and around Mona Island near Puerto Rico, among other places.


In the Indian Ocean, hawksbills are a common sight along the east coast of Africa, including the seas surrounding Madagascar and nearby island groups. Hawksbills are also common along the southern Asian coast, including the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia coasts. They are present across the Malay Archipelago and northern Australia. Their Pacific range is limited to the ocean's tropical and subtropical regions. In the west, it extends from the southwestern tips of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago south to northern New Zealand.
The Philippines hosts several nesting sites, including the island of Boracay and Punta Dumalag in Davao City. Dahican Beach in Mati City, Davao Oriental, hosts one of the essential hatcheries of its kind, along with olive ridley sea turtles in the archipelagic country of the Philippines. A small group of islands in the southwest of the archipelago is named the "Turtle Islands" because two species of sea turtles nest there: the hawksbill and the green sea turtle. In January 2016, a juvenile was seen in Gulf of Thailand. A 2018 article by The Straits Times reported that around 120 hawksbill juvenile turtles recently hatched at Pulau Satumu, Singapore. Commonly found in Singapore waters, hawksbill turtles have returned to areas such East Coast Park and Palau Satumu to nest. In Hawaii, hawksbills mostly nest on the "main" islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Hawaii. In Australia, hawksbills are known to nest on Milman Island in the Great Barrier Reef. Hawksbill sea turtles nest as far west as Cousine Island in the Seychelles, where the species since 1994 is legally protected, and the population is showing some recovery. The Seychelles' inner islands and islets, such as Aldabra, are popular feeding grounds for immature hawksbills.


Throughout the world, hawksbill sea turtles are taken by humans, though it is illegal to hunt them in many countries. In some parts of the world, hawksbill sea turtles are eaten as a delicacy. As far back as the fifth century BC, sea turtles, including the hawksbill, were eaten as delicacies in China.
Many cultures also use turtle shells for decoration. These turtles have been harvested for their beautiful shell since Egyptian times, and the material known as tortoiseshell is normally from the hawksbill. In China, where it was known as tai mei, the hawksbill is called the "tortoise-shell turtle", named primarily for its shell, which was used to make and decorate a variety of small items, as it was in the West.
Along the south coast of Java, stuffed hawksbill turtles are sold in souvenir shops, though numbers have decreased in the last two decades. In Japan, the turtles are harvested for their shell scutes, called bekko in Japanese.  Bekko is used in various personal implements, such as eyeglass frames and the shamisen (Japanese traditional three-stringed instrument) picks. In 1994, Japan stopped importing hawksbill shells from other nations. Prior to this, the Japanese hawksbill shell trade was around 30,000 kg (66,000 lb) of raw shells per year. In the West, hawksbill sea turtle shells were harvested by the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans for jewellery, such as combs, brushes, and rings. The bulk of the world's hawksbill shell trade originated in the Caribbean. In 2006, processed shells were regularly available in large amounts in countries including the Dominican Republic and Colombia.
The hawksbill sea turtle appears on the reverse side of the Venezuelan 20-bolivar and the Brazilian 2-reais banknotes. A much-beloved fountain sculpture of a boy riding a hawksbill, affectionately known as Turtle Boy, stands in Worcester, Massachusetts.


