17-5-2017 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

Raising a nest full of baby herons is hard work! During the breeding season, some Gray Herons spend up to 23 hours per day foraging and some travel up to 38 km (24 miles) from their nest in search of food.

Gray Herons usually feed on smaller fish, 10–25 cm (4–10 inches) long, but some ambitious individuals take fish weighing up to 500 grams (1.1 pounds) and eels that are up to 60 cm (24 inches) long.

Gray Herons live in Eurasia and Africa, but rare individuals stray from their normal range to places like the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Despite the Gray Heron's similarity to Great Blue Heron, some observers have also documented this species from the Atlantic Coast of mainland North America, from Newfoundland to Virginia, and also from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

22-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BLUE ROCK THRUSH (MALE) (Monticola solitarius)

22-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN SERIN (MALE) (Serinus serinus)

22-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - MALLOW BINDWEED (Convolvulus althaeoides)

20-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - WAVE MOTH (Idaea eugeniata)

Idaea eugeniata is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in Italy, France, Andorra, Spain, Portugal and North Africa.

The wingspan is 21–22 mm for males and 24–25 mm for females.

The larvae are polyphagous and have been recorded feeding on various herbaceous plants.

20-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - HORSE CHESTNUT MOTH (Pachycnemia hippocastanaria)

Pachycnemia hippocastanaria (Horse Chestnut Moth) is a small geometrid moth with a 28–32 mm wingspan, appearing in grey, brown, and red tones. Native to European heathlands, it has two broods (April-May, August) and feeds on Heather (Calluna vulgaris), not Horse Chestnut trees. It is distinct from the invasive Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner (Cameraria ohridella). 

Key Facts about Pachycnemia hippocastanaria

Appearance: A relatively small, slender-bodied moth with a wingspan of 28–32 mm. The forewings are typically a mixture of grey, brown, and reddish tones with darker markings.

Habitat: Primarily found in warm, dry, open habitats such as heathlands.

Distribution: A southern species in Britain, restricted to heathlands in the southernmost counties. It is also found in various parts of Europe.

Life Cycle: It is double-brooded, with adults appearing in April and May, and a second, sometimes smaller brood appearing in August.

Larval Foodplant: Contrary to its name, the larvae feed on heathland plants, specifically Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix).

Behaviour: Both males and females are attracted to light. 

21-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SPECKLED FOOTMAN MOTH (Coscinia cribraria)

Coscinia cribraria, the speckled footman, is a species of moth belonging to the subfamily Arctiinae within the large family Erebidae. This moth has a widespread distribution in the Palearctic.

Coscinia cribraria has a forewing which has a background colour of dirty white marked with black streaks along the wings and crossbands made up of dark dots, both of which vary in extent. The subspecies arenaria has an almost pure white forewing. The speckled footman has a wingspan of between 30 and 35 mm (1.2 and 1.4 in).

Coscinia cribraria has a wide Palearctic distribution being found from Northwestern Africa Iberia and southern Great Britain east to China and Mongolia. In Europe, north of the Alps, the speckled footman is typically found on sandy heaths and open sandy pine forests. To the south of the Alps, it inhabits on dry mountain meadows with stony or rocky areas and around the Mediterranean this species can be found in habitats like maquis and in open forests. 

21-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BUFF TAILED BUMBLE BEE (Bombus terrestris)

20-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - GEOMETER MOTH (Idaea incalcarata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/895433-Idaea-incalcarata

20-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - CATALONIA WALL LIZARD (Podarcis liolepis)

21-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - TWO TAILED PASHA (Charaxes jasius)

Charaxes jasius, the two-tailed pasha, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is the only European species of the genus Charaxes. Divergence of the Mediterranean species C. jasius from the last common ancestor with its closest related species still flying in the Afrotropical realm most probably occurred around 2 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene.

Charaxes jasius is a medium to large butterfly with a wingspan reaching 76–83 mm in males, the female being larger. Males up to 80–100 mm wingspan, with females even larger, may be found in Morocco. Each hindwing bears two tails, characteristic of most species of the genus. The spring seasonal brood is smaller in size compared with the second and sometimes third broods, and the two tails on each hindwing tend to curve somewhat towards each other resembling a pincer, less so in the later broods with slightly longer straighter tails.

This species occurs along the European Mediterranean coast from west Portugal to the coastal islands of Greece (except for the northern Adriatic sea coast), from the central and south peninsula of Italy to Istria, and the coastline of southern Anatolia including Samos, Ikaria and Rhodes. Its range includes the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Corfu and Crete. Inland, the butterfly is found in locally in Spain from Huelva and Málaga to Madrid and Salamanca. In France, the butterfly is found isolated inland from Provence to Lozère, Ardèche and Aveyron. Further around the Eastern Mediterranean coast, it occurs in Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and continues along much of North African coast to the Atlantic Moroccan NW coast as far as coastal Tiznit environs, venturing inland in a very few Moroccan locations as high as 2,400m asl.

