Great Frigatebird

Male great frigatebird ("Fregata minor ridgwayi") with distended red gular sac, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Morels (Fungi: Ascomycota)

In our biodiversity garden in Ontario.

Euchroma

Often the most beautiful thing in the forest is an insect. This is "Euchroma gigantea" one of the largest members of the family Buprestidae, or jewel beetles. The larvae feed on dead kapok, or "Ceiba" trees, ultimately helping to decompose the wood and return nutrients to the soil. Shiripuno Lodge in Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador.

Pungal

A deciduous kapok tree in fruit, reflected in the pristine blackwaters of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Loreto, Peru.

Ground Layer

The ground layer of the rain forest is dark, and some plants have adapted to the low light conditions. The leaves of this ground-dwelling species have a three-dimensional surface which results in more light-gathering capacity. This adaptation allows the plant to gather sufficient light to survive.

Gustavia

The large, spectacular flower of a species in the genus "Gustavia". Finding a Gustavia in flower is always a treat, but even more impressive is the presence of its pollinator (a native bee). Worldwide there are many species of flowering plant of which the species of pollinator is unknown. These types of seemingly simple natural history observations are essential if we're going to fully understand biodiversity. Seasonally flooded forest, on a tributary of the Amazon, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru.

Gray-bellied Hawk

We became alerted to the presence of this rare bird (gray-bellied hawk, "Accipiter poliogaster") when the bird it was chasing flew into the dining area at Shiripuno Lodge. I don't often take multiple shots in rapid succession, but I'm glad I did this time. If I had waited for the bird to assume this pose, I most certainly would not have captured this image. The hawk was identified by Fernando, Director, and Randy, naturalist guide of the Lodge. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador ("Noir" filter used).

Serengeti: Lion Cubs

My first (hopefully not last!) photo of lion cubs in the wild. The mama was close by, you can see her ear at the far right edge of the image (Felidae: Panthera leo).

Brown Woolly Monkey

Like so many species, woolly's are at risk of extinction due to multiple threatening human activities including habitat loss, over-hunting and climate change ("Lagothrix lagothricha": IUCN: Vulnerable). Seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru.

Papilio on Pagoda Dogwood

The giant swallowtail is North America's largest butterfly. Pictured in spring, it is nectaring on the tiny flowers of native pagoda dogwood, (butterfly: "Papilio cresphontes", family Papilionidae; plant: "Cornus alternifolia", family Cornaceae).

Milkweed Seeds

Today the vast majority of plant species are seed plants, or plants that produce seeds. I have often read or heard people talk about plants as being stationary. This is true of most mature seed plants, but untrue of the early stage of seed plants. The seed is the embryonic plant encased in protective tissue, allowing the embryo to survive desiccation. And, many seeds are adapted for travel -- they are mobile. Many seed plants can and will disperse great distances. Seeds are mainly dispersed by animals but some are dispersed by wind and others by water. The form and structure of the seed will give clues to the dispersal agent. Milkweed seeds possess a coma, which is comprised of long, white, silky strands of cellulose called floss. As the floss dries the coma opens up creating buoyancy, allowing seeds to drift on air currents (plant: butterfly milkweed "Asclepias tuberosa", family Apocynaceae).

Liverwort

Liverworts are ancestral plants, and they are closely related to mosses. This species is an epiphyte, and a fairly common member of the arboreal bryosphere in this part of the Ecuadorian cloud forest.

Marine Iguana

Marine iguanas forage in the sea ("Amblyrhynchus cristatus"). IUCN conservation status: Vulnerable. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Hoatzin

Hoatzins are large birds that live in social groups along rivers edge, and feed on fresh green leaves, flowers and fruits of a variety of plants. Bacterial fermentation in their gut helps to digest the plant food. The fermentation and aromatic compounds found in their plant food causes the birds to have a disagreeable manure-like odor, and for this reason they are usually not eaten by people. With many Amazonian species in decline due to overconsumption by humans, one could say that the stink has saved this bird. Time will tell how it responds to climate change, however. The debate over the closest living relative of the hoatzin is ongoing; one hypothesis puts them in the Cuculiformes (cuckoos and relatives). Found only in the Amazon lowlands and the Orinoco Delta of South America. Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru ("Ophisthocomus hoazin").

Speckled Hummingbird at Bromeliad

The characteristic inflorescence of a bromeliad (family Bromeliaceae), with many small flowers on long stalks. Nectar inside the flowers provides fuel for a speckled hummingbird ("Adelomyia melanogenys", family Trochilidae).

Serengeti: Secretary Bird

A secretary bird in the lush Serengeti in early March. Secretary birds are closely related to vultures, hawks and eagles (Accipitriformes: Sagittariidae: "Sagittarius serpentarius")

Cecropia Leaf

The large, palmate leaf of a Cecropia tree is a symbol of the neotropics. Various species of Cecropia trees are common edge species throughout the Amazon basin, from the cloud forest down to the lowlands. They provide food and a home to many animal species from insects to sloths to primates. "Cecropia" sp.; family Cecropiaceae.

Aglaiocercus

The female long-tailed sylph hummingbird is every bit as beautiful as the male ("Aglaiocercus kingi, family Trochilidae). Cabañas San Isidro, Cloud Forest, Ecuador.

