Yesterday I couldn't identify the birds in the pictures I posted (truth be told I didn't try too hard to find out) but tonight I didn't want to leave it as another unidentified beauty. So I did a little bit of research and found that this curious little yellow bird is a Village Weaver bird. There are different varieties of weaver birds so at first when I looked I wasn't convinced but as I scrolled through numerous images I became more certain that I had identified it.
As you may know (if you have followed my blog for any length of time) yellow is my favourite colour so it is little wonder that when I see a critter like this I am going to take a photo or two.
So I realise that some of you will be thinking "where are the fairies?" but of course you know they are well hidden and you will probably never find them.
A bit like the first of today's butterflies which is an Indian Leaf Butterfly or Dead Leaf Butterfly which is so well camouflaged that unless I had stopped to take this close up would probably have been easily missed.
The second image is a close up of another Common Mormon similar to the one I posted yesterday.
The final image is of one of my favourite butterflies the Giant Wood Nymph. I love the contrast of the crisp white and bold black that work so well together, gorgeous!
ps if you spot a fairy let me know :)
This Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) is found in parts of South America, mainly Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
It is not classified as an endangered species but it is hunted in the wild and its skin used for leather. I don't like the idea of creatures like this being killed just to become a fashion accessory.
I know that in Colombia, and I suspect other countries in that region, children will knock iguanas from the trees and sell them to Chinese restaurants where the tails are used to make soup. The iguanas are then released allowing their tails to grow back.
I am sticking with frogs today and this gorgeous specimen is a Mission Golden-Eyed Tree Frog (Trachycephalus resinifictrix). They are also known as Amazon Milk Frogs, so called because when they are stressed they secrete a milky white poisonous fluid.
I think I prefer the Golden-Eyed Tree Frog because it emphasises its rather beautiful eyes.
I have previously posted a picture of this frog in an earlier post but on that occasion it was a very different view so if you have a moment it's worth checking it out... so click on the link
This selection is the last of my pictures from the butterfly house.
I have already posted a couple of shots of the first butterfly but I couldn't resist posting this one because I love the eyes.
I can tell you that the first butterfly is an Owl Butterfly, the second and fifth is a Clipper, the third is a White Tree Nymph and the fourth one is a Blue Morpho. I only know this because there was a helpful identification chart in the butterfly house and I very sensibly took a picture of the chart for reference.
There is something about each of these beautiful bugs that I like but my favourite is the White Tree Nymph with its neat clean lines, the shiny black leading edge of its wings and the barely perceptible flash of yellow, adding a touch of contrast. It really is a beauty.
