Yellow-billed Cuckoo's SW population declared threatened

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the ruling yesterday, and it's none too soon, in my estimation. Read the agency's decision here.

Bug attacks, kills snake in Arizona mountains

Read about this natural history observation right here. I remember the Rincn mountains from the two trips Monica and I made to Tucson earlier this decade.

New scorpion species found, described in Ariz.

New plant and animal species are being found and described in the scientific literature almost daily. But the march to extinction continues at the same moment in time. AZCentral.com reports that a new species of scorpion, dubbed Vaejovis brysoni, has been found in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Rich Ayrey, a Flagstaff nurse and former biologist recognized it as a new species. Ayrey has discovered and named five other scorpion species. This particular scorpion was found by University of Washington post-doctoral scholar Robert Bryson, who spotted it in the Santa Catalina Mountains and sent samples to Ayrey and a collaborator to identify last April. The 2-inch-long, mahogany-colored scorpions were found above 6,000 in the mountains during a hiking trip. This discovery is the 10th known mountain scorpion species in Arizona. View a photo of the newlyh described/named scorpion at this link.