The Cape weaver is endemic to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini, occurring across much of the area excluding the Kalahari Desert from the Orange River in the Northern Cape south to the Cape of Good Hope then east to northern KwaZulu Natal and inland almost to Bloemfontein in the Free State.
The Cape weaver occurs in open grassland, lowland fynbos, coastal thicket and farmland, so long as there is permanent water and trees. In the more arid, hotter regions it is restricted to upland areas and it never occurs in forest.


Eight subspecies are recognized:
Ploceus cucullatus cucullatus – (Müller, 1776): The nominate subspecies occurs from Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to southern Chad and Cameroon. It also can be found on Bioko. This nominate subspecies was introduced to Hispaniola.
Ploceus cucullatus abyssinicus – (Gmelin, JF, 1789): Found in northern Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi – Reichenow, 1887: Found in southern Sudan, northern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, western Kenya and north-western Tanzania.
Ploceus cucullatus frobenii – Reichenow, 1923: Found in southern and south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mottled weaver (Ploceus cucullatus collaris) – Vieillot, 1819: Found in Gabon, western Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
Ploceus cucullatus graueri – Hartert, 1911: Found in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and western Tanzania.
Layard's weaver (Ploceus cucullatus nigriceps) – (Layard, EL, 1867): Found from southern Somalia and eastern Kenya through eastern and southern Tanzania to south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Angola and north-eastern Namibia, western Zimbabwe, eastern Zambia and central Mozambique. It also occurs on São Tomé where it was probably introduced.
Spotted-backed weaver (Ploceus cucullatus spilonotus) – Vigors, 1831:, Found in south-eastern Botswana, eastern South Africa and southern Mozambique. This subspecies was introduced to Mauritius, Réunion and Venezuela.


Pluchea baccharis, commonly called rosy camphorweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the coastal plain of the Southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Bahamas. It is found in wet savannas, marshes, and flatwoods.
It is a perennial that produces pink-purple flowers from June to July.


The plant is native to the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.
It inhabits wetlands and other coastal habitats and moist inland areas, often in saline substrates.
It is an introduced species and a noxious weed in Hawaii and New Caledonia.


Native to South Africa, it extends from the Southern Cape region to Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It can also be found in Gauteng and the adjoining areas of Free State and the North West Province. There is also an isolated occurrence in Mpumalanga. Typically the species grows in bushes or thickets. As an ornamental plant, it is widespread today in the tropics and subtropics (including the Mediterranean region).


It ranges from Texas to Florida and along the east coast to Massachusetts and west to southern Quebec and Ontario to the Dakotas.


The Italian wall lizard or ruin lizard (Podarcis siculus, from the Greek meaning agile and feet) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. P. siculus is native to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Switzerland, but has also been introduced to Spain,  Turkey, the United States, and Canada. It is the most abundant lizard species in southern Italy.
P. siculus is a habitat generalist and can thrive in natural and human-modified environments. Similarly, P. siculus has a generalized diet as well, allowing it to have its large range.
P. siculus is notable for having many subspecies within its large range. Studies evidence how rapidly P. siculus subspecies can become distinguishable from larger populations given geographic isolation. A 2008 study detailed distinct morphological and behavioral changes in a P. siculus population indicative of "rapid evolution".
P. siculus is a sexually dimorphic lizard species whose physical description varies across its subspecies, but it generally has a green or brown back and white or green belly. It is also oviparous, meaning females lay their young in eggs, and they lay 3 or 4 clutches per year.


Parasites and bacteria are common among P. siculus and its various subspecies. Common bacterial species include Pantoea, Citrobacter, Morganella morganii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci, Enterobacter, E. coli, Schewanella, and Providencia. When tested, one out of ten isolated strains of Citrobacter were multidrug-resistant. Other isolated strains were antibiotic resistant as well.
Parasite species include pinworms, Ophionyssus natricus, coccidia, and Dicrocoelidae.
Some of the bacteria and parasites specific to continental populations of P. siculus have been identified to be zoonotic. Insular populations of P. siculus have similar levels of bacterial diversity to mainland populations.
Tick infestation of P. siculus can be common in man-made habitats. Tick infestation is generally more pronounced in large males, which may be a result of their increased home ranges. Tick load varies based on the type of environment that P. siculus inhabits. For example, females inhabiting traditionally-managed olive plantations have significantly higher tick loads than those residing in intensively-managed olive plantations.


The horned grebe is distributed in Eurasia and North America. In Eurasia, it breeds in a few isolated locations in Greenland (uncommon), Iceland, Scotland and northwestern Norway, while extensively from southeastern Norway to western China. It winters along the coasts of Iceland, Norway and the British Isles down towards the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In eastern Asia, the horned grebe winters along the coasts of China, Korea and Japan.
In North America, it is restricted to the northwestern region of the continent, with 92% of its distribution located in Canada. The total North American range spans from south-central Alaska to northwestern Ontario. It breeds as far north as the Yukon and southern Nunavut to northwestern states, from Washington to Minnesota. Additionally, there is a small population who breed annually on the Magdalene Islands of Quebec. Its wintering range is also primarily coastal from southern Alaska down to the northern Gulf of California. Its eastern overwintering range is from southern Nova Scotia, down to the Florida Keys and sometimes west to Texas.
Horned grebes breed primarily in temperate zones, including prairies and parklands, but are also seen in boreal and subarctic regions. They breed in small to moderately sized (0.5-10 ha) shallow freshwater ponds, marshes and shallow bays on lake edges with beds of emergent vegetation. They prefer areas with sedges, rushes, and cattails along with large areas of open water. This habitat provides a suitable site for nest material, anchorage, concealment and protection for young.
During migration, they will stop along lakes, rivers and marshes. Following migration, they winter in marine environments of estuaries and bays or inland on large lakes, although in Norway, large concentrations congregate on inland lakes.


On the breeding grounds, the red-necked grebe feeds mainly on invertebrates including adult and larval aquatic insects, such as water beetles and dragonfly larvae, crayfish and molluscs. Fish (such as smelt) may be important locally or seasonally, especially for the American subspecies, and crustaceans can constitute up to 20% of the grebe's diet. Birds breeding at the coast often make foraging flights to inland lakes or offshore areas to feed.
Aquatic prey is obtained by diving or by swimming on surface with the head submerged, and terrestrial insects and their larvae are picked off vegetation. A line slanting downward from the eye to the tip of the opened lower mandible may be used for sighting on prey before diving or when swimming under water. The grebe probably opens its bill and looks down the eye-line toward its target.
European breeders, which have to compete with the larger great crested grebe for fish, eat a greater proportion of invertebrates than the longer-billed American subspecies, although both races eat mainly fish in winter. Birds of the nominate subspecies from the northernmost breeding populations in Finland and Russia, beyond the range of great crested grebe, have a longer and more slender bill than those further south, reflecting a greater proportion of fish in the diet where their main competitor is absent. If food is scarce, parents may desert unhatched eggs, or allow the smallest chicks to starve, although the latter strategy appears not to be particularly efficient in protecting the older chicks.
Like other grebes, the red-necked grebe ingests large quantities of its own feathers, which remain in the bird's stomach. Feathers are not only swallowed by adults, mainly during self-preening, but are often fed to the young, sometimes within a day of hatching. These feathers soon decompose into a felt-like, amorphous mass. The function of the feathers in the stomach is unknown, although it has been suggested that they help to protect the lower digestive tract from bones and other hard, indigestible material.


The red-necked grebe has a large range, estimated at 1–10 million square kilometres (0.4–3.8 million square miles), and a global population of 150,000–370,000 individuals, with P. g. holboellii about twice as numerous as the nominate race. The population trend has not been quantified, but it is not believed to meet the thresholds for the population decline criterion (declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations) of the IUCN Red List. For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
The red-necked grebe is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Parties to the Agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation strategies which are describes in a detailed action plan. The plan is intended to address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation.
The Red-necked Grebe was hunted by humans in northern Europe in the Mesolithic and Paleolithic periods, but there is no evidence that there is any significant level of hunting at the present time. In North America, there are potential threats from pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides such as DDT which cause reduced reproductive success due to egg sterility and eggshell thinning. Breeding areas may be threatened by the modification and degradation of lakes and by human disturbance from water-based recreational activities. There is no evidence to suggest that these threats could result in a significant risk to the overall population; more than 70% of North American red-necked grebes breed in Canada, where the population is stable or increasing.


The great grebe (Podiceps major) is the largest species of grebe in the world. A disjunct population exists in northwestern Peru, while the main distribution is from extreme southeastern Brazil to Patagonia and central Chile. The population from southern Chile is considered a separate subspecies, P. m. navasi.


They are most commonly found throughout North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America year round. During the summer breeding season, they are most prevalent in central, northern and northeastern Canada. If they live in an area where the water freezes in the winter they will migrate. Migrating birds generally meet with year-round birds in September and October. They migrate at night. Most migratory birds leave in March or April. They make occasional appearances in Europe and Hawaii. In the United Kingdom, pied-billed grebe visits have numbered 45 sightings as of 2019, appearing generally in October to January. One bird in England bred with a little grebe, producing hybrid young. It is the only grebe on record to have visited the Galapagos Islands.
Pied-billed grebes are found in freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation, such as cattails. They are occasionally found in salt water. When breeding they are found in emergent vegetation near open water, and in the winter they are primarily found in open water due to the lack of nests to maintain. They may live near rivers, but prefer still water. They may be found in higher elevations when migrating. They will breed in restored and man-made wetlands.
Pied-billed grebes live approximately 10–12 years.


