User:Charlesjsharp/favourites

Charles J Sharp's favourites from photographs taken in the last twelve years in 69 countries Albania Australia Bahrain Belgium Belize Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Cayman Islands Hong Kong Colombia Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Ecuador Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji France Gambia Germany Greece Guatemala Honduras Hungary India Indonesia Ireland Italy Jamaica Jordan Kenya North Macedonia Madagascar Malta Malaysia Mauritius Mexico Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal New Zealand Norway Panama Poland Portugal Romania Rwanda Samoa São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Singapore Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Thailand Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Uganda UAE UK Zambia Zimbabwe Mammals ♀ Loxodonta africana (African Bush Elephant) with six-week-old baby, Matetsi Safari Area, Zimbabwe Elephas maximus (Sri Lankan elephant) family in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka ♀ Diceros bicornis occidentalis (South-western black rhinoceros) in Etosha National Park, Namibia Rhinoceros unicornis (Indian rhinoceros) near Narayani River, Chitwan Community Forest buffer zone, Nepal ♂ Panthera leo (lion) Old male in Chobe National Park, Botswana ♂ Panthera leo (lion) Six-year-old, Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa ♀ Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah) Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa Panthera pardus pardus (African Leopard) Kruger National Park, South Africa ♂ Panthera onca palustris (Pantanal Jaguar) Three Brothers River, Pantanal, Brazil ♀ Panthera onca palustris (Pantanal Jaguar) Piquiri River, Pantanal, Brazil ♀ Panthera tigris tigris (Bengal tiger) Kanha National Park, India ♀ Panthera tigris tigris (Bengal tiger) Kanha National Park, India ♀ Panthera pardus kotiya (Sri Lankan leopard) Yala National Park, Sri Lanka Canis simensis citernii (Ethiopian wolf) on the Sanetti Plateau, Ethiopia Phataginus tricuspis (Tree pangolin) Nyamebe Bepo Forest Reserve, Ashanti Region, Ghana ♀ Gorilla beringei beringei (Mountain Gorilla) female, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda ♀ Gorilla beringei beringei (Mountain Gorilla) 10-month-old baby, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Gorilla beringei beringei (Mountain Gorilla) 2-year-olds in the Mubare Group, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda ♀ Nasalis larvatus (Proboscis Monkey) Labuk Bay, Borneo, Malaysia ♀ Ursus arctos (Eurasian brown bear) in the forest near Stari Kot, Loški Potok, Slovenia Melursus ursinus inornatus (Sri Lankan sloth bear) in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka ♂ Bison bonasus (European bison) Białowieża Forest, Poland ♂ Ovibos moschatus (Muskox) Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway ♂ Syncerus caffer caffer (African buffalo) with a cattle egret in Chobe National Park, Botswana Equus quagga (Plains zebras) Maputo National Park, Mozambique Aepyceros melampus (Red-billed oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchu on impala) in Chobe National Park, Botswana Gazella gazella & Gazella marica (Mountain gazelle and Arabian sand gazelle) in Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, UAE Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Capybara) with Yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima), Brazil Suricata suricatta (Meerkats) Dawn in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa Macropus giganteus (Eastern grey kangaroo) Mount Annan, New South Wales, Australia Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Duck-billed platypus) Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia Dasyurus viverrinus (Eastern quoll) Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia Pteropus tonganus (Polynesian flying fox) on the island of Taveuni, Fiji Phoca vitulina vitulina (Common seal) off the island of Lismore, Argyll, Scotland Zalophus wollebaeki (Galápagos sea lions) Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador Delphinus delphis (Common dolphins) adult and calf Sagres, Portugal Birds Merops philippinus (Cuban tody) on Cayo Guillermo, Cuba ♂ Cinnyricinclus leucogaster verreauxi (Violet-backed starling) drinking in Damaraland, Namibia ♂ Mellisuga helenae (Bee Hummingbird) the World’s smallest bird, a Cuban endemic Mellisuga minima (Vervain Hummingbird) the World’s 2nd smallest bird; in Jamaica ♀ Selasphorus flammula (Volcano