'/> Amazing Animals: August 2015

Thursday, August 20, 2015

10 Captivating Brown Coloured Birds

These brown coloured birds are sights to behold. Check out where they are found to see with your very own eyes their splendor colors.

House Wren

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The House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) is a familiar backyard bird that occurs from Canada to southernmost South America. It is a small wren that lacks bold or characteristic markings. The House Wren head, nape, and back is almost uniformly brown with its throat and chest a uniform light grey. Fine brown bars appear on its flanks, tail, and wings. It has a long, thin, curved bill. Adults measure 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in) long, with a 15 cm (5.9 in) wingspan and weigh about 10 to 12 g (0.35 to 0.42 oz).

Common Myna

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The Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) is a large, stocky starling native to southern Asia. Overall body plumage is chocolate-brown with a glossy black head and bare yellow patch behind the eye. It has a yellow bill and legs. The sexes are similar.

Oriental Turtle-Dove

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The Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) is a large, stocky dove that is very common in eastern Asia. Also known as the Rufous Turtle-dove, it has buff-brown overall with the distinctive patch of black and whitish stripes on either side of its neck. Some of the wing feathers having black centres and whitish or reddish edges. Tail is long, grey, and white-tipped. The bill and legs are red.

Black Kite

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The Black Kite (Milvus migrans) is a medium-sized long-winged Raptor (birds of prey) with grey-brown upperparts, and faint streaks on grey-brown underparts. The plumage is dark brown, with scattered pale brown and Rufous markings, particularly on the head, neck and underparts. Head is paler than body, dark mark around the eye. The body feathers have dark shafts giving it a streaked appearance. The long tail is slightly forked and barred with darker brown. The sexes are similar. Adults can reach 55-60 cm (21.65-23.62 in) long, with a wingspan of 140-150 cm (55.11-59.05 in) and weigh 630-930 grams.

Hawaiian Owl

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The Hawaiian Owl (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) or Pueo is medium-sized owl that is endemic to Hawaii. Its feathered body is streaked with shades of brown and white. It has a big round head with buff facial disk, small ear tufts, and black bill. A dark mask surrounds large, yellow eyes. Full grown adults can reach 33-43.18 cm (13-17 in) in length. Females being slightly larger than the males. The sexes are similar.

Clay-coloured Thrush

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The Clay-coloured Thrush (Turdus grayi) is a common bird from eastern Mexico to northern Colombia. Also called Clay-coloured Robin, it is a large thrush with olive-brown upperparts, paler brown underparts and lighter on the flanks. The throat is faintly streaked. The bill is yellow-green and black-tipped. The legs are pinkish and feet are grey-black. It is 23–27 cm (9.1–10.6 in) long, and weighs 74–76 g (2.6–2.7 oz) on average. It is the national bird of Costa Rica.

Brown Noddy

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The Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) is a very rare seabird in the New Zealand region. This medium-sized tern is brown with a white cap, a grey nape and a small white lower half-eye ring. It has a distinctive pale under-wing coverts and narrow, wedge-shaped tail. It has black legs and feet. The sexes are similar.

California Thrasher

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The California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum) is a large thrasher found only in chaparral habitat in California and Baja California. It has dark brown upperparts and reddish brown underside. The bird's main distinguishable feature is its long, thick, down-curved bill. It has a finely streaked face, a dark cheek pattern and eye-line, and has dark eyes. The throat has small buff patch. it has a dark, fan-shaped tail with reddish-brown undertail coverts. It has grey-brown feet and legs. Adults measure about 30 cm (12 in) and nearly 85 g (3.0 oz).

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

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The Fulvous Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) is a large duck of shallow wetlands, widespread in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. It has mainly reddish brown plumage, long neck and dark brown wings with a silver-white stripe on the edges. It has a Rufous-brown crown and upper nape. It has long, bluish gray legs. adults measure 44–51 cm (17.3–20.1 in) in length and weigh 595–964 g (21–34 oz).

Chinese Hwamei

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The Chinese Hwamei (Garrulax canorus) is a is a medium-sized songbird of eastern Asia. The plumage is mostly reddish-brown with dark streaks on the crown, back and throat. It has a blue-white eye ring which extends backwards as a white stripe. It has rounded wings, yellow bill, fan-shaped tail, buff-pink legs and feet. Adults measure 21 to 25 cm long. Sexes are similar.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

The World's Smallest Animals Part 2

What are the world's smallest animals? A chameleon small enough to easily perch on a match head and a frog the size of a housefly are among the tiniest of their kind. Check out the other 'small guys' that made the list!

Smallest Bird

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The Bee Hummingbird or Helena Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is the smallest bird in the world. This tiny bird that is no larger than a big insect and, as its name suggests, is slightly larger than a bee is only found in Cuba.