The pied-billed grebe breeds in south-central Canada, throughout the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and temperate South America. These grebes may lay up to two sets of eggs a year. Their nests sit on top of the water, their eggs sitting in vegetation that resides in the water. Grebes lay between three and ten bluish white smooth elliptical eggs with the female starting the incubation process. They are incubated for around 23 days by both parents, with the female taking over incubation duties towards the end of that time period. They will cover the nest with nesting material if they have to leave it for an extended period of time.
Young grebes may leave the nest within one day of hatching. They are downy at birth. Yellow skin is seen between the lore and top of the head. They do not swim well and stay out of the water. They sleep on their parents' backs. Within four weeks they start swimming. When alerted they will climb on the back of a parent grebe and eventually mature to dive under the water like their parents. Both parents share the role of raising the young – both feeding and carrying them on their backs. Sometimes the parents will dive underwater to get food with the chicks on their backs.


The grebes are declining in New England. The reasons are unknown. The states of Connecticut and New Hampshire have declared the pied-billed grebe as endangered. In New Jersey and Massachusetts, they have been declared threatened. In Vermont they are of "special concern." In Rhode Island they are locally extinct. Pied-billed grebes are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Habitat loss is the grebe's biggest threat. The draining, filling, and general destruction of wetlands causes a loss in their breeding habitats. However, they are still common in the majority of their distribution areas.


Their breeding habitat is mixed or deciduous woods in the United States from New Jersey west to southern Kansas and south to Florida and Texas; there is a gap in the range at high altitudes in the Appalachian Mountains where they are replaced by their otherwise more northern relative, the black-capped chickadee.
They are permanent residents, not usually moving south even in severe winter weather.


The boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) is a small passerine songbird in the tit family Paridae. It is found in the boreal forests of Canada and the northern United States and remains within this range for the entirety of the year. Its year round residence within these forests is where this bird derives its name from. This bird is known for its high pitched trill patterns used in communication with other birds and food storage habits in preparation for winter months.


Their breeding habitat is coniferous woods in Canada, Alaska, and the northernmost portions of the contiguous United States. They generally breed from early May to the end of August and remain within their breeding range throughout the year, but sometimes move south in winter. When a female chickadee finds a high quality male to mate with this provides direct and indirect benefits such as exceptional parental care and high quality genes. The pair remains together year round and may mate for life. Winter movements south of their range, however, appear to have become increasingly rare. Large bodies of water and mountain ranges may restrict dispersal of the Boreal Chickadee into places such as the Vancouver Islands and Haida Gwaii. They nest in a hole in a tree; the pair excavates the nest, using a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. This nest can be made of hair, fur or dead plants. Five to seven eggs are laid, white with fine reddish-brown spotting. Eggs are laid between May and July and hatch within 13–16 days. After the eggs have hatched it takes another 16–18 days for the birds to fully develop wings large enough to attempt flight.


The martial eagle can be found in most of sub-Saharan Africa, wherever food is abundant and the environment favourable. With a total estimated distribution of about 26,000 km² (10,000 sq mi), it has a substantial distribution across Africa, giving it a somewhat broader range than other species there like the crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and the Verreaux's eagle (Aquila verreauxii). Although never common, greater population densities do exist in southern Africa and in some parts of east Africa. Martial eagles tend to be rare and irregular in west Africa but are known to reside in Senegal, The Gambia and northern Guinea-Bissau, southern Mali and the northern portions of Ivory Coast and Ghana. From southern Niger and eastern Nigeria the species is distributed spottily through Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic as well as the northern, eastern, and southern portions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In east Africa, they range from Somaliland and Ethiopia more or less continuously south through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and in southern Africa from Angola, Zambia, Malawi and southern Mozambique to South Africa. Some of the larger remaining populations are known to persist in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Generally, these birds are more abundant in protected areas such as Kruger National Park and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa, or Etosha National Park in Namibia.


The martial eagle is a very large eagle.  In total length, it can range from 78 to 96 cm (31 to 38 in), with an average of approximately 85.5 cm (33.7 in). Its total length – in comparison to its wingspan – is restricted by its relatively short tail. Nonetheless, it appears to be the sixth or seventh longest extant eagle species. The wingspan of martial eagles can range from 188 to 240 cm (6 ft 2 in to 7 ft 10 in). Wingspans of as much as 260 cm (8 ft 6 in) have been reported but may be unsubstantiated. Average wingspans have been claimed of 205 cm (6 ft 9 in) and 207.5 cm (6 ft 10 in) for the species, however ten measured martial eagles in the wild were found to average 211.9 cm (6 ft 11 in) in wingspan. Thus, the martial eagle appears to average fourth in wingspan among living eagles, behind only the Steller's sea-eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), in roughly that order. For a species that is fairly homogeneous in its genetic make-up, the body mass of martial eagles is surprisingly variable. To some extent, the variation of body masses in the species is attributable to considerable reverse sexual dimorphism as well as varying environmental conditions of various eagle populations. Unsexed martial eagles from various studies have been found to have weighed an average of 3.93 kg (8.7 lb) in 17 birds, 3.97 kg (8.8 lb) in 20 birds and 4.23 kg (9.3 lb) in 20 birds while the average weight of martial eagles shot by game wardens in the early 20th century in South Africa was listed as 4.71 kg (10.4 lb). In weight range, the martial eagle broadly overlaps in size with the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and Verreaux's eagle (and is even exceeded by them in maximum known body mass). Based on numerous studies, the martial eagle appear to average mildly heavier than the Verreaux's eagle but (derived from the globally combined body mass of its various races), the mean body masses of golden and martial eagles are identical at approximately 4.17 kg (9.2 lb). The renders the golden and martial eagles as tied as the largest African eagles (by body mass but not in total length or wingspan, in which the martial bests the golden), as well as the heaviest two species of booted eagle in the world and as tied as the sixth heaviest eagles in the world, after the three largest species of sea eagle (Steller's being the heaviest extant, the others ranking 4th and 5th), the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) and the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). The longest African eagle (and second longest booted eagle after the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax)) is the crowned eagle by virtue of its relatively longer tail, as its body weight is slightly less than these three heaviest booted eagle species.