Great Frigatebird on Nest

Male great frigatebird ("Fregata minor ridgwayi") on nest, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Macrohalicta

Leaf beetles feeding on "Gunnera" sp., commonly called "poor man's umbrella" because the leaves are enormous and could act as an umbrella, if necessary. (Beetle: genus "Macrohaltica", family Chrysomelidae)

Galápagos Giant Tortoise

The Galápagos giant tortoises ("Chelonoidis nigra" and related species) are the largest living tortoises. They are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, overhunting, invasive alien species and disease (IUCN conservation status: Vulnerable). Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Guttation on Mountain Bamboo

The plant is a young "Chusquea" , the only native bamboo species in this part of Ecuador. The water droplets at the tips of the new leaves are a result of guttation, released by the plant when it has taken in too much water ("Chusquea" sp., family Poaceae).

Sweat Bee on Prickly Pear Cactus

A native North American solitary bee foraging on eastern prickly pear cactus. Often called the "forgotten pollinators" native bees and other native pollinating insects receive little media and scientific attention compared to the non-native honey bee. The prickly pear cactus is an endangered species in Ontario. Make sure to purchase native plants for your garden from reliable, locally sourced native plant nurseries, and never collect plants from the wild (bee: Apoidea: Halictidae: "Agapostemon texanus"; plant: Cactaceae: "Opuntia humifusa", Species at Risk in Ontario).

Black-capped Donacobius II

A second shot of the male and female, seasonally flooded forest, Loreto, Peru ("Donacobius atricapilla", Passeriformes).

Spathiella

When I explore the rain forest, I become a little kid in a candy store. The astonishing biodiversity found in rain forest is to me "mind candy". This tiny object (photographed with a dissecting microscope) was my mind candy one day. What could it be? Answering that question is one of my favourite pastimes. Eventually I figured it out. It's a fecal shield! Made by a tiny beetle larva to protect itself, the beetle uses its own feces to construct this object it then carries around on its back. Eventually it pupates inside the basket-like base. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador (family Chrysomelidae: genus "Spathiella").

Browallia

A tiny arachnid finds a home behind the petal of a tomato relative in the genus "Browallia". This herbaceous plant is a fairly common ground-layer species in the Amazon cloud forest. The flower is about 2 inches across. Family Solanaceae.

Serengeti: The Bateleur

The bateleur is a medium-sized, colorful eagle, with a very short tail (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae: "Terathopius ecaudatus").

Phyciodes on Nodding Onion

The pearl crescent or the northern crescent butterfly on nodding onion (butterfly: Nymphalidae: "Phyciodes" sp.; plant: Amaryllidaceae, "Allium cernnum").

Bloodroot I

I picked the early spring flowers in my biodiversity garden and photographed them in studio. "Sanguinaria canadensis", commonly called bloodroot (family Papaveraceae).

Butterflies on Roadkill

A beautiful image; an unfortunate result of human encroachment into the cloud forest. Roads are deathtraps in more ways than one. They heat up faster than their natural surroundings. Reptiles and amphibians are attracted to the heat, then run over by passing vehicles. The butterflies are feeding on the fluids of a dead toad. After this photo was taken they too may have been run over by a vehicle. Squashed butterflies are not an uncommon sight on this gravel road. Cloud Forest, Ecuador (butterflies, family Nymphalidae, genus "Actinote").

Aotus

It is easy to love monkeys because their faces look familiar. This species, the noisy night monkey, the only nocturnal primate in the neotropics holds a special place in my heart. I've had several memorable encounters with night monkeys in both Ecuador and Peru. After ten encounters with 5 different family groups in the field I achieved a remarkable image of these elusive primates. They're pictured here in their daytime roost in a dead tree, high above the water during the wet season, in seasonally flooded rain forest, within the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Loreto, Peru ("Aotus vociferans").

Insectivore

The lines are moving insects. The night I snapped this pic it was pitch black and hundreds of insects were swarming around my headlamp. So I took their picture! Inevitably I swallowed a tiny one. Another flew in my ear. The insectivore that night was me. Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Loreto, Peru.

Caterpillar on Carolina Rose

I thought I was taking a picture of the bumble bee foraging on Carolina rose. In the end I also got a lovely shot of a caterpillar that had been eating this gorgeous native rose. Look for the evidence near the caterpillar: chewed petal margins, and a nice piece of pink frass!

Dune Grasshopper

An excellent example of crypsis, the perfectly camouflaged immature dune or maritime grasshopper. By blending in with beach sand of its Atlantic coastal habitat it remains hidden from predators such as birds. Immatures are especially vulnerable because they cannot yet fly. Delaware seashore, USA (probably "Trimerotropis maritima").

Plains Zebra is in Population Decline

Plains zebras may appear common or abundant if one observes them in game reserves where they sometimes form large herds of hundreds of animals containing multiple harems and bachelor groups. But make no mistake, this iconic animal species is in population decline due to overhunting, habitat loss, and climate change (Conservation status: Near Threatened, IUCN Red List).

Heliodoxa

Male fawn-breasted brilliant hummingbird with the tip of his tongue sticking out. Behind a branch, the way we see most birds in the Amazon rain forest. "Heliodoxa rubinoides", family Trochilidae.

Green-headed Coneflower

Green-headed coneflower with two tiny black shining flea beetles! (Asteraceae: "Rudbeckia laciniata").

Serengeti: Hyrax

Hyraxes are closely related to elephants and manatees. I believe this is the southern tree hyrax, and the next time I go to Tanzania I will find out for sure!

Broad-winged Katydid

The translucent, pale color of this katydid won't last long. It has just molted, and the new exoskeleton is in the process of hardening and darkening. After an hour or so, the exoskeleton will be a darker, opaque green (much like the leaves in the photo) providing the perfect camo. (katydid is "Microcentrum rhombifolium", in the Orthoptera, family Tettigoniidae)

October Moon

The night before the full moon, October 2017