Beautiful Animals

Black Kite:

Looks like he has some food stuck in his beak.

Yep.

By Jove, I believe you're right.

From The Guardian's Week in Wildlife -

A rare glimpse of a megapod of spinner dolphins where two superpods meet to socialise and mate.
Photograph: John Downer Productions




Migrating red crabs in Christmas Island, Australia. Millions of red crabs began their annual migration recently from the rainforest on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean to the sea coast to breed. Local government closed roads during the migration, which requires at least a week.
Photograph: Imago/Barcroft Media




A side view of a sperm whale swimming off the coast of Dominica in the Caribbean. Armed with seven-inch teeth and weighing more than 45 tonnes, sperm whales are one of the world's most formidable predators. But far from being a Moby Dick-style man eater, they are friendly enough to swim within touching distance of humans.
Photograph: Franco Banfi/Barcroft Media




Red deer grazing at Jedforest Deer Farm as heavy rain continues in the Scottish Borders, UK;
Photograph: Chris Strickland/Corbis




A robin perches on a holly tree at Fota wildlife park in County Cork, Ireland.
Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

FS, Happy new year back atcha. The puppy is thud-worthy and a half. I now keep smelling salts by the computer.

I agree, NM. Orcas are very smart and great to look at.

vonny, The velvet on those beginning antlers is wonderful. Great pic of the mudder hippo and calf. Hard to believe from this shot that hippos are among the most dangerous mammals in Africa.

FBM, Good to see you again. No mistaking a raptor. They have a special sharp and focused look. Thanks.

Thanks, timur, for identifying the boid.

osso, Those Guardian pics are always top notch. Love the sea mammals. The migrating crabs shot makes me nervous. Why? Not sure. Thanks for them all.

Scarlet ibis:



Cardinal:



Red tanager:

Nudibranch

Octopus, Hawaii

Spiny-Headed Blenny

I've always thought they were beautiful but recently have been watching a few programs on Netflix about them (and have been extending my 'search' further on the internet) and have become even more fascinated at how smart and wonderful they are!



Right in front of my house, somehow, a Cardinal was hit by a truck. I guess it was either too ill or accidentally flew into the vehicle but my Dad saw it happen and ended up walking down to see if he was alive. He was, but he was really stunned!



Starting out he had his eyes shut and a chunk of feathers was missing out of the side of his head! The poor little thing sat there for a good 20 minutes but eventually flew away after he regained his senses!!

Looks like a character from Fantasia.

Uh, kid, there's a pygmy marmoset in your hair.

Wood frog

Whooping Cranes, Canada

NM, Glad the little bird was able to fly. Hey boid! Watch where you're going. Re orcas. I was fascinated about the orca that killed a great white shark (Californai coast) and ate its liver and only its liver (no onions). Fascinating stuff.

jes, I'll take a pygmy marmoset over a hat any day. Tres thud-worthy. Thanks.

vonny, It just hit me. Ain't you the kid who showed up on a2k and didn't know how to post a picture? Didn't know how to do nuttin'? You've come a long way. Love the pic of the brown frog with all the green. Also love the familial shot of the whooping cranes.

Blue damselfly (extreme closeup):



Juvenile and adult (right) cotton harlequin bugs:

A year ago tomorrow, 6th January! From crossword puzzling threads to chat, photo and word games - and you're right, I knew nuttin! But oh what fun I've had learning! I'm immensely grateful to everybody here who patiently talked me through the entire learning curve. It's been an incredible journey - thank you

Velvet purple coronet:



Purple crowned fairy wren:



Purple throated carib:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/walgreens/animals-to-cheer-you-up-when-youre-sick

That's a very pretty little bird.

The dogs and the baby!!!

Dogs and baby- so funny, I agree!