Creature Feature #31: Avocet

Avocets are large wading birds related to stilts. There are four species, colonising North America, South America, Europe and Australia (with the occasional straggler to New Zealand). With their long necks and bills they are predominently wading birds, although their feet are webbed and they are also able swimmers. Their long bills curve upwards at the tip and they swish these through brackish water, collecting invetebrates that they displace.

The Pied Avocet of Europe (pictured here) is the symbol of the Royal Species for the Protection of Birds in the UK. It became extinct in Great Britain in 1840, due to a combination of land reclaimation and having their eggs and skins collected. However, it returned during World War II and reclaimed land near Wash, which had been returned to its natural saltmarsh state in an effort to stop the landing of enemy craft.

Aggressively defensive birds, they do not like other species near their nesting grounds and will chase off any that try to join them.

Creature Feature #30: Avahi

To mark the first full month of an animal-a-day (but still, not yet, the end of the As), here is the first lemur.

The Avahi, or Woolly Lemur, is the smallest member of the Sifaka family. She is also the nocturnal sifaka species. There are a number of species (9) known, but probably the most amusing is the Bemeraha Woolly Lemur, who bears the scientific name of Avahi Cleesi and is named after John Cleese. This is not that avahi (it has more white on its face), but of the Eastern clan.

Avahi live in small family groups - couples with kids, basically. Youngsters are weaned after six months and independent at a year of age, but tend to stay near their family after that. Like all sifaka, they are vegetarian and eat mainly leaves, with the occasional flower or bud for added flavour. They are found in rainforests, often sharing their home with other, diurnal, lemur species and spend their days sitting high in the trees, dozing in the sun and digesting their foliage diet. At night they venture out to forage.

Like all lemur species, they are threatened by deforestation and poaching.

Creature Feature #29: Crested Auklet

This charming seabird numbers in the millions, forming massive breeding colonies along the Bering Sea, sometimes intermingling with its cousin, the Least Auklet. It is named for the rather appealing crest it dons every breeding season along with a scent reminiscent of tangerine (citrus fruit).

When not breeding and smelling of fruit, the Auklet flocks a short distance out to sea, with thousands of the birds taking to the water, in short dives and well articulated swimming strokes, to chase (and eat) plankton.

Whilst certainly their numbers are large enough (approximately 6 million) to make them of little concern conservationally speaking, some populations having suffered great losses in oil spills and they also experience predation whilst on the nest, particularly from rats that disembark from fishing vessels.

Creature Feature #28: Atlas Moth

The Atlas Moth of South East Asia is the largest moth in the world, with a wingspan measuring up to 25cm (10 inches) wide. The female is larger than the male. To attract a mate, the female releases pheremones to lure the males towards her, using chemoreceptors in their fuzzy antennae. They can detect this up to several kilometres away, which is good because as large and heavy as she is, the female is an unsteady flier and will not move far from her chrysalis.

In India, the Atlas Moth chrysalis has been used to make silk and their cocoons are occasionally used as purses in Taiwan.

Creature Feature #27: Assassin Bug

The Assassin Bugs include nine separate genera of predatory insects, all a part of the larger Family, Reduviidae. I am not sure precisely what species I have illustrated for you. Anyhow, these hunters use a variety of techniques to capture their prey - including lie-and-wait ambushing, camouflaging itself with dust or other particles; hunting spiders by plucking the strings of their web, pretending to be prey, to lure the arachnid out before grabbing it; others drink the blood of mammals; some will cover their legs in resin to attract bees. They are sneaky and devious hunters.

Once they have their invertebrate prey within their grasp (some species have specially modified forelegs for strong grasping, like those of a praying mantis), it is injected with an enzyme that paralyzes it and liquifies its internal organs, turning them to mush (yuck). The assassin bug then sucks out the juicy innards. The "beak" of the assassin bug is in several parts - the piercing mouthpart that injects the venom and a sort of "straw" that is then inserted - presumerably in the hole already bored - to suck out the insides.

 But the depredations of this little insect do not end there - some species, in Malaysia, decorate their carapace with the hard outer shells of their drained prey, creating an extra exoskeleton armour. Different species hunt different prey and they are of interest to humans for the role they can play in biological control.

Creature Feature #26: Pink Fairy Armadillo

I probably should have waited until "P" to feature on this adorable critter, using for armadillo the more traditional 9-banded species - but who can rest a face like that? Who can resist something so completely obscure and so pink!

You may not have heard of the Pink Fairy Armadillo, or pichiciego as it is also known. That's okay, for I had not either until I stumbled upon it whilst researching obscure creatures. She is the smallest armadillo species and measures only as much as 115 mm. Nocturnal, and spends much of her time buried in the sand of arid grasslands in central Argentina. Her burrow is normally made near ant or termite nests, providing her with ample food supplies. She is torpedo shaped, with a shield on her forehead to protect her in her underground manouveres. Her front talons are likewise broad and flat, and she uses these to agitate the sand, swimming through it.

Creature Feature #25: Aracari

The Aracari, in this case the Collared Aracari, is a member of the Toucan family, making her home in the rainforests of South America. She is a sociable bird, often gathering with a flock of her kin and foraging amontst the tree branches for fruit and insects to feast. Somewhat opportunistic, she is also known to eat small fledglings and eggs. At night, she roosts in tree hollows, squeezing in with other members of her flock.They are also monogamous, and pair for life, sharing the duties of raising their chicks with the rest of their flock, a trait that is relatively rare in birds.

The huge beak measures almost a quarter of her body length but despite its size, it is surprisingly light. The outer layer is thin and it is reinforced inside by a criss-cross of rods made of bone. These teeth like protrusions help the bird seize and consume large fruits.