Helmeted Hornbill

 The Helmeted Hornbill() is a member of the Bucerotidae. It is believed to be one of the largest living hornbills.

This species has mainly black plumage, but its belly is white. Its tail, which is white and has a black band, is two-thirds the length of the entire bird. It should be especially noted for its helmet-like casque, which reaches on the upper bill from the bill's base to the tip of the beak.

Due to habitat loss and hunting for its casque, which is valued in some places more than ivory, the helmeted hornbill is classified as Critically endangered. 

Brown Booby

 The Brown Booby(Sula leucogaster) is the most widespread member of the booby family. It resides throughout the tropical oceans, and it breeds on specific coasts and islands in there.

Its body color varies from black to dark brown, and it has a white underbelly. The male species has a blue orbital ring, while the female has a yellow one. Unlike most other booby species, the plumage of a juvenile is very similar to that of an adult. Interestingly, the brown booby incorporates marine debris as nesting material.

Striped Possum

The striped possum, resembling a black-and-white squirrel, lives in Australia and Paupa New Guinea.

Striped Possum, illustrated by Joseph Wolf, 1858.

 It has a prehensile tail, and one of its fingers is much longer than the other. It hunts for its food using percussive foraging- like the Aye-aye.  It feeds on beetles and caterpillars from bark. This leads to the inference that the Striped Possum is literally the mammalian woodpecker.

Aye-Aye

The aye-aye, the largest nocturnal primate in the world, lives exclusively in Madagascar.

It has rodent-like teeth which never stop growing, and a thin middle finger. It gets its food in an unusual way, shared only by the striped opossum. This is called percussive foraging- it involves gnawing holes into the wood with its incisors and then using that finger to take out grubs from it.

An endangered species, the Aye-aye was once believed to be ill-omened, as its appearance was considered to predict death. As a result, they were killed by people.  They are also killed by farmers to protect crops.

Pied-billed grebe

The Pied-billed Grebe is a species in the grebe family of birds. It is located throughout the Americas.

These species of grebes are stock and have a short neck and beak. They are mostly brown, with a darker back. This serves as camouflage in the the marshy areas which it lives in. Like all other grebes, it has large feet and lobbed toes, meaning each toe is separate on the foot.

Ardea insignis

The Imperial Heron(Ardea insignis) is a heron that resides in parts of Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and has even been seen in parts of Nepal. It is Critically Endangered and its population is decreasing mainly to its loss of wetland habitat.


Also known as the White-bellied Heron, this species is mostly dark gray, with white underparts. Its bill is black and greenish near its base.  When disturbed, it usually giver out a croak.

Imperial is from Latin word Imperium, meaning supreme power.

Pink fairy armadillo

The Pink Fairy Armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus) is the smallest species of armadillo. It lives in sandy plains and grasslands of Argentina.


Unlike other species of armadillo, Pink Fairy Armadillos have a flexible shell attached to a dorsal membrane. They also have small eyes and silky fur. Their fine hair is useful in environments with variable temperatures- it is used to conserve heat while outside the burrow, since they are nocturnal and night temperatures in Argentina can get quite low.
The Pink Fairy Armadillo is 3.5-4.5 in long and usually weighs about 120g.