Lantana camara (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduced into a habitat it spreads rapidly; between 45ºN and 45ºS and more than 1400 (m) in altitude.It has spread from its native range to around 50 countries, where it has become an invasive species. It first spread out of the Americas when it was brought to Europe by Dutch explorers and cultivated widely, soon spreading further into Asia and Oceania where it has established itself as a notorious weed, and in Goa it was introduced by the Portuguese."L. camara" can outcompete native species, leading to a reduction in biodiversity. It can also cause problems if it invades agricultural areas as a result of its toxicity to livestock, as well as its ability to form dense thickets which, if left unchecked, can greatly reduce the productivity of farmland.


Habrosyne scripta, the lettered habrosyne or scribe, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It was first described by Philip Henry Gosse in 1840. It is found in southern Canada and the northern United States, from Labrador to Vancouver Island, south in the Appalachians, Ozarks and Rocky Mountains to North Carolina and Mississippi and south in the west to Arizona.The wingspan is 30–39 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August. There are two generations per year.The larvae feed on the leaves of "Rubus" species (including black raspberry and purple-flowering raspberry).


Boerhavia coccinea is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is known by many common names, including scarlet spiderling, red boerhavia, and in Spanish, hierba del cancer and hierba de la hormiga.This is a widespread plant, whose native range is not certain, but probably includes the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. It is present across the southeastern United States, where it may be naturalized. It is also present in Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America. It is present on many Pacific islands, including the Hawaiian Islands, where it is an invasive species and a noxious weed.This plant grows in a wide variety of habitats, including disturbed areas as a common roadside weed. It is a low-lying, sprawling perennial herb producing reaching stems which can exceed a meter in length. The stems are somewhat hairy and sticky with glands. The generally oval-shaped leaves are held on short petioles. They are wavy along the edges and may have reddish margins. The inflorescence is a small head of tiny frilly flowers, each just a few millimeters long. The flowers are often bright scarlet to red-violet in color but can be shades of pink, yellow, or white.


Okenia rosacea common name Hopkin's Rose nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, specifically a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae.


Aporia crataegi, the black-veined white, is a large butterfly of the family Pieridae.A. crataegi is widespread and common. Its range extends from northwest Africa in the west to Transcaucasia and across the Palearctic to Siberia and Japan in the east. In the south, it is found in Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. It is not present in the British Isles and northern Scandinavia.


Clepsis peritana, the garden tortrix or strawberry garden tortrix, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in Spain, Cuba, as well as North America, where it has been recorded from southern Canada throughout the United States.The wingspan is 10–15 mm for males and 12–15 mm for females. The forewings are tan to brown. Males have a brown to dark-brown median fascia and a dark-brown costal spot. Females have similar markings but the median fascia and costal spot are less distinct. Adults have been recorded on wing from March to September, in several generations per year.The larvae feed on "Chrysanthemum", "Cynara cardunculus", "Senecio jacobaea", "Stachys", "Fragaria", "Citrus", "Scrophularia californica" and "Solanum torvum". They live in silk tubes on the leaf surface. They feed on dead or decaying leaf litter, but will occasionally feed in the buds or fruits of living plants. Full-grown larvae reach a length of 13–14 mm. They have a light green abdomen, but the body colour can vary depending on the host plant. The head is yellowish brown.


The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United States, particularly in Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, the Big Island of Hawaii, as well as in many other parts of North America, including southern Canada. Feral Muscovy ducks are found in New Zealand, Australia, and in parts of Europe.It is a large duck, with the males about 76 (cm) long, and weighing up to 7 (kg). Females are noticeably smaller, and only grow to 3 (kg), roughly half the males' size. The bird is predominantly black and white, with the back feathers being iridescent and glossy in males, while the females are more drab. The amount of white on the neck and head is variable, as well as the bill, which can be yellow, pink, black, or any mixture of these colors. It may have white patches or bars on the wings, which become more noticeable during flight. Both sexes have pink or red wattles around the bill, those of the male being larger and more brightly colored.Although the Muscovy duck is a tropical bird, it adapts well to cooler climates, thriving in weather as cold as −12 (C) and able to survive even colder conditions. In general, Barbary duck is the term used for "C. moschata" in a culinary context.The domestic subspecies, "Cairina moschata domestica", is commonly known in Spanish as the "pato criollo". They have been bred since pre-Columbian times by Native Americans and are heavier and less able to fly long distances than the wild subspecies. Their plumage color is also more variable. Other names for the domestic breed in Spanish are "pato casero" ("backyard duck") and "pato mudo" ("mute duck").


The cocoi heron (Ardea cocoi) is a species of long-legged wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae found across South America. It has predominantly pale grey plumage with a darker grey crest. A carnivore, it hunts fish and crustaceans in shallow water.


Pluteus cervinus, also known as Pluteus atricapillus and commonly known as the deer shield or the deer or fawn mushroom, is a mushroom that belongs to the large genus "Pluteus". It is found on rotten logs, roots and tree stumps and is widely distributed. It can also grow on sawdust and other wood waste. Being very variable in appearance, it has been divided into several varieties or subspecies, some of which are sometimes considered species in their own right. It is edible when young, but considered by some to be of poor quality and is not often collected for the table.


Nemastylis geminiflora is a perennial herb also known as the prairie celestial and prairie pleatleaf. It is common on the black soil prairies in Texas, and can also be found as far north as Missouri and as far east as Alabama. It has an inflorescence on stems 8-11 centimeters long, arising from a subterranean stem and bulb that is 2–3 cm in diameter.


Erynnis funeralis, the funereal duskywing, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, south to Argentina and Chile. Strays can be found north up to northern Illinois, north-eastern Nebraska, central Colorado, southern Nevada and central California.The wingspan is 34–45 mm. They are very similar to the mournful duskywing, but can be distinguished by narrower fore wing with a light brown patch along outer edge. Their wings are black and brown with a white fringe on the hind wings. Adults are seen from February to October. The larva have a black head and a green body with yellow hairs and yellow markings. Its host plant is often "Medicago sativa." Larva feed on various plants, including "Robinia neomexicana", "Medicago hispida", "Lotus scoparius", "Olneya tesota," "Vicia," and "Acmispon". Adults feed on flower nectar.


The yellow-footed gull (Larus livens) is a large gull, closely related to the western gull and thought to be a subspecies until the 1960s. It is endemic to the Gulf of California.


The buff-bellied hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.


The loggerhead shrike ("Lanius ludovicianus") is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike ("L. borealis") occurs north of its range, however it is also found in Siberia. It is nicknamed the butcherbird after its carnivorous tendencies, as it consumes prey such as amphibians, insects, lizards, small mammals and small birds, and some prey end up displayed and stored at a site, for example in a tree. Due to its small size and weak talons, this predatory bird relies on impaling its prey upon thorns or barbed wire for facilitated consumption. The numbers of loggerhead shrike have significantly decreased in recent years, especially in Midwestern, New England and Mid-Atlantic areas.


The parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus), also known as the Arctic skua, Arctic jaeger or parasitic skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species that breeds in Northern Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia and winters across the southern hemisphere. Kleptoparasitism is a major source of food for this species during migration and winter, and is where the name is derived from.


Hibiscus laevis (syn. "Hibiscus militaris"), the halberd-leaf rosemallow, is a herbaceous perennial flower native to central and eastern North America. Their showy, creamy-white or pink flowers are large, up to 6 (in) across, and are hard to miss. These flowers require exposure to sunlight to open up properly, and then last only a single day.The unbranched stems of this plant are round and hairless, frequently growing to 6 (ft) tall and sometimes taller. The root system includes a taproot.The hairless leaves are alternate, 3 to 6 (in) long, divided into 3–5 pointed lobes (cleft) and have serrate or crenate edges. They are simple and pointed at the tip. The leaves with three lobes resemble a medieval halberd because the middle lobe is much larger than the two side lobes. The five-lobed leaves also look like halberds or daggers.Flowers are solitary or occur in small clusters at the tops of the upper stems. They are fairly large, about 5 (in) across when fully open. They are mostly white or light pink, but the inside throat of the flower is often maroon or a rich purplish pink color. Each flower has five petals with five hairless green sepals below. There are numerous stamens, all attached to a central column. The pistils have superior ovaries and five stigmas protruding from the central column in the flower. The fruit is an ovoid capsule containing many seeds.The blooming period can occur from mid-summer to early fall (June to September) and lasts about a month. Each flower lasts only a single day. This plant spreads by reseeding itself. The stalks die down in the winter and grow back in the spring.This plant prefers full or partial sun and moist conditions. It can grow in sand or clay with sufficient moisture, and can tolerate poor drainage. They are frequently found along streams, ponds and lakes and in marshy areas, roadside ditches, and sometimes in shallow standing water.The seeds of this plant are eaten by waterfowl and bobwhite quail.


The Oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds.The oriental magpie-robin is considered the national bird of Bangladesh.


