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The Cape Barren goose is a large goose species, found on the south-eastern coast of Australia, along with southern parts of Western Australia. These birds have been introduced to Kangaroo Island and a few other places.The plumage of this goose is uniformly gray. However, they do have some black spots and black flight feathers. During the flight, it shows dark wing-tip feathers. This bird is known to display strong-flying patterns. Being terrestrial in nature, its habitat mainly consists of grassy and scrubby areas....

Are you fond of learning more about ducks? If yes, then have a look at the common pochard (Aythya ferina), a species of diving ducks hailing from Eurasia. These diving ducks belong to the Anatidae family that many water birds share, like geese and other ducks. When it comes to recognizing these ducks, much attention goes to the breeding males because of their colorful plumage. These ducks share a close bond with the redheads and canvasbacks that live in North America....

Dragonflies are one of the most common flying insect species, belonging to the order Odonata, and the family Anisoptera. Sometimes these flying insects are mistaken for similar-looking insect species known as damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure. Adult dragonflies can be characterized by a set of wings that are transparent in color and have colored patches, a pair of multiple compound eyes, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are among the most predatory insects both in their aquatic larvae stage (when they are also known as a dragonfly nymph or as naiads) and in their adult stage....

The wigeon family of dabbling ducks consists of three species. The Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope) is one such Old-World species of the wigeon family similar to the North American wigeons, covering a wide range map. They are also known by another synonymous binomial name: ‘anas penelope’. The term ‘anas’ is a Latin word that means ‘duck’. ‘Penelope’ refers to a duck that needed to be rescued from the water. These ducks are common in the Palearctic region of Europe and Asia and visit North America as their wintering range....

The fluke fish is a flatfish variety from the flounder family. The fluke fish is also known as the summer flounder, Northern fluke, and Hirame. It is a typical commercial and recreational fish found in abundance along the East Coast of the United States. Amazingly, fluke fish can adjust their color and texture to blend in with their environment! Their survival relies on camouflage and blending in with the ocean’s bottom, hence they are also called “the chameleon of the seas”....

Forest kingfishers (Todiramphus macleayii) are small to medium-sized blue kingfisher birds. Also known as bush kingfishers, they are royal blue in color with a white breast, abdomen, and nape. Their wings have white patches. Two similar species with slight appearance variations are the Todiramphus chloris, or collared kingfisher, which is bigger and greenish with no white wing patches, and the sacred kingfisher, or Todiramphus sanctus, which again is larger, with buff-brown underparts and no wing patches....

The grey-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis) is a bird species of the family Pomatostomidae. Found in woodlands and open forests of northwestern, northern, central, and eastern Australia along with Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, these birds are the largest of the four Australian babblers. Taxonomy shows that two subspecies of the bird are known to be found in Australia and New Guinea. A grey-crowned babble (Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis) is found within Australia in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, and southeastern South Australia....

The Mink is one of the cutest mammals that belong to Mustelids. Minks can be described as small mammals with smooth fur all over their highly valued bodies for the same reason — their fur. They are very adorable and appealing with their bright tawny brown to dark brown fur and skin color. They usually live in moderate climate conditions. The American Mink, whose scientific name is Neovison, is generally found in the upper parts of America....

Do you have a fascination for crocodiles? If yes, then you have come to the right place to learn about one of the species that predominantly resides on the Indian subcontinent. The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile present in different parts of northern India, southern India, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and in other nearby countries. The crocodile is also called the Indian mugger crocodile because of its huge population in the country....

Naked mole rats are a cold blooded species (rodents) that are commonly found in the tropical grasslands of East African countries such as Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. They, along with the Damaraland mole rats are rodent species that are referred to as eusocial mammals and as of now, no other eusocial mammals have been identified by humankind.They are burrowing rodents and spend most of their lives underground in colonies where they huddle together....

Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is a small shallow water fish that is usually found in lakes, streams and coastal regions of Canada and North America near the North Atlantic regions. This fish is a small looking fish that grows between 5.9-9.8 in (15-25 cm) in length. To identify a rainbow smelt, you need to look for a fish that has an arrow like pointy head that holds a large mouth with teeth in it and an adipose fin on its body....

