Adélie penguins live on the Antarctic continent and on many small, surrounding coastal islands. They spend the winter offshore in the seas surrounding the Antarctic pack ice. Adélies feed on tiny aquatic creatures, such as shrimp-like krill, but also eat fish and squid. They have been known to dive as deep as 575 feet (175 meters) in search of such quarry, though they usually hunt in far shallower waters less than half that depth. Like other penguins, Adélies are sleek and efficient swimmers. They may travel 185 miles round-trip (about 300 kilometers) to procure a meal. During the spring breeding season (in October), they take to the rocky Antarctic coastline where they live in large communities called colonies. These groups can include thousands of birds. Once on land, Adélies build nests and line them with small stones. Though they move with the famed "penguin waddle" they are capable walkers who can cover long overland distances. In early spring, before the vast sheets of ice break up, they may have to walk 31 miles (50 kilometers) from their onshore nests to reach open water. Male Adélie penguins help their mates rear the young and, without close inspection, the two sexes are nearly indistinguishable. They take turns sitting on a pair of eggs to keep them warm and safe from predators. When food is short, only one of the two chicks may survive. After about three weeks, parents are able to leave the chicks alone, though the offspring gather in groups for safety. Young penguins begin to swim on their own in about nine weeks.

This sparrow (mono­­typic genus) feeds on bare or sandy ground. When flushed, it flies to a high perch. Few other sparrows are likely to fly high overhead during daylight. They call both when flushing and when flying overhead; occur singly or in flocks up to 50. Polytypic. Length 6.5" (17 cm). Identification Largest open-country sparrow. Long, rounded tail with prominent white corners. Adult: distinctive harlequin face pattern of black, white, and chestnut. Bright white underparts marked only with dark central breast spot. Juvenile: duller face; fine, black streaks on breast, sides, and crown lost gradually through fall. Geographic Variation Two subspecies show weak variation. Eastern grammacus darker overall with wider black back streaks than western strigatus. Similar Species None. Voice Call: sharp tsik, often a rapid series and frequently delivered in flight. High chips when excited. Song: begins with 2 loud, clear notes, followed by a series of rich, melodious notes and trills and unmusical buzzes. Sings one of the longest sparrow songs. Status and Distribution Fairly common. Primarily west of the Mississippi; once bred as far east as New York and western Maryland. Rare migrant throughout the East, mainly in fall. Prairies, roadsides, farms, open wood­lands, mesas. Va­grant: accidental to Alaska, northern Canada, and Europe. Population Stable, though eastern populations are declining and it is extirpated from former breeding areas in the East. —From the book Complete Birds of North America, 2006

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga blends large-format, landscape photography with documentary photojournalism. He is a regular contributor to Arizona Highways and National Geographic. His book Jack Dykinga's Arizona is a compilation of his best Arizona images along with accounts of his personal wilderness experiences.

Dykinga's other books include Frog Mountain Blues, The Secret Forest, The Sierra Pinacate, The Sonoran Desert, Stone Canyons of the Colorado Plateau, and Desert: The Mojave and Death Valley. He also wrote and photographed Large Format Nature Photography, a how-to guide to color landscape photography, and collaborated with Mexico's Agrupación Sierra Madre to help produce their book on the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Directing his focus to the Texas-Mexico border, Dykinga highlighted the biological richness and diversity of the protected areas along the Rio Grande River corridor in the February 2007 issue of National Geographic. Two months later, Dykinga and four other photographers—Thomas Mangelsen (United States), Patricio Robles Gil (Mexico), Fulvio Eccardi (Italy and Mexico), and Florien Schultz (Germany)—formed the first ever Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE) for the International League of Conservation Photographers. They documented the El Triunfo cloud forest in Chiapas, Mexico, to draw attention to its threatened habitat.

Currently, Dykinga serves on the board of the Sonoran National Park Project in an effort to create a new binational park on the border of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.

He and his wife, Margaret, live in Tucson, Arizona.

www.dykinga.com

The African wild dog, also called Cape hunting dog or painted dog, typically roams the open plains and sparse woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. These long-legged canines have only four toes per foot, unlike other dogs, which have five toes on their forefeet. The dog's Latin name means "painted wolf," referring to the animal's irregular, mottled coat, which features patches of red, black, brown, white, and yellow fur. Each animal has its own unique coat pattern, and all have big, rounded ears. African wild dogs live in packs that are usually dominated by a monogamous breeding pair. The female has a litter of 2 to 20 pups, which are cared for by the entire pack. These dogs are very social, and packs have been known to share food and to assist weak or ill members. Social interactions are common, and the dogs communicate by touch, actions, and vocalizations. African wild dogs hunt in formidable, cooperative packs of 6 to 20 (or more) animals. Larger packs were more common before the dogs became endangered. Packs hunt antelopes and will also tackle much larger prey, such as wildebeests, particularly if their quarry is ill or injured. The dogs supplement their diet with rodents and birds. As human settlements expand, the dogs have sometimes developed a taste for livestock, though significant damage is rare. Unfortunately, they are often hunted and killed by farmers who fear for their domestic animals. African hunting dogs are endangered. They are faced with shrinking room to roam in their African home. They are also quite susceptible to diseases spread by domestic animals.