Calyptocarpus vialis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names for "C. vialis" include straggler daisy, horseherb, lawnflower, and creeping Cinderella-weed. It is native to south Texas, Mexico, Belize, Venezuela, and the Caribbean. It has also been introduced east of Texas, Argentina, Hawaii, India, Java, Australia, and Taiwan. It is one of only three species in the genus "Calyptocarpus".The opposite leaves are typically 1–3 (cm) long and triangular to lanceolate in shape. It bears heads of yellow flowers, with around 10–20 disc florets and 3–8 ray florets, the laminae of the latter around 2–5 (mm) long. It flowers year round. It is a weedy species, found in lawns and along other disturbed areas such as roadsides and paths.


Nelumbo lutea is a species of flowering plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America. The botanical name "Nelumbo lutea" Willd. is the currently recognized name for this species, which has been classified under the former names "Nelumbium luteum" and "Nelumbo pentapetala", among others.


Acer macrophyllum, the bigleaf maple or Oregon maple, is a large deciduous tree in the genus "Acer".It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California. Some stands are also found inland in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California, and a tiny population occurs in central Idaho.


Bullock's oriole ("Icterus bullockii") is a small New World blackbird. At one time, this species and the Baltimore oriole were considered to be a single species, the northern oriole. This bird is named after William Bullock, an English amateur naturalist.


Thasus gigas is a species of leaf-footed bug in the family Coreidae. It is found in Central America and North America.


Masticophis flagellum is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake, commonly referred to as the coachwhip or the whip snake, which is endemic to the United States and Mexico. Six subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.


Ambigolimax valentianus (also known as Lehmannia valentiana) is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae.


The black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) is a locally abundant shorebird of American wetlands and coastlines. It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean to Brazil, Peru and the Galápagos Islands, with an isolated population, the Hawaiian stilt, in Hawaii. The northernmost populations, particularly those from inland, are migratory, wintering from the extreme south of the United States to southern Mexico, rarely as far south as Costa Rica; on the Baja California peninsula it is only found regularly in winter. Some authorities, including the IUCN, treat it as a subspecies of "Himantopus himantopus".


Viola canadensis is a flowering plant in the Violaceae family. It is commonly known as Canadian white violet, Canada violet, tall white violet, or white violet. It is widespread across much of Canada and the United States, from Alaska to Newfoundland, south as far as Georgia and Arizona. It is a perennial herb and the Latin specific epithet "canadensis" means of Canada."Viola canadensis" bears white blooms with yellow bases and sometimes streaks of purple. The petals are purple tinged on the backside. The leaves are heart-shaped, with coarse, rounded teeth.Subspecies and varieties"Viola canadensis" var. "canadensis" "Viola canadensis" subsp. "canadensis" "Viola canadensis" var. "rugulosa" "Viola canadensis" subsp. "scopulorum"


The diamondback moth ("Plutella xylostella"), sometimes called the cabbage moth, is a moth species of the family Plutellidae and genus "Plutella". The small, grayish-brown moth sometimes has a cream-colored band that forms a diamond along its back. The species may have originated in Europe, South Africa, or the Mediterranean region, but it has now spread worldwide.The moth has a short life cycle (14 days at 25 °C), is highly fecund, and is capable of migrating long distances. Diamondback moths are considered pests as they feed on the leaves of cruciferous crops and plants that produce glucosinolates. However, not all of these plants are equally useful as hosts to the moth. Because of this, studies have suggested using wintercress as a trap crop around agricultural fields because diamondback moths are highly attracted to that plant but their larvae fail to survive when eggs are laid on it.Originally, pesticides were used to kill the moths but diamondbacks have developed resistance to many of the common chemicals. For this reason, new biological and chemical controls, as well as different planting methods are being pursued to reduce the destruction caused by the moths.


The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose ("Chenonetta jubata") is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta. Traditionally placed in the subfamily Anatinae (dabbling ducks), it might belong to the subfamily Tadorninae (shelducks); the ringed teal may be its closest living relative.


Audubon's oriole ("Icterus graduacauda"), formerly known as the black-headed oriole, is a New World passerine inhabiting the forests and thickets of southeastern Texas and the Mexican coast. It is the only species to have a black hood and yellow body. It is divided into four subspecies and two allopatric breeding ranges. The westernmost range extends from Nayarit south to southern Oaxaca, whereas the eastern range stretches from the lower Rio Grande valley to northern Querétaro. The most common in the western range are the subspecies "I. g. dickeyae" and "I. g. nayaritensis"; "I. g. graduacauda" and "I. g. audubonii" can be found in the eastern range. Like most Central American birds, it is not a migratory species and does not display significant sexual dimorphism. DNA analysis of the ND2 and cyt-b genes strongly suggests that "I. graduacauda" is most closely related to "I. chrysater", the yellow-backed oriole. It is a member of the genus "Icterus" and therefore should not be confused with the Old World orioles.


The Great Plains skink "(Plestiodon obsoletus)" is a species of lizard endemic to North America.


The Rio Grande cooter ("Pseudemys gorzugi)" is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to northeastern Mexico and the adjacent southwestern United States.


The black saddlebags ("Tramea lacerata") is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout North America. It has distinctive wings with characteristic black blotches at their proximal ends, which make the dragonfly look as though it is wearing saddlebags.The black saddlebags is a relatively large dragonfly at about 5 centimeters in length. The body is thin and black, and the female may have lighter spotting or mottling dorsally. The head is much wider than the rest of the body and is dark brown in color.The insect can be found at bodies of stagnant water, such as ponds and ditches.


Pontania californica, generally known as the willow apple gall sawfly, is a species of common sawfly in the family Tenthredinidae.


Bidens cernua is a plant species in the sunflower family, widespread across much of Eurasia and North America. It is commonly called nodding beggarticks or nodding bur-marigold,"Bidens cernua" sometimes grows as high as 400 cm (160 inches) tall in favorable conditions. The leaves are sessile with coarsely-toothed margins. The name "cernua" means "nodding", or "hanging". This refers to the fact that the flower heads are sometimes oriented horizontally or downwards. The plant does best in wet habitats such as swamps, marshes, and flood plains.The seeds can be eaten by ducks.


Micrathena gracilis is a spider in the family Araneidae (orb-weavers), commonly known as the spined micrathena or castleback orbweaver. This spider spins a moderately large (can be about 20 cm long in diameter) and very tightly coiled web. The spiders themselves are small and can be found to be anywhere from 4.2 mm to 10.8 mm long. Its venom is not medically significant to humans, making it completely harmless. "M. gracilis" is unique in appearance due to its large spiky abdomen and black and white bodies. Certain spiders of this species can also display a yellow color on the sides of their bodies. These spiders can be seen most active during the end of the summer and beginning of fall. "M. gracilis" is diurnal and are rarely ever seen active at night.


Agrochola bicolorago, the bicolored sallow or shield-backed cutworm, is a moth in the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found in the eastern half of the United States (except southern Florida) and Canada.The wingspan is 28–38 mm. Adults are on wing from August to December in the south and from September to November in the north.The larvae feed on cabbage, cherry, crabapple, dock, elm, grass, maple, peach, plum, oak, tobacco and willow.


Dasymutilla occidentalis (red velvet ant, eastern velvet ant, cow ant or cow killer), is a species of parasitoid wasp native to the eastern United States. It is commonly mistaken for a member of the true ant family, as the female is wingless. The species ranges from Connecticut to Kansas in the north and Florida to Texas in the south.The eastern velvet ant is the largest of the velvet ant species in the eastern United States, attaining an approximate length of 0.75 in (1.9 cm). Adults display aposematic coloration, consisting of black overall coloring with an orange-red pattern on the dorsal surface of the thorax and abdomen. They are covered in dense, velvet-like hair.


Holbrookia propinqua (keeled earless lizard) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard.


Prunus ilicifolia (Common names: hollyleaf cherry, evergreen cherry; islay - Salinan Native American) is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California (from Mendocino County to San Diego County), Baja California, and Baja California Sur. as well as the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert."Prunus ilicifolia" is an evergreen shrub to tree, producing edible cherries, with shiny and spiny toothed leaves similar in appearance to those of holly. This resemblance is the source of both the common name "holly-leaved cherry" and the scientific epithet "ilicifolia" ("Ilex"-leaved). It grows 8 to 30 (ft) tall, with thick, alternate leaves 1 to 2 (in) in length. It has small white flowers growing in clusters, similar in appearance to most members of the rose family, Rosaceae, flowering from March to May. The flowers are terminal on small stalks, with the youngest at the cluster center. The purple to black fruit is sweet, with a very thin pulp around a large single stone (drupe).The plant is prized for cultivation, showy and easily grown from seed, and has been cultivated for centuries as a food source, and tolerates twice yearly pruning when often used as a hedge. The plant likes full sun, loose open soil (porous), and tolerates drought conditions well, but needs regular watering when young.Despite its name, it is not a true cherry ("P." subg. "Cerasus") species. It is traditionally included in "P." subg. "Laurocerasus", but molecular research indicates it is nested with species of "P." subg. "Padus". "Ilicifolia" or “ilex foliage,” means “holly-like leaves” in Latin


Myrica californica (California bayberry, California wax myrtle or Pacific wax myrtle; syn. "Gale californica" (Cham. & Schltdl.) Greene, "Morella californica" (Cham. & Schltdl.) Wilbur) is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Pacific Ocean coast of North America from Vancouver Island south to California as far south as the Long Beach area.It grows to 2–10 m tall, and has serrated, sticky green leaves 4–13 cm long and 0.7–3 cm broad, which emit a spicy scent on warm days. The flower's inflorescence is arranged in a spike 0.6–3 cm long, in range of colors from green to red. The fruit is a wrinkled purple berry 4–6.5 mm diameter, with a waxy coating, hence the common name wax myrtle. This species has root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, allowing it to grow in relatively poor soils.


