Saturday 28 March 2015

The Rare “Magic Rabbit” is endangered to Lost Forever



Are you ready to fall in love and have your heart broken at the same time: this gorgeous rabbit that you’ve probably never heard of, the “Ili Pika”, is also one of the rarest and most endangered living being in the world. Their population in their native China is likely to have dropped to less than 1,000 and these photographs are of the first one that has been spotted in 20 years. The “Ili Pika” population is strongly believed to have declined by around 70 % since its first discovery in 1983, scientists say. 

The “Ili Pika” was first discovered in the Tianshian Mountains in northwestern China, but it is projected their population is rapidly decreasing. These adorable teddy-bear look-alikes, which’re a distant relative of rabbits, are so infrequent that scientists know very little about them. Li Weidong, the conservationist who discovered them, told CNN, “I discovered the species, and I watched as it became endangered. If it becomes extinct in front of me, I’ll be so sad and I must feel so guilty. He and his volunteers have dubbed it the “magic rabbit”, but they’re doubtful that rabbit populations may be declining due to global warming as the altitude of permanent snow in the Tianshan mountain range has risen.
Li Weidong, the conservationist who discovered this beautiful Rabbit

Friday 20 March 2015

Waterfalls Lakes Plitvice, Croatia (National Park)

Is among the 20 most beautiful lakes in the world to 17th place. The park covers an area of 33,000 hectares and includes 16 lakes in succession, connected by waterfalls.Plitvice is the oldest national park in Southeast Europa.All'interno the park there are also many caves of which only a small part is agibile.I lakes are formed by two rivers: the White River and the Black River, which flow in the river Korana. The waters of these rivers are rich in calcareous salts (mostly calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate), from the dissolution of carbonate rocks forming the geological structure of sito.Questi salts are precipitated by vegetation, forming layers of travertine , a sedimentary rock recently. Over time, these deposits forming real natural dams that act as barriers to water, growing by about a centimeter per year. At one point the water pressure breaks these natural levees, opening new paths in the ground. This mechanism, in fact common to all the calcareous water, in Plitvice has assumed a particular importance. The beauty of the National Park Plitvice, Croatia, is increased in the second round of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

Brazil’s critically endangered “Araripe Manakin” may be the world’s most beautiful Bird.




Araripe Manakin is a colorful and critically endangered species, which numbers are decreasing over the years and currently it is no more than 800 species. The Araripe Manakin is survives in the smallest of areas only 11 square miles in Ceará in northeastern Brazil will now be better protected thanks to the establishment of two reserves. xIt was named Antilophia bokermanni in honour of the biologist Werner Bokerman who died in 1995. 

It is sparrow size bird and discovered in 1996. It exists only in a narrow strip of humid forest on the slopes of the “Araripe Plateau”, which is an area subject to continuing pressure from agriculture and the development of recreational facilities. These reserves were made likely through two actions: the purchase of a parcel of land encompassing 140 acres, and the consummation of a formal agreement with an adjacent landowner, who designated 27 acres of his land as a completely protected area. The recently created 140-acre reserve borders the Araripe National Forest to the south and includes a house that may one day be converted to a tourist lodge. Furthermore a river valley interlinks the property with the Sítio Fundão State Park, a completely protected 230-acre area managed by the state. The 27-acre parcel situated to the south is now a private reserve formally known as preserved in perpetuity. 

It is very little known rare species, and typically occurs in pairs. Juvenile males normally have been found during March and January. As typical of most manakins, males and females have a strong sexual dimorphism in the colors of the plumage. However; the “Araripe Manakin” prerequisites are permanent springs and streams with prime nesting territories and suitable moist-forest habitat, all features provided in the acquisitions. The bird species likes to the lower and middle levels of the forest, where it feeds on fruit. Moreover it shares its habitat with other species found nowhere but Brazil, such as “Silvery-cheeked Antshrike”, “White-browed Antpitta”, and “Caatinga Antshrike”.

