Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa)

Blekok sawah or Blekok Jawa or Rice field heron or Javan pond heron (Ardeola speciosa) is a species of bird in the Ardeidae family, about 46 cm long, living around rice fields to eat eels, fish, crabs and insects. This bird has white, brown and black.

A. speciosa has a yellow and black beak on the tip. The head and neck are light brown, the chest is dark brown, the abdomen is white and the back is black. Long yellow legs. Blekok sawah has a small size in the Ardeidae family.

In the non-breeding period, the back color is browned. When flying wings look very contrast with a black back. These birds live alone or in scattered groups to make nests in tree canopies in large colonies with other water birds.

Nests are constructed from stacks of twigs on branches or leafy branches in tall trees around the water environment in urban and rural areas. This bird is accustomed to living side by side with humans. Females breed in December-May and January-August for 2 to 3 pale green blue eggs.

A. speciosa spends days around rice fields, rivers or freshwater swamps. Stand with low body position and head pulled to wait for prey. Every afternoon fly to the resting place with a slow flap, in pairs or three.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Ardeola
Species: Ardeola speciosa

Location: Ketingan Village, Mlati District, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Asian palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer)

Asian palmyra palm ( Borassus flabellifer ) is a species of Arecaceae , palm, sturdy, single-stemmed, cylindrical shape, growing 15-30 meters tall and with a trunk diameter of about 60 cm. The leaves are clustered at the tip of the trunk, forming a rounded crown . The leaf blade resembles a round fan , up to 1.5 meters in diameter. The leaflets are 5-7 cm wide, and the underside is whitish with a waxy coating. The leaf stalk is up to 1 meter long, with a broad, black midrib at the top and a row of two-pointed spines . The inflorescence is borne on a cob, 20-30 cm long, and the stalk is about 50 cm long. The fruits are clustered in clusters of about 20, round, 7-20 cm in diameter, with a brownish-black outer skin and yellow flesh on the inside. The fruit has three seeds in a thick, hard shell. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Subfamily: Coryphoideae Tribe: Borasseae Subtribe: Lataniinae Genu...

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Dlium