Consensus has determined sea turtles, including E. imbricata to be at least threatened, because of their slow growth and maturity and low reproductive rates. Humans have killed many adult turtles, both accidentally and deliberately. Their existence is threatened due to pollution and loss of nesting areas because of coastal development. Biologists estimate that the hawksbill population has declined 80 percent in the past 100–135 years. Human and animal encroachment threatens nesting sites, and small mammals dig up the eggs to eat. In the US Virgin Islands, mongooses raid hawksbill nests (along with other sea turtles, such as Dermochelys coriacea) right after they are laid.
In 1982, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species first listed E. imbricata as endangered. This endangered status continued through several reassessments in 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1994 until it was upgraded in status to critically endangered in 1996. Two petitions challenged its status as an endangered species prior to this, claiming the turtle (along with three other species) had several significant stable populations worldwide. These petitions were rejected based on their data analysis submitted by the Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG). The MTSG data showed the worldwide hawksbill sea turtle population had declined by 80% in the three most recent generations, and no significant population increase had occurred as of 1996. CR A2 status was denied, however, because the IUCN did not find sufficient data to show the population likely to decrease by a further 80%.
The species (along with the entire Cheloniidae family) has been listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This means commercial international trade (including in parts and derivatives) is prohibited and non-commercial international trade is regulated.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have classified hawksbills as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1970. The US government established several recovery plans for protecting E. imbricata.
The Zoological Society of London has inscribed the reptile as an EDGE species, meaning that it is both endangered and highly genetically distinct, and therefore of particular concern for conservation efforts.
The World Wildlife Fund Australia (WWF-Australia) has several ongoing projects aiming at protecting the reptile.
On Rosemary Island, an island in the Dampier Archipelago off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia, volunteers have been monitoring hawksbill turtles since 1986. In November 2020, a 60-year old turtle first tagged in November 1990 and again in 2011 returned to the same location.


Erica cinerea is native to the west of Europe, where it is most abundant in Britain and Ireland, France, northern Spain and southern Norway. It also occurs in the Faroe Islands, Belgium, Germany, north-western Italy, and the Netherlands. It mostly occurs on moors and heathland with relatively dry, acidic, nutrient poor soils. It occurs in coastal dune heath and dune slack and occasionally in woodland. It is described as "of least concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.


Its typical associates include spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) and cut-leaf tooth wort (Cardamine laciniata). All of these early spring blooming plants are pollinated by solitary bees, and to a lesser extent, flies and honey bees. E. bulbosa has a small daily accumulation of nectar per flower (7–38 µg sugar/flower), but the presence of numerous, closely arranged, simultaneously blooming flowers in the umbel may increase the overall nectar incentive for the pollinators. The nectar produced by E. bulbosa only contains the sugar fructose.
Erigenia bulbosa does not form vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal associations with fungi, in contrast to most plants.
These plants are protected in New York and Wisconsin as state endangered plants, and in Pennsylvania as threatened.


The plant is native to North America and found in nearly all of the United States and Canada. It has also been introduced into Europe and Asia, considered an invasive weed in many places. It grows on roadsides, in fields, in thickets, and in open woods. It benefits from moisture and some shade, as well as disturbances.


It probably originates from South America, but is now naturalised in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It poses a significant threat to wildlife conservation areas and other reserves. In Britain, of the non-native former Conyza species, it is the second most abundant (after Erigeron canadensis) and is typically found in London and the South East of England. It was first recorded in London by Brian Wurzell in 1984,
and noted in France at Saint-Sozy (Dordogne) in 2006.


Over 800 loquat cultivars exist in Asia. Self-fertile variants include the 'Gold Nugget' and 'Mogi' cultivars. The loquat is easy to grow in subtropical to mild temperate climates where it is often primarily grown as an ornamental plant, especially for its sweet-scented flowers, and secondarily for its delicious fruit. The boldly textured foliage adds a tropical look to gardens, contrasting well with many other plants.
There are many named cultivars, with orange or white flesh.  Some cultivars are intended for home-growing, where the flowers open gradually, and thus the fruit also ripens gradually, compared to the commercially grown species where the flowers open almost simultaneously, and the whole tree's fruit also ripens together.
China is the biggest producer of loquat in the world, more than 5 times the production of the 2nd biggest producer Spain, followed by Pakistan and Turkey.  In Europe, Spain is the main producer of loquat.
In temperate climates it is grown as an ornamental with winter protection, as the fruits seldom ripen to an edible state.  In the United Kingdom, it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
In the US, the loquat tree is hardy only in USDA zones 8 and above, and will flower only where winter temperatures do not fall below 30 °F (−1 °C). In such areas, the tree flowers in autumn and the fruit ripens in late winter. It is popular in the East, as well as the South.
However, loquats have been reported to survive temperatures as cold as −12 °F (−24 °C) for short periods of time. On the other side of the temperature spectrum, it is unclear what maximum temperature loquats can cultivate in. However, the loquat grows poorly if the temperature is "too tropical".
Altitude is an important factor to consider as well. Loquats grow naturally anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000 feet (910 to 2,130 m). However the right altitudes will vary depending on the temperature or how close it is to the equator. This contributes to why higher altitudes in China or the Andes mountains make excellent cultivating spots.
China is a major country where loquats grow natively and they grow wild in forests around the mountains. However, loquats are cultivated on around 300,000 acres (121,406 ha) with hundreds of different varieties
In the United States cultivation is not country-wide, typically with the southern and western states taking most of the responsibility. Cultivating in the United States has not been very popular due to its lack of interest in markets. However, the one advantage the loquat has among others is its fruit becomes available in late April – early May around a time many other fruits are not ready yet.
In Russia, loquat produces fruits in subtropical and near-subtropical areas (Gelendzhik, Sochi). Loquat also produces fruits in subtropical areas of Georgia.
In Canada, it can be found growing in Vancouver, though it does not produce fruits. More frost-resistant varieties grow and produce fruits in Sidney, British Columbia, though not every year.
Loquat grows differently in tropical climates, typically blooming 2 to 3 times a year. Loquats usually mature 90 days after the bloom.


