Author: Hashi

cercopithecus mona

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The mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona) is native to the lowland forests of eastern Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and western Cameroon. Its natural forest habitat has been impacted by widespread clearing, and it suffers from being hunted for food. However, it’s an adaptable species and the population does not seem to be declining significantly. It is generally the commonest monkey near rivers in the region.

ensifera ensifera

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The Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) is found in the temperate zones of the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia at elevations of about 2500 to 3600 m. It has the longest bill in relation to its body size of any bird in the world. I’ve only shown about a third of its bill in this sketch.

Reference photo by Vivek

pavo cristatus

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Continuing the theme of avians with ridiculously outsized body parts, today I bring you the peacock, Pavo cristatus.

According to Wikipedia, “The function of the peacock’s elaborate train has been debated for over a century. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin found it a puzzle, hard to explain through ordinary natural selection. His later explanation, sexual selection, is widely but not universally accepted. In the 20th century, Amotz Zahavi argued that the train was a handicap, and that males were honestly signalling their fitness in proportion to the splendour of their trains. Despite extensive study, opinions remain divided on the mechanisms involved.”