DESKTOP 3289 - FISH TANK

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 3268 - SLUGGISH BEE

It's Winter here and the weather is cold, windy and wet. This poor bee must have become disoriented while out gathering food and the cold has made her sluggish. Having a rest on a patio, and hopefully she did find her way back to the hive...

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DESKTOP 3221 - HERON

The white-faced heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) also known as the white-fronted heron, and incorrectly as the grey heron, or blue crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, and all but the driest areas of Australia.

 

It is a medium-sized heron, pale, slightly bluish-grey, with yellow legs and white facial markings. It can be found almost anywhere near shallow water, fresh or salt, and although it is prompt to depart the scene on long, slow-beating wings if disturbed, it will boldly raid suburban fish ponds.

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DESKTOP 3179 - BLACK COCKATOO

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo (Zanda funerea) is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring 55–65 cm (22–26 in) in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow cheek patches and a yellow tail band. The body feathers are edged with yellow giving a scalloped appearance. The adult male has a black beak and pinkish-red eye-rings, and the female has a bone-coloured beak and grey eye-rings.

In flight, yellow-tailed black cockatoos flap deeply and slowly, with a peculiar heavy fluid motion. Their loud, wailing calls carry for long distances. The whiteae is found south of Victoria to the East of South Australia and is smaller in size. The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is found in temperate forests and forested areas across south and central eastern Queensland to southeastern South Australia, including a very small population persisting in the Eyre Peninsula. Two subspecies are recognised, although Tasmanian and southern mainland populations of the southern subspecies xanthanotus may be distinct enough from each other to bring the total to three. 

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo's diet primarily includes seeds of native and introduced plants while also feeding on wood-boring grubs. They nest in large hollows high in old growth native trees (greater than 200 years old), generally Eucalyptus regnans. Although they remain common throughout much of their range, fragmentation of habitat and loss of large trees suitable for nesting has caused population decline in Victoria and South Australia. Furthermore, the species may lose most of its mainland range due to climate change.

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DESKTOP 3116 - DOGS

By the creek on a Summer's day.

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DESKTOP 3096 - CAT

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DESKTOP 3019 - AQUARIUM

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CATS

A couple of cats observing the world through the safety of a flywire screen.

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DESKTOP 2977 - CHICKS

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DESKTOP 2942 - RESTING

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DESKTOP 2844 - PATIENT DOG

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DESKTOP 2830 - PUPPY

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DESKTOP 2732 - DOG WALKER

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DESKTOP 2711 - HORSES

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DESKTOP 2662 - HAPPY DOG

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DESKTOP 2515 - SULKING...

"I won't come home unless you apologise!"

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DESKTOP 2494 - BUTTERFLIES

Butterflies reproduce the way other animals do - sperm from a male fertilises eggs from a female. Males and females of the same species recognize one another by the size, color, shape and vein structure of the wings, all of which are species specific. Butterflies also recognize each other through pheromones, or scents.

During mating, males use clasping organs on their abdomens to grasp females, as you can see in the photo. Many male butterflies deliver more than just sperm to their mates. Most provide a spermatophore, a package of sperm and nutrients the female needs to produce and lay eggs. Some males collect specific nutrients to produce a better spermatophore in an attempt to attract a mate. 

Some females, however, don't have a choice -- in some species, males mate with females before they have left their chrysalis or swarm the chrysalis waiting for the female to appear. In most species, males and females look a lot a like, but females often have larger abdomens for carrying their eggs.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 2347 - TYGER

The Tyger
By William Blake

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand & what dread feet?

What the hammer, what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil, what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme.

DESKTOP 2297 - KOOKABURRAS

Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus Dacelo native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between 28–42 cm in length. The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, onomatopoeic of its call. The loud distinctive call of the Laughing Kookaburra is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve an Australian bush setting.

These birds are found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savanna, as well as in suburban areas with tall trees or near running water. Even though they belong to the larger group known as "kingfishers", kookaburras are not closely associated with water. The genus Dacelo was introduced by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in 1815. The name Dacelo is an anagram of Alcedo, the Latin word for a kingfisher. The laughing kookaburras shown here are Dacelo novaeguineae (native to eastern Australia, introduced to southwest). 

Kookaburras are almost exclusively carnivorous, eating mice, snakes, insects, small reptiles, and the young of other birds; they have also been known to take goldfish from garden ponds. In zoos they are usually fed food for birds of prey. The Darebin Parklands is a perfect habitat for these handsome birds and one may see these quite commonly right throughout the area of the park. Their laugh-like call is definitely a sign you're in Australia!

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DESKTOP 2025 - CAT

A neighbour's cat having a quiet moment on a wall.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,

and also part of the Camera Critters meme.