The most diverse class of prey in the diet as known are mammals, with over 90 mammalian prey species reported. In the Cape Province, the 2.1 kg (4.6 lb) cape hare (Lepus capensis) reportedly dominates the prey selection, comprising about 53% of the foods selected. Other lagomorphs, namely the slightly smaller Smith's red rock hare (Pronolagus rupestris), mildly larger African savanna hare (Lepus microtis) and the much larger 3.6 kg (7.9 lb) scrub hare (Lepus saxatilis), are not infrequently taken both in and outside of the Cape area. In Maasai Mara, the most regularly identified food, at 17.3% of 191 prey items (and particularly for male martial eagles at 23.9% of their kills), was found to be comprised by a mixture of cape and scrub hares, these in total weighing an estimated mean of 2.54 kg (5.6 lb). For the most part rodents are ignored as prey as they are probably too small despite martial eagles taking at times appreciable numbers of Cape (Xerus inauris) and unstriped ground squirrels (Xerus rutilus). However, rodents selected as prey have ranged in size from the 0.14 kg (4.9 oz) Southern African vlei rat (Otomys irroratus) to the 3.04 kg (6.7 lb) South African springhare (Pedetes capensis) and the 4 kg (8.8 lb) greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus). There are records of predation on 0.28 kg (9.9 oz) (the second largest African bat) straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) and galagos of various sizes (usually weighing a kilo or less) but otherwise mammalian prey they pursue tends to be relatively larger.
Locally, large numbers are taken of any species of hyrax. The attractiveness of hyraxes as a prey resource may encourage martial eagles to vary their hunting techniques to potentially more time-consuming perch hunting so that they may capture rock hyraxes from rock formations and tree hyraxes from trees, contrary to their usual preference for capturing prey on the ground in the open after soaring high. Ranging in average mass from 2.2 to 3.14 kg (4.9 to 6.9 lb), hyraxes can comprise a healthy meal for a family of martial eagle and are probably among the larger items that male eagles will regularly deliver to nests. Another miscellaneous mammal known to fall prey to martial eagles is the ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), although it is not clear the age pangolins that are preyed on and how they are dispatched, considering that adults weigh some 11.6 kg (26 lb) and have a hard keratin shell that is capable of withstanding lion (Panthera leo) jaws when in its rolled-up defensive posture. Although far less accomplished and prolific as a predator of monkeys than the crowned eagle, the martial eagle has been known to prey on at least 14 species of monkey. The monkeys to turn up most often as martial eagle prey are grivets (Chlorocebus aethiops), vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and malbroucks (Chlorocebus cynosuros), with mean body masses of 2.8 kg (6.2 lb), 4.12 kg (9.1 lb) and 4.53 kg (10.0 lb), respectively, because of their savanna-woods dwelling habits, tendencies to forage on the ground and their primarily diurnal activity. Similarly, the larger patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas), at 8.13 kg (17.9 lb), also dwells in similar habitats and so may be subject to occasional predation. These monkey species have special alarm calls, distinct from those uttered in response to the presence of for example a leopard (Panthera pardus), specifically for martial eagles. Martial eagles are also known to prey on mangabeys, Cercopithecus sp., colobus monkeys and guerezas, presumably around forest clearings, but these are probably rare as prey given their forest-dwelling habits. Predatory attacks by martial eagles have been reported as well for every species of baboon, although either mostly or entirely on young ones, and even on young chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). It has been claimed that juvenile monkeys are the most often selected as prey by martial eagles, even for species as small as vervet monkeys, but little comprehensive analysis is known on this (the most accomplished modern avian primate predator, the crowned eagle, in Uganda, selects adult monkeys 52% of the time, juveniles 48% of the time). At times, martial eagles may dispatch adult male monkeys weighing 9 kg (20 lb) or more, such as patas monkeys and Tana River mangabeys (Cercocebus galeritus). On at least one occasion, this species has attacked humans with apparently predatory intent, making it one of the only birds of prey to do so. In 2019 a young boy was killed and two other children injured by an immature martial eagle in the Ethiopian town of Gaashaamo.
Carnivores are important prey for martial eagles. Among these many mongoose tend to be well represented in their diet. Most mongoose native to savanna tend to be highly social burrowers. Most of these types of mongoose are also relatively small (probably the second smallest important martial eagle food source after korhaans) and can effectively escape quickly to the safety of their underground home, so the lighter, more nimble male martial eagle is more likely to habitually pursue them. In southern Africa, the 0.72 kg (1.6 lb) meerkat (Suricata suricatta) comprises up to at least 9.6% of prey remains (as in the Cape Province) and the 0.75 kg (1.7 lb) Cape grey mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta) comprising an average of 7.2% of prey remains in the Cape area. The largest of the social savanna-dwelling mongoose is the banded mongoose at 2.12 kg (4.7 lb). In pooled data from the Great Rift Valley and Maasai Mara, the banded mongoose fell third behind only francolins and hares as the most regularly selected prey for martial eagles. Despite often being successful in capturing banded mongoose, in one case when a (presumably inexperienced) immature martial eagle took one to a tree, the dominant male banded mongoose of the group scaled the tree and pulled the still-living mongoose prey to safety. The martial eagle is a known predator of the full size range of mongoose species, from the smallest species, the 0.27 kg (9.5 oz) common dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula), to the largest, the 3.38 kg (7.5 lb) white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda). Other moderate-sized carnivores known to fall prey to martial eagles include 0.83 kg (1.8 lb) striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus) and a few species of genet, which are about twice as heavy on average as the polecat. The martial eagle, however, can be a surprisingly effective predator of carnivorans close to their own size or larger.  In the Cape Province, 72 bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis), which average about 4.1 kg (9.0 lb), were found in the prey remains, 85% of which were adults. Jackals are occasionally targeted as prey, especially black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas). Adult domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) of up to a modest size may occasionally be killed by martial eagles. Martial eagles are also known to opportunistically grab pups of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) as they emerge from their dens. A similarly impressive range of felids have been included in their prey spectrum. Adults of both domestic cats and their ancestors, the 4.65 kg (10.3 lb) African wildcat (Felis lybica), are known to fall prey to this species. Much larger cat species such as the 10.1 kg (22 lb) servals (Leptailurus serval) and even the 12.7 kg (28 lb) caracals (Caracal caracal) are taken, mainly kittens and even adults. Apparent predatory attacks are even attempted on big cat cubs as they are considered potential predators of lion and leopard (Panthera pardus) cubs and confirmed predators of cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) cubs. However, they rapidly abandon hunting attempts if the formidable mother lion or leopard is present. Successful predatory attacks on other large carnivores have included adults of the 12.4 kg (27 lb) African civet (Civettictis civetta) and the 8.16 kg (18.0 lb) aardwolf (Proteles cristata).
While large accipitrids from around the world are credited with attacks on (almost always young) ungulates, perhaps no other species is as accomplished in this regard as this martial eagle. Over 30 species of ungulate have been identified as prey for this species, more species than are attributed to the perhaps more powerful crowned eagles and all the world's golden eagles, although in all three seldom more than 30% of the diet are comprised by ungulates in a given region. In Kruger National Park, the martial eagle is mentioned as the only bird considered as a major predator of ungulate species. A majority of the ungulate diet of martial eagles are comprised by small antelope species or the young of larger antelopes. Locally favored prey are the dik-diks, one of the smallest kind of antelope, and every known species may be vulnerable to this eagle. In Tsavo East National Park, Kirk's dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii) were the second most numerous prey species and it was estimated that at least 86 dik-diks are taken in the park over the course of the year by two pairs of martial eagles. At an average of 5 kg (11 lb), these can provide a very fulfilling meal for an eagle family. In Maasai Mara, young ungulates appeared particularly significant in the diet of adult female martial eagles, with impala fawns averaging an estimated 7.5 kg (17 lb) comprising 34.2% of female kills (and 13.6% of the species' overall foods) and Thomson's gazelle fawns at about 3.75 kg (8.3 lb) comprising a further 15.1% of female kills (and 10.5% of the overall diet here). Furthermore, young Grant's gazelles, weighing a mean of 9.02 kg (19.9 lb), were sometimes taken by females in Maasai Mara. Calves, including neonatal young, of the following antelope may also be included in their prey spectrum: impala (Aepyceros melampus), hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus), common tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus), springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), Eudorcas gazelles, gerenuk (Litocranius walleri), bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus), grey rhebok (Pelea capreolus), kob (Kobus kob) and mountain reedbuck (Redunca arundinum). These species can vary in weight from 2.6 kg (5.7 lb) (i.e. gazelles) to 11 kg (24 lb) (i.e. tsessebe) in newborns. For the newborn impala, weighing already 5.55 kg (12.2 lb), the martial eagle is the only bird considered to be a significant predator. Additionally, piglets of warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) (of which only the martial eagle among accipitrids is similarly mentioned as a significant predator) and bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) are taken. Adults of other small antelope such as 4.95 kg (10.9 lb) suni (Neotragus moschatus) and 4.93 kg (10.9 lb) blue duikers (Philantomba monticola) are probably also taken with relative ease. In general, the young of other antelope are usually attacked, including newborns. Occasional ambush attacks or successful predations are reported on adults of much larger species despite young ones being rather more vulnerable, including 12.1 kg (27 lb) klipspringers (Oreotragus oreotragus), 11.1 kg (24 lb) steenboks (Raphicerus campestris), both species of grysbok (7.6 to 10.6 kg (17 to 23 lb) on average), 14.6 kg (32 lb) oribis (Ourebia ourebi) and perhaps up to half a dozen larger duikers, potentially weighing from 7.7 to 25 kg (17 to 55 lb). One duiker dispatched via strangulation weighed an estimated 37 kg (82 lb), one of the largest known raptorial kill for any species on the African continent.
Among extant birds of prey, only wedge-tailed eagles, reportedly capable of killing sheep and female red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb), crowned eagles taking antelope of the same estimated weight and golden eagles, credited with taking adult female deer of several species with weights estimated at 50 to 70 kg (110 to 150 lb), and capable of apparently dispatching domestic calves weighing up to 114 kg (251 lb), have larger kills attributed to them.


The blue-gray gnatcatcher's breeding habitat includes open deciduous woods and shrublands in southern Ontario, the eastern and southwestern United States, and Mexico. Though gnatcatcher species are common and increasing in number while expanding to the northeast, it is the only one to breed in Eastern North America. They migrate to the southern United States, Mexico, northern Central America (Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras), Cuba, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands.


The masked gnatcatcher (Polioptila dumicola) is a small songbird in the family Polioptilidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.


In Canada it has been recorded in southernmost areas of the provinces of British Columbia (including southern Vancouver Island), Alberta and Saskatchewan.
In the USA it has been recorded in Arizona, California, Colorado, far west North Dakota, western South Dakota, Idaho, westernmost Kansas, Montana, western Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, far west Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming (a single record in the far northwest).
In Mexico it has been seen in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and northern Sonora.
Adventive populations have also been recorded in Hawaii, Johnston Atoll, Niihau and the Society Islands. A single specimen was also caught in Prince Edward Island in 1973.


This is an eusocial wasp which nests in sheltered locations. Adults have been seen from January to November in more southern locations such as California or Arizona, from April to October in British Columbia in the north of the range, from April to November in more higher and continental areas such as Colorado, or having an even more restricted season in northern continental areas such as Alberta or Saskatchewan. It is parasitised upon by the endoparasitoid Xenos peckii and an unidentified Gordius species, a type of horsehair worm.


The European paper wasp (Polistes dominula) is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus Polistes. Its diet is more diverse than that of most Polistes species—many genera of insects versus mainly caterpillars in other Polistes—giving it superior survival ability compared to other wasp species during a shortage of resources.
The dominant females are the principal egg layers, while the subordinate females ("auxiliaries") or workers primarily forage and do not lay eggs. This hierarchy is not permanent, though; when the queen is removed from the nest, the second-most dominant female takes over the role of the previous queen. Dominance in females is determined by the severity of the scatteredness in the coloration of the clypeus (face), whereas dominance in males is shown by the variation of spots of their abdomens. P. dominula is common and cosmopolitan due to their exceptional survival features such as productive colony cycle, short development time, and higher ability to endure predator attacks.
These wasps have a lek-based mating system. Unlike most social insects, 35% of P. dominula wasps in a colony are unrelated. It is considered an invasive species in Canada and the United States.


Polistes instabilis can be found in tropical and subtropical areas. These include Central and South America, specifically Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Those found in Costa Rica tend to live in the lowlands, in dry forested areas. Once the rainy season ends in December, individuals migrate to higher elevation to wait out the winter.


Polistes instabilis colonies are usually initiated in the spring during the month of March. They are begun by one or few queens who have already mated called foundresses. The foundresses emerge from overwintering and begin building the nest. They do this by chewing up plant fibers and making them into paper, which is the main material for the nest. Once the nest is made, eggs are laid by one or multiple females, which then tend to the young. When the young develop, females become workers and continue to build the nest and tend to larvae. Male wasps’ sole purpose is mating, and after their purpose has been served, they either die or are killed by the females. Colonies are typically small, with large colonies housing less than 100 individuals.  Colonies are also strongly seasonal. Wasps usually leave the nest in October or November to overwinter, and new colonies are formed again the following March.


