Beautiful Animals

It certainly does, Roberta. (Given that I don't reside in a tropical rainnforest in norther Queensland!)

Our local (temperate zone) kingfishers have their own particular charms, too, even if they are just browny-grey tones. They were rather scarce for quite a few years (due to the pollution of the inner-city creeks & river system). So it was quite an event when they were first spotted again (after years of clean-ups & the restoration of native plants) at the Merri Creek - closest water source to where I live. Kind of exciting!

Return of the sacred kingfisher festival:
http://www.ceres.org.au/community/events/Kingfisher_story.html

Dadpad, The lyrebirds are supoib. I guess this is another species that sacrificed strong flight for display. Thanks for posting these. Also glad to hear that the bowerbirds ain't that bad. I'd rather have a bird than a rat any day. Some folks here refer to pigeons as flying rats. I don't agree. I like pigeons. They're very urban. My kinda bird.

Msolga, You don't live in a rain forest? That probably explains the dry spells you experience. I read your link (thanks) and did a bit of poking around. Some sacred kingfishers are quite colorful. Doesn't matter though. I'm glad they're back, whatever color they are.

According to the source, this is a sacred kingfisher. Not dull at all.

No, it isn't, Roberta!
The few I see on my (Maribyrnong River) walks look quite young. Maybe it's their "baby colours"?
Anyway, I love em, whatever colour!

I hope to see a sight like this soon. You see them all the time along the roadways, but getting them to come anywhere near you is a real challenge - that is why it's called hunting.

Holy crap that's a lot of turkey!!!

Yup, cj, that's one big boid.



Dhole (Asian wild dog):





Chital (spotted deer):

Baird's tapir (and friend):


Here's a story about our local celebrity Baird's tapir, little Seamus: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/04/zoos_tapir_gets.html

Thanks for the story, Jes. Glad little Seamus recovered.

I didn't know there were more than one kind of tapir. Here's a photo of a full-grown Baird's tapir:





And here's a photo of the only kind of tapir I knew about until today:

Porcupines (in Africa):





Red sea urchin:

Botany Bay weevil:

javalina (meanest critter in arizona)
http://benstarr.com/Images/javalina.jpg

Thanks for the tip, dys. I'll be sure to steer clear of these the next time I'm in Arizona.

This fellow was feeding in my tree in the front yard this morning.

Glad to see you're fast with the camera, Wilso. Great shots. Thanks for sharing. I envy you having seen such a thing.


Greater bird of paradise:





Wasp spider:

There were about a dozen of them hanging around today. They were here for hours.

Wilso, Gonna have to take your word for it with the tree. Nice view.

Hartebeest:





Caribbean reef octopus:

Tarsier:





Sea slug (nudibranch):

no way that sucker's of this earth... it doesn't even look real!

You finally figured it out, Reg. In my spare time, I concoct elaborate and bizarre looking graphics that possibly resemble some kinda animal from this earth. Then I laugh my ass off thinking about all the suckers who view this thread and marvel at them.


Then I make up equally elaborate biological info:

Octopus briareus
Caribbean Reef Octopus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Octopodidae
Genus: Octopus
species: Octopus briareus
Full Taxonomy (ITIS)

Description & Behavior
The Caribbean reef octopus, Octopus briareus, is characterized by its distinctive blue-green color with occasional mottled-brown markings. Like other octopus species, the Caribbean reef octopus is solitary animal and able to quickly change color using specialized cells in their skin known as chromatophores. The body of this amazing cephalopod has been measured to 12 cm with arms to at least 60 cm. They can weigh up to 1.5 kg.

World Range & Habitat
The Caribbean reef octopus is common throughout the Western Atlantic, Bahamas, Caribbean and the coasts of northern South America. It is often found at night feeding on reefs and seagrass beds. Because their blue-green skin is so reflective, they are easy to spot at night with dive lights.

» Feeding Behavior (Ecology)
Octopus briareus feeds on a wide array of animals including primarily crustaceans as well as small fish and bivalves.

Either that or de aliens is amongst us. Run for life!