Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Layang-layang api or barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a species of animal in the Hirundinidae, a distinctive warbler with a blue-black top, long forked tail, a pair of legs strong but not strong enough to fly non-stop all day long and often perch in large groups on power lines and man-made structures.

H. rustica has a length of 17-19 cm including 2-7 cm of elongated outer tail feathers, a wingspan of 32-34.5 cm and a weight of 16-22 g. The top part is blackish blue, the bottom part is white with a long vertical line forming a curve to the stomach.

The forehead, chin and throat are reddish brown. Elongated forked tail feathers and a white stripe along the outer end of the upper tail. The female has a shorter tail band and a paler underside. Juveniles are browner, the underside is whiter and do not have a long tail band.

Barn swallow likes open areas including meadows and farmlands with water at altitudes up to 3,000 m. These birds usually grab prey in open areas above ground or above shallow water including large flies, aphids and flying ants.

Females lay 2-7 eggs, reddish white, 20x14 mm, weigh 1.9 g and 5% are shells. The incubation period is usually 14-19 days with another 18-23 days before any altricial children become adults. The mother feeds for about a week before migrating.

The success of hatching is 90% and the mature survival rate is 70-90%. Mortality rates are 70-80% in the first year and 40-70% in adults. Most survived to less than four years, even though the record age was over 11 years.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Hirundo
Species: Hirundo rustica
Subspecies: Hirundo rustica ssp. erythrogaster, Hirundo rustica ssp. gutturalis, Hirundo rustica ssp. mandschurica, Hirundo rustica ssp. rustica, Hirundo rustica ssp. savignii, Hirundo rustica ssp. transitiva, Hirundo rustica ssp. tytleri

Blood lily (Scadoxus multiflorus)

Blood lily or Haemanthus multiflorus ( Scadoxus multiflorus ) is a species of plant in the Amaryllidaceae, a bulbous shrub that produces rhizomes. Leaves and flowers may appear together or leaves may be produced later. The base of the leaves and stems are tightly wrapped to form a pseudo-stem or false stem, 5-60 cm long. Flowers in umbels at the top of the stem, leafless, 12-75 cm long. Pseudostems and scapes are often covered with reddish brown to dark purple spots. The flower umbel is in the shape of a globe with 10-200 individual flowers. Each flower has a stalk, 15-45 mm long. The tepals and filaments of the stamens are red. The base of the tepals is fused to form a cylindrical tube, 4-26 mm long, the free end of the tepals 12-32 mm long, narrow and spreading. The fruit is a berry having a diameter of 5-10 mm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Amaryllidaceae Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae Tribe: Haemantheae Ge...

Guinea grass (Panicum maximum)

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Indian shot (Canna indica)

Puspa midra or Indian shot ( Canna indica ) is is plant species in Cannaceae, annual, shrub 0.5-2.5 meters high, depending on variety, erect stems, unbranched and leaf midrib arranged overlapping to form pseudostems and hermaphrodite flowers. C. indica forms a branched rhizome, 60 cm long which is divided into rounded segments and is covered in two stripes by pale green or purple scaly leaves. The rhizome has tubers that contain very large starch grains. The surface has transverse furrows, the underside appears white roots and numerous shoots. The leaves sit alternate and spiral or arranged in two rows, very large and divided into a leaf midrib, short stalk and blade. The strands are 30-60 cm long, 10-20 cm wide and have linear veins, green or purple-green, the base blunt or narrowly pointed and the apex immediately tapering or sharp. Hermaphrodite flowers, pedicels 0.2-1 cm long and red or yellow-orange, except in some cultivars 4.5-7.5 cm long. The sepals are triangular in shape a...

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