The Flickr Californiafauna Image Generatr

I found this wonderful Great horned owl family in a commercial building in my city. It is rare to see three fledglings, usually they have only one or two.

The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air") or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.[5] Its primary diet is rabbits and hares, rats and mice, and voles, although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, including rodents and other small mammals, larger mid-sized mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.

In ornithological study, the great horned owl is often compared to the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo), a closely related species, which occupies the same ecological niche in Eurasia despite its notably larger size. The great horned owl is also compared to the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), with which it often shares similar habitat, prey, and nesting habits by day; thus the red-tailed hawk is something of a diurnal ecological equivalent.[6] The great horned owl is one of the earliest nesting birds in North America, often laying eggs weeks or even months before other raptorial birds.

Los Angeles. California.

A Southern California bush rabbit, photographed in San Diego's Los Peñasquitos Canyon Reserve, displays the beauty and challenges of life in the wild. The visible ticks in its ear are a reminder of the interconnectedness between wildlife and human health, as these parasites can carry diseases like Lyme disease and rabbit fever.

The California Towhee's coloring is dull brown overall with light rust undertail coverts and buff or rust colored streaks at the throat. There is little sexual dimorphism. It is around 20–25 cm in length, and has a noticeably long tail. Its appearance suggests a large, plain sparrow. This bird's natural habitat is brush or chaparral, but it adapts well to urban parks and gardens. However, its skulking habits combined with its nondescript appearance mean that it is not one of the better known garden birds even though it is regularly drawn to feeding stations.

Nests are typically found in low branches or shrubs about .5 to nearly 4 meters (2 to 12 feet) above ground. The nest is a bulky cup made of twigs, stems, grasses, and hair. Female.

Los Angeles. California.

NO PHOTOSHOP!

Heliconius charithonia, the zebra longwing or zebra heliconian, is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae.The boldly striped black and white wing pattern is aposematic, warning off predators.

The species is distributed across South and Central America and as far north as southern Texas and peninsular Florida; there are migrations north into other American states in the warmer months.

Zebra longwing adults roost communally at night in groups of up to 60 adults for safety from predators. The adult butterflies are unusual in feeding on pollen as well as on nectar; the pollen enables them to synthesize cyanogenic glycosides that make their bodies toxic to potential predators. Caterpillars feed on various species of passionflower, evading the plants' defensive trichomes by biting them off or laying silk mats over them.

Mass spraying of Naled has decimated the zebra longwing population in Miami-Dade County, Florida. There has been mass collapse of the colonies with impacts on the balance of the ecosystem. Further studies are desperately needed to evaluate any potential for recolonization.

Zebra Longwing butterfly, from Butterfly Pavilion Natural History Museum. Los Angeles. California.

Nuttall's Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii, is a species of woodpecker named after naturalist Thomas Nuttall in 1843. They are found in oak woodlands of California and are similar to the Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris) in terms of genetics and in appearance. Nuttall’s Woodpecker has black wings and tail feathers with white barring. On the ventral surface, colour is white with black spots and barring. It has a black forehead with white streaks on the sides and an unbarred black region at the top of the back. Adult males have a distinguishable red crown which females do not. However, this physical feature is present in the juvenile of both sexes. They have zygodactyl feet and stiff tail feathers which allows them to maintain a vertical position on trees; typical of woodpeckers. The mass of Nuttall’s Woodpecker ranges from 30 to 45 g with a body length of 16 to 18 cm. Male.

Los Angeles. California.

NO PHOTOSHOP.

Harmonia axyridis is a large coccinellid beetle. Its colour ranges from yellow-orange to black, and the number of spots between none and 22. It is native to eastern Asia, but has been artificially introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It is now common, well known, and spreading in those regions, and has also established in South Africa and widely across South America.

It is commonly known as the harlequin ladybird (because it occurs in numerous colour forms). It is also known in North America as the multicolored Asian lady beetle, and (because it invades homes in October in preparation for overwintering) as Halloween lady beetle. In Japan, it is not generally distinguished from the seven-spot ladybird which is also common there.

When the species first arrived in the UK, it was labelled in jest as "the many-named ladybird", because among the names listed were: multivariate, southern, Japanese, and pumpkin ladybird.

Los Angeles. California.

The White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) is a species of butterfly found in the southeastern United States, Central America, and throughout much of South America.

