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Friday, 28 October 2022
Thursday, 27 October 2022
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Wednesday, 26 October 2022
18-11-2016 MINHLA, MYNANMAR - DARK BRANDED BUSH BROWN BUTTERFLY (Mycalesis mineus)
Mycalesis mineus, the dark-brand bush brown, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in Asia.
Wet-season form: Upperside dark Vandyke brown; forewings and hindwings with slender subterminal and terminal pale lines. Forewing with a single white-centred, fulvous-ringed, black ocellus, generally set in a square pale area, in interspace 2, occasionally a similar smaller ocellus without any pale surrounding area in interspace 5. Hindwing uniform sometimes with one or two obscure postmedian ocelli. Underside: ground colour similar; forewings and hindwings crossed by a transverse dusky-white discal band, well-defined inwardly, diffuse outwardly, followed by a postdiscal series of ocelli surrounded by a dusky-yellowish, sometimes purplish white, line; the ocelli are similar to the ocelli on the upperside, and vary from two to four on the forewing and from five to seven (the preapical two being sometimes obsolescent) on the hindwing; of these latter the posterior four, not three as in Mycalesis perseus, are in a straight line; finally, beyond the rows of ocelli on both wings there are pale or purplish-white subterminal and terminal sinuous lines.
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Dry-season form: Upperside similar to that in the wet-season form, but paler. Underside from ochraceous brown to dusky brown of a darker shade; basal half of the wings conspicuously darker than the outer portions; the whole surface irrorated (sprinkled) with fine brown striae; sometimes a distinct dark discal band crosses both wings; ocelli nearly obsolete, indicated by minute white specks, the posterior four on the hindwing in a straight line as in the wet-season form. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown; the club of the antennae with black and ochraceous marks. Male sex-mark in form 1 as in M. perseus, but the patch of specialized scales on the underside of the forewing half as large again.
26-10-2022 DEVESA, VALENCIA - EARED GREBE (Podiceps nigricollis)
The black-necked grebe or eared grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecies. Its breeding plumage features a distinctive ochre-coloured plumage which extends behind its eye and over its ear coverts. The rest of the upper parts, including the head, neck, and breast, are coloured black to blackish brown. The flanks are tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut, and the abdomen is white. When in its non-breeding plumage, this bird has greyish-black upper parts, including the top of the head and a vertical stripe on the back of the neck. The flanks are also greyish-black. The rest of the body is a white or whitish colour. The juvenile has more brown in its darker areas. The subspecies californicus can be distinguished from the nominate by the former's usually longer bill. The other subspecies, P. n. gurneyi, can be differentiated by its greyer head and upper parts and by its smaller size. P. n. gurneyi can also be told apart by its lack of a non-breeding plumage. This species is present in parts of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.
The black-necked grebe uses multiple foraging techniques. Insects, which make up the majority of this bird's diet, are caught either on the surface of the water or when they are in flight. It occasionally practices foliage gleaning. This grebe dives to catch crustaceans, molluscs, tadpoles, and small frogs and fish. When moulting at saline lakes, this bird feeds mostly on brine shrimp. The black-necked grebe makes a floating cup nest on an open lake. The nest cup is covered with a disc. This nest is located both in colonies and by itself. During the breeding season, which varies depending on location, this species will lay one (sometimes two) clutch of three to four eggs. The number of eggs is sometimes larger due to conspecific brood parasitism. After a 21-day incubation period, the eggs hatch, and then the nest is deserted. After about 10 days, the parents split up the chicks between themselves. After this, the chicks become independent in about 10 days, and fledge in about three weeks.
Although it generally avoids flight, the black-necked grebe travels as far as 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) during migration. In addition, it becomes flightless for two months after completing a migration to reach an area where it can safely moult. During this moult, the grebe can double in weight. The migrations to reach these areas are dangerous, sometimes with thousands of grebe deaths. In spite of this, it is classified as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is likely that this is the most numerous grebe in the world. There are potential threats to it, such as oil spills, but these are not likely to present a major risk to the overall population.
Tuesday, 25 October 2022
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Monday, 24 October 2022
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