Polites sabuleti, the sandhill skipper or saltgrass skipper, is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found from southern British Columbia and eastern Washington, south through California and northern Arizona to Baja California and east to south-eastern Wyoming, central Colorado, and north-eastern New Mexico. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.
The wingspan is 22–32 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from June to August at high elevations. There are several generations from March to October in the southern part of its range and at low elevations.
The larvae feed on various grasses, including Cynodon dactylon, Poa pratensis, Distichlis spicata var. stricta, Eragrostis trichodes, Agrostis scabra, Festuca idahoensis, and Festuca brachyphylla. Adults feed on flower nectar.


Polites vibex, or the whirlabout, is a grass skipper in the family Hesperiidae. The whirlabout gets its name from the landing and take off flight patterns of the adult – a circular or vortex or whirling motion. It is resident from the southeastern U.S. and West Indies to eastern Mexico through the tropics down to Argentina. During the warmer North American months, it can sometimes be found as far north as Ohio, Connecticut, and northeast Iowa.
The wingspan is 25–38 mm (0.98–1.50 in). North of the equator, it flies all year and migrates north in late summer and fall.
The larvae feed on grasses mainly at night. Eggs are white and laid one at a time on the host plants.


The whirlabout butterfly is resident from the southeastern U.S. and West Indies to eastern Mexico through the tropics down to Argentina. During the warmer months it can sometimes be found as far north as Ohio, Connecticut, and northeast Iowa.


African harrier-hawks are a common raptorial species south of the Sahara being most commonly found in the tropical regions of western Africa becoming less common in East and South Africa. African harrier-hawks are adaptable in their habitat preferences, occupying the following habitats in the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the Central African Republic: thick rainforest, forest edge, riparian areas, agricultural land and human occupied areas. African harrier-hawks are adaptable and able to live in both urban and rural human occupied areas and they are one of the most common raptorial species in traditional rural villages of eastern Guinea-Bissau. African harrier-hawks have also been known to breed in Palm trees present in cities and urban gardens.


Polygonia c-album, the comma, is a food generalist (polyphagous) butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. The angular notches on the edges of the forewings are characteristic of the genus Polygonia, which is why species in the genus are commonly referred to as anglewing butterflies. Comma butterflies can be identified by their prominent orange and dark brown/black dorsal wings.
To reduce predation, both the larval and adult stages exhibit protective camouflage, mimicking bird droppings and fallen leaves, respectively. During the later stage of development, the larvae also develop strong spines along their backs. The species is commonly found in Europe, North Africa, and Asia, and contains several subspecies. Although the species is not migratory, the butterflies are strong fliers, resulting in an open population structure with high gene flow and increased genetic variation.


The comma inhabits areas including Europe, North Africa, and Asia. It is primarily a woodland butterfly, living in low-density forests with sunshine and moist soil. Specifically, the species is commonly found in the woodland, country lanes, and garden areas of Norway, Sweden, and Great Britain. As a food generalist, or polyphagous species, comma butterflies can feed upon a variety of host plants, leading to widespread ranges across continents. In response to climate change, they are also undergoing range expansion.


In the 19th century, the British population of the comma crashed, possibly as a result of reduced hop (H. lupulus) farming. From about 1930 the population recovered, and the comma is now one of the more familiar butterflies in Southern England. It is also found in Scotland and in North Wales. Since the 1970s in Britain, specialist butterflies have decreased in population as their preferred habitat and host plants area becomes smaller. On the other hand, generalist species such as P. c-album have started to expand their range. In particular, comma butterflies have expanded along the northern edge of their range.


The adults are on wing two times a year, once in April and May and another in June and August. During the first flight the adults mate and lay eggs. These eggs will hatch and become the summer generation. The summer generation's eggs will hatch in October and hibernate.


Polygonum aviculare or common knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called prostrate knotweed, birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October. It is widespread across many countries in temperate regions, apparently native to Eurasia and North America, naturalized in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.


Widespread and common in Great Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia.


The Adonis blue (Lysandra bellargus, also known as Polyommatus bellargus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It inhabits the Palearctic realm (Western Europe, Central Europe, South Europe, South Russia, Iraq, Iran, Caucasus, Transcaucasus, and Turkey).
It is found in chalk downland, in warm sheltered spots, flying low over vegetation, seeking females that are rich chocolate brown in color. The male has brilliantly colored wings that give it its name.


The Adonis blue is at the most northerly edge of its range in Britain and has always been restricted to the warmer dry calcareous grasslands of southern England. It has been declining over the last fifty years because its habitat has been disappearing through changing agricultural practices; over the whole of Britain there has been a decline of over 90% in numbers since 1950. It has been lost from Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk; its strongholds are Dorset, Wiltshire, Sussex and the Isle of Wight. There are efforts from conservation organisations and local Biodiversity Action Plans to encourage the populations of chalk-grassland butterflies through managed grazing programs. The recent hot and dry weather associated with climate change seems to be beneficial for this species by making more habitats suitable. In 2006 it had returned to a site in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, where it had vanished 40 years previously.


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

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


Previously, P. icarus was a very common species that occupied Europe and Asia, and was one of the most widely distributed butterflies in Britain. It is known to be tolerant of many habitats, including a wide range of grasslands. There has been an estimated 74% loss of the butterfly population since 1901. This could be due to the fact that 46% of the total land area covered by the butterfly's preferred host plant, Lotus corniculatus, has also been lost since 1901.  This host plant is a favored plant for two reasons: it provides adult nutrition, as well as food for the larva after it hatches.


As a caterpillar, the common blue eats leaves. As an adult butterfly, it feeds on wildflower nectar and excrement.  The adult lives 3 weeks.
Males are often very obvious as they defend territories against rivals and seek out the more reclusive females. In the south of Britain there are two broods a year, flying in May and June and again in August and September. Northern England has one brood, flying between June and September. In a year with a long warm season, there is sometimes a partial third brood in the south flying into October.


Previously, P. leucomystex was thought to distribute below the Red River of Vietnam and in western Yunnan, while P. megacephalus can be found above the Red River and in Northeast India. However, recent genetic studies revealed that the natural barriers between these species are the Isthmus of Kra and the Tenasserim Range, where P. leucomystax can be found below the isthmus and west of the range.
The Polypedates leucomystax complex began diverging during the Pliocene, and spread quickly after the Pleistocene due to human activity. The range of P. leucomystax has recently expanded in the Philippines and Indonesia due to the widespread conversion of forests into agricultural-use land. It is also frequently found in trans-island agricultural shipments. Lineages on the Indochina mainland are more diverse.
In Indonesia, it has been found throughout the archipelago in Borneo, Mentawai, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Bali, Lombok, Natuna Islands, Anambas Islands, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timor, and has also been introduced to Papua. In Japan, where it has been introduced, it is found on the islands of Okinawa, Tonaki, Kurima, Miyako, Ie, Iheya, Izena, Sesoko, and Yabuchi.
4 major haplotype clades of P. leucomystax have been recognized by Brown, et al. (2010), with the clades other than the southern Sunda region clade likely to be cryptic species.
southern Sunda region: Java–Sumatra ("true" P. leucomystax; type locality: Java)
northern Sunda region: Peninsular Malaysia, northern Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah), and southern Philippines (most basal clade)
Sulawesi (with the name P. celebensis sp. nov. suggested; 4 different sub-clades have been differentiated for each of the 4 "prongs" or peninsulas of Sulawesi Island)
northern Philippines (with the name P. quadrilineatus sp. nov. suggested; includes a basal variety from Lombok)
Divergent varieties that are either P. cf. leucomystax or P. cf. megacephalus have been found in southern China (including Hainan) and Vietnam.


It occurs primarily in a narrow strip in southern Alaska, southwestern Yukon Territory, western British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, though two highly disjunct populations are known from Idaho and Arizona
Asia India, Himalayan regions.


Polypodium virginianum, commonly known as rock polypody, rock cap fern, or common polypody, is a small evergreen species of fern native to the Eastern United States and Canada. It generally grows on rocks and occasionally on tree roots in nature.


Polypodium virginianum has several synonyms including: P. vinlandicum A. Love & D. Love, P. vulgare L. var. americanum Hooker, P. vulgare L. var. virginianum (L.) D. C. Eaton. It is generally treated as distinct, though some have recommended it is equally well treated as a North American variety of the circumboreal Polypodium vulgare.
This species is an allotetraploid of hybrid origin, the parents being Polypodium appalachianum and P. sibiricum.


Polypodium virginianum typically grows on boulders, cliffs, and rocky slopes and does not need well-developed soil. It is common throughout eastern North America; its native distribution ranges from Newfoundland to Yukon south to Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas.


Polytaenia texana, commonly known as Texas prairie parsley, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae). It is native to Texas and Oklahoma in the United States.


The French angelfish was first formally described as Chaetodon paru by the German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) with the type locality given as Brazil and Jamaica. The species is placed by some authorities in the subgenus Pomacanthus,. The specific name of this species, paru is the Portuguese name for this species.


White crappies spawn in May and June when the water temperature reaches 56 °F. Males construct nests by creating small, bowl-shaped depressions on the bottom around brush, rocks, and logs in the shallow water. During the spawning season, males develop dark coloration on their throats. Females lay 5,000 to 30,000 eggs. The males guard these nests until the fry swim away. Males guard these nests because it helps ensure the success of their genes being passed on to the next generation. The white crappie typically grows 3–5 inches (7.6–12.7 cm) within the first year of its life and can grow an additional 3-4 in in the second year.  The white crappies reach maturity around their second or third year. The maximum lifespan of white crappies is 8 to 10 years with the average lifespan being 3 to 4 years in unmanaged waters and 6 years in managed waters.