Eriogonum ovalifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name cushion buckwheat. It is native to western North America from California to Alberta, where it is a member of many plant communities in varied habitats, including the sagebrush steppe and alpine regions.


This is an annual herb which is native to much of Eurasia, the Mediterranean region, and North Africa.
It is found in many other areas of the world as a weedy  introduced species, including Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the Americas.


Erpetogomphus designatus, the eastern ringtail, is a species of clubtail in the dragonfly family Gomphidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
The IUCN conservation status of Erpetogomphus designatus is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The population is stable. The IUCN status was reviewed in 2017.


Erynnis baptisiae, the wild indigo duskywing, is a butterfly of the  family Hesperiidae. It is found in North America from southern New England and southern Ontario west to central Nebraska, south to Georgia, the Gulf Coast, and south-central Texas.
The species is rapidly expanding its range and abundance by colonizing plantings of crown vetch along roadways and railroad beds.
Erynnis lucilius, Erynnis baptisiae and Erynnis persius belong to the "Persius species complex", a confusing group of very similar species.
The wingspan is 35–41 mm. Adults are on wing from late April to early June and again from July to August. There are two generations per year.
The larvae mainly feed on Baptisia tinctoria, but have also been recorded on Baptisia australis, Lupinus perennis, Thermopsis villosa and Coronilla varia. Adults feed on nectar from flowers of blackberry, white sweet clover, dogbane, sunflower, crimson clover and probably others.


Erynnis brizo, the sleepy duskywing or banded oak duskywing,  is a species of Hesperiidae butterfly that occurs throughout North America and is commonly confused with E. juvenalis and E. lucilius. The species is listed as threatened in Connecticut and Maine.


The Dingy Skipper is widespread from the Iberian Peninsula and Ireland in the west to the Pacific in East Asia. In the north, the area boundary follows roughly the 62°N. In Asia, the species penetrates south across the Caucasus to Pakistan, and in China the area boundary is far to the south. In Bavaria, the distribution shows a noticeable change from more or less densely populated areas to regions in which the species is absent over long stretches. In southern Bavaria, the species is concentrated in the Alpine region, the valleys of the Alpine rivers, in particular the Lech and Isar, as well as the areas near the river in the Donaumoos. In Northern Bavaria, the focus is on the Franconian Alb, in parts of the Franconian Keuper-Lias-Land and the Mainfränkische Platten. A secondary focus in the Upper Main hill country leads to scattered evidence along the northeastern border. Here the species occurs from the Vogtland over the Fichtelgebirge to the Upper Palatinate and Bavarian Forest. With the exception of the East Bavarian low mountain range, the occurrence of the Dingy Skipper coincides with the distribution of limestone areas (Jura and Muschelkalk) or geological features (basalt, gypsum, basic sandstones such as dolomitic arkose). It is widely but patchily distributed across Britain. It occurs further north than any other skipper in Scotland with some isolated colonies in the Inverness region. It is also one of the two skippers to be found in Ireland, again with a patchy distribution but the main strongholds along the western side. It is on the decline in several European countries including the UK and Armenia.