Name those falls! 💦 
🌱Creature Feature: The Española Mockingbird The Galapagos Islands have many famous residents that have fascinated biologists since Charles Darwin’s visit in 1835. The most familiar include the Giant Tortoises, the Marine Iguanas, “Darwin’s Finches” and Opuntia cacti, organisms that are well-studied and which have helped shaped our understanding of natural selection driving evolution. Some of the lesser known residents are captivating in their own right, however. The mockingbirds of the Galápagos Islands are among the organisms that first thoroughly aroused Darwin’s attention to the strange distribution of species in the archipelago. Upon returning from his worldwide trip, Darwin realized that islands only a few miles apart housed organisms that were unique to their respective islands – a fact confirmed by his mockingbird specimens. Currently, four species of mockingbirds are recognized – the Floreana, San Cristobal and Española Mockingbirds, each restricted to a single isolated island, and the Galápagos Mockingbird, found on most of the other islands. The current theory is that mockingbirds colonized the Galápagos Islands from mainland South America in a single event, and then radiated to different islands. Wind-based dispersal likely assisted in the colonization of the northern islands from the southern islands. Quest leader Josh Vandermeulen photographed this Española Mockingbird during our visit to the island of Española in 2018. This species was certainly not shy, often perching too close for our cameras! It was interesting to compare the plumage differences between these mockingbirds and the other mockingbird species we observed throughout the archipelago. 📸 @ecologist_josh #espanola #espanolamockingbird #mockingbird #birding #birds #birdlover #archipelago #galapagos #galapagosislands #darwin #biology #discoverournaturalworld 
Zambia is an up-and-coming African safari destination we’ve been watching closely. Birds can add an amazing dimension to any African safari and one of various spectacles here is the annual nesting of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters along the Luangwa River. A specially placed blind can be set up beside a river bank to blend in beside an active bee-eater colony, allowing us to view these spectacular birds passing literally in front of us during their comings-and-goings without disturbing them. #zambia #safari #naturetravel #beeeater #birding #birdsofafrica #africanbirds #discoverournaturalworld 
Our favourite cure for #bluemonday is calling our travel buddies to plan and reminisce ✈️ 
🪱Creature Feature: Trilobite Beetles During a previous tour in Borneo, our group (led by Josh Vandermeulen) came across this very interesting insect! This is a beetle in the genus Platerodrilus, commonly referred to a Trilobite Beetle due to its resemblance to the extinct marine arthropods called trilobites. For over 100 years, the identification of these “trilobite beetle larvae” was unknown. The strange looking larvae could be readily found in the mountains and foothills of tropical India and Southeast Asia, but no one knew what the adults looked like. After years of painstaking attempts to raise them, researchers solved the mystery. The mature females look just like the larvae with the only appreciable difference being the presence of reproductive organs. The males, meanwhile, look like a “regular” beetle. They are significantly smaller than the females, by a factor of five or ten. Essentially, the males metamorphize to adult beetles while the female retain this larval form. This individual of the genus Platerodrilus is either a larval female or an adult female. Larval Platerodrilus beetles take several years to become fully-grown females. While this is a poor strategy for most insects, these beetles can successfully do this since they have few predators. Apparently, birds know not to consume them due to their nauseating properties. We’ll be watching for more Platerodrilus on our next planned departure to Borneo, in October 2021! 📸 @ecologist_josh #borneo #creaturefeature #trilobites #beetles #nature #naturetravel #asia #southeastasia #seasia #malaysia #archipelago #discoverournaturalworld 
A pretty White Pelican at Namibia’s Walvis Bay 🌊 📸 @earley_birder 
The astonishing view from the Tablelands at Gros Morne National Park #travelcanada #travelnewfoundland #grosmorne #tablelands #epicviews #explorecanada #discoverournaturalworld 
Polar Bears of Churchill's tundra 📸 Taken by tour leader and bear expert Dr. Marty Obbard #polarbears #churchill #churchillmb #canadiantravel #travelcanada #discoverournaturalworld 
Welcome to Chan Chan, Peru's giant abandoned mud-brick city. This ambitious 20-square-kilometre project was built in 850A.D. with adobe by the Chimu culture to be their empire capital! #chanchan #chimu #peru #perivianhistory #packanopenmind