Lycaena hyllus, the bronze copper, is a butterfly of the lycaenids family found in North America.


Teloschistes chrysophthalmus, often referred to as the gold-eye lichen or golden-eye, is a fruticose lichen with branching lobes. Their sexual structures, apothecia, are bright-orange with spiny projections (cilia) situated around the rim. It has a global distribution, but is often localized and rare in many parts of its range. Colonies most often form along coastal areas.It is a twig species, meaning that it grows on twigs. It is rarely abundant. Several sites were discovered along the coast of England during 2012 and 2013, where the hosts include hawthorn and apple trees. In America it is known to grow on California live oak, dwarf coyote brush, "Peritoma arborea", and magnolias.This species has been studied for anti-viral secondary metabolites and was found to contain parietin which exhibits virucidal effects against certain arenaviruses (Arenaviridae).


Strophostyles helvola, commonly called amberique-bean, annual sand bean, or trailing fuzzybean is a species of flowering plant in the legume family. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern United States.


Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot, is a plant in the tribe Senecioneae in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia. The name "tussilago" is derived from the Latin "tussis", meaning cough, and "ago", meaning to cast or to act on. It has had uses in traditional medicine, but the discovery of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant has resulted in liver health concerns."Tussilago farfara" is the only accepted species in the genus Tussilago, although more than two dozen other species have at one time or another been considered part of this group. Most of them are now regarded as members of other genera "(Chaptalia, Chevreulia, Farfugium, Homogyne, Leibnitzia, Petasites, Senecio)."


The desert box turtle, also known as the Sonoran box turtle, ("Terrapene ornata luteola") is a subspecies of box turtle which is endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They are generally terrestrial but occasionally take to the water and are most known for their boxy shell and its structural integrity. The desert box turtles are most active in late June or early July into early October, with greatest activity in July and August.


Polypogon monspeliensis, commonly known as annual beard-grass or annual rabbitsfoot grass, is a species of grass. It is native to southern Europe, but it can be found today throughout the world as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It is an annual grass growing to heights between 5 centimeters and one meter. The soft, fluffy inflorescence is a dense, greenish, plumelike panicle, sometimes divided into lobes. The spikelets have long, thin, whitish awns, which give the inflorescence its texture.


Potentilla recta, the sulphur cinquefoil or rough-fruited cinquefoil, is a species of cinquefoil. It is native to Eurasia but it is present in North America as an introduced species, ranging through almost the entire continent except the northernmost part of Canada and Alaska.The plant probably originated in the Mediterranean Basin, and it was first collected in the 19th century in Ontario and in 1914 in British Columbia. It is known as a minor noxious weed in some areas. It occurs in many types of habitat, including disturbed, weedy places.


The elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) is a tern in the family Laridae. It breeds on the Pacific coasts of the southern United States and Mexico and winters south to Peru, Ecuador and Chile.This species breeds in very dense colonies on coasts and islands, including Isla Rasa and Montague Island (Mexico), and exceptionally inland on suitable large freshwater lakes close to the coast. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one or two eggs. Unlike some of the smaller white terns, it is not very aggressive toward potential predators, relying on the sheer density of the nests (often only 20–30 cm apart) and nesting close to other more aggressive species, such as Heermann's gulls, to avoid predation.The elegant tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, almost invariably from the sea, like most "Thalasseus" terns. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by the Arctic tern. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.This Pacific species has wandered to western Europe as a rare vagrant on a number of occasions, has nested in Spain and has interbred with the Sandwich tern in France; there is also one record from Cape Town, South Africa, in January 2006, the first record for Africa. An elegant tern was recorded in the British Isles, in Pagham, West Sussex, in June 2017. In May 2021, 1500 sand nests with thousands of eggs were abandoned when a drone crashed land near a nesting site in Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, scaring off 2,500 nesting elegant terns and leading to a catastrophic loss.


Croton capitatus, known as the hogwort or woolly croton or goatweed, is an annual plant with erect, branched stems, densely covered with light brown, wooly hairs that give it a whitish appearance. It grows in dry, open areas, especially sandy and rocky soils. It is distributed across the southern United States, and elsewhere.Hogwort contains croton oil, a powerful laxative.


Cocculus carolinus, commonly called the Carolina coralbead, or snailseed, is a perennial vine of the moonseed family (Cocculus). It is native to North America, where it is found in Mexico and in several states in the United States from the Southeast to the Midwest. The species' common name derives from the appearance of its small, rounded red fruits, and the rough half-moon shape of its seeds.


Epilobium brachycarpum is a species of willowherb known by the common names tall willowherb, tall annual willowherb, panicled willowherb and tall fireweed. It is native to and widespread in North America, where it is a resident of varied open and woodland habitats. It has also been introduced to some areas in South America. This is a tall glandular, hairy annual herb occasionally reaching two metres in height. It is somewhat gangly and thin like an erect weed, with narrow, curving, pointed leaves up to a few centimetres in length. The flower has four petals which may be so deeply notched that they look like four pairs. They are generally light purple or pink, with darker veining. The fruit is a capsule 1 to 3 centimetres long.


Idia lubricalis, the glossy black idia, is a litter moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Geyer in 1832. It is found from Canada south to Florida and Texas in deciduous forests."Idia occidentalis" was formerly considered a subspecies of "Idia lubricalis".The wingspan is 24–36 mm. Adults are on wing from May to September. There are multiple generations per year in the south.The larvae feed on various fungi and lichens. They probably feed on other organic matter like rotting wood and grass on forest floor as well.


Darapsa myron, the Virginia creeper sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae found in central and eastern North America.


Lomaria discolor, synonym Blechnum discolor, commonly called crown fern (Māori: piupiu), is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. As noted by C. Michael Hogan, this species is found in a number of forest communities in diverse locations within New Zealand, and is sometimes a dominant understory component.Spores are produced on specialised fronds. These are more erect, with a dark and shrivelled look.


Oenothera lindheimeri, commonly known as Lindheimer's beeblossom, white gaura, pink gaura, Lindheimer's clockweed, and Indian feather, is a species of "Oenothera".The perennial plant is native to southern Louisiana and Texas. The specific epithet is after Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer, a German-born botanist who collected extensively in Texas for Harvard University professor Asa Gray.


Macaria aemulataria, the common angle moth, is a moth in the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found from Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Texas, north to Oregon and Alberta.The wingspan is 20 – 22 (mm). The forewings are cream-grey with three transverse lines and a bold brown patch in the middle outer third. The hindwings have a discal spot and antemedian and postmedian lines. Adults are on wing from mid-June to mid-July in Alberta and from May to September in Ohio.The larvae feed on "Acer" species.


Bolbitius titubans, also known as Bolbitius vitellinus, is a widespread species of mushroom found in America and Europe. It grows chiefly on dung or heavily fertilized soil, and sometimes on grass. It is nonpoisonous.


Zostera marina is a flowering vascular plant species as one of many kinds of seagrass, with this species known primarily by the English name of eelgrass with seawrack much less used, and refers to the plant after breaking loose from the submerged wetland soil, and drifting free with ocean current and waves to a coast seashore. It is a saline soft-sediment submerged plant native to marine environments on the coastlines of northern latitudes from subtropical to subpolar regions of North America and Eurasia.


Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen was formerly a venomous pit viper subspecies found in the eastern United States. However, recent taxonomic changes do not recognize the northern copperhead ("A. c. mokasen") as a valid taxon.


Cardamine californica, or milkmaids, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to western North America from Washington to California and Baja California. It is common in a variety of habitats including shady slopes, open woodlands, chaparral and grasslands in the winter and early spring. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it is one of the first wildflowers to bloom, with blossoms from January to May.


Rhododendron maximum — its common names include great laurel, great rhododendron, rosebay rhododendron, American rhododendron and big rhododendron — is a species of "Rhododendron" native to the Appalachians of eastern North America, from Alabama north to coastal Nova Scotia.


Epitheca princeps, the prince baskettail, is a species of emerald dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. It is found in North America.The IUCN conservation status of "Epitheca princeps" is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The population is stable. The IUCN status was reviewed in 2017.


The scissor-tailed flycatcher ("Tyrannus forficatus"), also known as the Texas bird-of-paradise and swallow-tailed flycatcher, is a long-tailed bird of the genus "Tyrannus", whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. The kingbirds are a group of large insectivorous (insect-eating) birds in the tyrant flycatcher (Tyrannidae) family. The scissor-tailed flycatcher is found in North and Central America.


Cynoglossum officinale (houndstongue, houndstooth, dog's tongue, gypsy flower, and rats and mice due to its smell) is a herbaceous plant of the family Boraginaceae.


