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Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea), family Rallidae, Gruiformes, Gujarat, India

White-barred or Light-barred Kukri Snake (Oligodon albocinctus), family Colubridae, Tripura, NE India

Meet one of the largest insects on the planet: the Atlas moth (Attacus atlas)! With a wingspan that can reach 10.6 in (27 cm), this giant can be found in parts of Asia including China, India, and Indonesia. As a caterpillar, the Atlas moth spends nearly every moment eating… but as an adult, it cannot feed because it has a non-functioning mouthpart—resulting in a lifespan of only up to two weeks. Did you know? You can spot this species up close in the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium in the Museum's Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation! 

Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia), mother and chicks, family Strigidae, order Strigiformes, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, USA

Green Arboreal Alligator Lizard or Mexican Alligator Lizard (Abronia graminea), family Anguidae, endemic to the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca highlands of Mexico

ENDANGERED.

male paper wasps are famously huge wimps but no individual i've ever encountered captures their essence quite as much as this one pathetically clinging to a plant like a crying baby while looking at me with his huge pleading green eyes after i interrupted his early evening nap