🐦 Meet the Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), a bird with a subtle yet striking appearance. 🌟

This medium-sized bird measures around 56 cm in length and weighs 500-1000 g. Adults have a dark brown plumage with a bronze and green metallic sheen. Young birds are brown without the sheen, with white streaks on their head and neck that fade with age. 🔍

Glossy Ibises inhabit freshwater and brackish wetlands, vast marshes, and shallow waters. They flock together, sometimes in groups of up to 100 birds, and feed on shallow waters with muddy bottoms, often among reeds or on rice fields and damp meadows. They roost in trees at night. 🌳

Interesting fact: Glossy Ibises are known for their unique, curved bills, which they use to probe into the mud for food. They are also skilled migrants, traveling long distances each year to reach their wintering grounds in Africa and southern Asia. 🌏

🐺 Grey Wolves Love Blueberries! 🫐

Wolves actually crave berries and other fruits. During the growth period, berries can make up to 80% of a wolf pack's diet! 🌿 Did you know that wolves are important seed dispersers in many ecosystems, helping to spread plant species through their droppings? 🌱

🦎 Meet the Komodo Dragon, one of the most unique animals in the wild! 🌟 This lizard resembles a mythical creature from folklore.

With its impressive appearance, the Komodo Dragon has a sturdy neck, powerful shoulders, but a relatively small head. Its large tail serves as both a support while moving and a weapon to settle disputes with rivals.

Adult males can grow up to 3m in length and weigh between 80-180kg, while females are slightly smaller. 🤯

Despite their seemingly sluggish nature, these lizards can run at speeds of up to 40km/h, sometimes rivaling deer and antelopes. They can even catch up to these hoofed animals while hunting! 🏃‍♂️

🐦 Meet the Kea (Nestor notabilis), a unique parrot endemic to New Zealand! 🌟 With its falcon-like appearance, large head, and curved beak, this bird is a force to be reckoned with. 💪 Despite its relatively small size (45 cm, 600-1000 g), the Kea is incredibly strong and an agile flyer.

🌿 Its olive-green feathers, with a hint of brown and bright red under its wings, make it a stunning sight. Its grey legs and loud, screeching call ("keeee-aa") complete its distinctive appearance. 🗣️

🤡 Known for their curious nature and clever beak use, Keas are infamous for causing mischief among locals and entertaining tourists. Dubbed the "clowns of the mountains," they love to investigate backpacks and cars, making them a joy to watch! 🎉

🐦 Meet the House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 🌟

Found throughout the US, Mexico, southern Canada, and Hawaii, this bird is known for its vibrant colors. Males have a distinctive red head, breast, and back, with a speckled belly and brown wings and tail. Females are more subdued, with a speckled underside and brown upperparts. Young males resemble females in coloration.

💕 House Finches are monogamous, forming pairs in winter before the breeding season. During courtship, males perform a "butterfly flight," soaring 20-30 meters high and then slowly descending while singing loudly. Females prefer males with brighter head colors! 🌟

🐤 Chicks leave the nest after 12-19 days, and the female builds a new nest and lays another clutch. The father continues to feed the young for a while. 🐦

Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) - A wild cat of Southeast Asia, known for its unique fishing skills and excellent swimming abilities.

Between the toes of its front paws, it has webbing that prevents it from retracting its claws but aids in catching fish. Adults weigh 11-15 kg (males) and 6-7 kg (females), with a body length of 95-120 cm and a shoulder height of about 40 cm. This cat has a sturdy build and impressive strength.

The fishing cat inhabits tropical and subtropical regions of Southeast Asia: southern and eastern India, Indochina, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Java. It is primarily found in forests near water bodies, especially swamps, lakes, and slow-moving rivers.

Did you know? This cat mainly feeds on fish. During hunting, it sits by the riverbank, waiting for a passing fish, which it strikes with its clawed paw. Sometimes, it even dives to the riverbed for its prey.

Fun Fact: Fishing cats are excellent swimmers and can stay underwater for up to 30 seconds! 🐾💦

The Pallas's Cat: A Unique Feline

The Pallas's cat, also known as the manul, is a fascinating creature that has remained in a transitional stage of evolution. Unlike other felines, it hasn't learned to roar like big cats, nor has it become a typical wild cat. It retains a round pupil, much like a lion.

There are three known subspecies of Pallas's cats:

1. Otocolobus manul manul: Found in various regions, including Mongolia and China.
2. Otocolobus manul ferruginea: Inhabits Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Kazakhstan. Its coat is more reddish with reddish stripes.
3. Otocolobus manul nigripecta: Known as the Tibetan Pallas's cat, it lives in Tibet, Kashmir, and Nepal. Its fur is more gray, turning silvery in winter.

Despite its adorable appearance, the Pallas's cat is a tough, ruthless predator. It lives solitary and doesn't tolerate competitors on its large territory.

Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) - a fascinating mammal from the raccoon family, thriving in Arizona. Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, this creature is known by many names: Ringtail, Ring-tailed Cat, Miner's Cat, or Bassariscus. The term "Cacomistle" is sometimes used, but it more commonly refers to its close relative, Bassariscus sumichrasti.

