How long is the Amazon? This is a "40 cm"- long Amazon. The St. Vincent Amazon (Amazona guildingii), also known as St. Vincent Parrot. WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from St.Vincent.

"The St. Vincent Amazon (Amazona guildingii), also known as St. Vincent Parrot is a large, approximately 40 cm long, multi-colored amazon parrot with a yellowish white, blue and green head, greenish-bronze upperparts plumage, and violet blue-green wings."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Vincent_Parrot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LocationSaintVincentAndTheGrenadines.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines-CIA_WFB_Map.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kingstown.jpg

"Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (pronounced /seɪnt ˈvɪnsənt æn ðə ɡrɛnəˈdiːnz/ ( listen)) is a country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean. 

It is also known as "Yurumein" amongst the Garifuna people^{[citation needed]}. 

Its 389-square-kilometre (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent Island to Grenada. 

To the north of St. Vincent lies St. Lucia, to the east Barbados. 

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is densely populated (over 300 inhabitants/km²) with its 120,000 people. 

Its capital is Kingstown, also its main port. 

The country has a French and British colonial history and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations and CARICOM."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines

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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

Please visit:  http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/

Drill, Baby Drill...and Mom Drill, too! The Drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) - WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Cameroon.

"The drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is a primate of the Cercopithecidae (Old-world Monkeys) family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the mandrill.

The drill is similar in appearance to the Mandrill, but lacks the colorful face. They are semi-terrestrial monkeys, exhibiting extreme sexual dimorphism with males weighing up to 45 kg (100 lbs) - three times the size of females. They are semi-nomadic seasonally and little is known of their behavior or ecology in the wild.

Drills are found only in Cross River State, Nigeria; South Western Cameroon; and on Bioko Island, part of Equatorial Guinea. Their entire world range is less than 40,000 km², smaller than Switzerland.

Drills are among Africa’s most endangered mammals, and are listed by the IUCN as the highest conservation priority of all African primates.^[2] Drill numbers have been declining in all known habitat areas for decades as a result of illegal commercial hunting, habitat destruction, and human development: as few as 3,000 drills may remain in the wild, the highest population estimate is 8,000. Drills have also been declining in zoos internationally."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_(mammal)

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You will find PINK zones, even on the black-faced Drill...:)

Happy Pink Saturday!

^{Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:}

^{http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/}

Saved by the last 4 females from "the Apocalypse of this species": The Norfolk Parakeet (Cyanoramphus cookii), also called Tasman Parakeet, Norfolk Island Green Parrot or Norfolk Island Red-crowned Parakeet. WWF maximum cards about Norfolk Island.

C is for...cookii.

"The Norfolk Parakeet (Cyanoramphus cookii), also called Tasman Parakeet,^[1] Norfolk Island Green Parrot or Norfolk Island Red-crowned Parakeet, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to Norfolk Island (located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia in the Tasman Sea)."

Breed, baby, breed!

"This species of parakeet was down to only 4 breeding females and 28-33 males in 1994, but its population has since rebounded to 200-300 birds. It is only found in Norfolk Island National Park and the surrounding area."

Wrap your brain around this:

"Genetic reconstruction

Further information: Archaeogenetics and Early human migrations

Two pieces of the human genome are quite useful in deciphering human history: 

mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome. 

These are the only two parts of the genome that are not shuffled about by the evolutionary mechanisms that generate diversity with each generation: 

instead, these elements are passed down intact. 

According to the hypothesis, all people alive today have inherited the same Mitochondria^[26]from one woman who lived in Africa about 160,000 years ago.^[27][28]

She has been named Mitochondrial Eve. 

All men today have inherited their Y chromosomes from a man who lived 60,000 years ago, probably in Africa. 

He has been named Y-chromosomal Adam."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recent_African_Origin

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).

Part 2 - Side-by-side comparison between European bison (Bison bonasus) and American bison (Bison bison). WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards with European Bison / Wisent from Lithuania. Also, an AUROCHS look-alike image.

