Bali Mynah: Rare Beauties Of Bali

Bali Mynahs are a rare and beautiful bird found only on the Bali Island in Indonesia. There are as few as 60 wild Bali Mynahs that inhabit the Bali Barat National Park in its northwestern corner. There they live amongst the open woodland and openly gather in the morning hours. In size, they are no bigger than a cardinal. However, their beauty is unique. They have exquisite white wings with black tips. Their tails also bear the black tip marking. They have a bright blue color displayed around their... Read more »

The Rare Red Legged Honey Creeper

The Red-legged Honeycreeper is a small, rare bird from the tanager family, typically found in various regions of Central and South America. These include southern Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and most parts of Brazil, and also in Cuba, and on the island of Trinidad and Tobago. There is a slight difference when it comes to the Trinidad and Tobago Honeycreepers however, as they are slightly larger than the birds on the mainland. A typical Red-legged Honeycreeper is rather small in size, usually... Read more »

The Rainforest And You: The Benefits We Get From The Rainforest

Rainforests are forest locations that have very high rainfall measurements each year. The most well known rainforests are tropical rainforests found in Central America, Southeast Asia, parts of Australia and the Amazon region in Africa. Rainforests play a very important role in our daily life whether we are aware of it or not. For example, two thirds of the world’s animal and plant species live in the rainforests. Millions of plants, animals and insects are currently living in the rainforests... Read more »

Yellow Weaver Finches: An Overview

Weaver finches, and Yellow weavers in particular, are often known as “weaver birds” because of the extremely complex nests built by the male birds to try and attract females. What is interesting about Yellow weavers is that they tend to live in colonies, unlike many other birds which simply flock together regularly. Instead, the male weavers will build their nests together, working with each other and placing multiple nests on the same branch. This can result in an interesting display... Read more »

Paradise Tanager: The Brilliant Bird of Many Colors

The Paradise Tanager (Tangara Chilensis) is a brilliantly colored, moderately sized songbird that resides in the forests of South America. Its seven bright colors make this bird stand out from any surroundings: its head is a bright shade of lime green, with a deep purple-blue on its breast and turquoise on its belly. The tail and wings are usually tipped with a banana yellow, while the lower back is a rich scarlet. The Tanager’s mantle is also a bold black, giving this bird the moniker “seven-color”... Read more »

The Elements of Feng Shui

The Feng Shui energy (or Chi) of an object, person, or place, relates to whatever is in its space, and the flow of Chi is unique in every living environment. These forces are always moving and always seeking balance (Yin and Yang), which rely on the Five Elements of water, wood, metal, earth, and fire, and they are believed to affect everything we do. Each element has its own particular energy that radiates to everyone and everything else in its proximity. Although the properties of Feng Shui elements... Read more »

Golden-Breasted Starling: A Striking Beauty

The Golden-Breasted starling is a strikingly beautiful bird, vibrantly colored and highly visible in the wild. Considered by some to be one of the most beautiful of all African starlings, the Golden-Breasted starling has a deep green plumage on its head, a metallic blue back and tail, contrasting white eyes, wings of a rich blue-violet, and yellow across its breast, belly and upper tail covers. Found in the northeastern parts of Africa, portions of Somalia, eastern Kenya, northeast Tanzania and... Read more »

Leopard Geckos: The Lizard That Wants to Be Your Pet!

Leopard geckos are nocturnal lizards, natively found in the deserts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and parts of India. They absolutely adore the heat and love rocky terrain, making their dwelling under the ground during the dry, desert daytime. Leopard geckos are quite unique because they have real eyelids - which is extremely uncommon to most gecko species - and they also lack flat, adhesive pads on their toes. Instead, leopard geckos use their claws to climb, making them unable to cling to slippery... Read more »

The Rainforest: A Web Of Relationships

People talk about the rainforest as an ecosystem, but most tend to think of the trees (and to some extent, plants) as merely a habitat for the animals that survive within its domain. However, there is a much deeper and more complex relationship than that: the trees, plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and insect of the forest are all equal and vital contributors to the ecosystem. They may play slightly or very different roles, but nonetheless contribute equally to the well-being and balance of the... Read more »

Hurricane Preparedness Tips

Hurricanes are a powerful force of nature that thrives on the oceans where they are born but as they move inland they can be disastrous with heavy rains and winds. There is no town, city, or country that is safe from the fury of Mother Nature. So the best thing to do is be prepared and these hurricane preparedness tips will help you do just that. There are some terms you need to know. Flood Watch means a flood is possible in your area. A Flood Warning means flooding is already happening and will... Read more »