Fun Fact: The Ringtail's ankle joint is incredibly flexible, rotating over 180 degrees, making it an agile climber. Its long tail aids in balance while navigating narrow ledges.

Did You Know? Ringtails can ascend narrow passages by pressing all their feet against one wall and their back against the other, or by pressing both right feet against one wall and both left feet against the opposite wall.

Sound Off: Their typical call is a loud, mournful howl. They also produce a variety of sounds, including clicks and chatter, reminiscent of raccoons. 🐾🌵

Three-coloured Glossy Starling (Superb Starling) Lamprotornis superbus

This stocky, short-tailed starling is native to East Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

It boasts a wide repertoire of whistles and trills, even mimicking the calls of other bird species.

The bird forages on the ground for insects, mollusks, worms, fruits, and seeds. When gathering in flocks, they can cause significant damage to crops. Additionally, they may persistently beg for food in villages and cities.

Their song is characterized by whistles transitioning into trills, constantly changing to create a beautiful, vibrant, and diverse melody.

Fun Fact: The Superb Starling's striking plumage and melodious song have made it a popular subject for birdwatchers and photographers alike.

Bandit Cat: The Striped Linsang

The striped linsang (Prionodon linsang) is a civet-like mammal, not a feline (despite its name!).

Native to the forests of Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo, this elusive creature thrives in dense, tropical environments.

Measuring 35-45 cm in body length and 30-35 cm in tail length, the linsang is a slender, graceful animal. Its coat is light gray or brownish-gray, adorned with 4 or 5 black transverse stripes on its back. Dark spots mark its sides and legs.

A nocturnal animal, the linsang spends most of its time in trees, expertly climbing and leaping among the branches. Yet, it's also agile on the ground.

Its diet includes birds, small mammals, insects, lizards, frogs, and even bird eggs.

Fun Fact: The linsang's name comes from the Thai word "ling-sang," which means "fox" and "wildcat," reflecting its unique, cat-like appearance and fox-like behavior. 🦊🐱

Flying foxes (Pteropus) trying to drink from a river or cool off, while freshwater Australian crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni) hunt them.

Interesting fact: Unlike bats, flying foxes do not have echolocation. They don't need it, as these vegans feed on nectar, fruit pulp, and flowers. 🦇🍹🐊

Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) - a tiny squirrel-like creature!

This adorable creature is about the size of a mouse: 15 cm in body length, with a 6-8 cm tail, and weighs only 15-25 g. It's one of the smallest dormice species.

The hazel dormouse is found in deciduous and mixed forests across Europe and northern Turkey, including southern Sweden and the UK. It's common in Southern Europe, except for Spain.

Fun Fact: Hazel dormice have a unique hibernation pattern. They can wake up from hibernation during warm winter spells to forage for food, then go back to sleep!

Their diet consists of tree and shrub seeds (nuts, acorns, chestnuts, beech and lime nuts) and various berries and fruits. Their favorite food? Hazelnuts! In early spring, they also eat young shoots and buds. 🌰🍂

Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) is part of the weasel family, alongside minks, polecats, badgers, ferrets, wolverines, stoats, honey badgers, and other carnivorous creatures.

Dietary habits of sea otters are particularly noteworthy: they use carefully selected stones to crack open shells, making them one of the few animal species that use tools.

Their fur hangs loosely, creating many folds. Under each front paw, they have folds large enough to temporarily store various prey during prolonged underwater dives.

Very dense fur (the standard for density and durability), coated with glandular secretions, is well protected from wetting and serves as an excellent barrier against hypothermia. In the 18th-19th centuries, this fur led to extensive hunting, pushing the species to the brink of extinction. 🦦🌊

Dominican Widowbird (Vidua macroura)

Just like the cuckoo, the Dominican Widowbird lays its eggs in the nests of other birds! However, their chicks are easier to feed: widowbirds are no bigger than canaries (except for the males' long tails).

Widowbirds are widespread across a large area of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Their diet mainly consists of plant seeds, which they gather from the ground. They may also eat insects, such as flying termites. During the breeding season, the female pecks at the eggs of the host bird.

There is no definitive version of how this bird got its name. Opinions vary—some insist the name comes from the presence of black feathers, while others argue it arose from mispronunciation of words. 🐦🌍

Desert Buzzard Hunting the White-tailed Antelope Squirrel. Notice that leisurely stroll among the cacti...

The Desert Buzzard (Parabuteo unicinctus) is a bird of prey from the family Accipitridae, found from the southwestern USA to Chile and central Argentina. This bird is known for its unique "cooperative hunting" practice in family groups, unlike most other predators that hunt alone.

The White-tailed (Antelope) Squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus) is a ground squirrel inhabiting deserts in the western USA. Interestingly, these tiny creatures don't need to drink water as they get all the necessary moisture from their food. They primarily feed on seeds from desert plants. 🌵🐿️