Paul writes: Green Tiger Beetles (Cicindela campestris), with their elegant long legs, look as though they’re built for speed. They are one of the fastest beetles and can run at up to 60cm per second. They combine this with a quick low flight, so often when I find one I end up dashing along a…
Category: THE PHOTOGRAPHS: by Tim Melling, Oscar Dewhurst, Paul Leyland, Guy Shorrock, Brian Leecey
Tim Melling – Hume’s Ground Tit
Tim writes: This bird is a lot more interesting than it looks. It was originally called Hume’s Ground-pecker as it uses its long beak to peck the ground. Later it was thought to be a Ground-Jay, and the smallest member of the crow family, being about the size of a sparrow. But DNA molecular sequencing…
Paul Leyland – fruit fly
Paul writes: I found this tiny fly on a Tansy flower growing along the field path next to my house in North Yorkshire. It is only about 4mm long, not including the ovipositor, so I really needed a photograph to fully appreciate it. This picture shows how colourful and beautifully marked even the smallest insect…
Tim Melling – Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
Tim writes: The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is only found in China and is classified as endangered. It is found in forests at high altitude (1500-3400m) and feeds largely on lichens that grow on dead trees, but also on fresh leaves, buds and flowers. They occur in groups that range over a very wide…
Tim Melling – Red-billed Blue Magpies
Tim writes: I did see plenty of ordinary Magpies in China, but they were completely upstaged by their beautiful, blue cousins. These striking birds were extraordinarily wary but with time and patience I managed to capture several photographs. Its body is about the same size as a common Magpie but the tail is much longer,…
Tim Melling – Plateau Pikas
Tim writes: The Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a medium-sized lagomorph (c140g) that occurs mainly on the high desert plateaux of China, but also in Tibet, Pakistan, India and Nepal. They look a bit like Gerbils but are in the same family as rabbits and hares, but have oddly human ears. It gets really cold…
Tim Melling – Grandalas
Tim writes: Grandalas (Grandala coelicolor) are one of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. The males are an electric blue colour with jet-black wings and tail, while the females are brown and scaly with a white wing bar. They breed high in the Himalayas (c4000-5500m), way above the tree line but in winter…
Paul Leyland – Common Blue Damselfly
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Paul writes: I am always fascinated by how damselflies effortlessly cantilever out from a piece of vegetation. This male has gone a stage further and is also carrying a female; they appear perfectly balanced. This is the start of the mating process, where the male grasps the female at the back of her neck. They…
Tim Melling – Red Panda
Tim writes: I have just returned from a trip to Sichuan in China where I managed to photograph this wild Red Panda crossing a track between bamboo thickets. They live in high altitude forests (2000-3000m) where they feed mainly on bamboo. In autumn they venture out of the bamboo thickets to feed on rosehips. I…
Paul Leyland – Figwort Sawfly
Lots of insects love to imitate wasps, for the protection it gives them. This one is no exception, it wasn’t until I noticed the lack of a “wasp waist” that I could tell it was a sawfly. Sawflies belong to the same Order as wasps and bees, Hymenoptera, but one of the main differences, apart…