5 animals i can't stop thinking about this week
birds near & far, shocking blues, & a fish with a face you won't forget
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Stay tuned to the end for some announcements and a couple freebies!
delighted to be isolated
inaccessible island rails | Atlantisia rogersi
They’re the smallest living flightless bird in the WORLD. They don’t really have predators on Inaccessible Island, their home. When they decide they are at odds with a fellow individual in their species, they trill at one another in a “keekeekeekeekee” manner, and the champion rival celebrates with a “weechup weechup.” They’re absolutely one of a kind, and they are so wonderfully round. They’re living the dream.
is only actually one of the things it’s named after
tarantula hawk wasps | in the genera Pepsis or Hemipepsis
Did you know they can be this shade of blue? Because I absolutely did not, and confidently told my partner that they’re definitely brown and red before he sent me ~12 pictures of them being, indeed, very blue. They’re also among the most metal creatures out there, paralyzing their prey — tarantulas, from which their name comes — with a sting before 1) dragging the tarantula to their nests as living food, 2) laying one deeply threatening egg on the tarantula that will then 3) hatch into a baby wasp that eats the host which is, presumably, still living. The adults eat nectar, though, so maybe still kinda chill? Oh, it’s also the state insect of New Mexico.
residents of city palm trees
parrots | there are over 30 (!) species living in LA
I grew up hearing about the wild parrots living in San Francisco, so when I heard familiar squawking noises while walking the streets of Los Angeles, I was not surprised to see these vibrant birds being menaces among the fronds of sidewalk palm trees. (Am I still a little salty that they won out the battle to be named the city’s official animal over native and equally — if not more — charming species like the ever-noisy California sea lions or incredibly unique SF garter snakes? Read that sentence again and you’ll know.) As much as I get grumpy over introduced species pushing out native ones (see: mustard), I can’t help but be charmed by how they’ve thrived alongside humans in an incredibly busy city.
do NOT pick these up with bare hands
sea swallows | Glaucus atlanticus
They’re also called blue dragons or blue angels, but they’re blue sea slugs that live in the open ocean. Most slugs I’ve personally encountered spend the majority of their time on the seafloor, but not sea swallows — instead, they use the surface tension of water to float upside down and let the wind and ocean currents carry them around like a roller coaster with no ending. Oh, the things one can do with a singular stomach-foot appendage like this. P.S., these slugs prey on venomous creatures like Portugese man o’ wars and store the stinging cells for self-defense. Real-life Kirby, anyone?
has science gone too far? (spoiler, no, they’re just like this and they’re perfect)
plainfin midshipmen | Porichthys notatus
“Oh no those are the worst things I’ve seen with my eyes.” — my partner when we looked at this species’ baby pictures.
These weird and, dare I say, wonderful fish swim from ocean depths to the surface to spawn, relying on their voices to attract mates. This article says it all.
in other news …
Free (!!) tidepool trading cards
The month of June marks Snapshot Cal Coast, a community science effort to document the vast variety of animals, plants, and seaweeds living along the California coast. In celebration of this event (which is one of my favorite times of year), I illustrated these downloadable, printable trading cards featuring iconic tide pool species. Grab the Cal Coast Classics set or the Sea Star Search set for yourself entirely for free!
Making & sharing zines
A few weeks ago, my dear friend and I soft-launched a new zine community we’re calling the Green Internet Librarians. We’re hosting another casual, virtual, monthly zine-making session in Discord TOMORROW 6/8, at 10am Pacific Time, and you’re invited! The only real rules: be kind, have fun. Feel free to send this invite to a friend, too.
And if you’re in the SoCal area: I have a table at LA Zine Fest on June 23rd, and I’d love if you stopped by! I’ll be distributing my own zines (look for Filter Feeder Press), and I’m also curating a community zine display — if you make zines and would be interested to share some at LA Zine Fest, let’s talk! Respond to this email, send me a DM on Instagram, or reach out to arya@readfilterfeeder.com before June 15.
The tarantula wasp had one of the most painful stings in the world too! (The most painful is a type of ant). I think they're pretty cool. And they're huge too.