The European rhinoceros beetle ("Oryctes nasicornis") is a large flying beetle belonging to the subfamily Dynastinae.


Pituophis catenifer affinis, commonly known as the Sonoran gopher snake, is a nonvenomous subspecies of colubrid snake that is endemic to the southwestern United States. It is one of six recognized subspecies of the gopher snake", Pituophis catenifer".


Actaea racemosa, the black cohosh, black bugbane, black snakeroot, or fairy candle (syn. "Cimicifuga racemosa"), is a species of flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to eastern North America from the extreme south of Ontario to central Georgia, and west to Missouri and Arkansas. It grows in a variety of woodland habitats, and is often found in small woodland openings. The roots and rhizomes were used in traditional medicine by Native Americans. Its extracts are manufactured as herbal medicines or dietary supplements. Thereof, most of the dietary supplements containing black cohosh are not well-studied or recommended for safe and effective use in treating menopause symptoms or any disease. In contrast, some herbal medicinal products containing black cohosh extract hold a marketing authorization in several states of the European Union are well-studied and recommended for safe and effective use for the relief of menopausal symptoms (i.e. in the years around menopause) such as hot flushes and profuse sweating attacks. Such differentiation between the product types seems to be important.


Catalpa speciosa, commonly known as the northern catalpa, hardy catalpa, western catalpa, cigar tree, catawba-tree, or bois chavanon, is a species of "Catalpa" native to the midwestern United States.The Latin specific epithet "speciosa" means “showy”.


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


Callirhoe involucrata is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name purple poppy-mallow. It is native to the United States and northern Mexico.


Solanum americanum, commonly known as American black nightshade, small-flowered nightshade or glossy nightshade, is a herbaceous flowering plant of wide though uncertain native range. The certain native range encompasses the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Melanesia, New Guinea, and Australia.The plant is widely naturalised around the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, including Hawaii, Indochina, Madagascar and Africa, possibly via anthropogenic introduction in these locales."Solanum americanum" is one of the most widespread and morphologically variable species belonging to the section "Solanum". It can be confused with other black nightshade species in the "Solanum nigrum" complex.


The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Chile, including the Galapagos Islands. The nominate subspecies in its breeding plumage has a white head with a yellowish wash on the crown. The nape and neck are dark maroon–brown. The upper sides of the neck have white lines along the base of the gular pouch, and the lower fore neck has a pale yellowish patch. The male and female are similar, but the female is slightly smaller. The nonbreeding adult has a white head and neck. The pink skin around the eyes becomes dull and gray in the nonbreeding season. It lacks any red hue, and the pouch is strongly olivaceous ochre-tinged and the legs are olivaceous gray to blackish-gray.The brown pelican mainly feeds on fish, but occasionally eats amphibians, crustaceans, and the eggs and nestlings of birds. It nests in colonies in secluded areas, often on islands, vegetated land among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees, and mangroves. Females lay two or three oval, chalky white eggs. Incubation takes 28 to 30 days with both sexes sharing duties. The newly hatched chicks are pink, turning gray or black within 4 to 14 days. About 63 days are needed for chicks to fledge. Six to 9 weeks after hatching, the juveniles leave the nest, and gather into small groups known as pods.The brown pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the official state bird of Louisiana, appearing on the flag, seal, or coat of arms of each. It has been rated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act from 1970 to 2009, as pesticides such as dieldrin and DDT threatened its future in the Southeastern United States and California. In 1972, the use of DDT was banned in Florida, followed by the rest of the United States. Since then, the brown pelican's population has increased. In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt set aside the first National Wildlife Refuge, Florida's Pelican Island, to protect the species from hunters.


The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus "Chlorocebus". The five distinct subspecies can be found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries. Vervets were introduced to Florida, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and Cape Verde. These mostly herbivorous monkeys have black faces and grey body hair color, ranging in body length from about 40 (cm) for females, to about 50 (cm) for males.In addition to behavioral research on natural populations, vervet monkeys serve as a nonhuman primate model for understanding genetic and social behaviors of humans. They have been noted for having human-like characteristics, such as hypertension, anxiety, and social and dependent alcohol use. Vervets live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals, with males moving to other groups at the time of sexual maturity. Studies done on vervet monkeys involve their communication and alarm calls, specifically in regard to kin and group recognition, and particular predator sightings.


Dythemis velox, the swift setwing, is a species of skimmer in the dragonfly family Libellulidae. It is found in Central America and North America.The IUCN conservation status of "Dythemis velox" is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The population is increasing. The IUCN status was reviewed in 2017.


Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed, Rutland beauty, bugle vine, heavenly trumpets, bellbind, granny-pop-out-of-bed and many others) is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae. It has a subcosmopolitan distribution throughout temperate regions of the North and South hemispheres.


The dot-tailed whiteface (Leucorrhinia intacta) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is also one of the most common and widespread in the genus "Leucorrhinia".


Siproeta stelenes (malachite) is a Neotropical brush-footed butterfly (family Nymphalidae). The malachite has large wings that are black and brilliant green or yellow-green on the upperside and light brown and olive green on the underside. It is named for the mineral malachite, which is similar in color to the bright green on the butterfly's wings. Typically, the wingspread is between 8.5 and 10 (cm). The malachite is found throughout Central and northern South America, where it is one of the most common butterfly species. Its distribution extends as far north as southern Texas and the tip of Florida, to Cuba as subspecies "S. s. insularis" (Holland, 1916), and "S. s. biplagiata", and south to Brazil.Adults feed on flower nectar, rotting fruit, dead animals, and bat dung. Females lay eggs on the new leaves of plants in the family Acanthaceae, especially ruellia. The larvae are horned, spiny, black caterpillars with red markings, The pupa stage is green and have sharp, gold spines that can puncture predators.Malachites often are confused with "Philaethria dido". They have similar coloration, but their wing shapes are different.


Sesbania herbacea (syn. "Sesbania exaltata") is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names bigpod sesbania, Colorado River-hemp, and coffeeweed. It is native to the United States, particularly the southeastern states, where it grows in moist environments. It can be found elsewhere as an introduced species. It is a woody herb growing to 3 meters or more in height. The leaves are made up of many pairs of oblong leaflets. The inflorescence is a small raceme of pealike flowers with yellow or purple-spotted petals.


The greenhouse millipede ("Oxidus gracilis"), also known as the hothouse millipede, short-flange millipede, or garden millipede, is a species of millipede in the family Paradoxosomatidae that has been widely introduced around the world, and is sometimes a pest in greenhouses.


Maianthemum dilatatum (snakeberry, two-leaved Solomon's seal or false lily of the valley) is a common rhizomatous perennial flowering plant that is native to western North America from northern California to the Aleutian islands, and Asia across the Kamchatka Peninsula, Japan, and Korea. It grows in coastal temperate rainforests, and is often the dominant groundcover plant in Sitka Spruce forests.


Satyrium calanus, the banded hairstreak, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.


Ambrosia artemisiifolia, with the common names common ragweed, annual ragweed, and low ragweed, is a species of the genus "Ambrosia" native to regions of the Americas.


The common kingfisher ("Alcedo atthis"), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.


Pachysphinx modesta, the modest sphinx or poplar sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1839.


The greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, and poaching. The greater kudu is one of two species commonly known as kudu, the other being the lesser kudu, "T. imberbis".


Barbarea vulgaris, also called wintercress (usual common name), or alternatively herb barbara, rocketcress, yellow rocketcress, winter rocket, yellow rocket, and wound rocket, is a biennial herb of the genus "Barbarea", belonging to the family Brassicaceae.


Comandra is a monotypic genus containing the single species Comandra umbellata. Its common names include bastard toadflax, umbellate bastard toadflax, and common comandra. The plant has a disjunct distribution; its four subspecies occur in North America and the Mediterranean.


Bloomeria crocea, also known as goldenstar, is a geophyte from southern California and northern Baja California. It is found along hillsides, in grassland and chaparral edges, and in dry flats.


Celastrina lucia, the lucia azure, northern azure, eastern spring azure or northern spring azure, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found eastern North America, ranging from the Maritimes south through the Appalachian Mountains to West Virginia.The wingspan is between 22–35 mm. Adults are sexually dimorphic. The dorsal wing surface of males is blue, while females have a broad, dark brown outer forewing margin. They are on wing from April to July.The larvae feed on "Vaccinium" species, including "V. pallidum". The larvae may be green, yellow, pink or brown, depending on their food source.


Octopus rubescens (Commonly the East Pacific red octopus, also known as the ruby octopus, a preferred common name due to the abundance of octopus species colloquially known as red octopus) is the most commonly occurring shallow-water octopus on much of the North American West Coast, and a ubiquitous benthic predator in these habitats. Its range extends from the southern Gulf of California at least to the Gulf of Alaska, but may also occur in the western Pacific Ocean. "O. rubescens" occurs intertidally to a depth of 300 m.


