Items40The creator’s order
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HoatzinA hoatzin in a thicket along an Amazonian backwater can make a meal of leaves with the help of microbes. Fermentation starts in its enlarged crop before the food moves farther through the gut. Young hoatzins have claws on their wings that help them climb through branches above the water.0 - 2
Honduran white batA Honduran white bat turns a broad heliconia leaf into a shelter. The bats cut along the veins so the sides fold down around the main rib. A small group can roost together beneath the folded leaf, out of sight from above.0 - 3
Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanniA sleeping Fleischmann’s glass frog becomes harder to see against a leaf. It withdraws much of the red blood from circulation and holds the cells in its liver. The rest of the body then transmits more light, making the frog’s outline less conspicuous where it rests.0 - 4
Wallace's flying frogWallace’s flying frog spreads its long, webbed toes as it leaves a high perch. The webbing and loose skin along the limbs help slow the fall and let the frog glide. In Southeast Asian forests, it can move between perches without climbing down first.0 - 5
Chrysopelea paradisiA paradise flying snake launches from a perch and flattens its body as it falls. It makes side-to-side waves in the air. That movement helps keep it stable as it glides to another part of the canopy without wings.0 - 6
Draco sumatranusA Sumatran flying dragon opens flaps of skin supported by elongated ribs. Spread wide, the flaps help the lizard glide between trees. Once it lands, the membranes fold against its sides for climbing.0 - 7
Emerald tree boaAn emerald tree boa spends the daylight hours draped across a branch, often with its head resting in the middle of its coils. A gripping tail helps it hold its place. At night it can move through the branches or wait for prey without coming down to the forest floor.0 - 8
Oriental pied hornbillA female oriental pied hornbill seals herself inside a tree cavity to raise her brood. A slit stays open so the male can pass food through. In forests where hollow trees are scarce, that unusual arrangement depends on finding a cavity before she can settle in.0 - 9
Bornean orangutanA Bornean orangutan bends and weaves branches into a sleeping platform. Leaves can pad the nest, and some orangutans weave branches together from more than one tree. A place to sleep can take shape where there was only a gap between branches before.0 - 10
Vogelkop bowerbirdA male Vogelkop bowerbird builds a twig shelter and decorates the clearing in front with flowers and other objects. Females visit and can compare his display with others nearby. The twig hut in the photo is a courtship site, while the female builds a separate nest for her young.0