Hummingbirds in general aren’t exactly known for their towering stature, but the size of this hyperactive bird is stunning. With a length of 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in) and a mass of around 1.6–2 g (0.056–0.071 oz), the Bee Hummingbird holds the record for the smallest living bird.

Smallest Turtle

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The world's smallest turtle is the Speckled Padloper Tortoise (Homopus signatus) endemic to South Africa. The males measure 6–8 cm (2.4–3.1 in), while females measure up to almost 10 cm (3.9 in). They weigh about 95–165 grams (3.4–5.8 oz). This tiny creature has an orange-brown, flattened shell covered in hundreds of black spots. The species has four claws on its back feet.

Smallest Dragonfly

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The Scarlet Pygmy (Annophya pygmaea), also known as the Scarlet Dwarf, is the smallest true dragonfly in the world. The species is native of Southeast Asia to China and Japan, occasionally found south to Australia. This fascinating butterfly has a total body length of merely 16-17 mm and a wingspan of only 20 mm (3/4 in).

Smallest Cow Breed

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The Vechur Cow, a rare breed of (Bos indicus), is the smallest cattle breed in the world. A dwarf cow from Kerala,India, full grown males average 124 cm (48.81 in) in length and 90 cm (35.43 in) in height. This cattle breed is valued for the high-yield and high-fat milk it produces.

Smallest Chameleon

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The Brookesia micra, a species of chameleon is now the tiniest chameleon ever discovered. This Lilliputian lizard was discovered on a tiny island off Madagascar. This miniature chameleon reaches a maximum length of just 3 cm (1.18 in) from nose to bottom - small enough to easily perch on a match head!

Smallest Parrot

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The Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot (Micropsitta pusio) is the smallest parrot in the world. The tiny bird is native to the forests of New Guinea and nearby islands. On average, Buff-faced Pygmy parrots stand less than 9 cm (3.54 in) tall and weigh 11.5 g (0.41 oz). This pygmy parrot is so small it fits in a human hand.

Smallest Penguin

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The Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) is the world's smallest species of penguin, found in New Zealand and Australia. Its preferred habitats include sandy, rocky islands, around the bases of cliffs or near sand dunes. Also known as Little Blue, Blue and Fairy Penguin, this tiny seabird grow to an average of 33 cm (13 in) in height and 43 cm (17 in) in length.

Smallest Seahorse

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This is the amazing Denise’s Pygmy Seahorse ((Hippocampus denise), the smallest seahorse in the world. The species lives in the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean, and is often found attached to coral seafans. The orange-colored seahorse measures 1.5 cm (5/8 inch) from snout to tail. Gosh! this sea creature is smaller than the average fingernail.

Smallest Octopus

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The Star-Sucker Pygmy Octopus (Octopus wolfi) is the world's smallest known octopus. The octopus species was discovered and officially classified in 1913. These sub-tropical pygmy species are found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. This tiny octopus measures only 1.5 cm (0.59 in) in length and weighs less than a gram (less than 0.035 ounces)!

Smallest Frog

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The world's smallest frog is the size of a housefly and could sit within the confines of your fingernail! The frog species Paedophryne amanuensis from Papua New Guinea was discovered in August 2009 and formally described in January 2012. The crimson and black frog measures a mere 7.7 mm (0.30 inches) in size at adulthood. Another incredible feat this frog can accomplish - jumping thirty times their body length!

Check out also: The World's Smallest Animals Part 1

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Amazing Animal Alphabet Series 2

Explore the animal world, from aardvark to zebu! Discover hundreds of animals, weird and remarkable. This Amazing Animal Alphabet compilation will definitely provide hours of entertainment for both kids and young-at-heart.

If you missed Part 1 of this series then go check it out here: Amazing Animal Alphabet Series 1

From a beautiful southern African antelope, down to a small pouchless Australian marsupial and to an endangered Hawaiian goose, these animals that begins with the letter N are surprisingly awesome!

Nuthatch

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The nuthatch is a small, compact passerine bird that belongs to the bird family Sittidae, comprising 25 species where 15 species are widespread in Asia and few species inhabiting the woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere. Read More

From a tiny tick-eating African bird, to a weird forest giraffe and to an endangered big-eared bat, the animal kingdom presents us with 10 extreme animals whose names begin with the letter O.

Otter

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Otters are twelve species in seven genera of semi-aquatic mammals comprising the family Mustelidae. They inhabit temperate regions of Europe, Asia, North America, and parts of North Africa. Read More

They may not be as popular as their cousins, but these animals whose names start with the letter P are simply awesome in their own right.

