BIRDS OF BRAZIL

 Brazil has one of the richest bird diversities in the world. The avifauna of Brazil include a total of 1,901 species, of which 270 are endemic. About 60% of the bird species recorded for all of South America. These numbers are still increasing, almost every year, due to new occurrences or new species being described. About 10% of the bird species found in Brazil are, nonetheless, threatened.

          Green Bee-Eater

 Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish.

  The Pink-necked Green Pigeon

It is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

White-breasted Waterhen

 (Amourornis phoenicurus)

Amazing Animal Finds of 2014

Puppy-Sized Spider Romps in Rainforest

Tarzan’s Chameleon.

This Parson’s Chameleon grows up to 27 inches long, the size of a cat. It’s one of several rare chameleons in the protected areas, including one known as Tarzan’s Chameleon.

This year the animal kingdom did not disappoint -- giving people yet more reasons to marvel at nature's stunning diversity. Here we revisit some of the amazing creatures DNews covered this year.
For starters, how about a spider the size of a puppy? Headlines flew around the globe this fall when word came that entomologist Piotr Naskrecki had encountered something he had seen only three times in 10 to 15 years: the South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) -- the world's largest spider, according to Guinness World Records.
Its legs can reach up to 1 foot (30 centimeters) and it can weight up to 6 ounces (170 grams). And with a body the size of a large fist, the spider can look like the stuff of nightmares.
The "puppy" spider isn't lethal to humans, luckily for Naskrecki. He snapped this picture, one that must have given nightmares to arachnophobes far and wide.
Puppy-Sized Spider Romps in Rainforest
(SARATHY)

Pet can make you happy

Pet Care Can Help Children Manage Type 1 Diabetes

Older children with Type 1 diabetes often want to manage the illness themselves, but they can run into problems if they take multiple daily insulin injections but don’t check their glucose and take insulin before each meal and before bed. Would it help, a Dallas physician wondered, if she gave patients a pet they had to feed twice a day — and they developed a habit of checking their glucose at the same time?

Dr. Olga T. Gupta, an assistant professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, recruited 29 patients, ages 10 to 17, with Type 1 diabetes. Sixteen got a fishbowl; a $5 gift card to buy a betta, or Siamese fighting, fish; and instructions to feed the fish in the morning and at night. They were also given instructions to check their blood glucose at the same time. Once a week, they were to change the fishbowl water and review their glucose logs with a parent.

The other patients did not get a fish but were promised a gift card later. The findings were published in Diabetes Educator in June.

After three months, the fish owners had slightly improved glucose control, as indicated by lower hemoglobin A1C values, while those without a fish had worsened.

Children in that age group tend to see an increase in A1C values over time, Dr. Gupta said, “so to bring that down even a small amount is a pretty big triumph.”