Beautiful Animals

Yeah, but you're going to have to fatten the poor, starving thing up a bit.

Schniff, so cute.

Numbat!

osso, Love this story. My late lamented parakeet Billie used to keep a beat by bouncing her head up and down. The chirping not so much. She also did a bit of dancing, also not so much to the beat. And she danced to only one song: "Don't Be Cruel." An Elvis fan.

I agree. An extraordinary photo. And a learning experience for me. I did not know that grasshoppers did that.

boomer, This story hasn't been posted here. Thanks for sharing it. Part of me was touched and moved. And part of me was saying, "Take the penguin, already."

vonny, When I came out of the hospital today, a little sparrow was sitting on the First Avenue sign chirping it's heart out. Audible above everything else. I love sparrows. Thanks for the great pic.

Hiya, London. Spring looks a little snooty. Great shot. Love dem PCs. Wilbur looks pooped. And, "Oh my. What big teeth he has."

tsar, Glad to see you. See osso's post above for seal head bobbing. A numbat? I thought it was a bandicoot. Shows ya how much I know. I'm enamored of it whatever it is. Thanks.

Hey, Reg, Is that an ocelot? Doesn't matter. It's gawgeous. Thanks, kid.

FM, A likely story. No, you can't keep it. Why? I want it. That's why. What a cutie. Thanks mucho.

Bandicoot:

They've polished their boots,pressed their uniforms,stood on parade for hours,when........................along comes a feathered friend and makes everyone smile....

That would make the soldier a pigeon stool, wouldn't it?

Father lion and child -

Barry, I know I say that I love a lot of animals. So when I say that I love pigeons, it might not mean much to you But they're in the upper echelon of my animal loves. Oiban boids! What's not to love? Thanks for the great pic. Made me smile.

vonny, We can only hope for the sake of the cub that the lion in the pic is its father. Great shot.

I googled "most beautiful snake in the world." This one came up a lot. A garter snake. Sorry, I don't know what kind:

It looks like a California Red-Sided Garter Snake.

bly designed by APPLE using its "brush" program. Notice the pixels on the little dudes back

San Francisco Garter Snake (more stripes, less spots):

woder what the selective advantage of that color acheme is? He could hide out on a crazy quilt, but what else?
Could this garter snake be a desert dweller?

Most of them are on the coast of California. There are a lot of slight variations in the color scheme including blue ones. I think they are closely related, possibly varieties of the same thing.

I'm not sure why there is such variation or why the bold colors to begin with. But I have read that Garter Snakes are actually mildly poisonous (although not enough to hurt a human). As they chew small prey they infuse the venom to help subdue it. Maybe the bright coloring is the first stage of venom "display" color adaptation?

Oh yes it does New York.Here's my story.
Back in the early 1950's,when I was around 5 or 6,my Mum and Dad started taking my little sister and me on day trips to London,which always included a visit to Trafalgar Square which,back in those days,was famous for it's pigeons.In a corner of the square was a small wooden hut where,for a few pennys,you could buy small containers of bird food.What we used to do was move into the center of the square and,with both hands,fill them with the food,hold our arms out (like the statue of Christ in Rio) and within seconds,the birds flew onto us,competing for their precious seeds.Now,when you're only two and a half feet tall,a pigeon is a big bird.To have them climbing on you,and even standing on your head was a little scary but also very exciting.
The feeding of the birds is now illegal .
BTW,I was in London last week to catch a movie and fancied a bite to eat.As I was in the Leicester Square area,I popped into McD's for a big mac and fries.It was a sunny afternoon so I chose to eat outside in the square.I found a vacant bench and started tucking in.Within a couple of minutes,a couple of pigeons were "eying me up" so I tossed them a couple of fries.Within seconds there were around 50 pigeons,and a seagull,clamouring around my feet.So I ate the burger and guess who got the fries .

Not me,but it's from the same era....

rosborne, San Francisco or California? Whatever or wherever, it really is a spectacular looking serpent. I too wondered about the coloring. Very bold. Not much chance of camouflage. Interesting possibility.

Barry, Somewhere there's a photo of me in Trafalgar Square with pigeons all over me. I think I was laughing. They were a lot heavier than I expected. Loved every minute of that. Small world.

The following is a fish. Some kind of triplefin. Amazing looking to me:

Animal News: Rare Video of Endangered Shorebird
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/spoon-billed-sandpiper-vin/

that sounds reasonable, since most venomous snakes of the rear fang varieties are usually brightly colored and are Night hunters.

1. In the dayight the bright colors (with reds and yellow-whites) will scare off certain predators (those with color perception like hawks and eagles)
2. At night, the reds and orangey yellows are colors that recede into the darkness and become almost camouflage-like in the dark but the associated whites or light yellows or blues break up the pattern in dappled moonlight.

Very pretty. Sigh.