Parrot Snake With Injured Eye
Continuing with the eye theme to round out the week, this is a green parrot snake that appears to have lost an eye. All three photos are of the same snake. The top photo shows the snake’s injured right eye — a solid black color. In the second photo you see the right eye, the normal yellow color. The third photo shows both eyes. Messed up eye or not, the green parrot snake is most certainly one of the finest looking serpents around — not to mention harmlessly non-venomous.
Chameleon Eye
Seems to be the week of the eye. This one belongs to a Parson’s chameleon. Chameleons are pretty amazing creatures — they can look in different directions at the same time, they have a tongue that shoots out of their mouths at lighting speed to catch prey, they can change colors, etc. What they’re not good at, however, is making a quick getaway, so once found, they’re easy to photograph. For this shot, taken in central Madagascar, I was only about a foot away.
Elephant Eye
Although these eyelashes may look long, they’re actually quite short for an African elephant. Sometimes you see elephants with four inch long lashes. They act as sunshades to block out the harsh light, and also dust, of the African savannah. This one was photographed in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
Orangutan Mother and Newborn
It seemed about time for another orangutan mother and baby photo of the day. This mother was being extremely gentle with her newborn, carefully cradling the baby’s head as she readjusted position. As with all my orangutan shots, this one was taken in Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo.
Golden-Fronted Woodpecker
I thought this golden-fronted woodpecker was a particularly handsome bird. In the US these guys live only in Texas, and a small portion of southern Oklahoma. I photographed this one in Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge near Rio Hondo, Texas. Other than that, there’s not much more to say about them so I’ll attempt to educate instead by tossing out the fact that a group of woodpeckers can be called a descent, a drumming or a gatling. Now go forth and use this knowledge as you see fit.
Rat Snake and Whiptail Lizard
This was a pretty good fight for a while. At one point the lizard even made a nice move and had the snake in its grip. Eventually, however, the snake was too much for the lizard to handle. After about a ten minute struggle, the snake swallowed the lizard whole in a couple of seconds. This was taken in Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula in southwest Costa Rica.
Northern Pintails
Every night when I get on my computer to post an image I think to myself, why not a duck today. But then I send a monkey, or a bear or a frog. Ducks just don’t seem that exciting when compared to their fellow creatures. Today, however, I’m going to stick to my guns and give ducks their due. These two are northern pintails and they were photographed at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico last year. For a little more excitement, check out the sound file of their call.