hummingbird) the World’s 3rd smallest bird flower-piercing in Chiriquí Province, Panama ♂ Cinnyris osea osea (Palestine sunbird) feeding in the Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan Coracias caudatus (Lilac-breasted roller) Kruger National Park, South Africa ♀ Cinnyris jugularis flammaxillaris (Olive-backed sunbird) feeding on yellow oleander (Cascabela thevetia) on Ko Phi Phi Le, Thailand Corythornis cristatus thomensis (São Tomé malachite kingfisher) on São Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe ♀ Megaceryle maxima (Giant Kingfisher) Breaking the tilapia’s backbone, Lake Naivasha, Kenya ♂♀ Ceryle rudis rudis (Pied kingfishers) pair in Chobe National Park, Botswana Merops apiaster (European bee-eaters) each with a dragonfly, Hungary Merops bullockoides (White-fronted bee-eater) on the Linyanti River, Namibia Merops philippinus (Blue-tailed bee-eater) Yala National Park, Sri Lanka Agapornis roseicollis (Rosy-faced lovebirds) making friends in Erongo, Namibia Ara macao cyanopterus (Scarlet macaw) Copán Ruinas, Honduras Vini solitaria (Collared lory) on octopus tree (Heptapleurum actinophyllum), Colo-I-Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji ♂ Dicaeum ignipectus (Fire-breasted flowerpecker) Phulchowki Mountain, Nepal ♂ Ploceus cucullatus (Village Weaver) nest-building, Queen Elizabeth National Park Uganda ♂ Phoenicurus moussieri (Moussier's redstart) Toubkal, Morocco ♂ Myzomela nigriventris Samoan myzomela (Myzomela nigriventris) Upolu, Samoa Phoenicurus phoenicurus] (Redstart - ringed) Għadira Nature Reserve, Malta Gracupica contra (Asian pied starlings) Sali, Uttar Pradesh, India Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae (Tui) on Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand Dendrocygna autumnalis (Black-bellied Whistling Ducks) on Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago Alopochen aegyptiaca (Egyptian goose and goslings) Bürgerpark, Bremen, Germany Picathartes gymnocephalus (White-necked rockfowl) Nyamebe Bepo Forest Reserve, Ghana Buphagus africanus africanus (Yellow-billed oxpeckers on zebra) in Senegal Pycnonotus jocosus (Red-whiskered bulbuls) exchanging food on Mauritius Fratercula arctica (Puffin with lesser sand eels) on Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire ♂ Anthracoceros coronatus (Malabar pied hornbill) Yala National Park, Sri Lanka Phoenicopterus roseus (Greater flamingos) Dohat Arad Lagoon, Muharraq, Bahrain Ciconia ciconia (White stork) Carrying plastic for nest, Fitted with transmitter. Huelva, Spain Ramphastos sulfuratus (Keel-billed toucan) near Flores in Guatemala Andigena hypoglauca (Grey-breasted mountain toucan) Hacienda El Bosque, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia Rupornis magnirostris griseocauda (Roadside hawk) eating speckled racer in Belize Butterflies and moths Pachliopta hector (Crimson Rose) Kumarkom, Kerala, India Papilio machaon gorganus (Old World swallowtail) Termini, Sorrento Peninsula, Italy Papilio crino (Common banded peacock) Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, India. Aporia crataegi (Black-veined white) on early marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata), Tagamõisa Conservation Area, Saaremaa, Estonia Mylothris rueppellii haemus (Twin dotted border) newly emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa Charaxes jasius jasius (Two-tailed pasha) Europe’s only charaxes, Sithonia, Greece Euphaedra themis (Crimson-spotted forester) in the Bobiri Forest, Ghana Doleschallia bisaltide (Autumn leaf) Bali, Indonesia Cymothoe hobarti (Red glider) Kakamega Forest, Kenya Inachis io (European Peacock) Otmoor RSPB reserve, Oxfordshire Danaus plexippus (Monarch butterflies) Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico Danaus chrysippus (Plain tiger) on dwarf poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima f. rosea) Botanic Gardens, Singapore Boloria graeca balcanica (Balkan fritillary) Yastrebets, Rila Mountains, Bulgaria Melitaea didyma (Spotted fritillary) Galichica National Park, Republic of North Macedonia Euphydryas aurinia (Marsh Fritillaries) mating in Brickes Wood, Lydlinch, Dorset Issoria baumanni excelsior (Baumann's mountain fritillary) Slopes of Mount Bisoge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Polygonia c-album aberration hutchinsoni Comma Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshire Callicore texa (Texa eighty-eight) Cristalino Lodge, Amazon, Brazil Polyommatus bellargus (Adonis blue) Yoesden Bank, Buckinghamshire