White crappies are neither cruise- nor ambush-feeding strategists. Instead, they swim intermittently and only search for prey when stationary. This strategy is considered saltatory, or pause-and-travel search. Using this strategy, juveniles can grow rapidly in the first few days of life. This strategy is energetically favored to reduce search time for the species. White crappies in the larval and juvenile stages of life eat zooplankton and continue to feed primarily on small invertebrates during their first year of life.
When white crappies reach a length of 12–15 centimetres (4.7–5.9 in), they are considered adult. The adults feeds mainly on small fish such as minnows and young American shad, and large invertebrates such as crayfish and hellgrammites. Their diet can vary depending on their location. They feed the most in June through October. In the spring, they feed moderately, with their activity slowing during the winter months. In Mississippi, they feed on mayflies such as Hexagenia atrocaudata and Pentagenia vittigera. In Illinois, and probably elsewhere, they feast on American gizzard shad. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, adults eat small common carp, yellow perch, bluegill, and other white crappies. The terminal mouth position, sometimes known as the normal position, allows for this species to feed on what is in front of it.


The black crappie's range is uncertain, since it has been widely transplanted, but it is presumed to be similar to the white crappie's. Its native range is suspected to be in the eastern United States and Canada, and as of 2005, populations existed in all of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Introduced populations also exist in Mexico and Panama.


Ponerorchis cucullata has a very wide distribution in temperate regions of Eurasia. In Europe, it is native to Poland and Eastern Europe. In Asia, it is found in Siberia, the Russian Far East, Mongolia, China, Japan and Korea. It is also found in the Himalayas including Nepal.


Phenological models might be useful in predicting the timing of presence of larvae or adults of the Japanese beetle. Model outputs can be used to support the timely implementation of monitoring and control actions against the pest, thus reducing its potential impact.
Owing to its destructive nature, traps have been invented specifically to target Japanese beetles. These comprise a pair of crossed walls with a bag or plastic container underneath and are baited with floral scent, pheromone, or both. However, studies conducted at the University of Kentucky and Eastern Illinois University suggest beetles attracted to traps frequently do not end up in the traps, instead, they land on plants in the vicinity and cause more damage along the flight path and near the trap than may have occurred if the trap were not present.
During the larval stage, the Japanese beetle lives in lawns and other grasslands, where it eats the roots of grasses. During that stage, it is susceptible to a fatal disease called milky spore disease, caused by a bacterium called milky spore, Paenibacillus (formerly Bacillus) popilliae. The USDA developed this biological control and it is commercially available in powder form for application to lawn areas. Standard applications (low density across a broad area) take from one to five years to establish maximal protection against larval survival (depending on the climate), expanding through the soil through repeated rounds of infection.
On field crops such as squash, floating row covers can be used to exclude the beetles, but this may necessitate hand pollination of flowers. Kaolin sprays can also be used as barriers.
Research performed by many US extension service branches has shown pheromone traps attract more beetles than they catch. Traps are most effective when spread out over an entire community, and downwind and at the borders (i.e., as far away as possible, particularly upwind), of managed property containing plants being protected.
When present in small numbers, the beetles may be manually controlled using a soap-water spray mixture, shaking a plant in the morning hours and disposing of the fallen beetles, or simply picking them off attractions such as rose flowers, since the presence of beetles attracts more beetles to that plant.
Several insect predators and parasitoids have been introduced to the United States for biocontrol. Two of them, Istocheta aldrichi and Tiphia vernalis, are well established with significant but variable rates of parasitism.


Soras occur throughout most of North America. Soras breed from Nova Scotia northwest to southern Yukon and Northwest Territories, south to California, Arizona, and New Mexico and northeast to Pennsylvania and New England. Sora wintering grounds include the Caribbean, northern portions of South America, including Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, north through Central America and Mexico to southern California in the West and coastal regions of the Southeast. From southern Kansas south to northern and eastern Texas and east through the inland areas of the southeastern United States, soras are typically only observed during migration in the spring and fall. In a few areas of the western United States, including central California and areas of Arizona and New Mexico, soras may occur year-round.


Sora's northern migration occurs in spring, primarily in April and May. For instance, in east-central Kansas significantly (p<0.05) more soras were detected from 24 April to 7 May than the 2-week periods before or after. In southeast Missouri, soras were observed from 25 March to 6 May. Soras were first detected in April to early May in Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota. In a summary of the first detections of soras in Minnesota, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, all occurred in April.
Soras depart their breeding grounds as early as July and as late as October. Soras were observed returning to wintering grounds in Arizona as early as late July. Although local movements may obscure migration occurring in July, most migration occurred in August and September in Colorado. In northern Ohio, sora abundance was increased in late August and September by migrating individuals. In southeastern Missouri, soras were observed from 5 September to 27 October. Soras have been observed in Manitoba and Saskatchewan as late as October.


Although sora nesting activities have been observed from late April through early August, the peak nesting period typically occurs from May to early July. In New York, nesting was initiated in late April. A nest search and literature review study of soras in Colorado reports a clutch initiated in early August. However, mean clutch initiation dates occurred in May and June in regions across the state. Studies from northern Ohio, North Dakota, and Alberta  report nesting from May to July. In a review, sora nests with eggs were recorded from early May to early July in Indiana.
Sora females begin construction of saucer-shaped nests on the ground or on a platform over shallow water at the start of egg laying. Clutch sizes typically range from 8 to 13 eggs, although clutch sizes of up to 16 have been reported. Both parents incubate the eggs. Incubation lasts approximately 19 days, although a wide range of incubation periods has been reported in the literature. Eggs hatch over a span of 2 to 13 days. Nestlings are precocial and are capable of walking and swimming short distances (< 3 ft (0.91 m)) by the end of their first day. Young soras are independent by about 4 weeks of age. Soras brood once per season. Some late broods may be second nesting attempts, but there is only one report in the literature of a second brood attempt after a successful nest. For information on breeding behavior of soras, see. For information on conspecific nest parasitism and egg discrimination in soras see.
Sora nest success rates vary across locations and years. In the literature addressing sora apparent nest success, the proportions of successful nests varied from 0.61 in Michigan to 0.833 in Minnesota. In western New York, the nest success rate of 6 sora nests was 0.43, and the daily nest success rate was 0.97. Using data from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's nest record program, nesting success rate of soras in North America was estimated as 0.529 over a 28-day period (n=108). On a site in Alberta, 80.6% of eggs successfully hatched, while the following year only 59.6% of eggs hatched. The authors conclude that diminished water level interacting with predators and trampling by cattle resulted in decreased hatching success. During late summer, soras are flightless for a period during their post-nuptial molt.


The native range of P. vulgaris encompasses western and southern Europe.  In the north, the distribution area extends from central Norway near the Faroe Islands via the British Isles, Denmark, northern Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France to southern Portugal in the south and the tip of North Africa in Algeria. To the east, the range extends through the southern European peninsulas to the Crimea, Balkans, Syria, Turkey and Armenia.


The plain prinia (Prinia inornata), also known as the plain wren-warbler or white-browed wren-warbler, is a small cisticolid warbler found in southeast Asia. It is a resident breeder from Pakistan and India to south China and southeast Asia. It was formerly included in the tawny-flanked prinia (Prinia subflava), resident in Africa south of the Sahara. The two are now usually considered to be separate species.


The Karoo prinia or  spotted prinia (Prinia maculosa) is a small passerine bird. It is a resident breeder in South Africa, Lesotho and far southern Namibia.
It is a species of karoo scrub, fynbos and bracken covered slopes in semi-desert and mountains. The former eastern subspecies P. m. hypoxantha is now usually considered to be a separate species, the Drakensberg prinia, P. hypoxantha.


The native range of P. clarkii is from northern Mexico and far southeastern New Mexico, through the Gulf States to the Florida Panhandle, as well as inland north through the Mississippi Basin to southern Illinois and Ohio. It has also been introduced, sometimes deliberately, outside its natural range to countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and elsewhere in the Americas. In northern Europe, the populations are self-maintaining but not expanding, while in southern Europe, P. clarkii is multiplying and actively colonizing new territories at the expense of the native crayfish, Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius spp.  Individuals are reported to be able to cross many miles of relatively dry ground, especially in wet seasons, although the aquarium trade and anglers may have hastened the spread in some areas (anglers using P. clarkii as fishing bait are thought to have introduced it to the state of Washington). Attempts have also been made to use P. clarkii as a biological control organism, to reduce levels of the snails involved in the lifecycle of schistosomiasis, leading to the dispersal of P. clarkii in, for instance, Kenya.


The rock hyrax (/ˈhaɪ.ræks/; Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the dassie (IPA: [dasiː]; Afrikaans: klipdassie), it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia.
Rock hyraxes weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb) and have short ears and tails.
Rock hyraxes are found at elevations up to 4,200 m (13,800 ft) above sea level in habitats with rock crevices, allowing them to escape from predators. They are the only extant terrestrial afrotherians in the Middle East. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. They have been reported to use sentries to warn of the approach of predators.  Having incomplete thermoregulation, they are most active in the morning and evening, although their activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate.
Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest. In Ethiopia, Israel, and Jordan, it is a reservoir of the leishmaniasis parasite.
Along with other hyrax species and the sirenians, this species is the most closely related to the elephant.