The males of the species display a unique territorial behavior, in which they stake out a territory typically 15 meters in diameter that contains larval host plants. They perch in this area and aggressively protect it from other insects and other male white peacocks.

Natural History Museum, Butterfly Pavilion. Los Angeles, California.

The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturæ in 1758 as Turdus polyglottos. The northern mockingbird is renowned for its mimicking ability, as reflected by the meaning of its scientific name, 'many-tongued mimic.' The northern mockingbird has gray to brown upper feathers and a paler belly. Its wings have white patches which are visible in flight.

The northern mockingbird is an omnivore. It eats both insects and fruits. It is often found in open areas and forest edges but forages in grassy land. The northern mockingbird breeds in southeastern Canada, the United States, northern Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Greater Antilles. It is replaced further south by its closest living relative, the tropical mockingbird. The Socorro mockingbird, an endangered species, is also closely related, contrary to previous opinion. The northern mockingbird is listed as of Least Concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The northern mockingbird is known for its intelligence and has also been noted in North American culture. A 2009 study showed that the bird was able to recognize individual humans, particularly noting those who had previously been intruders or threats. Also birds recognize their breeding spots and return to areas in which they had greatest success in previous years. Urban birds are more likely to demonstrate this behavior. Finally, the mockingbird has influenced United States culture in multiple ways. The bird is a State bird of 5 states, has been used in book titles, and has also been used in popular songs and lullabies among other appearances in U.S. culture.

Northern mockingbird. Los Angeles. California.

The Indian Peafowl occurs from eastern Pakistan through India, south from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka. Though once common in Bangladesh, it may now be extinct in that country. Its highly ornamental appearance motivated early seafarers to transplant the peafowl to their homelands in other parts of the western world. Phoenician traders in the time of King Solomon (1000 B.C.) introduced the birds to present-day Syria and the Egyptian Pharaohs. Alexander the Great imported more of the birds into his Mediterranean domains and severely penalized anyone caught harming them. Domesticated peafowl remained a popular status symbol through Roman times and the Middle Ages, ensuring their establishment and survival throughout Europe.

In its native India, the peafowl is a creature of the open forests and riparian undergrowth. In southern India, it also prefers stream-side forests but may also be found in orchards and other cultivated areas.

Peafowl from Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. Arcadia. California.

The Great Southern White (Ascia monuste) is the only species of butterfly of the genus Ascia of the Pieridae family. In this species the sexes may differ with the female being either light or dark colored. It is found from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, south through tropical America to Argentina. Migratory along the south-eastern coast of the United States, with strays to Maryland, Kansas, and Colorado.

The wingspan is 63–86 mm. Adults are on wing all year round in southern Texas, peninsular Florida and along the Gulf Coast.

Ascia monuste is an example of a migrating species that moves in one direction within its life-span and does not return. It breeds in Florida but sometimes migrates along the coast up to 160 km to breed in more suitable areas.

The larvae feed on Brassicaceae (including Cakile maritima, cultivated cabbage and radish and Lepidium species) and plants in the Capparidaceae family, including nasturtium. Adults feed on nectar from various flowers including saltwort, lantana, and verbena. It is a sporadic pest of crucifer vegetables in southern Texas.

Natural History Museum. Butterfly Pavilion. Los Angeles. California.

The Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea) is a species of butterfly found in the Americas including the Caribbean.

The wingspan is 68 to 80 mm. There are two to three generations per year in Florida and one in the northern part of the range with adults on wing from mid to late summer. The species habitat is in tropical scrub, gardens, fields, and forest edges. The species eats nectar from red-colored plants.

The larvae feed on Cassia species

Natural History Museum. Butterfly Pavilion. Los Angeles. California.

The desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae.

The desert cottontail is found throughout the western United States from eastern Montana to western Texas, and in northern and central Mexico. Westwards its range extends to central Nevada and southern California and Baja California. It is found at heights of up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It is particularly associated with the dry near-desert grasslands of the American southwest; though it is also found in less arid habitats such as pinyon-juniper forest.