If you go fishing in North America, you might catch a river chub (Nocomis micropogon) in your fishing nets as these fish live in clear, warm water bodies with gravel or rock bottoms. When kept in an aquarium they can enjoy the company of other fish. They can grow to be quite large and will eat almost anything.River chubs in a stream are an excellent indicator of water quality as they are sensitive to pollution, turbidity, and siltation....

The genus Sphaerotholus is a group of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs in the clade Dinosauria. The dinosaur Sphaerotholus is known to be from the Maastrichtian age of the Upper Cretaceous period of the present-day western United States and Canada. The pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs were known to be found in present-day North America. To date, three new species of the genus have been found, however, only fragments of the part of the skull has been found and not much more....

The Titicaca grebe is a bird endemic to the continent of South America. Specifically, it is restricted to Lake Titicaca and Lake Uru-Uru in the Andes mountain ranges and the Altiplano plateau. These native Titicaca grebe territories fall in the countries of Bolivia and Peru. The Titicaca grebe is flightless and has short wings, which is why it is referred to as the Titicaca flightless grebe or the short-winged grebe....

The tree pipit (Anthus Trivialis) is a very small passerine bird that belongs to the kingdom Animalia, the family Motacillidae, and the order Passeriformes. Its scientific name is Anthus Trivialis. It is an earthy-toned bird that possesses pale underparts. Its upper parts are its characteristic feature and they sport brown-colored detailed streaks. There is also some streaking present on their buff shaded flanks and breast feathers. This bird’s appearance is quite similar to that of the meadow pipit but it can be distinguished through its shorter hind claw, heavier bill, and the thin streaking on its flank....

The term Unenlagia meaning half-bird belongs to the genus of Dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur. It lived during the Late Cretaceous period in present-day Patagonia. They have two species; Unenlagia comahuensis described by Novas and Puerta in 1997 and the Unenlagia paynemili described by Calvo in 2004.Their fossil remains were found in the Neuquen province of Argentina in the Sierra del Portezuelo. Fernando Emilio Novas and Pablo Puerta named the species Unenlagia comahuensis....

Veterupristisaurus is a holotype dinosaur of theropod species from the Mesozoic era or middle life of the late Jurassic. It is from the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class reptiles, family Carcharodontosauridae, genus Veterupristisaurus and scientific name as Veterupristisaurus milneri. Oliver W. M. Rauhut named them in 2011, as the name suggests, ‘Old Shark Lizard’. Although the specific name was given by the paleontologist Angela C. Milner. It alludes to the fact that it is the oldest known member of the carcharodontosaurids....

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized North American bird that belongs to the order Passeriformes, family Icteridae. Their scientific name Neglecta, which is a Latin word that means overlooked, ignored, or neglected.The Western Meadowlark nest is always bred by the female bird on a breeding ground, hidden neatly with leaves and bushes. The nest is made so that there is always a runway area in front of the entrance. The young one receives care from its family for two weeks after the eggs hatch....

The wood hoopoe and scimitarbills come from the same family of birds, both living in the south of Sahara. It’s indeed very interesting how wood hoopoe shares relations with various other kinds of birds that you may see in your garden or a park. Kingfishers and various other such birds share a very close relationship with our African wood hoopoe. This Sub-Saharan Africa native shares many relations with various birds, given the nature of its stapes....

The family Zeniontidae is usually recognized by a common name as ‘dory’ or ‘armoreye dories’. The species belong to order, family, genus - Zeiformes, Zeniontidae, Zenion respectively. The elongate dory (Zenion leptolepis) in the genus Zenion is found around a climate zone of bathydemersal, at a depth range of 1,083-2,300 ft (330-701 m). Dories grow to a total length of 6.3 in (16 cm). The Zeniontidae family includes just three genera and seven species of huge, flashy, deep-bodied Zeiformes marine fish....