Its typical habitat around the Mediterranean Basin is the Maquis shrubland, up to 700–800 meters above sea level. This comprises thick, mixed scrub forests, often on hillsides, in hot and dry regions. The butterfly is found wherever its larval host plants are abundantly available.

sha is a fast-flying butterfly that displays territorial behaviour. The butterfly also is a noted for hill-topping. The adults of both sexes are attracted to fermenting fruits; they are attracted to the ethanol contained therein, and can be baited with wine and other alcoholic beverages.

Charaxes jasius is bivoltine or trivoltine, i.e. it has two or three generations per year depending on latitude and altitude.

20-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - JUMPING SPIDER (Menemerus semilimbatus)

19-4-2017 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SPECKLED FOOTMAN MOTH (Coscinia cribraria)

Coscinia cribraria, the speckled footman, is a species of moth belonging to the subfamily Arctiinae within the large family Erebidae. This moth has a widespread distribution in the Palearctic.

Coscinia cribraria has a forewing which has a background colour of dirty white marked with black streaks along the wings and crossbands made up of dark dots, both of which vary in extent. The subspecies arenaria has an almost pure white forewing.The speckled footman has a wingspan of between 30 and 35 mm (1.2 and 1.4 in).

Coscinia cribraria has a wide Palearctic distribution being found from Northwestern Africa Iberia and southern Great Britain east to China and Mongolia.[1] In Europe, north of the Alps, the speckled footman is typically found on sandy heaths and open sandy pine forests. To the south of the Alps, it inhabits on dry mountain meadows with stony or rocky areas and around the Mediterranean this species can be found in habitats like maquis and in open forests.

17-4-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - COMMON SANDPIPER (Actitis hypoleucos)

The common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos ) is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (A. macularia ), make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize. Hybridization has also been reported between the common sandpiper and the green sandpiper, a basal species of the closely related shank genus Tringa.

The adult is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) long with a 32–35 cm (13–14 in) wingspan. It has greyish-brown upperparts, white underparts, short dark-yellowish legs and feet, and a bill with a pale base and dark tip. In winter plumage, they are duller and have more conspicuous barring on the wings, though this is still only visible at close range. Juveniles are more heavily barred above and have buff edges to the wing feathers.

This species is very similar to the slightly larger spotted sandpiper (A. macularia ) in non-breeding plumage. But its darker legs and feet and the crisper wing pattern (visible in flight) tend to give it away, and of course they are only rarely found in the same location.

The common sandpiper breeds across most of temperate and subtropical Europe and Asia, and migrates to Africa, southern Asia and Australia in winter. The eastern edge of its migration route passes by Palau in Micronesia, where hundreds of birds may gather for a stop-over. They depart the Palau region for their breeding quarters around the last week of April to the first week of May.

The common sandpiper forages by sight on the ground or in shallow water, picking up small food items such as insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates; it may even catch insects in flight.

It nests on the ground near freshwater. When threatened, the young may cling to their parent's body to be flown away to safety.

29-1-2013 MOROS MARSHES, PUZOL - EUROPEAN RABBIT (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

18-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - PORTLAND RIBBON WAVE MOTH (Idaea degeneraria)

18-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - GREEN LACEWING (Chrysoperla carnea)

23-3-2017 PANAMA CITY, PANAMA - BLACK THROATED MANGO (Anthracothorax nigricollis)

The black-throated mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis) is a species in subfamily Polytminae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found in Panama, in every mainland South American country except Chile, and on Trinidad and Tobago.

The nominate subspecies of the black-throated mango is found from western Panama into much of Colombia and Venezuela, the Guianas, eastern Ecuador and Peru, northern and eastern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, far northern Argentina, most of Brazil, and on both Trinidad and Tobago. It has also occurred as a vagrant in Uruguay. Subspecies A. n. iridescens is found in extreme southwestern Colombia, western Ecuador, and extreme northwestern Peru.

The black-throated mango inhabits a variety of landscapes in the lowland tropics, most of them semi-open to open. These include gallery forest, shade coffee and cacao plantations, the edges of dense forest, and parks and gardens in populated areas. In general it is a bird of the lowlands, but reaches 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in Venezuela, 1,700 m (5,600 ft) in Colombia, and 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in eastern Brazil.

16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BLUE ROCK THRUSH (MALE) (Monticola solitarius)

The blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius) is a chat species, reminiscent of a thrush, with a starling-like stature, measuring 21–23 cm in length. The male of the nominate subspecies is predominantly blue-grey, save for darker wings, presenting a striking appearance. Females and immature birds are less vivid, with dark brown upperparts and paler, scaly brown underparts. The male of the subspecies M. s. philippensis is distinguished by rufous-chestnut plumage from the mid-breast to the undertail, a feature absent in both sexes of the rock thrush.

To identify the blue rock thrush, look for the male's unmistakable blue-grey plumage and the female's less conspicuous brown tones. The male M. s. philippensis can be recognized by its rufous-chestnut lower half. Both sexes lack the reddish outer tail feathers seen in rock thrushes.