"The wisent (pronounced /ˈviːzənt/) (Bison bonasus), also known as the European bison, is a species of Eurasian bison. It is the heaviest surviving land animal in Europe; a typical wisent is about 2.8 to 3 m (9 to 10 ft) long and 1.8 to 2.2 m (6 to 7 ft) tall, and weighs 300 to 920 kg (660 to 2,000 lb). It is typically lighter than the related American Bison (Bison bison), and has shorter hair on the neck, head and forequarters, but longer tail and horns.

Wisent were once hunted to extinction in the wild, but they have since been reintroduced from captivity into several countries in Eastern Europe. 

They are now forest-dwelling. 

They have few predators (besides humans), with only scattered reports from the 1800s of wolf and bear predation. 

Wisent were first scientifically described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. 

Some later descriptions treat the wisent as conspecific with the American bison. 

It is not to be confused with the aurochs, the extinct ancestor of domestic cattle."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_bison

WHAT THE HECK cattle is intended for, is specifically for reconstituting the extinct AUROCHS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heck_cattle_male.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs

Now let's see if I can find in my collection American bison MCs that are somewhat similar with the European bison MCs above, in the animal posture from those images.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison

Once again, for close comparison, without much scrolling:

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Please visit and join The Guest Heart Thursday meme!

http://clytie-randomhearts.blogspot.com/

Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday -
A place to share YOUR hearts!

My entry for today is a heart hollow contour that looks like it's spray-painted, having also a symbolic gunshot [how about shotgun?] wound at the top of the heart.

Now you tell me in which of those 4 MCs from Lithuania you see that, and where exactly in that image?

:)

If I can see it, then ANYBODY can see it.

[As if I am at the bottom of the totem pole...] :)

Yes, I was talking about the country Liechtenstein, in my previous blogpost! Also, see now WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Liechtenstein:

"Libelloides coccajus. Owlflies are dragonfly-like insects with large bulging eyes and long knobbed antennae. They are neuropterans in the family Ascalaphidae; they are only distantly related to the true flies, and even more distant from the dragonflies and damselflies. They are diurnal or crepuscular predators of other flying insects, and are typically 5 cm (2.0 in) long.

* The European Polecat (Mustela putorius), also known as a fitch, foumart, or foulmart, is a member of the Mustelidae family, and is related to the stoats, otters, and minks. 

* The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) is a small frog that can grow to a maximum length of 4.5 cm.
They are the only members of the widespread tree frog family (Hylidae) indigenous to Mainland Europe. Characteristic are the discs on the frog's toes which it uses to climb trees and hedges. There are three or four species and many subspecies:
Hyla arborea (Linnaeus, 1758) (common or European tree frog). 

* The Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill. The legs are flesh-coloured and the toes are all webbed.
This species differs from the larger Ringed Plover in leg colour, the head pattern, and the presence of a clear yellow eye-ring."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page 

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Please visit Ruby Tuesday meme!

My red items for today are about...Liechtenstein.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein

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Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

My fellow Americans: ask what VARIOUS news media outlets can do for you. "International forces bombard targets in Libya" - Africa - Al Jazeera English. Also, "The Libyan War of 2011" from STRATFOR. Also, "resting in a hollow scraped out in the sand": The Rhim Gazelle (Gazella leptoceros), also known as the Slender-horned Gazelle or the Sand Gazelle. WWF maxicards from Libya!

International forces bombard targets in Libya - Africa - Al Jazeera English

http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20110319-libyan-war-2011?utm_source=SpecialReport&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=110319a&utm_content=readmore&elq=1621940155e343128d7d68bfd40afe8a

"The Rhim Gazelle (Gazella leptoceros), also known as the Slender-horned Gazelle or the Sand Gazelle, is a slender-horned gazelle, most adapted to desert life. There are fewer than 2500 in wild."

"The palest of the gazelles, this animal has adapted to desert life in many ways. Their pale coat reflects the sun's rays instead of absorbing them, and their hooves are slightly enlarged to help them walk on the sand, although occasionally they occupy stony regions. The horns on the male are slender and slightly S-shaped, and the horns donned by the female are even thinner and lighter, and they don't curve as drastically."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender-horned_Gazelle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya

===============

Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

Please visit: http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/

The proposed theme for March 20 is anything Irish, or green...

Well, here's the funny, true story of a high school student from Romania who knew "all about ants", and "nothing about anything else", for an upcoming written biology exam.

The subject given at the exam was PACHIDERMS.

