Virginia Rail

Birds > Gruiformes & Rails

The Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) is a secretive, masterfully camouflaged marsh bird that gave rise to the classic expression ‘thin as a rail.’ Navigating the impenetrable cattail jungles and bulrush marshes of North America, this slender wetland runner...

Tasmanian Nativehen

Birds > Gruiformes & Rails

The Tasmanian Nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii), affectionately dubbed the ‘Turbo Chook’ by Tasmanians, is a comical, fast-running flightless rail endemic to the island of Tasmania. Completely incapable of flight but capable of sprinting at highway speeds of...

Common Dunnart

Mammals > Marsupials

The Common Dunnart (Sminthopsis murina) is a fierce, miniature carnivorous marsupial native to the eucalyptus woodlands and coastal heaths of eastern Australia. Resembling a tiny mouse but armed with the razor-sharp teeth and predatory drive of a Tasmanian devil, this...

Manchurian Walnut

Plants > Trees & Shrubs

The Scrub Hickory (Carya floridana), also known as the Florida Hickory, is a fascinating, fire-adapted hardwood tree found naturally nowhere else in the world outside the ancient white-sand ridges of the central Florida peninsula. Adapted to endure the extreme...

Brown Crab

Invertebrates > Crustaceans

The Yellow Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus oregonensis), universally known among coastal naturalists as the Oregon Shore Crab or Green Shore Crab, is one of the most abundant, ecologically foundational invertebrates of Pacific coast estuaries. Unlike its rock-dwelling purple...