Just above their habitat is a plateau that is home to over 100 additional species, including the endemic “Planalto Slaty-Antshrike” and “Ceará Leaftosser”. The acquisition was led by Aquasis, a Brazilian conservation organization, with the help from American Bird Conservancy. A joint reforestation project of “Aquasis” and “ABC” that resulted in the planting of 4,652 native seedlings in the area prompted the acquisition collaboration.
                                                        Source: Charismatic Planet

Tuesday 17 March 2015

The “Hoopoe” is Distinctive Crown Feathers Bird

The hoopoe is a medium sized colorful bird, almost 25 to 32 cm long, with a 44 to 48 cm wingspan. The bird weighs is approximately 46 to 89 g. The species is highly distinctive, notable for its distinctive "crown" of feathers with a long, thin tapering bill that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil. The bird has wide and rounded wings gifted of strong flight; these’re larger in the northern migratory subspecies. The bird has a characteristic undulating flight, which is same that of a giant butterfly, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats.
The hoopoe or Upupa epops is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. Well, same as Latin name upupa, the English name is an onomatopoeic form which reproduces the cry of the bird. The hoopoe is the national bird of Republic of Israel. The bird is named after its vocalizations, the Eurasian hoopoe emits a low "hoop, hoop, hoop, hoop". The pinkish brown to chestnut plumage with black and white bars and an inspiring fan-like crest make the Eurasian hoopoe instantly recognizable. The Eurasian hoopoe forages mainly on short grass and bare soil for invertebrates.
The bird call is typically a trisyllabic oop-oop-oop, which may give rise to its English and scientific names, although two and four syllables are also common. The hoopoe is prevalent in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Most European and north Asian birds migrate to the tropics in winter. In contrast, the African populations are sedentary all year. The species has been a vagrant in Alaska; U. e. saturata was recorded there in 1975 in the Yukon Delta. Hoopoes have been known to breed north of their European range, and in southern England during warm, dry summers that provide plenty of grasshoppers and similar insects, although as of the early 1980s northern European populations were reported to be in the decline, possibly due to changes in climate.
The unique hoopoe has two basic requirements of its habitat, one is bare or lightly vegetated ground on which to forage and vertical surfaces with cavities in which to nest.

These requirements can be provided in a wide range of ecosystems, and as a result the hoopoe inhabits a wide range of habitats such as heathland, wooded steppes, savannas and grasslands, as well as forest glades. The change of natural habitats by humans for numerous agricultural purposes has led to hoopoes becoming common in olive groves, orchards, vineyards, parkland and farmland, even though they’re less common and are declining in intensively farmed areas. Moreover hunting is of concern in southern Europe and Asia. The beautiful hoopoes are distinctive birds and have made a big cultural impact over much of their range. Though they were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt, and were portrayed on the walls of tombs and temples. They achieved a similar standing in Minoan Crete.
The Hoopoes make seasonal travelers in response to rain in some regions such as in Ceylon and in the Western Ghats. The birds have been seen at high altitudes during migration across the Himalayas. One case was recorded at about 21,000 feet by the first Mount Everest expedition. In what was long thought to be a defensive posture, normally hoopoes sunbathe by spreading out their wings and tail low against the ground and tilting their head up; they frequently fold their wings and preen halfway through. They also like taking dust and sand baths.
The Hoopoe diet is mostly consists of insects, small reptiles, frogs and plant matter such as seeds and berries are sometimes taken as well. You know it is a solitary forager which naturally feeds on the ground. Moreover they’ll rarely feed in the air, where their strong and rounded wings make them fast and maneuverable, in pursuit of plentiful swarming insects. The bird commonly their foraging style is to stride over relatively open ground and occasionally pause to probe the ground with the full length of their bill. The Hoopoe insect larvae, pupae and mole crickets are detected by the bill and either extracted or dug out with the strong feet. Hoopoes will also feed on insects on the surface, probe into piles of leaves, and even use the bill to lever large stones and flake off bark. The Hoopoe common diet items include crickets, locusts, beetles, earwigs, cicadas, ant lions, bugs and ants.
Hoopoes are monogamous, though the pair bond actually only lasts for a single season, and territorial. The male bird calls frequently to promote his ownership of the territory. Chases and fights between rival males and sometimes females are common and can be brutal. Hoopoe bird’s likes to stab rivals with their bills, and individuals are occasionally blinded in fights. The Hoopoe prefer to make nest is in a hole in a tree or wall, and left a narrow entrance in them. It may be unlined, or numerous scraps may be collected. The female bird is accountable for incubating the eggs. Because their clutch size varies with location: northern hemisphere birds lay more eggs than those in the southern hemisphere, and birds at higher latitudes have larger clutches than those closer to the equator. In central & northern Europe and Asia the clutch size is about 12, while it is about 4 in the tropics and 7 in the subtropics. The eggs shapes are round and milky blue when laid, but rapidly discolor in the increasingly dirty nest. They weigh 4.5 grams.
Hoopoes have well-developed anti-predator defenses in the nest. The uropygial gland of the incubating and brooding female is speedily modified to create a foul-smelling liquid, and the glands of nestlings do so as well. These secretions are rubbed into the plumage, which smells like rotting meat, and is thought to support deter predators, as well as deter parasites and probably act as an antibacterial agent. The secretions end soon before the young leave the nest. From the age of six days, nestlings can also direct streams of faeces at intruders, and will hiss at them in a snake-like fashion. The young also strike with their bill or with one wing.
The incubation period for the species lies between 15 to 18 days, during that time the male feeds the female bird. However incubation initiates as soon as the first egg is laid, so the chicks are born asynchronously. The baby chicks hatch with a covering of downy feathers. Moreover by around three to five days, feather quills emerge which will become the adult feathers. The baby bird is brooded by the female for between nine to fourteen days. The female bird later joins the male in the task of carrying food. The young fledge in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week more. The main diet of the hoopoe includes numerous species considered by humans to be pests, such as the pupae of the processionary moth, a damaging forest pest. So, for this reason the species are afforded protection under the law in various countries.
Hoopoes also has (zikr) appeared in the Qur’an and are recognized as the "hudhud", in Surah Al-Naml 27:20–22: "And Prophet Hazrat Salman (A.S) sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. But the hoopoe was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings." Islamic literature also states that a hoopoe saved Moses and the children of Israel from being crushed by the giant Og after crossing the Red Sea. You can read out full article of Prophet Sulayman (PBUH), Bilqees, and the Hud-Hud at Read Full Story at Muslimvillage