This bird favors open, mountainous regions where it can nest in rock cavities and walls.

The blue rock thrush breeds across southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and Malaysia. It is a resident bird in Europe, north Africa, and southeast Asia, with some populations exhibiting altitudinal migration. Other Asian populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and southeast Asia. It is a rare visitor to northern and western Europe.

The blue rock thrush is an omnivore, consuming a varied diet of insects, small reptiles, berries, and seeds. It breeds in its preferred mountainous habitats, laying 3-5 eggs per clutch.

The male's song is a clear and melodious call, louder than that of the rock thrush, which can be heard echoing through its mountainous domain.

As an omnivore, the blue rock thrush has a diverse diet that includes insects, small reptiles, berries, and seeds.

The blue rock thrush is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is not at immediate risk of population decline.

16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - DOUBLE STRIPED PUG MOTH (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

The double-striped pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a widespread and common species, being found throughout the Palearctic region, including the Near East and North Africa.

This is a variable species but always easy to recognize due to the two prominent dark fascia across each forewing which give the species its common name. The forewing ground colour ranges from light to dark reddish brown. The crosslines are distinct. The inner margin of the pale white sub-marginal line bears black marks. The hindwings are pale grey with darker fringes, darker lines and a small black discal spot. There is a dark band across the basal segments of the abdomen. The wingspan is 15–19 mm.

The caterpillars reach a length of up to 17 millimeters and have a very variable basic colouration. It ranges from whitish to yellowish green, brown, red to purple. On the back there is a pale band marked with a series of dark diamonds or triangles. The drawing resembles a rear-facing trident, is sometimes crow-foot-like and can occasionally be only weakly formed. The head is yellowish brown.

Two, sometimes three, broods are produced each year and the adults are on the wing in April and May (sometimes earlier), July and August, and sometimes later in the autumn. Later broods are more heavily marked. It flies at night and is attracted to light and flowers, both of its food plants and others.

The larva feeds on the flowers of a huge range of plants (see list below) and has also been known to feed on the larvae of other lepidoptera. The species overwinters as a pupa.

16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BOX BUG (Gonocerus acuteangulatus)

16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - CURVED HORN MOTH (Superfamily Gelechioidea)

Curved-horn moths (superfamily Gelechioidea) are a massive, diverse group of primarily "micro-moths" comprising 15–21 families and over 18,000 described species worldwide. Defined by their distinct,, up-curved labial palps, they occupy varied habitats as leaf miners, case-bearers, or pests, with many larvae feeding on plants, fungi, or stored products. 

Key Facts About Curved-Horn Moths (Gelechioidea)

Distinctive Appearance: The name comes from their well-developed, upward-curved labial palps, which resemble horns. They are generally small ("micro-moths").

Massive Diversity: With over 18,000 described species, it is one of the largest Lepidoptera superfamilies, and experts estimate only 25% of their total diversity has been described.

Etymology: The name Gelechioidea is derived from the type genus Gelechia, meaning "resting on the ground".

Ecological Roles & Habitats: They inhabit a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Their larvae act as miners (in leaves, stems, or seeds), case-bearers, gall-makers, and scavengers.

Agricultural Impact: Several species are significant pests, including the potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella), tobacco stem borer (Scrobipalpa aptatella), and white-shouldered house moth (Endrosis sarcitrella).

Key Families Included: The superfamily contains a diverse array of families, including:

Gelechiidae: Twirler moths.

Coleophoridae: Case-bearers.

Oecophoridae: Concealer moths.

Blastobasidae: iNaturalist.

Scythrididae: Flower moths.

Elachistidae: Grass-miner moths.

Scientific Significance: They are a basal lineage of the Ditrysia clade and are crucial for studying insect evolution and diversity. 

16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - FALSE BLISTER BEETLE (Family Oedemeridae)

16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EGYPTIAN LOCUST (Anacridium aegyptium)

16-4-2021 GREAT SPIRIT BLUFF CAM, MINNESOTA - NORTH AMERICAN PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco peregrinus ssp. anatum)

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), also known simply as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed. It can reach over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph). As is typical for bird-eating (avivore) raptors, peregrine falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males.

The peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. This makes it the world's most widespread raptorand one of the most widely found bird species. In fact, the only land-based bird species found over a larger geographic area is not always naturally occurring, but one widely introduced by humans, the rock pigeon, which in turn now supports many peregrine populations as a prey species.

The peregrine is a highly successful example of urban wildlife in much of its range, taking advantage of tall buildings as nest sites and an abundance of prey such as pigeons and ducks. Both the English and scientific names of this species mean "wandering falcon", referring to the migratory habits of many northern populations. Experts recognize 17 to 19 subspecies, which vary in appearance and range; disagreement exists over whether the distinctive Barbary falcon is represented by two subspecies of Falco peregrinus or is a separate species, F. pelegrinoides. The two species' divergence is relatively recent, during the time of the last ice age, therefore the genetic differential between them (and also the difference in their appearance) is relatively tiny. They are only about 0.6–0.8% genetically differentiated.