Aside from Pig, penguin, panda, pigeon, pelican, puma, panther, pug…. the animal Kingdom offers as with other awesome animals whose names start with the letter P. Here is a list of what I consider, least-known letter P animals.

Proboscis Monkey

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The proboscis monkey or long-nosed monkey, is a reddish-brown monkey that is widespread on the island of Borneo, Malaysia. It is found living along riverbanks, swamps and mangrove forests. A remarkable feature of this arboreal monkey is the male’s large, fleshy nose that can reach up to 7 inches long. Read More

Meet and learn more from these elite animals whose names begin with the letter Q.

From a popular bird hunted for its meat to a cat-like Australian marsupial down to a flamboyant angelfish – they comprise our list of Q animals.

Queen Triggerfish

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The Queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) is a reef dwelling fish widespread in the Atlantic Ocean. They are found ruined reef tops, coral and grassy areas in depths of up to 20 meters. Named after the spines found on their backs, Queen triggerfish are typically carry brown coloration mark with blue lines on its head and fins. Read More

They may not be as popular as Rabbit, Rat, Robin, Rhinoceros, Rooster or Rottweiler….but these charming animals deserve their spot on our list of animals whose names begin with the letter R.

Roadrunner

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The roadrunners (also known as Ground Cuckoo),are two species of fast-running terrestrial birds native to North and Central America. The two existing species of these ground foraging cuckoos are: Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) and Lesser Roadrunner (Geococcyx velox.) Read More

Sifaka, Spring Peeper, and Stoat – what do these animals have in common? They are some of the fascinating animals whose names begin with the letter S. Read on to know more about the other seven animals that made the list.

Spring Peeper

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The Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) are small, well-camouflaged frogs found throughout the eastern part of Canada and the United States. These amphibians known for their high-pitched peeping sounds inhabit forests and wooded areas near ponds, streams and swamps. Read More

They may not be the most mentioned animals whose names start with the letter T, but after reading down this list, it is a safe fact that you will agree with me that truly these 10 T animals are really fascinating and their names worth remembering.

Tarsier

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The Tarsier is a unique, primitive species of primate that generally spends its entire life on trees. Tarsiers, considered one of the smallest known primates, are today found living in lowland & coastal forests on a number of islands in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Read More

A list of seven spectacular animals whose names begin with the letter U.

The animal kingdom presents us with hundreds of amazing, odd-looking and spectacular animals. Among these creatures include 7 spectacular animals whose names begin with the letter U. Read on to learn more about them.

Uromastyx Lizard

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The Uromastyx or the Spiny-tailed lizard is a genus of lizard in the agamid family. There are about 18 extant species of Uromastyx duly recognized by taxonomists. These agamids are well-known for the rings of spiked scales covering the top side of their tail. Read More

A list of seven intriguing V animals you probably never heard of.

Visayan Warty Pig

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The Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons) is a small, forest-dwelling pig endemic to the Philippines. It gets its name from the three pairs of fleshy “warts” present on the pig’s face. Read More

They may not be as colorful as the turacos, lovable as the talking-parrots or as agile as the fierce raptors — but these birds whose names start with the letter W are indeed fascinating! Read on and learn more about them.

Whimbrel

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The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is a fairly large wader with distinctive long down-curved bills. A migratory species distributed worldwide, these waders breed across much of North America, Africa, Europe and Asia. On average, adult wattlebirds measure 37–47 cm (15–19 in) and weigh about 270–493 g (9.5–17.4 oz). Read More

Can you give me five animals whose names start with the letter X? Your guess is as good as mine. But I can give you two — a popular aquarium fish and a weird breed of dog. Surprisingly, there are at least 25 animals that starts with the letter X. Here are some of them.

Xantus’s Hummingbird

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The Xantus’s Hummingbird (Basilinna xantusii) is a medium-sized hummingbird found only in Baja California. These husky birds inhabit bushes, forests and home gardens. It can reach 8–9 cm long, and weighs about 3-4 g. Read More

They may not be as beautiful or as popular compared to their more illustrious cousins, but certainly these birds whose names start with the letter Y are simply colorful and fascinating creatures.

Yellowthroat

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The Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) are small songbird found in Mexico, North America and Central America. The breeding habitats of these migratory birds include dense shrubs, marshes and thickets. They are solitary or may be found in pairs. Read More

Just to enrich our knowledge about the animal kingdom; here are seven animals whose names start with the letter Z.

Zenaida Dove

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Zenaida Dove or Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) is found throughout South America, inhabiting open fields, agricultural lands and savannahs. The Eared Dove can be distinguished by its brown upper feathers long wedge-shaped tail and black markings on its wings. Read More