Leptotes cassius theonus (Cassius Blue) near Las Terrazas, Cuba ♂ Leptotes pirithous (Lang's Short-tailed Blue) Alvão Nature Park, Portugal Polyommatus icarus (Common blues) mating on Yoesden Bank, Buckinghamshire Brephidium exilis thompsoni (Grand Cayman pygmy blue) The World's smallest butterfly, endemic to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands ♀ Polyommatus icarus mariscolore (Common blue) rare ssp mariscolore from the Burren, County Clare, Ireland Callophrys rubi (Green hairstreak) Aston Upthorpe, Oxfordshire Tyria jacobaeae (Cinnabar moth) Piddington Wood, Oxfordshire Agrius convolvuli (Convolvulus hawk-moth ) Gorski kut, Rila Monastery, Bulgaria Yponomeuta evonymella (Bird-cherry ermine moth) a nest of caterpillars in Lahemaa National Park, Estonia Trosia nigropunctigera (Rosy ermine moth) Mount Totumas cloud forest, Chiriquí Province, Panama Adhemarius gannascus (Sphinx moth) in the Mount Totumas cloud forest, Panama Xylophanes crotonis (Sphinx moth caterpillar) in the Mount Totumas cloud forest, Panama Laothoe populi (Poplar hawk-moth) late instar larva in Parc du Marquenterre, Baie de Somme, France Dragonflies and damselflies ♂ Brachytron pratense (Hairy dragonfly) in The Burren, County Clare Somatochlora metallica (Brilliant emerald) teneral female, Moat Pond, Thursley, Surrey ♂ Brachytron pratense (Hairy dragonfly) eating a bee, Koigi Bog, Saaremaa, Estonia ♂♀ Sympetrum striolatum ( Common darters) mating in Kew Gardens, London ♀ Sympetrum striolatum (Common darter) at RSPB Otmoor, Oxfordshire ♂ Platycypha caligata (Dancing Jewel) ♂ Calopteryx virgo (Beautiful demoiselle) Crockford Stream, New Forest, Hampshire ♂♀ Enallagma cyathigerum (Common blue damselflies) mating in Whitecross Green Wood, Buckinghamshire ♀ Lestes barbarus (Migrant spreadwing) in Blankaart Nature Reserve, Diksmuide, Belgium ♀♂ Ceriagrion tenellum female form typica (Small red damselflies) mating at Ober Water, New Forest, Hampshire ♂ Lestes sponsa (Emerald damselfly) Warren Heath, Hampshire Grasshoppers Acanthacris ruficornis (Garden locust) in Ghana ♀ Zonocerus variegatus (Variegated grasshopper) Bobiri Forest, Ghana Metrioptera roeselii diluta (Roesel's bush-cricket) first record in Finemere Wood, Oxfordshire ♂ Opaon varicolor (Chocó grasshopper) endemic flightless grasshopper in the Andes of Colombia Other insects and spiders Dysmachus trigonus (Fan-bristled robber fly) with bee prey in the Babadag Forest, Romania Scaeva pyrastri (Pied hoverfly) on chicory (Cichorium intybus) in Romania ♀ Libelloides macaronius (Owlfly) in Istria, Croatia Phromnia rosea (Flatid leaf bugs and nymphs) in Ankarana Reserve, Madagascar Pyrops candelaria (Lantern bug) Double Haven Country Trail, Hong Kong, China Trichius fasciatus (Bee beetle and flower crab spider Thomisidae sp.) Valöns Naturreservat, Västra Götaland, Sweden Peucetia madagascariensis (Malagasy green lynx spider) with green bottle fly (Lucilia sp.) in Madagascar Reptiles and amphibians ♂ Varanus komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) Komodo Island, Indonesia Caiman yacare (Yacare Caiman) in the Pantanal, Brazil Crocodylus palustris (Mugger crocodile) in the Senanayake Samudraya, Gal Oya, Sri Lanka Calumma brevicorne (Short-horned chameleon) in Andasibe, Madagascar ♂ Camlumma amber (Amber Mountain chameleon) in Montagne d’Ambre National Park, Madagascar Trioceros rudis (Rough Chameleon) Slopes of Mount Bisoge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Trachylepis striata (African striped skinks) Malolotja National Park, Eswatini ♀♂ Acanthodactylus boskianus (Bosc's fringe-toed lizards) courtship in the Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan Stellagama stellio (Roughtail rock agama) Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan Calotes calotes (Green garden lizard hunting) Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka Emys orbicularis hellenica (Hellenic pond turtle) Butrint in Alabania Testudo graeca nabeulensis {Tunisian tortoise) Cap Bon, Tunisia Natrix maura (Viperine water snake) Extremadura region, Spain Mantella baroni (Variegated golden frog) in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar Agalychnis annae (Golden-eyed tree frog) in Costa Rica Pelophylax cypriensis (Cyprus water frogs) in Cyprus Amietophrynus gutturalis (African common toad) swimming in Lake Sibaya, South Africa Crabs Grapsus grapsus (Galápagos Sally Lightfoot) Moreno Point on Isabela Island, Galápagos, Ecuador Pachygrapsus marmoratus (Marbled crab) Butrint in Albania