Image source: envirobuild.com There is an endless number of species on this planet and we are nowhere close to having discovered them all. But scientists and “amateur” specialists are working hard every day to discover more. There is major motivation to do this often difficult work: Besides the fact that you will be the first…
Tag: zoology
How Scientific Species Names Work
Back in the 1700’s there lived a man called Carl von Linné, aka Carl Linnaeus. He was a biologist among other things and he is the one who standardized binominal nomenclature: Every known species has a name that is international. The science that sorts species into groups by how they are related, is called taxonomy….
Amazonian Motmot (Momotus momota)
A few months ago, I was staggering through a leftover fragment of Amazon rainforest, with a backpack full of camera traps, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a magnificent bird. As I turned my head to look at it, it disappeared and all I had to go on as I leafed…
Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius)
Hi guys, what’s plotting? I’m super excited, because I saw a pair of black woodpeckers today! In my rather outdoorsy life, this is only the second time ever that I’ve seen them in the flesh. These birds are beautiful! All black, with cream coloured beak and eyes and a striking red mark on the top…