Snowy Owl and Raven were both pure white. They decide to make each other more colorful, and Raven paints gray crescents on Owl’s white feathers. But Raven will not sit still while Owl paints him, and in frustration, Snowy Owl pours lamp oil onto Raven, turning his feathers black as night. Transformed, the Raven cries, […]
Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) Read More »
Bull trout are a char of the Salmonidae family (salmon and trout) that are native to the Pacific Northwest. They inhabit cold clear waters of the mountains and coastal rivers in the Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho (not coastal here!). The species used to occur in northern California but is no longer found
Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) Read More »
It’s better to be a young June bug than an old bird of paradise. Mark Twain This is a large genus of New World scarab beetles – so taxonomically they are not bugs – which are within the Insect Order Hemiptera, or true bugs. The Phyllophaga are commonly known as May beetles, June bugs, or June beetles. They
June Bug (Phyllophaga species) Read More »
This is a relatively common species that inhabits the Northern Mariana Islands. It once was thought to be a subspecies of the collared kingfish that exhibits a wider western Pacific distribution but was give the species level after more analysis. The have a distinct large, blocky bill with bright blue/greenish coloration on their head and
Mariana Kingfisher (Todiramphus albiclla) Read More »
The woodcock is a small shorebird of the eastern North America. Though it is in the Family Scolopacidae with other shorebirds and sandpipers it is a bird of young forests. Its camouflage plumage allows it to spend most of its time on the forest floor. It prefers young forests that contain a fair amount of
American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) Read More »