Discover Wildlife!

Happy Moth Week! We are in the middle of Moth Week now and to celebrate, we share an Erebid Moth photographed by John B. In the Philippines as our Spotting of the Week! 
As John B. writes in his field notes - “This very small moth was spotted, in our backyard vegetable plot, resting on a bamboo trellis which was supporting Sweet Potato vines (Ipomoea batatas) known in the Philippines as Kamote.”

A painted bunting, Passerina ciris, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! 

Native to North America, this majestically colored songbird has a geographic range across the southern United States, southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This species migrates to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America for the winter months. 

This migratory songbird is a male and was photographed by Brian38 in Gus Engeling WMA in Texas.

A seven-spotted ladybug, Coccinella septempunctata, is Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! This ladybug was photographed by VivBraznell near Dartmoor National Park in England. This species is the most common ladybug in Europe and has a geographic range that also includes Eastern Asia, Central Asia and North America. As VivBraznell writes “Spotted the ladybird feeding on aphids, as soon as detected it dropped down into the undergrowth. Habitat: Heathland”

A Carrion Crow, Corvus corone, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! This species has a range that includes the eastern Palearctic and Western Europe. Photographed by SukanyaDatta outside of Leeds in the United Kingdom, Sukanya writes in her field notes - "All black plumage.Unlike the rook, its beak is black. Fearless and persistent. Habitat is a Garden in an urban, residential area."

A Black-winged Kite, Elands careuleus, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! This kite was photographed by Karan Raghwa in Rajasthan, India in an open scrub, grassy open area. This spotting has been added to the Birds of India and Birds of the World Missions on Project Noah. As Karan writes in the field notes - "Head and breast white; grey crown; wings have black patch; upperpart grey to light black; short black beak with hook shape at the tip; orange to reddish eyes with black patch"

A crimson rose, pachilopta hector, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! Photographed at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India, by Project Noah community member Pradeep Kumar. Pradeep writes in his field notes - "Crimson Rose is a common name for the butterfly species Pachliopta hector. It is a beautiful butterfly found in parts of Asia, known for its vibrant crimson-red coloration on its wings, hence the name 'Crimson Rose'."

A yellow-vented bulbul, Pycnonotus goiavier, is Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! This species has a geographic range across southeastern Asia. Photographed in its nest in the Philippines by Project Noah community member mdbartolome.

A Blue Demoiselle, Chrysiptera cyanea, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! This fish was photographed by Arne.Rosyland in the Philippines. This species of damselfish inhabits reefs, lagoons and bays of the Indo-West Pacific. As Arne writes in the field notes: "This female is around 6 cm in length. It is bright blue in color. The female lack yellow snout and tail, but have the black spot at the base of the dorsal fin and some black markings on the face. Habitat of this fish is Coral reef on 1 to 2 m depth at low tide."

A Saddlebag Glider, Tramea transmarina, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! This dragonfly was photographed in the Philippines by new Project Noah Community Member arc!

A Corn Bunting, Emberiza calandra, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! This bird was photographed by PN Community Member Zlatan in Hortobagy National Park of Poroszio, Hungary. As Zlatan writes in his field notes - "Corn Bunting is a relatively large and robust bunting, larger than sparrow and smaller than Blackbird, with a chunky appearance and a thick and conical bill, typical for grain-eaters. The plumage is mostly brown and lacks strong patterns, but it typically features darker streaks on a lighter background, which provides camouflage in its farmland and grassland habitats. Males and females look similar, making them difficult to distinguish based on appearance alone. The Corn Bunting is known for its distinctive, jangling song that often sounds like the rattling of a set of keys."

Caterpillars of the Imperial Jezebel, Delias harpalyce, are Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! These caterpillars were photographed by PN Community Member Leuba Ridgway in Frankston South, Victoria Australia. As Leuba writes in her field notes: “These deep maroon coloured caterpillar with sparce white setae were clustered together on tips of leaves. Some moved slowly along the leaves and some were covered in a webbing of fine silk. On some leaves were seen bright orange pupae attached to the leaf by a short cremaster on one end and a silken girdle at the other end. The pupa had a row of black tipped spines along the midline on the dorsal side and a tuft of black remnant exuvia.”

A Giant Asian Mantis, Hierodula patellifera, is Project Noah's Wildlife Spotting of the week! This mantis was photographed by community member John B. in his backyard on a Swamp pea in the Philippines. As John describes in his field notes, "The leaves of the Sesbania grandiflora, in our backyard, were being decimated by Pseudoxya diminuta nymphs, but this Giant Asian Mantis came along and fixed the problem by eating many of them."

A Juvenile Wonderpus, Wunderpus photogenicus, photographed by AlbertKang in the Philippines is Project Noah's featured spotting! As Albert describes: "This is a juvenile Wonderpus - Wunderpus photogenicus seen during a Black Water dive. During this pelagic phase, they have a translucent to transparent body with bands of browns on their tentacles. This one has a body size of around 1 cm. At night time, they come out to hunt in the water column among small fishes..."

