TTH, Yes, tarantulas bite. All of them do. And they all have venom. Some are more serious biters than others. I was watching one of my nature shows. A tarantula and a venomous snake went at each other. The tarantula won! The narrator said that it was really a matter of who got in the first bite.
I saw this blue tarantula on the show. A brown tarantula turned on its back. It puffed itself up. The brown outer skin split. Underneath was the new blue body covering. It was a grueling task, but the tarantula crawled out of its old skin, which had become too small. The new blue underneath was bigger. It took a while for it to recover. You could see its heart beating from the exertion. Amazing stuff. Please don't pet a tarantula! Even a pretty blue one.
Okay Roberta I won't pet one if I ever come across one. Thanks
Scarlet Mormon butterfly:
Scarlet tanager:
Scarlet minivet:
American goldfinch Carduelis tristis
(WA state bird) I have lived in the same state all my life and have only seen 1 goldfinch
http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/uploads/wa-goldfinch.jpg
Pileated Woodpecker
I have only seen 1 of these too and it was big.
Thanks for the boids, TTH. Don't be disappointed that you've seen only one of each. I haven't seen any of most.
Coelacanth (thought to be extinct; they ain't):
Three-horned chameleon jousting:
Feather star (there's an amazing variety of these):
Margay (South America):
That scarlet tanager picture is a work of art.
This one was taken in Costa Rica.
Does anybody know the name of this bird? (kingfisher?)
It looks like a Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana)
Glad you like the tanager, C.I. A friend of mine has one of these guys in her neighborhood. She says it's a joy to see one no matter how often.
Is your photo a butterfly or moth I wonder.
Definitely a kingfisher. Thanks to TTH for identifying which kind.
Roberta, That''s a butterfly. They are very hard to photograph, because they just don't sit still for long. I forgot where in Costa Rica, but it was at one of those resorts where they had a huge walk-in cage where they had several different kinds of butterflys.
Thanks, C.I. Beautiful butterflies. I'm guessing that most nature photographers have problems with moving around. This must be especially difficult when they're trying to get a shot of a butterfly. Worth the trouble though.
A penguin on the move. Thanks, C.I.
Wallaby:
Jungle carpet python (Australia):
That wallaby appears to be considering the next move..