Another student whispered to him "that's about elephants!".

Dumbfounded, our student started to wing it:

"The elephant is an animal with, uh, four legs...two ears...and... uh, two eyes.

Ah! The eyes are very good!

With his eyes, the elephant sees...THE ANTS!!!

Now, as far as the ants are concerned...."

And then he spilled ALL  his expertise about ants...:)

Here, as a GREEN element for this meme, I'll say that Sahara was once a green place, with luxuriant vegetation, according to some experts.

Now, as far as Sahara is concerned, one of the animal species that lives there is...the one shown above! :)

Not a true spider, but a true swinger: Geoffroy's Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) also known as Black-handed Spider Monkey. WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Honduras. Postmark says Tegucigalpa.

"Geoffroy's Spider Monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, also known as Black-handed Spider Monkey,[3] is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia. There are at least five subspecies. Some primatologists classify the Black-headed Spider Monkey, A. fusciceps, found in Panama, Colombia and Ecuador as the same species as Geoffroy's Spider Monkey.
It is one of the largest New World monkeys, often weighing as much as 9 kilograms. Its arms are significantly longer than its legs, and it has a prehensile tail that can support the entire weight of the monkey and that is used as an extra limb. Its hands have only a vestigial thumb, but long, strong hook-like fingers. These adaptations allow the monkey to move by swinging by its arms beneath the tree branches."

"females are sometimes mistaken for males by human observers.<sup>[15]"


"Although they do not use tools, spider monkeys, including Geoffroy's Spider Monkey, are regarded as intelligent primates. 


A study performed in 2007 concluded that spider monkeys were the third most intelligent non-human primate, behind only orang-utans and chimpanzees, and ahead of gorillas and all other monkeys.[22] 


This mental capacity may be an adaptation to spider monkeys' frugivorous diets, which require them to be able to identify and memorize many different types of foods and their locations.[23]"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffroy%27s_Spider_Monkey</sup>

A pink element in the above picture would be the lips/mouth of the baby monkey in the lower-left image, I guess. :)

========================================

Happy Pink Saturday!

^{Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:}

^{http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/}

What mammal has the most colorful face in the world? The world's largest species of monkey: The Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx). WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards about Equatorial Guinea.

What mammal has the most colorful face in the world? 
Besides some Hollywood "queens", "drag queens" and "whatnot"?
Not a Drill Sergeant.

"The mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a primate of the Cercopithecidae (Old-world monkeys) family,[3] closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the Drill.
Both the mandrill and the drill were once classified as baboons in genus Papio, but recent research has determined that they should be separated into their own genus, Mandrillus.[3]
The mandrill is the world's largest species of monkey."

Unlike the humans:
"The mandrill is recognized by its olive-colored fur and the colorful face and rump of males, a coloration that grows stronger with sexual maturity; females have duller colours. 
This coloration becomes more pronounced as the monkey becomes excited and is likely to be an example of sexual selection. 
The coloration on the rump is thought to enhance visibility in the thick vegetation of the rainforest and aids in group movement."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrill

Seeing is believing.

Image is everything.

What you see is what you get.

Show me the [money?].

Look at the upper right maximum card: notice that the face is NOT the only body part that is brightly colored.

Also, notice the huge canine teeth!

There have been documented cases when a coordinated gang of several muscular males have had enough testosterone-induced courage, aggressivity and stamina to counterattack and kill a powerful leopard!

Eat it, too, while they were at it.

The trick is that they attacked simultaneously, not just one at a time.

"One-at-a-time Attack Rule

Ebert also refers to the One-at-a-time Attack Rule "In any situation where the hero is alone, surrounded by dozens of bad guys, they will always obligingly attack one at a time."^[1] This can traditionally be observed in many martial arts movies. During a typical fight, the hero will engage against one opponent. Upon knocking that man out, another will attack. The surplus enemies will circle the fighting pair striking fearsome poses, indicating willingness to fight at a second's notice, yet be unwilling to help the current aggressor attack the hero. The real world reason for this is that if the hero is simultaneously swarmed on all sides by enemies, it becomes difficult for the film director to frame the fight scene while still having an unobstructed shot of the action."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_Evil_Marksmanship

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_guinea

==============

Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).