Uploads from Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you, tagged garden

Parson's Chameleon

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:17:59 -0700

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Seems to be quite happy !!

Portrait of a male Great Indian Hornbill

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:34:40 -0700

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Photographed at Chester Zoo

Banteng Bull

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:56:50 -0700

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The banteng (Bos javanicus), also known as tembadau, is a species of wild cattle found in Southeast Asia.

Banteng have been domesticated in several places in Southeast Asia, and there are around 1.5 million domestic banteng, which are called Bali cattle. These animals are used as working animals and for their meat. Banteng have also been introduced to Northern Australia, where they have established stable feral populations

The wild Banteng is considered as Endangered by the IUCN. The populations on the Asian mainland have decreased by about 80% in the last decades. The total number of wild bantengs is estimated to about 5,000-8,000 animals. No population has more than 500 animals, only a few have more than 50. Reasons for the population decline are reduction of habitat, hunting, hybridisation with domestic cattle and infections with cattle diseases. The most important stronghold for the species is Java with the biggest populations in Ujung Kulon National Park and Baluran National Park. The biggest population on the mainland is found in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand. Another larger population lives in Kaeng Krachan. Borneo has still a few hundred bantengs, more than a hundred of which occur in Kulamba Wildlife Reserve in Sabah

Sticking your neck out

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:52:31 -0700

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Photographed at Chester Zoo

Eurasian Spoonbill

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:50:01 -0700

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Photographed at chester Zoo

The early bird gets the worm(s)

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:38:21 -0700

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Photographed at Chester Zoo

A simple portrait

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:32:20 -0700

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....of a young Sumatran Tiger

Grosbeak Starling

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:16:37 -0700

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The GROSBEAK STARLING, Scissirostrum dubium, as its name suggests, has a disproportionately large beak. Also called the Grosbeak Mynah and FINCH-BILLED MYNAH and, after its scientific name, the SCISSOR-BILLED STARLING, it comes from Sulawesi, Indonesia. It also has a distinctive orange flame-like flecking on its rump. Male and female have similar plumage

Suckling baby Chimpanzee

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:31:26 -0700

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Photographed inside the Chimpanzee house at Chester Zoo

All the better for seeing you with

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:40:44 -0700

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Fisheye effect for fun

Having fun

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:04:14 -0700

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Young Asian Elephants having fun in the pool at Chester Zoo

Black Rhino Mother and Son

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:04:14 -0700

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Rare Black Rhino's at Chester Zoo

Butterfly on black

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:13:32 -0700

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Photographed inside the Butterfly house at Chester Zoo

Vultures have their own beauty

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:09:54 -0700

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Photographed at Chester Zoo

Avian Glam Rock

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:12:58 -0700

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Victoria Crowned Pigeon

I like birds !!!

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:20:36 -0700

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Photographed inside the tropical house at Chester Zoo

What's over there?

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 09:06:05 -0700

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Brown breasted Barbet?

Penguins in flight

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:04:28 -0700

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Photographed at Chester Zoo

Rhinoceros Hornbill portrait

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:19:11 -0700

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Rhinoceros Hornbill

Scientific Name: Buceros rhinoceros

Deep in the rainforest of Borneo, high up in the canopy, lives a giant who is seldom seem. If you are careful, you can hear the giant woosh, woosh, woosh of flapping wings. Have no fear, this is a gentle giant.

The Rhinoceros hornbill is one of the largest birds in rainforests of Asia. They spend their entire lives on treetops. You might get giddy living up on a 70 m Dipterocarpus tree, but it is home for the rhinoceros hornbill. To nest however, they look for old or dead trees with cavity. To find food, they fly between fruiting trees occasionally stopping to grab small animals, like squirrels, in between. Can you imagine what logging will do to these birds?

At first glance, both male and female hornbills look alike. They have large wing span--- with white feathers for their tail. Their gleaming black feathers are maintained by spreading the orange colored preening oil all over their body. Hornbills can grow to be about 127 cm (50 in) long and weigh about 3 kg (about 6.6 lbs). But, look closer around the eyes and you will see the difference. The male birds have an orange or red ring around their eyes, while the ring remains white in female.

Their beak is a marvel of nature. Lightweight and versatile, the beak can perform variety of jobs such as harvesting food, building the nest, sealing the nest, and feeding the chicks. On top of the beak is a casque, a hollow helmet-like structure, which helps to amplify their calls. Now you know how it gets its name. You can distinguish the deep, forceful hok, hok notes of the male from the female’s hak, hak notes. Sometimes, they have a duet. Usually, they call only when they defend their territories from other breeding pairs.

Rhinoceros hornbill usually pair for life. The couples choose a tree hollow or cavity and begin to build a nest. We never know how they decorate the interior because the pair seals the entrance of the hollow, leaving a small vertical slit. They use food and droppings to seal the entrance.

Wait, did you say that you saw a bird in the cavity? You are right. The female incubates the egg in the cavity for the next 50 days. She keeps the nest clean by throwing out uneaten food and the poop. The male bird brings food for the female and chicks.

Three months or 90 days after the chicks hatch, the female bird breaks out of the nest. The chicks then rebuild the covering and receive food from their parents for the next three months. When the chicks grow, they break the nesting hole and fly free.

The pair seals the entrance, except for a narrow vertical slit, with droppings and food. She lays one or two eggs, which are incubated for 37-to-47 days and the chicks fledge 86-to-97 days after the eggs are laid. The male feeds the female and chicks regurgitated, but not digested, fruit through the nest slit. The nest is kept clean and dry with feces forcibly ejected.

Now that the chicks are flying free, let us find out how to save them. The Rhinoceros hornbill is not threatened. Their tail feathers are used for decoration even today!

West African Crowned Crane (balearica pavonina pavonina)

nobody@flickr.com (Steve Wilson - over 2 million views thank you) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:09:16 -0700

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West African crowned cranes roost in trees, which is unusual for cranes. They gather in large flocks during the non-breeding season and roost in open trees overnight.

Conservation

West African crowned cranes are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network. Numbers of West African crowned cranes are in decline. The species is under pressure because of habitat loss and destruction, as well as over-collection for the pet trade. Much of the wetlands and grasslands of their native equatorial West Africa have been converted to pasture and agricultural land, and drought has also ravaged the land in recent decades.