The desert cottontail is quite similar in appearance to the European rabbit, though its ears are larger and are more often carried erect. It is also social among its peers, often gathering in small groups to feed. The desert cottontail uses burrows made by rodents rather than making its own. Like all cottontail rabbits, the desert cottontail has a rounded tail with white fur on the underside which is visible as it runs away. It is a light grayish-brown in color, with almost white fur on the belly. Adults are 33 to 43 cm (13 to 17 in) long and weigh up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lb). The ears are 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in) long, and the hind feet are large, about 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in length). There is little sexual dimorphism, but females tend to be larger than the males, but have much smaller home ranges, about 4,000 square metres (1 acre) compared with about 60,000 square metres (15 acres) for a male.

Los Angeles. California.

The Bewick's wren (Thryomanes bewickii) is a wren native to North America. At about 14 cm (5.5 in) long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white. The song is loud and melodious, much like the song of other wrens. The song is broken into two or three individual parts; one individual male may exhibit up to twenty-two different variations on the song pattern, and may even throw in a little ventriloquism to vary it even further. It lives in thickets, brush piles and hedgerows, open woodlands and scrubby areas, often near streams. It eats insects and spiders, which it gleans from vegetation or finds on the ground. Wrens are sometimes observed foraging with chickadees and other birds.

Its range is from southern British Columbia, Nebraska, southern Ontario, and southwestern Pennsylvania, Maryland, south to Mexico, Arkansas and the northern Gulf States. The Bewick's wren does not migrate.

The nest is cup-shaped and located in a nook or cavity of some kind. It lays 5–7 eggs that are white with brown spots. The Bewick's wren produces two broods in a season. Pairs are more or less monogamous when it comes to breeding, but go solitary throughout the winter.

This is currently the only species of its genus, Thryomanes. The Socorro wren, formerly placed here too, is actually a close relative of the house wren complex, as indicated by biogeography and mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence analysis, whereas Thryomanes seems not too distant from the Carolina wren.

Los Angeles. California.

They coming once a year to my garden and they are so fast a nd noisy that it is hard to get a good image of them.

The California quail (Callipepla californica), also known as the California valley quail or valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or plume, made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females; the flanks are brown with white streaks. Males have a dark brown cap and a black face with a brown back, a grey-blue chest and a light brown belly. Females and immature birds are mainly grey-brown with a light-colored belly. Their closest relative is Gambel's quail which has a more southerly distribution and, a longer crest at 2.5 in (6.4 cm), a brighter head and a scalier appearance. The two species separated about 1–2 million years ago, during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene.It is the state bird of California.

Los Angeles. California.

Only one picture captured from my camera, I do not do several clicks.

The red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) is a medium-sized hawk. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. Red-shouldered hawks are permanent residents throughout most of their range, though northern birds do migrate, mostly to central Mexico. The main conservation threat to the widespread species is deforestation.

Males are 38 to 58 cm (15 to 23 in) long and weigh on average 550 g (1.21 lb). Females are slightly larger at 47 to 61 cm (19 to 24 in) in length and a mean weight of 700 g (1.5 lb). The wingspan can range from 90 to 127 cm (35 to 50 in). Adult birds can vary in mass from 460 to 930 g (1.01 to 2.05 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing bone is 28–35 cm (11–14 in) long, the tail is 16–24 cm (6.3–9.4 in) long and the tarsus is 7.5–9 cm (3.0–3.5 in).[6] Adults have brownish heads, reddish chests, and pale bellies with reddish bars. Their tails, which are quite long by Buteo standards, are marked with narrow white bars. Red "shoulders" are visible when the birds are perched. These hawks' upper parts are dark with pale spots and they have long yellow legs. Western birds may appear more red, while Florida birds are generally paler. The wings of adults are more heavily barred on the upper side. Juvenile red-shouldered hawks are most likely to be confused with juvenile broad-winged hawks, but can be distinguished by their long tails, crescent-like wing markings, and a more flapping, Accipiter-like flight style. In direct comparison, it is typically larger and longer proportioned than the Broad-wing, though is slightly smaller and more slender than most other common North American Buteos. This bird is sometimes also confused with the widespread red-tailed hawk. That species is larger and bulkier, with more even-sized, broad wings and is paler underneath, with a reddish tail often apparent. The Red-tail is also more likely to soar steadily, with wings in a slight dihedral.

Los Angeles. California.

Gasteracantha cancriformis (spinybacked orbweaver) is a species of orb-weaver spider (family Araneidae). It is widely distributed in the New World.