The rock hyrax occurs across sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the Congo Basin and Madagascar. The distribution encompasses southern Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and the Middle East, with populations in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Arabian Peninsula. The northern subspecies was introduced to Jebel Hafeet, which is on the border of Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The shade of their pelts varies individually and regionally. In particular, the dorsal patches (present in both sexes) of the central populations are very variable, ranging from yellow to black, or flecked. In outlying populations, these are more constant in colour, black in P. c. capensis, cream in P. c. welwitschii, and orange in P. c. ruficeps. A larger, longer-haired population is abundant in the moraines in the alpine zone of Mount Kenya.
The subspecies, which are sometimes elevated to full species, are:
P. c. capensis (Pallas, 1766) – Cape rock hyrax, native to South Africa and Namibia
P. c. habessinicus (Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1832) – Ethiopian rock hyrax, native to northeastern Africa and Arabia
P. c. johnstoni Thomas, 1894 – black-necked rock hyrax, native to central and East Africa
P. c.  ruficeps (Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1832) – red-headed rock hyrax, native to the southern Sahara
P. c.  welwitschii (Gray, 1868) – Kaokoveld rock hyrax, native to the Kaokoveld of Namibia
An unrelated, convergently evolved mammal of similar habits and appearance is the rock cavy of Brazil.


The purple martin (Progne subis) is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is the largest swallow in North America. Despite its name, the purple martin is not truly purple. The dark blackish-blue feathers have an iridescent sheen caused by the refraction of incident light giving them a bright blue to navy blue or deep purple appearance. In some light they may even appear green in color.
Being migratory, their breeding range extends from central Alberta down through the eastern United States. Subspecies breed in Baja California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Most make a brief stopover in the Yucatán Peninsula or Cuba during pre-breeding migration to North America and during post-breeding migration before reaching their overwintering site in South America.
They are known for their speed, agility, and their characteristic mix of rapid flapping and gliding flight pattern. When approaching their nesting site, they will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked, just like the peregrine falcon does when hunting smaller birds.


Wintering in Brazil, Bolivia and parts of Peru, purple martins migrate to North America in the spring to breed. Spring migration is somewhat staggered, with arrivals in southern areas such as Florida and Texas in January, but showing up in the northern United States in April and in Canada as late as May.
Arrival date to the breeding grounds tends to correlate directly with age. It is assumed that the older birds arrive on the breeding grounds first to obtain the better nesting sites. Older males typically migrate first and leave the overwintering sites in late December or early January, followed by older females. Younger birds (first yearlings) typically arrive to the breeding grounds up to two months later.
Fall migration is also staggered, as birds head south when the breeding season is over. Some birds leave as early as July and others stay as late as October. Martins generally migrate over land, through Mexico and Central America. When not breeding, martins form large flocks and roost together in great numbers. This behavior begins just prior to the southern migration and continues on the wintering grounds.
These flocks can be so large that when they take-off from these roosts to forage the activity is detected on Doppler radar as rings. Referred to as roost rings, they start small then get larger until the birds have spread out and the ring disappears.


Suzuki's promalactis moth (Promalactis suzukiella) is a moth of the family Oecophoridae. It is native to Korea, Japan and Taiwan, but is an introduced species in the United States. It was originally recorded from the mid-Atlantic states in the early 2000s and by 2020 had expanded its range to encompass Texas and most of the states east of the Mississippi, with the exception of Florida, northern New England and Michigan.
The length of the forewing is 4.5–7 mm. Adults are on wing from March to late September, indicating at least two and possibly more generations per year.
The larvae feed under the bark of rotting logs of Prunus virginiana, Quercus species and Prunus persica.


The Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer) is one of the eight bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.


This species is native and widespread in the Palearctic north to the Arctic Circle. It is a common species in Europe, North Africa, Cyprus, European Russia, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East,  Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova,  Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Western Asia, Pakistan, Mongolia, temperate China (Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe), Korea and Japan.  The species is adventive and widespread in North America (southeastern Canada to the Great Lakes and Florida), and is still spreading.
The initial introductions of this species in the United States were intended as a controlling agent for the Russian wheat aphid (Hoebeke 2019).


The plant is primarily native to the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. Its range extends on the northeast through Texas and into southwestern Kansas and Oklahoma and northwestern Louisiana, and west to southern California.
It can be part of the Mesquite Bosque plant association community in the Sonoran Desert ecoregion of California and Arizona (U.S.), and Sonora state (México), and in the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico and Texas in the US, and Chihuahua in Mexico.


Prosopis glandulosa has been intentionally introduced into at least a half-dozen countries, including Australia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.  The IUCN considers it as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species outside its native habitat range.
The seeds are disseminated by livestock that graze on the sweet pods, and the shrubs can invade grasslands, with cattlemen regarding mesquites as range weeds to be eradicated. Due to latent buds underground, permanent removal is difficult. Cutting them will only coppice them: A single-trunked tree that is cut down will soon be replaced by a multi-trunked version.


The butterfly occurs in Sri Lanka and peninsular India and the Himalayas from Sikkim to Assam. The range extends onto Myanmar and Yunnan, and, possibly Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Possibly Philippines and Sulawesi. Further east the butterfly occurs in Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon islands. In Australia the butterfly occurs from Northern Australia to New South Wales (Coffs Harbour).


Protea neriifolia is highly adaptable to cultivation under garden conditions, and is among the most widely grown of the protea species. It is also extensively grown commercially for cut flowers, not only in its native South Africa, but also in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and other countries with climatically suitable areas. In addition to selected cultivars, such as 'Green Ice', 'Margaret Watling' and 'Silvertips', the species has been crossed to produce several hybrids, such as 'Carnival' (P. compacta x P. neriifolia), or perhaps 'Pink Mink'.


Prunella vulgaris is a perennial herb native in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, and is common in most temperate climates. It was introduced to many countries in the 1800s and has become invasive in the Pacific Islands, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. In Ireland, it is generally abundant. This herb also grows in Kashmir where it is known as kalyuth. It is boiled in water, which used to wash and bathe in order to relieve muscle pain.


Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of Prunus native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida.
Prunus americana has often been planted outside its native range and sometimes escapes cultivation. It is commonly confused with the Canada plum (Prunus nigra), although the fruit is smaller and rounder and bright red as opposed to yellow. Many cultivated varieties have been derived from this species. It forms an excellent stock upon which to graft the domestic plum.


Chickasaw plum grows 3.7 to 6.1 meters (12 to 20 feet) feet tall and 4.6 to 6.1 m (15 to 20 ft) wide in an irregular shape. It is "twiggy" in nature, and has a scaly, almost black bark. Its branches are reddish with thorn-like, small side branches. In February, March, April and May, small white flowers blossom, 8–10 millimeters (5⁄16–3⁄8 inch) wide, along with red plums, up to 25 mm (1 in) long. The flowers have five white petals with reddish or orange anthers. The plums are cherry-like and tend to be quite tart until they fully ripen. They ripen in late summer. It requires low to medium amounts of water to grow, and dry, sandy or loose soil. It grows best in areas with regular sunlight or areas of partial shade. In sunny areas, it will be more dense and colonize thickly. In areas of partial shade, it will be thinner and less dense, and each plant will be more spread out.
P. angustifolia is very difficult to distinguish from P. umbellata, with which it hybridizes easily.


P. angustifolia is widespread across much of the eastern and central United States from Florida west as far as New Mexico and California, north to Nebraska, Illinois, and New Jersey, with a few isolated populations in northern Michigan. The species grows in dry and sandy soils, such as open woodlands, woodland edges, forest openings, savannahs, prairies, plains, meadows, pastures, and roadsides. It is listed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an endangered species in the state of New Jersey.


In 2020, world production of almonds was 4.1 million tonnes, led by the United States providing 57% of the world total (table). Other leading producers were Spain, Australia, and Iran.


Spain has diverse commercial cultivars of almonds grown in Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Aragón regions, and the Balearic Islands. Production in 2016 declined 2% nationally compared to 2015 production data.
The 'Marcona' almond cultivar is recognizably different from other almonds and is marketed by name. The kernel is short, round, relatively sweet, and delicate in texture. Its origin is unknown and has been grown in Spain for a long time; the tree is very productive, and the shell of the nut is very hard.


Australia is the largest almond production region in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the almond orchards are located along the Murray River corridor in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.


Bitter almonds contain 42 times higher amounts of cyanide than the trace levels found in sweet almonds. Extract of bitter almond was once used medicinally but even in small doses, effects are severe or lethal, especially in children; the cyanide must be removed before consumption. The acute oral lethal dose of cyanide for adult humans is reported to be 0.5–3.5 mg/kg (0.2–1.6 mg/lb) of body weight (approximately 50 bitter almonds), so that for children consuming 5–10 bitter almonds may be fatal. Symptoms of eating such almonds include vertigo and other typical cyanide poisoning effects.
Almonds may cause allergy or intolerance. Cross-reactivity is common with peach allergens (lipid transfer proteins) and tree nut allergens. Symptoms range from local signs and symptoms (e.g., oral allergy syndrome, contact urticaria) to systemic signs and symptoms including anaphylaxis (e.g., urticaria, angioedema, gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms).
Almonds are susceptible to aflatoxin-producing molds. Aflatoxins are potent carcinogenic chemicals produced by molds such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. The mold contamination may occur from soil, previously infested almonds, and almond pests such as navel-orange worm. High levels of mold growth typically appear as gray to black filament like growth. It is unsafe to eat mold-infected tree nuts.
Some countries have strict limits on allowable levels of aflatoxin contamination of almonds and require adequate testing before the nuts can be marketed to their citizens. The European Union, for example, introduced a requirement since 2007 that all almond shipments to EU be tested for aflatoxin. If aflatoxin does not meet the strict safety regulations, the entire consignment may be reprocessed to eliminate the aflatoxin or it must be destroyed.
Breeding programs have found the high shell-seal trait. High shell-seal provides resistance against these Aspergillus species and so against the developlment of their toxins.


