We photographed this poison dart frog in Peru. It’s tiny, not much larger than a dime. For more hoppy animals, see my article on the Under the Greenwillow blog.

To celebrate If You’re Hoppy, the next few months are hoppy animals., like this insect! These insects drink juices from plants. See all the brown spots on the leaf, probably from the insect feeding. I don’t know this insect’s identity. Do you?

There’s a blue one, a green one, and this one. The two parts of its common name rhyme. I photographed this bird in Yellowstone. It stashes pine nuts. Sometimes finds food from careless campers. It is in the Corvidae (crow) family. Still stumped? Find its identity here.

This creature’s rump pattern is a signal. When alarmed, the long white hairs stand up. The rest of the herd can see this flash of white from a long way away. So they all know to flee.  It is the world’s second fastest land animal. (The cheetah is the fastest.) I photographed it in SE Wyoming. Click photo for its name.

Forget the big animals in Yosemite National Park, CA.  This was our favorite seen and photographed there. It has fascinating behavior, somewhat like a fox squirrel, but also a little bit like a prairie dog, too. It does not live in large groups, as prairie dogs do. It does burrow in the ground. It is the California Ground Squirrel.

What is this creature scratching an itch? This animal can hold 3 gallons of water in its mouth.  I photographed it in Monterey, CA, on the docks before I took a whale watch trip. Click photo for answer.

This Tiger Swallowtail is feeding from a cupplant in our back yard. In addition to the yellow form, it also has a dark form, called a dark morph. In our area, the caterpillars feed on cherry trees. (They are different from the tent caterpillars, though.)

Who’s this eating bird seed under the feeder? They visit every night. Give me an “R” for r——.  They smell just slightly musky, but not as much as a skunk. So you can often tell when a raccoon has been visiting. They are often active at night, but I photographed this one in early morning. Perhaps it could not sleep and got up for a snack?

Who’s this? Give me an “E” and think Africa. One of my favorite sites is Safari TV, which features three daily game drives led by knowledgeable naturalist guides in Sabi Sands. You can email and ask them questions and they often answer, live.