Field Frame Friday: (Cai)man eater

Many crocodilians (crocodiles, alligators, and caimans) in photos almost appear to be smiling wide. But make no mistake here, this Yacare Caiman (Caiman yacare) from Brazil may grow almost as long as 10 feet and probably does not want to be trifled with. The Yacare Caiman has a diet that begins with anything they can…

Sunday Sketch: The Blue-Footed Booby

The healthiest Blue-Footed Booby chicks are typically sired by fathers with brighter blue feet. Female bird’s are more attracted to male birds with bluer feet, and male birds seek out partners with similar traits. During the breeding season, both sexes display their feet to each other as part of courtship. The nest is usually built…

Field Notes: The Music of Mono Lake

I remember getting the acceptance email, offering me a position as a research assistant, on a late January night. It was the type of silence in the house you only achieve when the world is asleep…until I shouted in excitement and scared my brother who was sitting next to me. That was the first note…

Field Frame Friday: Ants know how to take a taxi!

The black cocoa ant (Dolichoderus thoracicus) is one of Southeast Asia’s most common and widely recognized arboreal ant species. Recently, they have also attracted attention as an invasive species in several Asian countries. What’s particularly interesting about the black cocoa ant is its unique breeding system, which involves multiple queens that aid the formation of…

Creature Feature: Haggis

Learn about the stunning true story of this marvel of the Scottish Highlands in the latest from Creature Feature!

Field Frame Friday: The odd damselfly out

I typically tell my summer camp kids that damselflies perch with their wings together, but this is an odd damselfly out. What’s its deal? How else can you properly identify a damselfly on the fly?

Sunday Sketch: The Small Bufflehead

They are recognized as the smallest diving ducks in North America. Their diet includes aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, and mollusks, which they capture and consume underwater. During the breeding season, these birds vigorously defend their territories by attacking intruders—either in flight or by swimming underwater—and striking at them with their wings. Art and fact by Cloude…