The almond is highly revered in some cultures. The tree originated in the Middle East. In the Bible the almond is mentioned ten times, beginning with Genesis 43:11, where it is described as "among the best of fruits". In Numbers 17 Levi is chosen from the other tribes of Israel by Aaron's rod, which brought forth almond flowers. The almond blossom supplied a model for the menorah which stood in the Holy Temple, "Three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, were on one branch, with a knob and a flower; and three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, were on the other...on the candlestick itself were four cups, shaped like almond blossoms, with its knobs and flowers"  (Exodus 25:33–34; 37:19–20). Many Sephardic Jews give five almonds to each guest before special occasions like weddings.
Similarly, Christian symbolism often uses almond branches as a symbol of the virgin birth of Jesus; paintings and icons often include almond-shaped haloes encircling the Christ Child and as a symbol of Mary. The word "Luz", which appears in Genesis 30:37, sometimes translated as "hazel", may actually be derived from the Aramaic name for almond (Luz), and is translated as such in the New International Version and other versions of the Bible. The Arabic name for almond is لوز "lauz" or "lūz". In some parts of the Levant and North Africa it is pronounced "loz", which is very close to its Aramaic origin.
The Entrance of the flower (La entrada de la flor) is an event celebrated on 1 February in Torrent, Spain, in which the clavarios and members of the Confrerie of the Mother of God deliver a branch of the first-blooming almond-tree to the Virgin.


Middens from rodent activities such as those of the pack rat are a rich source of plant macrofossils from late Pleistocene habitats. At Point of Rocks in Nevada by 11,700 BP, desert shrubs such as desert almond had replaced Juniper and Joshua trees, indicating the onset of the modern desert. Somewhat earlier, 17,000–14,000 BP, desert almond flourished in a mixed desert and woodland ecology on the Colorado Plateau.


The species is native to the deserts of Arizona, California, Baja California, Nevada, and Utah. It prefers sandy or rocky soil on dry slopes and washes, usually below 7,000 feet (2,100 m) elevation.


Prunus laurocerasus, also known as cherry laurel, common laurel and sometimes English laurel in North America, is an evergreen species of cherry (Prunus), native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, from Albania and Bulgaria east through Turkey to the Caucasus Mountains and northern Iran.
The common names of P. laurocerasus refer to the similarity of foliage and appearance to bay laurel (Laurus nobilis, the true laurel, in the family Lauraceae), and like the bay laurel, Prunus laurocerasus was used for making laurel wreaths, but the two plants are not closely related. It is not to be confused with its American relative Prunus caroliniana, which is also called cherry laurel.


The species is found in woods and in shrubbery places as an escape in Northern Ireland and commonly planted in parks and gardens.
The species that are mainly found in Turkey's Eastern Black Sea Region (mainly Trabzon and Giresun) are categorized as endemic plants.


Although its botanical name Prunus persica refers to Persia, genetic studies suggest peaches originated in China, where they have been cultivated since the Neolithic period. Until recently, cultivation was believed to have started around 2000 BC. More recent evidence indicates that domestication occurred as early as 6000 BC in Zhejiang Province of China. The oldest archaeological peach stones are from the Kuahuqiao site near Hangzhou. Archaeologists point to the Yangtze River Valley as the place where the early selection for favorable peach varieties probably took place. Peaches were mentioned in Chinese writings and literature beginning from the early first millennium BC.
A domesticated peach appeared very early in Japan, in 4700–4400 BC, during the Jōmon period. It was already similar to modern cultivated forms, where the peach stones are significantly larger and more compressed than earlier stones. This domesticated type of peach was brought into Japan from China. Nevertheless, in China itself, this variety is currently attested only at a later date around 3300 to 2300 BC.
In India, the peach first appeared by about 1700 BC, during the Harappan period.
It is also found elsewhere in Western Asia in ancient times. Peach cultivation reached Greece by 300 BC. Alexander the Great is sometimes said to have introduced them into Greece after conquering Persia, but no historical evidence for this claim has been found. Peaches were, however, well known to the Romans in the first century AD; the oldest known artistic representations of the fruit are in two fragments of wall paintings, dated to the first century AD, in Herculaneum, preserved due to the Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD, and now held in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Archaeological finds show that peaches were cultivated widely in Roman northwestern Continental Europe, but production collapsed around the sixth century; some revival of production followed with the Carolingian Renaissance of the ninth century.
An article on peach tree cultivation in Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture. The peach was brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, and eventually made it to England and France in the 17th century, where it was a prized and expensive treat. Horticulturist George Minifie supposedly brought the first peaches from England to its North American colonies in the early 17th century, planting them at his estate of Buckland in Virginia. Although Thomas Jefferson had peach trees at Monticello, American farmers did not begin commercial production until the 19th century in Maryland, Delaware, Georgia, South Carolina, and finally Virginia.
The Shanghai honey nectar peach was a key component of both the food culture and agrarian economy the area where the modern megacity of Shanghai stands. Peaches were the cornerstone of early Shanghai's garden culture. As modernization and westernization swept through the city the Shanghai honey nectar peach nearly disappeared completely. Much of modern Shanghai is built over these gardens and peach orchards.
In April 2010, an international consortium, the International Peach Genome Initiative, which include researchers from the United States, Italy, Chile, Spain, and France, announced they had sequenced the peach tree genome (doubled haploid Lovell). Recently, it published the peach genome sequence and related analyses. The sequence is composed of 227 million nucleotides arranged in eight pseudomolecules representing the eight peach chromosomes (2n = 16). In addition, 27,852 protein-coding genes and 28,689 protein-coding transcripts were predicted.
Particular emphasis in this study is reserved for the analysis of the genetic diversity in peach germplasm and how it was shaped by human activities such as domestication and breeding. Major historical bottlenecks were found, one related to the putative original domestication that is supposed to have taken place in China about 4,000–5,000 years ago, the second is related to the western germplasm and is due to the early dissemination of the peach in Europe from China and the more recent breeding activities in the United States and Europe. These bottlenecks highlighted the substantial reduction of genetic diversity associated with domestication and breeding activities.


Peaches grow in a fairly limited range in dry, continental or temperate climates, since the trees have a chilling requirement that tropical or subtropical areas generally do not satisfy except at high altitudes (for example in certain areas of Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, and Nepal). Most cultivars require 500 hours of chilling around 0 to 10 °C (32 to 50 °F). During the chilling period, key chemical reactions occur, but the plant appears dormant. Once the chilling period is fulfilled, the plant enters a second type of dormancy, the quiescence period. During quiescence, buds break and grow when sufficient warm weather favorable to growth is accumulated.
The trees themselves can usually tolerate temperatures to around −26 to −30 °C (−15 to −22 °F), although the following season's flower buds are usually killed at these temperatures, preventing a crop that summer. Flower bud death begins to occur between −15 and −25 °C (5 and −13 °F), depending on the cultivar and on the timing of the cold, with the buds becoming less cold tolerant in late winter.
Another climate constraint is spring frost. The trees flower fairly early (in March in Western Europe), and the blossom is damaged or killed if temperatures drop below about −4 °C (25 °F). If the flowers are not fully open, though, they can tolerate a few degrees colder.
Climates with significant winter rainfall at temperatures below 16 °C (61 °F) are also unsuitable for peach cultivation, as the rain promotes peach leaf curl, which is the most serious fungal disease for peaches. In practice, fungicides are extensively used for peach cultivation in such climates, with more than 1% of European peaches exceeding legal pesticide limits in 2013.
Finally, summer heat is required to mature the crop, with mean temperatures of the hottest month between 20 and 30 °C (68 and 86 °F).
Typical peach cultivars begin bearing fruit in their third year. Their lifespan in the U.S. varies by region; the University of California at Davis gives a lifespan of about 15 years while the University of Maine gives a lifespan of 7 years there.


Peacherines are claimed to be a cross between a peach and a nectarine, but as they are the same species cannot be a true cross (hybrid); they are marketed in Australia and New Zealand. The fruit is intermediate in appearance, though, between a peach and a nectarine, large and brightly colored like a red peach. The flesh of the fruit is usually yellow, but white varieties also exist. The Koanga Institute lists varieties that ripen in the Southern Hemisphere in February and March.
In 1909, Pacific Monthly mentioned peacherines in a news bulletin for California. Louise Pound, in 1920, claimed the term peacherine is an example of language stunt.


Peach blossoms are highly prized in Chinese culture. The ancient Chinese believed the peach to possess more vitality than any other tree because their blossoms appear before leaves sprout. When early rulers of China visited their territories, they were preceded by sorcerers armed with peach rods to protect them from spectral evils. On New Year's Eve, local magistrates would cut peach wood branches and place them over their doors to protect against evil influences. Peach wood was also used for the earliest known door gods during the Han. Another author writes:
The Chinese also considered peach wood (t'ao-fu) protective against evil spirits, who held the peach in awe. In ancient China, peach-wood bows were used to shoot arrows in every direction in an effort to dispel evil. Peach-wood slips or carved pits served as amulets to protect a person's life, safety, and health.
Peachwood seals or figurines guarded gates and doors, and, as one Han account recites, "the buildings in the capital are made tranquil and pure; everywhere a good state of affairs prevails". Writes the author, further:
Another aid in fighting evil spirits were peach-wood wands. The Li-chi (Han period) reported that the emperor went to the funeral of a minister escorted by a sorcerer carrying a peachwood wand to keep bad influences away. Since that time, peachwood wands have remained an important means of exorcism in China.
 Peach kernels (桃仁 táo rén) are a common ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine to dispel blood stasis, counter inflammation, and reduce allergies.
In an orchard of flowering peach trees, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei took an oath of brotherhood in the opening chapter of the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Another peach orchard, in "The Peach Blossom Spring" by poet Tao Yuanming, is the setting of the favourite Chinese fable and a metaphor for utopias. A peach tree growing on a precipice was where the Taoist master Zhang Daoling tested his disciples.
The Old Man of the South Pole, one of the deities of the Chinese folk religion fulu shou, is sometimes seen holding a large peach, representing long life and health.
The term "bitten peach", first used by Legalist philosopher Han Fei in his work Han Feizi, became a byword for homosexuality. The book records the incident when courtier Mizi Xia bit into an especially delicious peach and gave the remainder to his lover, Duke Ling of Wei, as a gift so that he could taste it, as well.


