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Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus lives all over the world on only one small island...
"The ghost of the forest" is how the aborigines of the island of New Caledonia call the birds that live exclusively in this point of the globe. The kagu bird is a local landmark and pride, which did not prevent the island residents from bringing the species to a state of extinction.
Kagu belongs to the crane-like. A bird with a height of half a meter weighs 0.7–1.2 kg and resembles a chicken in complexion: it has a dense body and a small head sitting on a short neck. The long (12 cm) crest adorning the head becomes noticeable only in an excited bird – it spreads out and turns into a magnificent mohawk, rising up.
To communicate with their fellow tribesmen, birds use a voice – rattling, hissing, cracking and even barking, sometimes heard 1-2 km away.
Kagu are territorial: the family occupies a plot of 10-30 hectares. During the day they rest, holed up in rock crevices or under the roots of uprooted trees and revived at dusk.
During the hunt, the osprey is able to dive for prey to a depth of up to one and a half meters.
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Scientists believe that all kinds of bears are very intelligent
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The fiery hemiplecta Platymma tweediei is one of the rarest snail species in the world, the largest snail of peninsular Malaysia, living exclusively in moist mountain forests. Its shell can reach a size of up to 7 cm in diameter.
This type of snail is characterized by a black shell and a bright red or orange body.
The habitat of these snails is very limited. They can be found only in a certain mountainous area, with an altitude of more than 1000 m above sea level, with high humidity and cold air.
The red snail is active during the daytime, unlike other representatives of gastropods. It does not hibernate, since fluctuations in humidity and temperature during the year are insignificant.
This species is adapted to life in a humid environment, without sudden changes in temperature and humidity. In this regard, most of the snails cannot withstand transportation and habitat change.
Chinese silk chickens are an amazing breed that Aristotle and Marco Polo knew about. Their exceptional feature is the plumage, which resembles animal hair.
Interestingly, the meat of these purebred chickens is almost black. They can also be bred as pets, since silk chickens are quite contact.
The homeland of these birds is considered to be a fairly large territory, which includes southern China and western India. According to some sources, the ancestors of silk chickens also lived in Japan.
This breed has a long history. The first mention of unusual furry skins are found in the annals of the Chinese dynasty, dated to the fourth century BC. Aristotle writes about them as "chickens with cat hair".
The honeyeater possum (proboscis-headed couscous, pyatkohod, nullbanger or marsupial honeyeater) Tarsipes rostratus is the only fully nectarivorous mammal (except for some bats).
His muzzle is elongated into a proboscis, which is about two-thirds of the length of his head, and his tongue, long and thin, is able to stick out of his mouth by 2.5 cm. It is a kind of brush for collecting pollen, and the elongated muzzle serves as a tube for drawing in nectar. The genus name rostratus means "beak-shaped" in Latin. The honeyeater possum is smaller than a mouse: its body length is 7-8 cm, its tail is 10 cm, and its weight is only 13-17 g.
The range of the honeyeater possum is limited to the southwestern coastal region of Western Australia, but it is quite common in this small area.
The maternal instinct is in action.
The lapwing protects its offspring from the tractor plow to the last.
The pale (white-headed) saki Pithecia pithecia inhabits northeastern South America. Its range covers eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and northeastern Brazil north of the Amazon.
The pale saki reaches a length of 30 to 48 cm, the fluffy tail is the same length as the body. The weight is about 1.5 to 1.8 kg. The hind legs are much longer than the front ones, the tail is not grasping.
The coat is long and shaggy, the males are black, and the face and throat are contrasting white or reddish. Females with their black-gray or gray-brown hair look more like other types of saki, they have two white stripes extending from the nostrils down and to the sides along the lines of the mouth fold.
Pale saks are active during the day, they rarely descend to the ground and live more often at the middle or lower level of the crown.
The Far Eastern fish owl Bubo blakistoni is a large bird with a wingspan of almost 2 meters and a body length of up to 70 cm. The female fish owl is much larger than the male, its weight sometimes reaches 4 kg.