Mimulus ringens is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names Allegheny monkeyflower and square-stemmed monkeyflower.It is native to eastern and central North America and to the Pacific coast of the United States, excluding Mexico and the arid American Southwest. It grows in a wide variety of moist to wet habitat types. Seeds are available from commercial suppliers.This is a rhizomatous perennial growing 20 (cm) to well over 1 (meter) tall, its 4-angled stem usually erect. The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, up to 8 (cm) long, usually clasping the stem. The sessile leaves of "M. ringens" help to distinguish it from its eastern relative, "Mimulus alatus", which bears leaves on petioles and has a winged stem. The herbage is hairless. The flower is 1 - 3 (in) long, its tubular base encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of sepals with pointed lobes. The flower is lavender, blue, red or pink in color and is divided into an upper lip and a larger, swollen lower lip.One variety of this plant, var. "colophilus", is rare, ecologically restricted, and vulnerable. It is known from Quebec, it has been reported in Vermont, and there are a few occurrences in Maine, where it grows only in freshwater sections of tidal estuaries. This variety is distinguished by having shorter calyces than the "ringens" variety and by its short flower pedicels, 1 - 1.7 (cm) long versus a length of 2 - 3.5 (cm) in the nominate subspecies. This plant variety faces several threats, but its current status is not known due to a lack of data.


Silene gallica is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by several common names, including common catchfly, small-flowered catchfly, and windmill pink. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it can be found throughout much of the temperate world as a common roadside weed.


Pseudognaphalium californicum (syn. "Gnaphalium californicum") is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by several common names, including ladies' tobacco, California rabbit tobacco, California cudweed, and California everlasting.The plant is native to the west coast of North America from Washington to Baja California, where it is a member of the flora of many habitats, including chaparral.


The waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus "Kobus" of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies are grouped under two varieties: the common or ellipsiprymnus waterbuck and the defassa waterbuck. The head-and-body length is typically between 177 and 235 (cm) and the typical height is between 120 and 136 (cm). In this sexually dimorphic antelope, males are taller and heavier than females. Males reach roughly 127 (cm) at the shoulder, while females reach 119 (cm). Males typically weigh 198 - 262 (kg) and females 161 - 214 (kg). Their coat colour varies from brown to grey. The long, spiral horns, present only on males, curve backward, then forward, and are 55 - 99 (cm) long.Waterbucks are rather sedentary in nature. As gregarious animals, they may form herds consisting of six to 30 individuals. These groups are either nursery herds with females and their offspring or bachelor herds. Males start showing territorial behaviour from the age of 5 years, but are most dominant from the six to nine. The waterbuck cannot tolerate dehydration in hot weather, and thus inhabits areas close to sources of water. Predominantly a grazer, the waterbuck is mostly found on grassland. In equatorial regions, breeding takes place throughout the year, but births are at their peak in the rainy season. The gestational period lasts 7–8 months, followed by the birth of a single calf.Waterbucks inhabit scrub and savanna areas along rivers, lakes, and valleys. Due to their requirement for grasslands and water, waterbucks have a sparse ecotone distribution. The IUCN lists the waterbuck as being of least concern. More specifically, the common waterbuck is listed as of least concern. while the defassa waterbuck is near threatened. The population trend for both is downwards, especially that of the defassa, with large populations being eliminated from certain habitats because of poaching and human disturbance.


The white-winged dove (Zenaida asiatica) is a dove whose native range extends from the Southwestern United States through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. They are large for doves, and can be distinguished from similar doves by the distinctive white edge on their wings. They have a blue eyering, and red eyes. The plumage is brownish-gray to gray. Juveniles are duller in color, and have brown eyes. The call is likened to English phrase "who cooks for you". There are three subspecies. It was first described by George Edwards in 1743, and given its binomial name by Linnaeus in 1756. It was moved into the genus "Zenaida" in 1838.They inhabit a variety of environments, including desert, scrub, and urban. Their diet consists mostly of grains, but will also include pollen and nectar, especially from the saguaro cactus, which is a vital source of water.The expansion of humans has greatly affected the white-winged dove. Prior to human presence, their range closely mirrored that of their favorite food: the saguaro. The advent of agriculture in North America greatly expanded its range by providing a reliable food source. This has also led some modern populations to be migratory. Historically, they nested in enormous colonies, but most colonies have been lost due to human action and climatic factors, and most nesting is now isolated. It is hunted for sport, and is the second most shot game bird in the United States. Its population collapsed in the 1960s and 1970s, likely due to the loss of major nesting colonies. The population rebounded however, and despite continued habitat loss and hunting, it has proved adaptable to human environments. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers it to be a species of least-concern.


Sarcodes is the monotypic genus of a north-west American flowering springtime plant in the heath family (Ericaceae), containing the single species Sarcodes sanguinea, commonly called the snow plant or snow flower. It is a parasitic plant that derives sustenance and nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi that attach to tree roots. Lacking chlorophyll, it is unable to photosynthesize. Ectomycorrhizal (EM) symbioses involve a mutualism between a plant root and a fungus; the plant provides fixed carbon to the fungus and in return, the fungus provides mineral nutrients, water, and protection from pathogens to the plant. The snow plant takes advantage of this mutualism by tapping into the network and stealing sugars from the photosynthetic partner by way of the fungus. This is known as mycoheterotrophy. The snow plant is host-specific and can only form relationships with the ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycete "Rhizopogon ellenae."The plant's aboveground tissue is its inflorescence, a raceme of bright scarlet red flowers wrapped in many strap-like, pointed bracts with fringed edges, themselves bright red to orange in color."S. sanguinea" is native to montane areas of the California Floristic Province, from the Oregon Cascade Range (as far north as the Umpqua River), through the mountains of California including the Transverse Ranges (though it is absent from the California Coast Ranges between the Klamath Mountains), and into the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir range of northern Baja California.Its species epithet "sanguinea" refers to the striking red flower that emerges from the sometimes still snow-covered ground in early spring or summer; this may be as late as July in high elevations, such as those of the High Sierra Nevada and Cascades. The genus epithet "Sarcodes" comes from the Greek" sarkódes" (σαρκώδες), meaning "fleshy".According to botanist James L. Reveal", "S. sanguinea" is edible, if cooked.


Ceratomia catalpae, the catalpa sphinx, is a hawk moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1875.


Orobanche fasciculata is a species of broomrape known by the common name clustered broomrape. It is native to much of western and central North America from Alaska to northern Mexico to the Great Lakes region, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is a parasite growing attached to the roots of other plants, usually members of the Asteraceae such as "Artemisia"; and other genera such as "Eriodictyon" and "Eriogonum". This plant produces one or more stems from a bulbous root, growing erect to a maximum of about 20 centimeters in height. The stems, leaves and five-lobed flowers are covered by sticky hairs. As a parasite taking its nutrients from a host plant, it lacks chlorophyll as well as a water-storage system. It is variable in color, often yellowish or purple. The inflorescence is a raceme of up to 20 flowers, each on a pedicel up to 15 (cm) long. Each flower has a calyx of hairy triangular sepals and a tubular corolla 1.5 - 3 (cm) long. The flower is yellowish or purplish in color.


Hoffmann's two-toed sloth ("Choloepus hoffmanni"), also known as the northern two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from Central and South America.It is a solitary, largely nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in mature and secondary rainforests and deciduous forests. The common name commemorates the German naturalist Karl Hoffmann.


The eastern amberwing ("Perithemis tenera") is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is very small, reaching a total length of no more than 25 mm.The males have orange or amber wings. Both sexes have a red pterostigma. The eastern amberwing dragonfly is one of the only types of dragonfly that actively mimics a wasp. The yellow and brown stripes on its abdomen encourage predators to stay away. When perched, they will wiggle their abdomen and wings in a wasp-like fashion to deter other animals from eating it. Males have an elaborate courtship ritual. When a female approaches his territory, the male will lead her to his selected egg-laying site and hover above it with wings whirring and abdomen raised.The common name refers to its eastern range, although this dragonfly does extend westward well into the central part of the United States. The scientific name, "tenera", means delicate and alludes to its small size.


The striped bark scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) is an extremely common scorpion found throughout the midsection of the United States and northern Mexico. It is perhaps the most frequently encountered scorpion in the U.S.


The Muscovy or Barbary (Cairina moschata domestica) is the domesticated form of the wild Muscovy duck. There are a number of local or regional breeds, and drakes of these are commonly cross-bred with domestic ducks to produce the hybrids called mulards.


Berberis vulgaris, also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus "Berberis" native to the Old World. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a tart and refreshing fruit.


Marrubium vulgare (white horehound or common horehound) is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae), native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern and central Asia. It is also widely naturalized in many places, including most of North and South America.It is a grey-leaved herbaceous perennial plant, and grows to 25 - 45 (cm) tall. The leaves are 2 - 5 (cm) long with a densely crinkled surface, and are covered in downy hairs. The flowers are white, borne in clusters on the upper part of the main stem.


The Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. The genus name "Limosa" is from Latin and means "muddy", from "limus", "mud". The specific "haemastica" is from Ancient Greek and means "bloody". An 18th-century name for this bird was red-breasted godwit. The English term "godwit" was first recorded in about 1416–7 and is believed to imitate the bird's call.


The laughing falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans), also called the snake hawk (erroneously, since it is not a hawk), is a medium-sized bird of prey in the falcon family (Falconidae), the only member of the genus Herpetotheres. This Neotropical species is a specialist snake-eater. Its common and scientific names both refer to its distinctive voice.


The prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria.


Smilax tamnoides, common name bristly greenbrier, is a North American species of plants native to the United States and Canada. It is widespread from Ontario and New York State south to Texas and Florida.The plant has been called "Smilax hispida" in many publications, but the name "Smilax tamnoides" is much older and under the botanical rules of priority it is the preferred name."Smilax tamnoides" is a climbing, prickly vine that supports itself on other vegetation. Flowers are green to brown, small but numerous in umbels; fruits blue to black without the waxy coating common on many other species of the genus.


The Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), also known as the gray jay, grey jay, camp robber, or whisky jack, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae. It is found in boreal forests of North America north to the tree line, and in the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to New Mexico and Arizona. A fairly large songbird, the Canada jay has pale grey underparts, darker grey upperparts, and a grey-white head with a darker grey nape. It is one of three members of the genus "Perisoreus", a genus more closely related to the magpie genus "Cyanopica" than to other birds known as jays. The Canada jay itself has nine recognized subspecies.Canada jays live year-round on permanent territories in coniferous forests, surviving in winter months on food cached throughout their territory in warmer periods. The birds form monogamous mating pairs, with pairs accompanied on their territories by a third juvenile from the previous season. Canada jays adapt to human activity in their territories and are known to approach humans for food, inspiring a list of colloquial names including "lumberjack", "camp robber", and "venison-hawk". The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the Canada jay a least-concern species; however, populations in southern ranges may be affected adversely by global warming.The species is associated with mythological figures of several First Nations cultures, including Wisakedjak, a benevolent figure whose name was anglicized to Whiskyjack. In 2016, an online poll and expert panel conducted by "Canadian Geographic" magazine selected the Canada jay as the national bird of Canada, although the designation is not formally recognized.


Amauropelta noveboracensis, the New York fern, is a perennial species of fern found throughout the eastern United States and Canada, from Louisiana to Newfoundland, but most concentrated within Appalachia and the Atlantic Northeast. New York ferns often forms spreading colonies within the forests they inhabit.


Cerithideopsis californica, common name the California hornsnail or the California horn snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Potamididae. This series was previously known as "Cerithidea californica".


Cuscuta gronovii is a yellow vine that grows as a parasite off other plants. It is a dicot.


The Mexican free-tailed bat or Brazilian free-tailed bat ("Tadarida brasiliensis") is a medium-sized bat native to the Americas, regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Its proclivity towards roosting in huge numbers at relatively few locations makes it vulnerable to habitat destruction in spite of its abundance. It has been claimed to have the fastest horizontal speed (as opposed to stoop diving speed) of any animal, reaching top ground speeds over 162 (km/h); its actual air speed has not been measured. The Texas Legislature designated the Mexican free-tailed bat the state mammal (flying) in 1995.


Rhus ovata, commonly known as sugar bush or sugar sumac, is a shrub or small tree found growing in the canyons and slopes of the chaparral and related ecosystems in Southern California, Arizona, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is a long lived-plant, up to 100 years, and has dense evergreen foliage that make it conspicuous. It is closely related to and hybridizes with the lemonade sumac.


Petrorhagia dubia is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name hairy pink. It is native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, but it is known on other continents, including Australia and North and South America, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It is an annual herb growing 25 to 60 centimeters tall, but known to reach 90 centimeters in height. The leaves are up to 6 centimeters long, sheathing the stem at the bases. The inflorescence bears a head-like cluster of flowers, their bases enclosed in a large, expanded mass of wide, claw-tipped bracts. The flower corollas are each further encased in a tubular calyx of sepals. The petals are bright pink to magenta or lavender in color with darker veins. Each is heart-shaped or divided into two lobes at the tip. The fruit is a capsule containing many tiny seeds.


Patalene olyzonaria, the juniper-twig geometer, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from Quebec and New Hampshire to Florida, west to Texas, north to Wisconsin.The wingspan is 21–25 mm. Adults are on wing from April to November. There are two to three generations per year.The larvae feed on "Juniperus" species and at times "Thuja occidentalis" and possibly "Pinus".


The purple finch (Haemorhous purpureus) is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae.


Avena fatua is a species of grass in the oat genus. It is known as the common wild oat. This oat is native to Eurasia but it has been introduced to most of the other temperate regions of the world. It is naturalized in some areas and considered a noxious weed in others."Avena fatua" is a typical oat in appearance, a green grass with hollow, erect stems 1 to 4 feet (30–120 cm) tall bearing nodding panicles of spikelets. The long dark green leaves are up to a centimeter wide and rough due to small hairs. The seedlings are also hairy. The seed kernel is thinner, longer, darker and hairy when compared with the seed of the common cultivated oat ("Avena sativa"). This species and other wild oats can become troublesome in prairie agriculture when it invades and lowers the quality of a field crop, or competes for resources with the crop plants. It takes very few wild oat plants to cause a significant reduction in the yield of a wheat or cultivated oat field, even though the seeds are a type of oat.


Nemophila heterophylla is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name small baby blue eyes.It is native to Oregon and California north of the Transverse Ranges. It grows in many types of habitat, from valley chaparral to mountain talus.


Erythemis vesiculosa, the great pondhawk, is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. It is distributed throughout the Americas as far north as the United States.


Rhus glabra, the smooth sumac, (also known as white sumac, upland sumac, or scarlet sumac) is a species of sumac in the family Anacardiaceae, native to North America, from southern Quebec west to southern British Columbia in Canada, and south to northern Florida and Arizona in the United States and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico.One of the easiest shrubs to identify throughout the year (unless mistaken for "poison sumac", in the absence of mature fruit), smooth sumac has a spreading, open-growing shrub growing up to 3 (m) tall, rarely to 5 (m). The leaves are alternate, 30–50 (cm) long, compound with 11–31 oppositely paired leaflets, each leaflet 5–11 (cm) long, with a serrated margin. The leaves turn scarlet in the fall. The flowers are tiny, green, produced in dense erect panicles 10 – 25 (cm) tall, in the spring, later followed by large panicles of edible crimson berries that remain throughout the winter. The buds are small, covered with brown hair and borne on fat, hairless twigs. The bark on older wood is smooth and grey to brown.In late summer it sometimes forms galls on the underside of leaves, caused by the parasitic sumac leaf gall aphid, "Melaphis rhois". The galls are not harmful to the tree.


Ratibida columnifera, commonly known as upright prairie coneflower or Mexican hat, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the genus "Ratibida" family Asteraceae. It grows up to 120 (cm) tall with leaves 2.5-15 (cm) long. It is native to much of North America and inhabits prairies, plains, roadsides, and disturbed areas from southern Canada through most of the United States to northern Mexico.It is similar to "R. tagetes", the leaves of which are closer to the flower.


The red-legged honeycreeper ("Cyanerpes cyaneus") is a small songbird species in the tanager family (Thraupidae). It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and on Cuba, where possibly introduced. It is also rarely found in southern Texas.


Argia lugens, the sooty dancer, is a species of narrow-winged damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Central America and North America.The IUCN conservation status of "Argia lugens" is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The population is stable.


Mitella diphylla (twoleaf miterwort, two-leaved mitrewort, or bishop's cap) is a clump forming, open woodland plant native to northeast and midwest regions of North America.


Sceptridium dissectum is a common fern (or fern-ally) in the family Ophioglossaceae, occurring in eastern North America. Like other plants in this group, it normally only sends up one frond per year. It has long been the subject of confusion because the frond presents in one of two forms, either the normal form (forma "obliquum") that resembles other plants in the genus, or the skeletonized form (forma "dissectum").This is the most common grape fern throughout most of its range. It is a frequent denizen of disturbed lands, often growing with "Diphasiastrum digitatum" and "Asplenium platyneuron". It has an unusual growing season, with the new frond emerging in July and dying back in May. The frond often turns from green to a bronze color during the winter.Like other grape ferns, it depends on a mycorrhizal association in the soil.


The Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurosiberia, Kamchatka, China, and the western coast of Korea. No other oystercatcher occurs within this area. The extinct Canary Islands oystercatcher ("Haematopus meadewaldoi"), formerly considered a distinct species, may have actually been an isolated subspecies or distinct population of the Eurasian oystercatcher.This oystercatcher is the national bird of the Faroe Islands.


Megathura crenulata is a northeastern Pacific Ocean species of limpet in the family Fissurellidae known commonly as the great keyhole limpet or giant keyhole limpet. "Megathura" is a monotypic genus; in other words, this is the only species in that genus. This species occurs along the rocky coast of western North America, its distribution extending from Southern California to the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. It is found in the intertidal zone and in the sea up to a depth of 33 meters.


Eurema lisa, commonly known as the little yellow, little sulphur or little sulfur, is a butterfly species of subfamily Coliadinae that occurs in Central America and the southern part of North America.