Macaria abydata, commonly known as the dot-lined angle, is a moth of the  family Geometridae. It is native from northern Argentina to the Caribbean and southern United States (southern states from Arizona to Florida, regularly wandering north to Colorado, Kentucky and other more northern states). It has been introduced to the Pacific and has spread rapidly since. The first introduction occurred  in Hawaii in 1970 (recorded from all the main islands in 1984). Further spread occurred as follows:
1975: Yap, central Micronesia
1976: Bonin Islands (Chichi-jima, Haha-jima)
1977: Saipan, central Micronesia (1985)
1980: Okinawa Island
1983: Taiwan
1985: Guam, central Micronesia (1985) Sulawesi (1986)
1986: Tonga (1985), Fiji (1985), Miyako Islands (Miyako-jima), Luzon, the Philippines (1985)
1987: New Caledonia (1985), Sabah, Malaysia
1988: western Samoa (1985)
1992: Hong Kong
The wingspan is 22–27 mm (0.87–1.06 in).
The phrase "dot-lined" comes from the evidence of small dots along the postmedial and sometimes median line of both forewing and hindwing(anterior of the marginal band).
Recorded host plants for larvae in its natural range are Vachellia farnesiana, Cassia, Sesbania, Parkinsonia aculeata and Glycine max. Larvae have been observed on Acacia koa and introduced Lysiloma latisiliquum and Litchi chinensis in Hawaii. In the Indo-Australian tropics it has been reared from Leucaena and Mimosa diplotricha.


The common mock viper is known from Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, China (Fujian, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan), Hong Kong, NE India (Assam, Sikkim, Darjelling;Jalpaiguri; Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, Indonesia (Bali, Bangka, Borneo, Butung, Enggano, Flores, Java, Kalimantan, Komodo, Lombok, Mentawai Archipelago, Natuna Archipelago, Padar, Riau Archipelago, Rinca, Sangihe Archipelago, Sulawesi, Sula Archipelago, Sumatra, Sumba, Sumbawa, Togian Archipelago), Laos,  Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia, Pulau Tioman), Nepal, the Philippines  (Balabac, Basilan, Bohol, Bongao, Busuanga, Dinagat, Jolo, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Samar), Taiwan, Thailand (incl. Phuket), and Vietnam. It has not been recorded in Singapore.
Subspecies Psammodynastes pulverulentus papenfussi is endemic to Taiwan.


The crested oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus), also known as the Suriname crested oropendola or the cornbird, is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in lowland South America east of the Andes, from Panama and Colombia south to northern Argentina, as well as on Trinidad and Tobago. If the genus Gymnostinax for the Montezuma oropendola and its closest relatives were considered valid, this species would probably belong in that genus (Price & Lanyon 2002).
It is a common bird, seen alone or in small flocks foraging in trees for large insects, fruit, seeds and some nectar. The male is 46 cm long and weighs 300 g; the smaller female is 37 cm long and weighs 180 g.
The plumage of the crested oropendola has a musty smell due to the oil from the preen gland.


The Montezuma Oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southeastern Mexico to central Panama, but is absent from El Salvador and southern Guatemala. It also occurs on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua and Honduras and northwestern and southwestern Costa Rica. It is among the oropendola species sometimes separated in the genus Gymnostinops. The English and scientific names of this species commemorate the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.
The sexes are very different in size; the male is 50 cm (20 in) long and weighs 520 g (18 oz); the smaller female is 38 cm (15 in) long and weighs 230 g (8.1 oz). In total body mass, the males are 100% bigger than the females, which is a 2:1 body-to-mass ratio and makes the Montezuma oropendola one of the most sexually-dimorphic birds in the world. Webster et al. says that the size difference in males and females is probably directly related to differences in foraging habits. The females often forage on thin branches, eating insects out of curled up leaves, while the males often perch on thick branches and forage in epiphytes and bromeliads.
Webster et al. also found that sexual dimorphism was more obvious in length of the wing and body mass. Male size and body mass is associated with sexual fitness and dominance. Webster et al. observed that males defend sexually-receptive females, suggesting that Montezuma oropendolas have a female-defence mating system. While the females nest, the males fight and fend off one another, and the males were ranked depending on the outcome of each fight. The alpha male eventually pushes out all other males until he is the only one left. When the alpha males leave the others come back and defend females until he returns. This type of mating system is similar to that of polygynous mammals, not birds.
Adult males are mainly chestnut with a blackish head and rump, and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a bare blue cheek patch and a pink wattle, the iris is brown, and the long bill is black at the base with a red tip. Females are similar, but smaller than males with a smaller wattle. Young birds are duller than adults and have a paler and less demarcated bill. No subspecies are currently recognized.
The "unforgettable" song of the male Montezuma oropendola is given during the bowing display, and consists of a conversational bubbling followed by loud gurgles, tic-tic-glik-glak-GLUUuuuuu. Both sexes have loud cack and crrrk calls. In a recent study by on male Montezuma oropendolas, researchers found that, when at breeding sites, males often changed the lowest peak frequency. When males were singing and their song overlapped, the largest male could out-compete the other males at the colony by changing how loud and how deep his lowest peak frequency was.
Although the chestnut-headed oropendola shares much of this species's range, it is smaller, mainly black with a chestnut head (instead of mainly chestnut with a blackish head), and lacks coloured facial patches, so the two oropendolas are unlikely to be confused.
The Montezuma oropendola is a quite common bird in parts of its range. They are omnivorous and are often seen in small or larger flocks foraging in trees for small vertebrates, large insects, nectar, and fruit, including bananas, Cecropia spikes, gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) and Trophis racemosa (Moraceae). Outside the breeding season, this species is quite mobile, with some seasonal movements.
The Montezuma oropendola inhabits forest canopy, edges and old plantations. It is a colonial breeder and only the females build hanging woven nest of fibres and vines, 60–180 cm (24–71 in) long, in a tree that is up to 30 meters high. Each colony has a dominant male, which mates with most of the females following an elaborate bowing display. The female lays two dark-spotted white or buff eggs, and she incubates them without the male until they hatch in 15 days; the young fledge in 30. While the young are still in their nests they are most often fed spiders and other arthropods, frogs, lizards, and fruits. There are typically about 30 nests in a colony, but up to 172 have been recorded.
Unlike some populations of its relative, the chestnut-headed oropendola, the Montezuma oropendola does not tolerate brood parasites near their nests. Although Montezuma oropendolas do not have many defenses against Cowbirds, when females see a Giant Cowbird near their own nest they actively defend their nest by attacking the Cowbirds and forcing them to leave their colony. Webster et al. found that the females did not drive the cowbirds away until they were approaching their own nests. This study also found that unlike chestnut-headed oropendolas, the Montezuma oropendolas did not nest near social Hymenoptera. Combined with the fact that Montezuma oropendolas do not allow Cowbirds near their nest, they have no defense against botflies. Nest success is fairly low for the Montezuma Oropendola. The females lay an average of two eggs per nest, but only one is fledged and only one third of the nests in the colonies are successful. Because of their relatively low nest success rate, brood parasites are too high a risk to have around the Montezuma oropendolas nest.


The spring peeper has no special status in most areas. They are common and widespread frogs in the eastern regions. However, their habitats are quickly changing due to loss of wetlands. In some areas, their populations have decreased significantly.
The species is listed as threatened in both Iowa and Kansas.


P. cana was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Its original binomial name was Coluber cana. Since then, it has also been called Coronella cana by André Marie Constant Duméril, Gabriel Bibron and Auguste Duméril in 1854, before being reclassified as Pseudaspis cana by Edward Drinker Cope in 1864. P. cana is the only species in genus Pseudaspis. The genus has been placed in the family Lamprophiidae. More recently it has been placed in the family Pseudaspididae, along with the genera Buhoma and Pythonodipsas, although a 2019 study concluded that the status of Pseudaspididae "deserves to be viewed with caution", and Buhoma may not belong in the family.


The red-bellied black snake is native to the east coast of Australia, where it is one of the most commonly encountered snakes. It can be found in the urban forest, woodland, plains, and bushland areas of the Blue Mountains, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, and Adelaide. The Macquarie Marshes mark a western border to its distribution in New South Wales, and Gladstone in central Queensland marks the northern limit to the main population. To the south, it occurs across eastern and central Victoria, and extends along the Murray River into South Australia. Disjunct populations occur in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia and in North Queensland.
The red-bellied black snake is most commonly seen close to dams, streams, billabongs, and other bodies of water, although they can venture up to 100 m (350 ft) away,
including into nearby backyards. In particular, the red-bellied black snake prefers areas of shallow water with tangles of water plants, logs, or debris.