We begin today’s installment with a photo of domestic cats (Felis catus), but special ones. The first photo below sent to me by Bengal breeder Anthony Hutchinson, who threatens to deluge me with photos of Bengals until I adopt one or more of his. (Believe me, I don’t see that as a threat!). I know I need a kitteh, and really, can you imagine any more beautiful than these?
The photo is called “Flowmaster and friends chasing leaves.” They are like miniature leopards. Click to enlarge.
By now, thanks to the readers I am aware of possible problems of owning a Bengal, and the advantages of getting a shelter cat, but I consider that discussion over, and anyone who tries to resume it does so at his/her own peril.
Reader Christopher Wallis sends a pair of favorites:
A couple of Tawny Frogmouths (“Mopokes”; Podargus strigoides) hanging out in a garden in Maleny, Queensland. One outraged, the other not.
I know Greg will be excited about this one, from reader Robert Seidel:
For your inundation, a grass snake (Natrix natrix). The head was about 1cm in length, so it’s tiny, probably a juvenile. The leaves should be from Stellaria media.
Finally, three photos of diverse taxa from reader Siegfried Gust, who writes:
I’ve spent most of my time here in Costa Rica for the last few years and have been lucky enough to see quite a bit of wildlife here (although the wildcats are annoyingly hard to come across). Here are some of my images that I thought you might like.
A Keel-billed Motmot (Electron carinatum):
A sexually dimorphic jumping spider, Phiale formosa. The females have a different pattern in yellow and black instead of the white and black that the male displays. [JAC: the link shows the dimorphism.]
A fuzzy little Handsome Fungus Beetle (Stenotarsus cf. blatchleyi)
The motmot looks as uneasy as a YMCA instructor speaking about sexuality…
I like the cats and the furry beetle.
The motmot looks as uneasy as a YMCA instructor speaking about sexuality…
I like the cats and the furry beetle.
I think we can safely start a betting pool…
I’d say Prof Ceiling Cat will get himself a cat – be it a Bengal or shelter kitteh or both – in January, perhaps even earlier! 😉
A betting pool would be fun. I think he’ll wait till after his book is published. He’ll be traveling a lot to promote it, so a kitteh might show up next spring.
You guys are going to mess it all up by posting the suggestions here and therefore supplying inputs to Jerry’s brain that will influence him…..now to use this to our advantage. 😀
Prof. C.C. doesn’t like to be pressured so we’ll have to be sly and devious. (evil laugh)
Nice surprise this morning to see my images made the selection.
They’re beautiful photos. Thank you!
They are great. I hope to see more of them.
Mark, still learning,
Thanks! I’ll be more than happy to oblige. I’ve got plenty of images ready for sharing, and loads that need to be sorted and edited.
They’re stunning – I’d love to see more. 🙂
Very nice all.
Is this now? 🙂
html fail!!!
Is this *Find The Bengal* now? 🙂
Bengal?? I was looking for nightjars. Conditioned response + no free will.
What lovely photos – I especially admire the macro since it’s something I wish I were better at!
The tawny frogmouths are so sweet (I saw some once in a zoo in Australia). One looks like he is sharing a joke with the other:
“Can you believe how ridiculous these bipedal mammals look?”
“Tee hee.”
“Flowmaster” was the nickname my Hydro friends in Texas gave me. How little I realized then that I’d be reincarnated as a kitteh!
Is that an ant the spider is holding…?
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It looks like it, with the elbowed antennae. Ants are often avoided by spiders because of their chemical defense, but some spiders will eat ants.
Yes, it’s and ant. The spider is pretty small, maybe 5-6mm long. So I imagine that ants might make up a substantial portion of it’s diet as they are everywhere and of the right size.
I went looking for awesome photos of ant-mimicking jumping spiders because that’s somehow relevant, and one of the best pictures that showed up on Google was from this very blog!
Can Frogmouths be honorary cats? They look a lot like owls. I suppose they are related? After a quick google, it says they are related to owls, but closest to the Nightjars, potoos, and oilbirds.
Those are some really beautiful cats.
Love the fuzzy beetle and the orange/green contrast. I have found that a strong orange and green contrast is very pleasing to me.
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Outrageous! It is a large Groucho Marx torso on a small nymph.
It reminded me of the bird in Verbeck’s iconic bird/canoe upside down cartoon. Maybe he should have named his characters Mottaroo and Lovekeels.
A link to the Bengal/Shelter comments discussion, for those like me who may be interested: http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/omg-omg-omg-omg/#comments