Basically, this owl feeds on salmon fish going to spawn. It also eats crayfish, muskrats, minks, amphibians. Usually an owl hunts like this: it looks for a floating fish from a rock, a steep bank or a tree hanging over the water, and then dives into the water and grabs it with its claws. But the owl never completely submerges into the water. Thus, the owl can catch fish weighing up to 1 kg. There is another way of hunting: a bird enters the water up to its belly and gropes for prey with its paws. So she gets sedentary fish, crayfish and frogs.
Usually the owl hunts at night, but it can also hunt during the day (except in summer, in summer - only at dusk and at night). In the winter, more hungry period, the owl also attacks other birds, rodents, does not disdain carrion, drags bait from traps.
The size of the smallest wild cat in the world is only 40 cm, excluding the tail.
Such is the "hummingbird of the cat world".
Moloch Moloch horridus is a lizard from the Agamaceae family. The harmless lizard received its formidable name from the pagan deity Moloch, to whom, according to legend, human sacrifices were offered.
Moloch is widely distributed in sandy deserts and semi-deserts of the central and western regions of Australia, this small lizard reaches up to 22 cm in length.
Active during the day. Moloch moves slowly, keeping his torso on outstretched legs and almost not touching the ground with his tail. The frightened moloch bends his head down, exposing an outgrowth located on the back of his head with large spikes pointing forward. This outgrowth plays the role of a "false head", distracting the predator's attention from the real head.
Dryocopus pileatus is the largest woodpecker in North America, which hammers a tree 12 thousand times a day at a speed of 20 beats per second. For a person, this is equivalent to hitting his face against a wall at a speed of 25 km /h.
The bird has a strong skull made of spongy bone, and the cartilage at the base of the lower jaw, attached to the skull by powerful muscles, partially softens the blows that have almost no effect on its brain.
Additional protection is provided by the fact that the woodpecker's brain is relatively small in comparison with its size, and therefore more resistant to concussions. Thus, the gel can turn the entire body mass into a "hammer", taking care only of the eyes, which are closed with a thickened shell during the "slotting".
This vascular membrane not only protects the eyes from flying debris, but also acts as a "safety belt" that does not allow the eyes to literally fly out of the head.
Saturnia luna ("moon moth" or "moon moth") Actias luna refers to peacock-eyes. It is found in North America, Canada, as well as Mexico and Guatemala.
The wingspan of this large butterfly is from 8 to 11.5 cm, these are twilight and nocturnal butterflies, while males are more active than females.
The oral apparatus of these poor devils is rudimentary, they do not eat anything and live off the fat reserves accumulated during the caterpillar stage.
While walking, the brown bear's feet are pointed with the toes inwards and the heels outwards.
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The color of the owl's eyes gives out its sleep mode.
The fact is that owls with black eyes usually lead a nocturnal lifestyle, with yellow — daytime, and owls with orange eyes are active at dusk and dawn.
Armadillos have a low oxygen demand and can hold their breath for up to 5-6 minutes, keeping air in the trachea and bronchi.
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Space caterpillar of the tropical butterfly Eudocima phalonia
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Agama-sitana Sitana ponticeriana stands out against the background of its relatives with a spectacular throat "flag" painted in three colors at once – blue, black and red, but this effect appears only during the mating period. The rest of the time, the neck bag has a matte white color.
In a calm state, the agama-sitana looks like a quite ordinary iguana, and the tricolor fold of skin under her neck swells in special cases. For example, when a lizard is scared, communicates with neighbors, or tries to impress a future partner during the mating season.
Agamas-sitans live in not too dense forests and in open spaces, most often rocky or rocky, with vegetation breaking through in some places. Their homeland is India, Sri Lanka and the eastern regions of Pakistan.
The most active time for these agile lizards is early morning, when they go hunting ants, midges, grasshoppers and other insects.