Episyrphus balteatus, sometimes called the marmalade hoverfly, is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family, widespread throughout the Palaearctic region, which covers Europe, North Asia, and North Africa. The upper side of the abdomen is patterned with orange and black bands. Two further identification characters are the presence of secondary black bands on the third and fourth dorsal plates and faint greyish longitudinal stripes on the thorax. Its color patterns may appear wasp-like to other animals, such as birds, protecting it from predation."Episyrphus balteatus" can be found throughout the year in various habitats, including urban gardens, visiting flowers for pollen and nectar. They often form dense migratory swarms, which may cause panic among people for their resemblance to wasps. It is among the very few species of flies capable of crushing pollen grains and feeding on them. The larva is terrestrial and feeds on aphids.As in most other hoverflies, males can be easily identified by their holoptic eyes, i.e., left and right compound eyes touching at the top of their heads.


Polygonum paronychia is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names dune knotweed, black knotweed, and beach knotweed. It is native to the coastline of western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in sandy coastal habitat such as beaches, dunes, and scrub.


Grindelia stricta is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Oregon gumplant, Oregon gumweed and (in Britain and Ireland) coastal gumplant. It is native to the west coast of North America from California to Alaska, where it is a resident of coastal plant communities such as those in marshes and beaches. This plant is variable in appearance, taking the form of a weedlike perennial herb forming low clumps to a sprawling subshrub growing erect to heights exceeding one meter. Its foliage and stems are green to rusty red or purplish and the plant may be hairy to hairless. The fleshy leaves are green, often with red edges and veining, and are up to 15 centimeters in length on large plants. The inflorescence holds one or more flower heads each up to 5 centimeters wide. The flower head is a cup of thick erect or recurved green phyllaries. Yellow disc florets fill the center of the flower head and there is a fringe of yellow ray florets around the circumference. The head produces copious amounts of white latex, especially in the early stages of blooming.


The foothill yellow-legged frog ("Rana boylii") is a small-sized 3.72 - 8.2 (cm) frog from the genus "Rana" in the family Ranidae. This species can be found in the Coast Ranges from northern Oregon, through California, and into Baja California, Mexico as well as in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range in California. The foothill yellow-legged frog is a Federal Species of Concern and California State Endangered.


Automeris io, the Io moth () or peacock moth, is a colorful North American moth in the family Saturniidae. The io moth is also a member of the subfamily Hemileucinae. The name Io comes from Greek mythology in which Io was a mortal lover of Zeus. The Io moth ranges from the southeast corner of Manitoba and in the southern extremes of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada, and in the US it is found from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, east of those states and down to the southern end of Florida. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775.


Morchella esculenta, (commonly known as common morel, morel, yellow morel, true morel, morel mushroom, and sponge morel) is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae of the Ascomycota. It is one of the most readily recognized of all the edible mushrooms and highly sought after. Each fruit body begins as a tightly compressed, grayish sponge with lighter ridges, and expands to form a large yellowish sponge with large pits and ridges raised on a large white stem. The pitted yellow-brown caps measure 2 – 7 (cm) broad by 2 – 10 (cm) tall, and are fused to the stem at its lower margin, forming a continuous hollow. The pits are rounded and irregularly arranged. The hollow stem is typically 2 – 9 (cm) long by 2 – 5 (cm) thick, and white to yellow. The fungus fruits under hardwoods and conifers during a short period in the spring, depending on the weather, and is also associated with old orchards, woods and disturbed grounds.


The yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea), is one of two species of night herons found in the Americas, the other one being the black-crowned night heron. It is known as the "bihoreau violacé" in French and the "pedrete corona clara" in Spanish.


Parthenium integrifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names wild quinine, American feverfew, and eastern feverfew. It is native to the eastern and midwestern United States.


The chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a species of New World sparrow, a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range.There are two subspecies, the eastern chipping sparrow and the western chipping sparrow. This bird is a partial migrant with northerly populations flying southwards in the fall to overwinter in Mexico and the southern United States, and flying northward again in spring.It molts twice a year. In its breeding plumage it has orangish-rust upper parts, gray head and underparts and a distinctive reddish cap. In non-breeding plumage, the cap is brown and the facial markings are less distinct. The song is a trill and the bird has a piercing flight call that can be heard while it is migrating at night.In the winter, chipping sparrows are gregarious and form flocks, sometimes associating with other bird species. They mostly forage on the ground for seeds and other food items, as well as clambering on plants and trees, feeding on buds and small arthropods. In the west of their range they breed mainly in coniferous forests, but in the east, they choose woodland, farmland, parks and gardens. Breeding starts in late April and May and the nest is often built in a tree.


Rhodiola rosea (commonly golden root, rose root, roseroot, Aaron's rod, Arctic root, king's crown, lignum rhodium, orpin rose) is a perennial flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It grows naturally in wild Arctic regions of Europe (including Britain), Asia, and North America ( N.B., Nfld. and Labrador, N.S., QC.; Alaska, Maine, N.Y., N.C., Pa., Vt), and can be propagated as a groundcover. Although "Rhodiola rosea" has been used in traditional medicine, there is no high-quality clinical evidence of its effectiveness to treat any disease. The United States Food and Drug Administration has issued several warnings to manufacturers of "R. rosea" dietary supplements for making false health claims about its safety and efficacy.The plant is threatened in many countries due to rapidly growing demand. Supply comes mostly from wild harvesting on an industrial scale, and a combination of growing scarcity and a lack of regulation has led to environmental degradation, substitution or adulteration in the market, and illegal harvesting in protected areas.


Campanula americana, the American bellflower, or tall bellflower, is a bellflower native to eastern North America. Tall bellflowers can be annual or biennial with a varying life-history with seeds germinating in the fall producing annual plants and spring-germinating seeds producing biennial plants. Long-tongued bees are the primary pollinators, including Megachile campanulae," but halictid bees, butterflies, and skippers may also act as pollinators. Tall Bellflowers do not generally self-pollinate. Some authorities, including the USDA PLANTS database, consider the name Campanulastrum americanum" to be the accepted name for this species.


Octogomphus, the grappletail, is a genus of club-tailed dragonflies found in North America, containing the single species Octogomphus specularis.The Grappletail, not seen in British Columbia for 40 years, was re-discovered by citizen scientists in July 2020, during a hike in Davis Lake Provincial Park, near Mission, B.C.


The rusty blackbird ("Euphagus carolinus") is a medium-sized New World blackbird, closely related to grackles ("rusty grackle" is an older name for the species). It is a bird that prefers wet forested areas, breeding in the boreal forest and muskeg across northern Canada, and migrating southeast to the United States during winter.Formerly abundant, the rusty blackbird has undergone one of the most rapid declines of any abundant bird species in North America in recent years, for reasons that are not well understood.


The forest tent caterpillar moth (Malacosoma disstria) is a moth found throughout North America, especially in the eastern regions. Unlike related tent caterpillar species, the larvae of forest tent caterpillars do not make tents, but rather, weave a silky sheet where they lie together during molting. They also lay down strands of silk as they move over branches and travel as groups along these pheromone-containing silk trails. The caterpillars are social, traveling together to feed and massing as a group at rest. Group behavior diminishes as the caterpillars increase in size, so that by the fifth instar (molt) the caterpillars are feeding and resting independently.The adult moths of this species favor oak, sweetgum, tupelo, aspen, and sugar maple for egg laying in the summer. The females lay eggs in masses of up to 300, which are stuck to twigs and covered with a gluey cement called spumaline, which prevents them from desiccating and freezing. Eggs hatch the following spring. The larvae can be found feeding on many other species of deciduous trees or shrubs. High population density outbreaks tend to recur at reasonably regular intervals every decade or so and usually last two to three years, during which time trees and shrubs can be almost completely denuded of leaves. Most plants replace the lost leaves without permanent damage.


The neon skimmer (Libellula croceipennis) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family.It can be found near ponds, lakes and slow moving streams in the southwest United States, Central America, and northern South America.


Sanicula crassicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names Pacific blacksnakeroot and Pacific sanicle. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, where it can be found in many types of habitat, including mountain slopes, grassland, and woodlands. It is a perennial herb producing a thick stem up to 1.2 meters tall from a taproot. The leaves have blades up to 12 centimeters long which are divided into a few deep lobes and edged with small teeth. The inflorescence is made up of one or more heads of bisexual and male-only flowers with tiny, curving, yellow petals. Each head has approximately five leaflike, lance-shaped bracts at its base. The rounded fruits are a few millimeters long, covered in curving prickles, and borne in small clusters.


Xylocopa virginica, sometimes referred to as the eastern carpenter bee, extends through the eastern United States and into Canada. They are sympatric with "Xylocopa micans" in much of southeastern United States. They nest in various types of wood and eat pollen and nectar. In "X. virginica", dominant females do not focus solely on egg-laying, as in other bee species considered to have "queens". Instead, dominant "X. virginica" females are responsible for a full gamut of activities including reproduction, foraging, and nest construction, whereas subordinate bees may engage in little activity outside of guarding the nest.


