The phainopepla has a number of interesting characteristics. Its preferred food source is the mistletoe berry which it can eat over 1000/day. It is the only bird known to have a specialized gizzard which removes the skins from berries for more efficient digestion. Rarely drinking water and losing 95% of its body mass in water per day, it obtains the water it needs from the berries it eats. They are also known to immitate the calls of other birds when stressed. Thirteen different spicies are known to be mimicked including the red-tailed hawk and northern flicker. Phainopepla breed in two distinct habitats at two different times of year and exibit different behaviors in each habitat. When breeding in the desert, the pairs are territorial and protect their feeding territories, whereas breeding in the woodlands they form loose colonies. Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada USA
These spiders (jumping spiders) are the only ones I know of that are acutely aware of your presence. They seem to want to interact and look you in the eye which makes them ideal models. This one is lifting his head to look right into the lens which is often the case.
In the 17th century, "Tulip mania" struck the Netherlands driving the price of tulip bulbs to extraordinary levels. Some believe as much as 10 times the anual wage of a skilled craftsman. On one account, 12 acres of land was offered for a single bulb. Fortunes were made overnight until Febuary of 1637 when the bubble popped causing fortunes to be lost overnight. Tulip Mania is generally recognized as the first recorded speculative bubble and is still referenced at the onset of other speculative bubbles.