A little friarbird, philemon citreogularis, has been voted Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! This species has a range that includes northern/eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. It prefers to stay high in the canopy, away from the ground. Little friarbird's preferred diet includes fruit, nectar, flowers, seeds and certain invertebrates. This particular bird was photographed by Project Noah user armadeus.4 in northwest Australia.

A hippopotamus mother and her calf have been voted Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! Photographed on the bank of a river in Kenya, this spotting was shared by PN user Mel11. Hippo calves are dependent on their mother’s milk and nurse underwater. Females typically birth one calf every two years - with a gestation period of 8 months. Mother hippos will be highly protective of their calf, especially during the first few months. 

Happy WorldFrogDay!March 20 is designated a special day each year to celebrate these magnificent amphibians and the critical role they play in ecosystems. To celebrate World Frog Day, we share a Lemur Leaf Frog, Agalychnis lemur, photographed by Project Noah Ranger Dan Doucette in Costa Rica. This species has a range that includes Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica. Sadly, it is classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

A bar-shouldered dove, Geopelia humeralis, has been voted Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! Spotted in western Australia by amadeus.4, this bird's preferred habitat is thick vegetation near water. Habitats include mangroves, forests, damp gullies, swamps and sub-tropical scrubs. Populations have the highest abundance along the eastern and northern coasts of Australia, but their range also extends into northwest Australia as well.

An Acorn Fig, Ficus glandifera, has been voted Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! Photographed by ChunXingWong in Malaysia, this species is only found on two islands in Borneo!

A Sedge Wren, Cistothorus stellaris, has been voted Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! Common across North America, this species feeds on insects. Its preferred habitat includes grasslands, meadows, marshes and prairies. Sedge wrens prefer to build their nests within tall grasses and sedges, hence their name! Photographed by jazz.mann from multiple angles in Hadley Valley Preserve, Illinois. 

A Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, Neomorphus geoffrey, has been voted Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! This species has an uneven distribution that includes Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. Its preferred habitat is mature lowland forest. The ground-cuckoo is known to follow swarms of army ants along the forest floor as it hunts small insects and reptiles escaping the swarm. 

Today we update Project Noah's profile picture to an Emerald Moth, in honor of National Moth Week beginning soon on July 17th. This year marks the 10th annual National Moth Week! Project Noah is an original partner and longtime collaborator with National Moth Week to bring awareness to moth ecology and conservation. Spotted by Leana Lahom-Cristobal in the Phillippines.

An Ogre-faced spider, Asianopis sp., has been voted Spotting of the Week. Also known as the net casting spider, this spider was photographed by AlbertKang in a tropical forest in Malaysia. With a stick-like appearance, this spider has a unique form of hunting - suspended by its back legs, the ogre-faced spider actually holds its net with its front four legs. When an insect passes through the web, the spider moves downward to entangle and bite the prey. 

Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week is a Snow Leopard, Panthera uncia, photographed at approximately 14,000 feet in the Himalayas! This photograph was captured by Vipul Ramanuj in Himachal Pradesh, India. Vipul shares the story behind the picture - “The sight of this elusive big cat is always a special one! This male was actually on a hunt that ended in an unsuccessful attempt. It was quite a nail-biting experience watching him stalk the unsuspecting Himalayan Ibex.” 

A green and black poison dart frog, Dendrobates auratus, has been voted Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! Spotted by dandoucette in Heredia, Costa Rica, this species has a range that includes Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. An introduced population has established itself in Hawaii, where the species was originally introduced in the 1930s for mosquito control. As its name suggests, this species is indeed toxic, with toxins residing in the frog’s skin. 

Project Noah’s featured Spotting of the Week is an Andean duck, Oxyura ferruginea. Photographed by josecardenasvejar, near Los Lagos, Chile - this duck is easily recognizable by its bright, blue bill! Also called the broad, billed frog duck or large diving duck, Jose’s habitat notes elaborate on this species: “seen in scattered groups, couples or alone. Eminently aquatic, very little comes out of the water. It is a shy duck, whose behavior resembles that of a diver."

Today, we share a unique forest species spotting - the Resplendent Shrubfrog (scientific name: Raorchestes resplendens). The Resplendent Shrubfrog is critically endangered and one of the rarest frogs in the world. Photographed by Viper Ramanuj, this species is endemic to Eravikulam National Park in Kerala, India.

Meet the European Peacock or Peacock Butterfly - scientific name: Aglais io. This stunning butterfly was photographed by Jopy in Germany. Common throughout Europe, the European peacock butterfly features 4 large mesmerizing eyespots on its wings. These eyespots are colored black, blue and yellow. They serve to deter birds from attacking the butterfly through mimicking the eyes of the bird’s natural enemies!

A Sunda flying lemur, Galeopterus variegatus, has been voted Project Noah’s Spotting of the Week! This particular lemur was spotted by bob5 in Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia. The Sunda flying lemur also goes by the names - Malayan flying lemur, Malayan colugo and Sunda colugo. More broadly, the Sunda flying lemur is one of two tree-dwelling species of mammals in the Colugo family. The other species of Colugo is the Philippine flying lemur.