The genus name Gasteracantha derives from the Greek words γαστήρ (gaster, "belly") and ἄκανθα (acantha, "thorn"), while the specific epithet cancriformis derives from the Latin words cancer ("crab") and forma ("shape, form, appearance").

Females are 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) long and 10–13 mm (0.39–0.51 in) wide. The six abdominal spine-like projections on the abdomen are characteristic. The carapace, legs, and underside are black with white spots under the abdomen. Variations occur in the colour of the upperside of the abdomen - a white or yellow colour with both featuring black spots. A white upper side can have either red or black spines while a yellow upperside can only have black ones. Like with many other spiders, males are much smaller (2 to 3 mm long) and longer than wide. All morphs have six abdominal spines. They are similar to the females in colour, but have a gray abdomen with white spots and the spines are reduced to four or five stubby projections.

This species of spider does not live very long. In fact, the lifespan lasts only until reproduction, which usually takes place in the spring following the winter when they hatched. Females die after producing an egg mass, and males die six days after a complete cycle of sperm induction to the female.

Los Angeles. California.

A mouse (pl.: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). Mice are also popular as pets. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are locally common. They are known to invade homes for food and shelter.

Mice are typically distinguished from rats by their size. Generally, when a muroid rodent is discovered, its common name includes the term mouse if it is smaller, or rat if it is larger. The common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. Typical mice are classified in the genus Mus, but the term mouse is not confined to members of Mus and can also apply to species from other genera such as the deer mouse (Peromyscus).

Domestic mice sold as pets often differ substantially in size from the common house mouse. This is attributable to breeding and different conditions in the wild. The best-known strain of mouse is the white lab mouse. It has more uniform traits that are appropriate to its use in research.

Los Angeles. California.

The desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae.

The desert cottontail is found throughout the western United States from eastern Montana to western Texas, and in northern and central Mexico. Westwards its range extends to central Nevada and southern California and Baja California. It is found at heights of up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It is particularly associated with the dry near-desert grasslands of the American southwest; though it is also found in less arid habitats such as pinyon-juniper forest.


The desert cottontail is quite similar in appearance to the European rabbit, though its ears are larger and are more often carried erect. It is also social among its peers, often gathering in small groups to feed. The desert cottontail uses burrows made by rodents rather than making its own. Like all cottontail rabbits, the desert cottontail has a rounded tail with white fur on the underside which is visible as it runs away. It is a light grayish-brown in color, with almost white fur on the belly. Adults are 33 to 43 cm (13 to 17 in) long and weigh up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lb). The ears are 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in) long, and the hind feet are large, about 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in length). There is little sexual dimorphism, but females tend to be larger than the males, but have much smaller home ranges, about 4,000 square metres (1 acre) compared with about 60,000 square metres (15 acres) for a male.

Los Angeles. California.

Nuttall's Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii, is a species of woodpecker named after naturalist Thomas Nuttall in 1843. They are found in oak woodlands of California and are similar to the Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris) in terms of genetics and in appearance. Nuttall’s Woodpecker has black wings and tail feathers with white barring. On the ventral surface, colour is white with black spots and barring. It has a black forehead with white streaks on the sides and an unbarred black region at the top of the back. Adult males have a distinguishable red crown which females do not. However, this physical feature is present in the juvenile of both sexes. They have zygodactyl feet and stiff tail feathers which allows them to maintain a vertical position on trees; typical of woodpeckers. The mass of Nuttall’s Woodpecker ranges from 30 to 45 g with a body length of 16 to 18 cm. Male.

Los Angeles. California.

Myscelia cyaniris, the blue wave, blue-banded purplewing, tropical blue wave, whitened bluewing, or royal blue, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.

The length of the forewings reaches about 34–36 mm (1.3–1.4 in). The dorsal sides of the upper wings are bright blue with white transversal bands and white spots. The sapphire blue of the upper wings may appear black or neon blue depending on how the light is reflected. The undersides of the hindwings have a cryptic coloration, as they are mottled with different shades of color, varying from gray to brown, while the under sides of the forewings are black with white patches. The larvae feed on Dalechampia triphylla and Adelia triloba (family Euphorbiaceae). Adults usually feed on rotting fruit and animal dung.

It is found in Central America and northern South America, from Mexico to Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru.

It is found from sea level to 700 m (2,300 ft) on the Atlantic slopes and is associated with rainforest habitats.

Los Angeles. California.