Wildlife Spotting of the Month!

This Green Darner, Anax Junius, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Month! This large dragonfly with a green thorax was photographed by Brian38 near a stream in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas on March 30, 2026.

Did you know that Oystercatchers use their bold orange-red bills like precision tools - perfectly shaped to break into buried clams and pry open mussels. Individual oystercatchers even specialize in how they break apart shells to access food - some are "priers" slipping the bill between shell halves of mussels while other individuals are "stabbers" pushing the bill into the mud or sand to capture worms or buried clams. 

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..."

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.

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. 

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 Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea, is Project Noah's Spotting of the Week! This bird was photographed by Project Noah community member, Seyit, gliding above a lake west of Istanbul in Turkey.

This is a neotropical monkey with a short non-prehensile tail. They weighs between 2.75 and 3.45 kg, and the length of the body and head in the males averages 45.6 cm and 44 cm in the females. It is characterized by having a red face, lacking hair; the rest of the body has thick grayish fur. They like seeds flowers fruits and sometimes insects, I saw one close to the ground feeding on a fresh Calathea sp leave.

Trumpeter Swan is a large white bird averaging 4 to 5 ft. in length, with a wingspan of 6 to 8 ft. Adults have black bills and feet. Its habitat includes small ponds and lakes with beds of cattails, bulrush, and sedges. 

Conocephalus fasciatus, the slender meadow katydid, is a species of katydid of the family Tettigoniidae that is native to the United States and Canada.

This Jewel Bug, Choerocoris paganus, photographed by michaelocana, is Project Noah's featured spotting of the month!

Our spotting of the Week is this Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker, photographed by John B. in the Philippines. As John writes in his field notes- "This looks like Yungipicus maculatus Scopoli, 1786) - the Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker. Wikipedia says that it is endemic to the Philippines and can be seen throughout the country, except for the Sulu Archipeligo and Palawan."

A long-eared Owl is Project Noah's featured spotting in January of 2025! As Zlatan writes in his field notes - "The long-eared owl (Asio otus), or Hibou moyen-duc in French, is a medium-sized nocturnal bird of prey, measuring 31–40 cm in length, with a wingspan of 86–100 cm. Its plumage is a beautiful mix of mottled brown, beige, and grey, perfectly designed for camouflage against tree bark. 

A Philippine Tarsier, Tarsius syrichta, is Project Noah's Spotting of the month! This fascinating mammal was photographed by opzjon in the Philippines!

Adults are distinctly tricolored, with a black back and tail, a white belly and rump, and a red head and neck. This red-headed woodpecker was spotted spotted in a bottomland hardwood forest at Arkansas's Bois D'Arc Creek Wildlife Management Area by Ranger Brian38.

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 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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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 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. 

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.

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.

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."

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.

The largest species of giant squirrel over 1m (3') from head to tail with piercing blue eyes! Check out the short video clip of it gliding through the forest. This species inhabits dense montane forest, limestone cliffs and conifer forests. They are nocturnal and nest in high tree hollows.