The stripe-headed sparrow ("Peucaea ruficauda") is an American sparrow which breeds from Pacific coastal south-western Mexico, including the transverse ranges, Cordillera Neovolcanica to Pacific coastal northern Costa Rica.This common bird is found in lowlands up to 1800 (m) in altitude in the north of its range, and 800 (m) in Costa Rica. Its habitat is brushy savannah, scrubby second growth and woodland edges, but it avoids the forest interior.The nest, built by the female, is a deep cup of plant material lined with fine grass or horsehair. It is constructed less than 1.2 (m) above the ground in an isolated spiny scrub. The female lays two to four unmarked pale blue eggs, which she incubates for 12–14 days. The whole group helps in feeding the chicks, and roost together in a tight group at night.The stripe-headed sparrow is a large, long-tailed species, 15.5 (to(-)) long and weighing up to 35 (g). The adult has a black head with broad white stripes on the crown and above each eye. The nape is narrowly grey and the rest of the upperparts are pale brown, streaked with black on the back, but unstreaked and more buff on the rump and tail. The shoulders are rufous and the wing feathers have buff edging. The throat and underparts are white, becoming buff on the flanks and with a grey breast.Young birds have a duller, indistinct head pattern, with buff stripes and a brown ground colour, and have streaked breasts.There are four subspecies, which, in general, become larger and brighter from north to south. Thus the northernmost form, "P. r. acuminata ", is smaller than the nominate Costa Rican subspecies "P. r. ruficauda", which has duller, browner upperparts, and paler, whiter underparts.The stripe-headed sparrow has a group vocalisation of chattering squeaks. The male's song, given from an open perch, consists of dry thin notes, but shows geographical variation. The subspecies "P. r. ruficauda" has a dry trill, while "P. r. acuminata" has a series of "pechew" double notes.The stripe-headed sparrow feeds on the ground mainly on grass seeds, but also takes some small insects and spiders. It is usually in family groups or small flocks of up to seven birds. The flight is low and fluttery, with the tail held low.


The red-throated loon (North America) or red-throated diver (Britain and Ireland) (Gavia stellata) is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family, it breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. Ranging from 55 to 67 (cm) in length, the red-throated loon is the smallest and lightest of the world's loons. In winter, it is a nondescript bird, greyish above fading to white below. During the breeding season, it acquires the distinctive reddish throat patch which is the basis for its common name. Fish form the bulk of its diet, though amphibians, invertebrates, and plant material are sometimes eaten as well. A monogamous species, red-throated loons form long-term pair bonds. Both members of the pair help to build the nest, incubate the eggs (generally two per clutch), and feed the hatched young.The red-throated loon has a large global population and a significant global range, though some populations are declining. Oil spills, habitat degradation, pollution, and fishing nets are among the major threats this species faces. Natural predators—including various gull species, and both red and Arctic foxes, will take eggs and young. The species is protected by international treaties.


The blue-gray tanager ("Thraupis episcopus") is a medium-sized South American songbird of the tanager family, Thraupidae. Its range is from Mexico south to northeast Bolivia and northern Brazil, all of the Amazon Basin, except the very south. It has been introduced to Lima (Peru). On Trinidad and Tobago, this bird is called blue jean.


Limacus flavus, known commonly as the cellar slug, the yellow slug, or the tawny garden slug, is a medium to large species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae.


Belding's ground squirrel ("Urocitellus beldingi"), also called pot gut, sage rat or picket-pin, is a squirrel that lives on mountains in the western United States. In California, it often is found at 6500 (to(-)) in meadows between Lake Tahoe and Kings Canyon. This species is not of conservation concern, and its range includes some protected areas.


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


Orgyia leucostigma, the white-marked tussock moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. The caterpillar is very common especially in late summer in eastern North America, extending as far west as Texas, California, and Alberta.


Neverita duplicata, common name the shark eye, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Naticidae, the moon snails.In 2006, a paper was published which made it clear that a second, very similar, species with a smaller range of distribution also lives in part of the range inhabited by "Neverita duplicata". The second species had previously been considered to be simply a form of "N. duplicata", but it is now recognized as "Neverita delessertiana".


Melilotus albus, known as honey clover, white melilot (UK), Bokhara clover (Australia), white sweetclover (USA), and sweet clover, is a nitrogen-fixing legume in the family Fabaceae. "Melilotus albus" is considered a valuable honey plant and source of nectar and is often grown for forage. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin."Melilotus albus" is of Eurasian origin but can now be found throughout the subtropical to temperate zones, especially in North America, and is common in sand dune, prairie, bunchgrass, meadow, and riparian habitats. This species is listed as an "exotic pest" in Tennessee, "ecologically invasive" in Wisconsin, and a "weed" in Kentucky and Quebec.


Cerioporus squamosus aka "Polyporus squamosus" is a basidiomycete bracket fungus, with common names including dryad's saddle and pheasant's back mushroom. It has a widespread distribution, being found in North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe, where it causes a white rot in the heartwood of living and dead hardwood trees. The name "dryad's saddle" refers to creatures in Greek mythology called dryads who could conceivably fit and ride on this mushroom, whereas the "pheasant's back" analogy derives from the pattern of colors on the bracket matching that of a pheasant's back.


Mopalia muscosa, the mossy chiton, is a species of chiton, a polyplacophoran, an eight-plated marine mollusk. It is a northeastern Pacific species which occurs from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California Mexico.This species is found in the middle and lower intertidal zone on exposed rocky shores. "Mopalia muscosa" can be 40 to 55 (mm) in length. Mossy chitons are often covered by algae, barnacles, and limpets. The chiton's girdle is covered with coarse hair-like bristles or "setae".The visible exterior of the chiton's eight shell plates are typically a drab brown or grey-green, however on the underside the shell plates have a vibrant turquoise blue color. Some mossy chitons are biofluorescent mainly around the girdle and may show a bright glowing green color under ultra-violet or blue light. Mossy chitons typically move about at night or when covered by a high tide in order to graze on the red and green algae of which their diet consists. Young chitons have a planktonic stage and later metamorphose and settle on the bottom as adults.


Erythranthe moschata is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names muskflower, musk monkeyflower, and formerly as the common musk, eyebright and musk plant. It was formerly known as "Mimulus moschatus".


Bombylius major (commonly named the large bee-fly, the dark-edged bee-fly or the greater bee fly) is a parasitic bee mimic fly. "B. major" is the most common type of fly within the "Bombylius" genus. The fly derives its name from its close resemblance to bumblebees and are often mistaken for them."B. major" exhibits a unique flight behavior known as "yawing" and plays a role in general pollination, without preference of flower types. The fly does not bite, sting, or spread disease. However, the fly uses this mimicry of bumblebees to its own advantage, allowing close access to host solitary bee and wasp nests in order to deposit its eggs. After hatching, the larvae find their way into the nests to parasitically feed on the grubs.


The black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is a passerine bird in the tyrant-flycatcher family. It breeds from southwest Oregon and California south through Central and South America. It occurs year-round throughout most of its range and migrates less than the other birds in its genus, though its northern populations are partially migratory. Six subspecies are commonly recognized, although two are occasionally combined as a separate species, the white-winged phoebe.The black phoebe has predominantly black plumage, with a white belly and undertail coverts. The sexes are identical in color, and juveniles have brown feather tips and brown wing-bars. Its song is a repeated "tee-hee, tee ho". It lives in a variety of habitats but is always near water. It is mainly insectivorous and waits on a perch before sallying out and catching its prey in the air. It makes an open cup nest which is placed under a cliff or a bridge and cemented in its place with mud.


Hymenophyllum demissum is a species of fern in the family Hymenophyllaceae. "H. demissum" is found in New Zealand, with a specific example occurrence being in North Island's Hamilton Ecological District in a Nothofagus-podocarp forest in association with other fern species understory plants, crown fern, "Blechnum discolor" being an example.


Lilium humboldtii, or Humboldt's lily, is a species of lily native to the US state of California and the Mexican state of Baja California. It is named after naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. It is native to the South High Cascade Range, High Sierra Nevada, south Outer South Coast Ranges, and the Santa Monica Mountains and others in Southern California, growing at elevations from 600 (m) to 1200 (m).


Laetiporus gilbertsonii is a species of polypore fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It is found in western North America. It was one of three new "Laetiporus" species published in 2001, which were distinguished genetically from the common "Laetiporus sulphureus"; the others were "L. conifericola" and "L. huroniensis". The type collection, made in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in 1997, was found fruiting on a eucalyptus tree. It has also been collected in Oregon and Washington. The fungus is named in honor of mycologist Robert Lee Gilbertson. "L. gilbertsonii" is edible, although some people have reported experiencing upset stomach after consuming it. "Laetiporus conifericola" is very similar in appearance, but is readily distinguished by its growth on conifers.


The black-footed albatross ("Phoebastria nigripes") is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae from the North Pacific. All but 2.5% of the population is found among the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands. Unlike many albatrosses, it is dark plumaged.


The eastern meadow vole ("Microtus pennsylvanicus"), sometimes called the field mouse or meadow mouse, is a North American vole found in eastern Canada and the United States. Its range extends farther south along the Atlantic coast.The eastern meadow vole is active year-round, usually at night. It also digs burrows, where it stores food for the winter and females give birth to their young. Although these animals tend to live close together, they are aggressive towards one another. This is particularly evident in males during the breeding season. They can cause damage to fruit trees, garden plants, and commercial grain crops.<!-- repeat of taxobox