Hoopoes were seen as a symbol of virtue in Persia. A hoopoe was a leader of the birds in the Persian book of poems The Conference of the Birds ("Mantiq al-Tayr" by Attar) points out that the “Simurgh" was the king of the birds. Hoopoes were thought of as thieves across much of Europe, and harbingers of war in Scandinavia. In Estonian tradition, hoopoes are strongly connected with death and the underworld; their song is believed to foreshadow death for many people or cattle. The hoopoe is the king of the birds in the Ancient Greek comedy The Birds by Aristophanes. The bird's crest indicates his royal status, and his long, sharp beak is a symbol of his violent nature. English translators and poets probably had the northern lapwing in mind, considering its crest.

The video is shooting by me in Lahore Pakistan, when a pair of this beautiful bird was grassing in the fields. As this is migratory bird and have often comes in Lahore Pakistan in spring season. When the season over, they’ve move to some other location. Check out the video at the end of post.

The Wonderful “Hoopoe or Eurasian hoopoe” is Notable distinctive Crown Feathers Bird from Tauheed Ahmad Nawaz on Vimeo.

Sunday 15 March 2015

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, covers an area of 747,956 acres and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Over 3.7 million people visit Yosemite each year: most spend their time in the seven square miles of Yosemite Valley. It is designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, and biological diversity. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea. First, Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864. Later, John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley, but surrounding mountains and forests as well paving the way for the United States national park system.

Dog decided to scare cat


Havasupai Falls, Grand Canyon.

Havaasupai is the ideal hiking destination for all hikers from beginners to seasoned veterans. The 10 mile hike is not as bad as it sounds, as only the first mile and a half consists of steep switchbacks. The remainder of the trail is mainly a winding wash that gradually turns into a canyon with gentle incline. Swimming, wading, and playing in the gorgeous pools below the falls - or in the stream flowing through the campground - are well worth the physical and logistical trials you overcame to get here.

Either way, spending a night in the canyon can often be described as a spiritual experience. The wonder and awe of the canyon seem to envelope you in a way that is hard to describe, but peaceful and refreshing certainly come to mind. Once you've experienced it, you will long to come back again and again. 

First Photos Of New Tongan Island

Thanks to volcanic activity, a new island has risen out of the waters of the South Pacific. Just don’t start making Spring Break plans to go there yet. Scientists are warning that the new island is highly unstable and even boats should avoid passing too close. Popping out of the water just 28 miles west of the tiny island nation of Tonga, the new land mass sprouted from the Hunga Tonga volcano, which became active back in December. It’s the second time in five years that the volcano has erupted.